"Like I want to be complemented by you." She grunted as the shield met his fists. Alright, that didn't work so well. It was a good plan...probably, but not all plans were flawless. She didn't have much time to think up a plan B though. Zerlaine moved faster than she could follow up. However, unlike last time Lystra could see his movements. She might have been more surprised if she wasn't just using all of her focus to try and come up with a way to beat Zerlaine. He was still fast, but for whatever reason she thought she could keep up.

He moved to flank her, faster than she could process it. It might have given her a good opening to work with, but it was a missed one. Zerlaine moved to thrust his hand forward, having enough time to take advantage of her heightened senses. She moved the shield between her and him hoping to once again block the attack. She couldn't keep blocking forever, though. She needed something, but she'd work with what she had for now. As soon as Zerlaine's fist made contact with the shield, she'd once again try and slice his arm with the knife.

Zelriane's fist crashed against the shield, but felt light. There was reverb, of course, and enough power behind the strike to send a man to his knees, but the shield Lystra wielded did not falter for a moment, backed by her strength and stance. Zelriane's right eye twitched ever so slightly and Lystra moved to strike again. He retracted his fist and shifted his body weight to the right. Using his stance, he dropped low, and stood upright once again, moving the base of his palm towards Lystra's wrist before she had a chance to retract her knife. His speed slowly began to increase, as did the force behind his blows, but Zelriane held back the urge to circumvent Lystra's abilities. Something about her surpassed what he'd seen in Kalen. Kalen himself saw it too, to a lesser degree, but back away, speechless, as the two clashed before him.

Lystra grunted as she felt Zerlaines fist impact the shield again, followed by once again, him avoiding her strike. He moved to the right this time, seeming like he was moving to try and disarm her. Was he...getting faster as well? Damn it, the battle was getting quickly out of hand at this rate, then. Well then...she'd just hope she'd get lucky. Instead of attempting to avoid or block Zerlaine's strike this time, she used the shield offensively. As he made a move for her wrist, instead of using her shield...she decided to use what she thought, she might add, was her most attractive feature. She raised her right leg, intending on slamming her foot right into his stomach.

Zelriane's strike was more than enough to gravely injure Lystra's wrist. Although the knife was flung out of her grasp by the force of her blow, he felt something collide with his abdomen, pressing uncomfortably against his diaphragm. Too fast?! Zelriane thought as milliseconds passed in his brain. He saw it coming. He saw it all with those mysterious green eyes of his. But this time, once again, he'd been unable to dodge. His body buckled back and his arms cocked back in pain. Within a second, Lystra's kick sent a surge through his entire body, pushing him away from her with tremendous force. His feet skid against the ground, and he fell forward, onto one knee, with his right fist planted firmly in the dirt. With a single heavy huff, hunched over roughly 10 feet from where he was struck, Zelriane felt defeated.

"There is no pride to be restored in killing you now," He spat, staring down at the ground in shame and grasping at the earth. "Kalen," He said quietly, standing up straight and regaining his composure, "We are leaving. Now." Kalen looked to Lystra hopefully despite nodding to Zelriane's initial order. There was a spark of hope in his eyes, hope that she could defeat his new master with her newly unlocked power. But neither of them knew just how strong he actually was. Unexpected however, was his following statement.

"Consider this your victory, landing a single blow, albeit at my own fault for treating you like a rat.You will not die today, but know, if we meet again, I will not hold a shred of my abilities back. From the start." Just then, a group of nomads rushed onto the scene, stopping short of Zelriane, Lystra, and Kalen. Kalen looked to them and nodded, and within seconds, they were upon their chief, tending to his wound as best they could. Zelriane stared at Lystra intently, or rather, the shield that she wielded. There was no way a mortal could have so much power without some kind of aid. Their souls were frail, and magic was lost to their impudent little minds, or so he'd though. That shield, albeit a valuable artifact for his purpose, was not his to take. Zelriane may have been a number of things, but he was still bound by his code of honor, regardless of how shady it might have been.

A quiet grunt of pain as Zerlaine's fist connected with her wrist, causing her to drop the knife in her hand. She hadn't really even expected such a clumsy move to work, but it had. She'd have to thank whatever lucky spirit was making sure she didn't get killed for the second time today. Not to mention, just how had she put so much power behind that blow? Sure she had great legs, but damn. She was ready to move again to try and settle this, but it seemed like whoever this green...serpent, Zerlaine wasn't.

Lystra merely watched as Zerlaine barked an order at Kalen to leave. She sighed, shaking her head lightly as Kalen looked at her, probably hoping that she could defeat this guy. There was no way she could in her condition. Hell, she wasn't sure how she was able to last that long. She watched Zerlaine intently as other nomads started crowding around the chief, trying to tend to his wounds, and she would continue to do so until he left. She should probably say something equally poetic and awesome as a taunt back to Zerlaine.

"...ow ow ow." Well, good job her that'd show him who was boss. Lystra grimaced as she held her wrist in her hand. Argh, damn it it hurt pretty badly. Probably broke something. Whatever it was, the adrenaline seemed to be wearing off and she felt more than a little mentally exhausted. She had just come pretty close to dying, hadn't she? "Haaa...today has been great." She walked over to where her knife had fallen, picking it back up with some difficulty. She'd probably need to have her wrist looked at.

As Zelriane and Kalen walked off into the endless bounty of hills and trees, away from the crystalline lake, Kalen took one final look back to the temporary home of his people. His brother was gone, and his father had been shamed before every last member of his family. Worst of all, Kalen's own honor was robbed from him, forced into the teachings of a madman for the sake of his village. Putting hope in Lystra may have been foolish, but even if she'd failed to save him, or avenge his brother, she'd done more than he could have ever hoped to with the power she'd been able to call upon. It defied all expectations, but this was still his fate. Kalen and Zelriane disappeared over the horizon, bathed in twilight as the sun fall past mountains that hugged the lake's edge.

---

Fuso coughed a hefty gust of air as he felt the cold press of wet cloth against his torn abdomen. Several feet away, his wife slept, and opposite to her, Lystra found herself under the watchful eyes of the village's doctors, just as Fuso had moments earlier. They searched her body in panic and pelted her with questions. 'Does it hurt here?' 'Is your breathing normal?' 'Can you move so-and-so?' Emilia watched them both cautiously, still emotionally overtaken by the recent occurrences. Fuso coughed again, and turned his head towards Lystra, who appeared to be having far less trouble than him.

"Is your wrist.." One of the paramedics started, grabbing Lystra's wrist and feeling for any serious injury with their fingers.

"Gah! Ow, ow, yes," Lystra replied in response to the paramedics question. She was content to let them see to Fuso first, and hadn't really spoken up much about it. She'd just give it a splint and plenty of rest before doing any other particularly major activities. That said, since they asked...well, she wasn't about to turn them down if they wanted to look at it. "Its broken or something, I dunno." She sighed. Really, this much attention was a bit annoying but it wasn't like she could do much about it.

"Hey Emilia," She flashed a smile and wave with her other hand over to Emilia. "Uhm, you wouldn't happen to have seen Gremma would you?" Really, her foster mother probably would be worried sick. She'd like to at least let her know she was mostly fine aside from a few bruises. It could have been a lot worse, really.

Emilia looked up at Lystra for a moment, and shook her head. "Half of us are still asleep, and Gremma's hut is farther away from Fuso's than most.. I can go fetch her, though-" Emilia paused and looked towards Fuso's wife, who'd been fast asleep through the entire ordeal. Her sickness seemed to be more serious than one might've thought at a first glance, but there wasn't much that the local doctors could do about what they didn't quite understand. "I'm sure she'll be fine!.. Truth is, I'd rather stay here with you."

"It's not broken," one man barked, pressing into Lystra's wrist with his thumb, "I'm surprised that it isn't broken, really. You have some uncanny tenacity, Lystra." Fuso rolled towards Lystra and glared at the girl's arm curiously.

"Fuso! Please, don't move," A woman begged from the opposite side. Fuso ignored her and scanned Lystra's body curiously, eventually fixating on her shield. He didn't witness what she'd done, but based on that fact that she was still standing, and had been negligibly injured, he inferred that she was indeed the one who had fended Zelriane off, all on her own. The idea struck him like a ton of bricks. Just how could she have done such a thing?

Lystra felt a warmth crawl up her arm, from within the depths of her shield, as the man in front of her began to wrap her free wrist. It was similar to what she'd felt earlier, but had a different tone to it. It almost felt like something was calling out to her. Something... Alive.

"Lystra," Fuso wheezed, trying to catch the girl's attention from where he was laying.

Oh good, well at least Gremma probably hadn't heard yet. Or at least, if she did she was handling better than she might have thought her foster mother might. "Oh, uh, well thanks? I was just thinking if she got word of this she'd be worried sick." She should probably go talk to her after this instead of hanging around here any longer than needed. Fuso probably had some questions for her, and she probably didn't have any answers to give.

"Ow," Lystra turned her head to the doctor that was examining her. Well, if he said it wasn't broken. Still hurt like a bitch though. "You sure you're a doctor?" She grunted as he started to wrap her wrist in some bandages, as a familiar warmth made itself known. It felt...alive, and it was coming from the shield. It seemed like it was...trying to call to her? She couldn't be sure. It was odd. She wanted to take it off and examine it closer, and it seemed at least if whatever it was wanted her too.

The girl vaguely registered Fuso trying to talk to her. As her free wrist was bandaged, Lystra focused on the shield.

The warmth grew, and then faded, over and over until it was in tune with her body heat. In moments, it almost felt as if she were holding nothing, like the shield had lost all of its weight for a split second. And then, it went heavy again, but not before it murmured something, reaching deep into her mind.

_{"Restore... Me..."}

Entirely vague and not helpful in the least. Fuso slammed the ground of his hut and called out to Lystra again, trying his best to snap her attention away from the shield she'd unearthed earlier in the evening. "Lystra!"

Lystra focused on the feeling the best she could. The warm feeling, fading over and over again until it was just a blur with her own body heat. It was only a moment but the shield began to feel weightless, as if it were a feather. Something echoed in the back of her mind again as she tried to once again understand what exactly this shield was. The weight returned, just as Fuso slammed his fist into the ground.

"Gah!" Lystra shouted, somewhat surprised to have her attention suddenly ripped away from the shield. "W-wah? Oh, uh, sorry. I was...daydreaming?" She chuckled nervously. Whatever that was, she wasn't too keen on telling anyone just yet. She should focus on getting out of here for now. Deal with Fuso, then deal with this shield once she was able to clear her head and think a bit.

"Daydreaming?.. Where is my son?" Fuso grumbled, keeping his eyes locked with Lysta's. "Where did that monstrous man take him?" Emilia looked to Lystra, thinking it over herself. He was speaking about Kalen, wasn't he?

"Uh," Lystra began, not entirely sure how to put it gently. There was no way Fuso was going to like this. Well, might as well put it as simply as possible then. "Honestly chief, I have no idea." She shook her head, trying to speak as gently as she could. "He said something about taking him as an apprentice, but I was kinda busy trying to uh, not die to really sorta find out." That was about all she could say, really. He had just lost both of his sons, and nearly lost his own life to some sort of...whatever Zerlaine was.

Fuso didn't respond. He looked at Lystra intently, but closed his eyes shortly afterwards, letting his head gently fall towards the ground. A curse left his lips. Emilia made her way over to Lystra and patted her shoulder.

"It's over now, thankfully," Emilia said, relieved. But what was over? Somebody had just snatched a boy up, and killed his brother without any remorse. What the hell did any of it mean? Emilia didn't seem to care. "It might take some time, but I'm sure we'll all be able to move past this uh.. This."

"Right..." Lystra replied, shaking her head. She was tired, and really wanted to get some sleep and some answers. Whatever was in this shield had gotten her curiosity and she wanted to know. She'd keep it a secret from the others for now for multiple reasons. They didn't need to know, and if someone like that Zerlaine guy came back, it'd be best if they didn't know, right?

"Well, if you're alright I'm beat." She said to Emilia. She should still go talk with Gremma about all of this and make sure she knew she was fine. "I think I'm going to try and get to bed early." Plus, she just really needed a moment to unwind from all of...this. Hopefully she could get some sleep, but honestly she wasn't sure if she would be able too. She was just too...excited? Was that the word for this? It was rather inappropriate to say that now, but...she couldn't think of another word for it.

"Gonna make sure Gremma knows I'm alright and...tell her about what happened." Lystra gave Emilia a friendly smile, turning to leave. She should let Fuso rest. He'd need all of his strength for whatever was going to happen to their clan next...

"Yeah, I think I should probably check on my little brother.. I'll see you tomorrow," Emilia said, just as Lystra was already headed out of the tent. She groaned and looked to Fuso's wife once again. The woman's were parted, slightly open, and damp with tears. Fuso couldn't bare to look towards her, and as Emilia inched towards the tent's exit, an uncomfortable silence overwhelmed the broken family.



It wasn't long before Lystra reached Gremma's tent. She'd set up near the edge of the little village-like settlement that they'd created for their stay, like she'd always done, facing the mountains to the east, where the lake had begun to thin out into a small stream. Gremma turned to her foster Daughter with a quick jerk, somewhat surprised by how sudden her arrival was.

"Late, isn't it?" She huffed, turning back towards an assortment of nick nacks that she'd collected over the years. Gremma found sound kind of peace in lining them up methodically, and acting out scenarios that most people didn't quite understand.

"Yeah, sorry Mom." Lystra replied with a tired smile. At least seeing her foster mother play with those odd assortment of items she collected made her feel a bit better. A bit more...normal. Even if she was extremely curious about both Zerlaine and this shield, it was good to know at least Gremma would hopefully never change. "Long day...you hear about what happened?" Lystra asked as she walked into the home she shared with her. She didn't really want to go into a lot of detail about it since she was tired and wanted to get to bed, but she should at least tell Gremma if she didn't already know.

"Yes, yes. Reluctantly, Sira told me about it. Can't say I'm too concerned, if that green fellow's already gone. Not much we can do about what's already been done. And I'm not the type to mourne over the children of others," Gremma said quickly, tipping over a carved bone that looked oddly similar to Kalen. "You shouldn't have gotten in the way!" Gremma spun around and stomped towards Lystra, pulling her injured wrist forward in a single jerking motion. "Do you know what could've happened? Of course you do! You're not an idiot! But you can act so stupid sometimes!"

"Ow ow, injured wrist." Lystra winced in slight pain as Gremma pulled her injured wrist, tugging her forward slightly. Gremma was right of course. She could have gotten injured or even worse if she hadn't gotten extremely lucky, and had caught Zerlaine off guard. She couldn't deny that. "Sorry, sorry." Lystra replied with a small smile. Even so, she couldn't have just sat back and done nothing after what Zerlaine did. She could have probably went about it better, like handing over the shield but...she wanted to know what it was too much to hand it over to some stranger that had did what Zerlaine had. "But, I mean, It's over and I'm fine." Lame excuse, but it was all she had.