[@Plank Sinatra] [@Crimmy] [@Enkryption]

Lia groaned.

It wasn't a particularly graceful sound, but having her classmate slammed into her and subsequently rolled a ways wasn't a particularly graceful experience. Nothing was broken, though. It wasn't hard to tell. [i]She[/i] had wound up cushioning Jin's impact and subsequent roll, but she'd seen the hit the banchou took on the head. Nothing she could do about that except offer some aspirin later. The two were closer to the school than they had been since the jump. 

It was more than a little demoralizing, frankly. Jin was a better fighter than her by a mile. Better magus, too. To see her get knocked on her ass wasn't a good sign. That was dealing with [i]one[/i] of these soldiers, and she knew of at least two. Almost certainly more than that. Jin and sensei were the only people with her, now. Excellent magi, the both of them. She already knew a little about Jin, but sensei had just demonstrated his own skill, if a little unorthodox. Jin could take anyone in a fight. Sensei looked like he could probably do the same. 

What could she do?

She was a musician. In that environment, she excelled. She performed, for her club and other venues. Piano, mostly. But she could sing. She could play the guitar, if not quite as well. Make a passable attempt a few other instruments. Lia was a scholar, too. Excellent grades. Diverse knowledgebase, theoretical and practical. Certified in first aid. Looking at a career in medicine. 

But she'd never been in a real fight. Not against a normal person, let alone a stone soldier.

She didn't know more than basic magecraft. Nothing that could give what used to be Morimoto any trouble.

There was nowhere to run, and whether she'd admit it or not she'd considered it. It would be smartest. Finding a clear route and booking it, far, far away from anything going on at her school. Let someone more qualified address the issue. There was [i]nothing[/i] that she could do to Morimoto.

God, Morimoto. She hadn't been particularly fond of her teacher. He was inoffensive, but boring. Beyond the respect he was due as her teacher she didn't pay him much mind. But he didn't deserve that. He wasn't built for this sort of world. Maybe [i]she[/i] wasn't, either, but at least she was [i]aware[/i] of it. Shocking, still, but she had known all of this was possible. He hadn't. His eyes had been closed to it, but he still did his best. And this was what he got for his trouble.

Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Was she going to let Dorian and Jin protect her? Let Dorian protect them both, if Jin couldn't hurt it? 

...

No.

It wasn't right.

She was small, even if no smaller than Jin. She was weak. And if she was completely honest, she wasn't that brave. But there was nowhere to go. She could fuck shit up, or she could roll over and hope she didn't die. So she pushed herself to her feet, sparing Jin a once-over to make sure she wasn't in any immediate danger. And with all these stupid trees around, she had tools. So bracing a foot on a tree-trunk, she broke herself off a branch and stalked back towards Morimoto and Dorian. She swung it a few times, as much to steel her nerve as practice, and wound it up like a batter.

[color=green]"I want you to get lost!"[/color] She hollered at what used to be Morimoto, scowling. [color=green]"I want you out of my school, I want you out of my town, I want you off my planet! If I have to kick your ass back there myself! Those shoes were expensive, asshole!"

"Sensei, if I understand enough about magecraft, we cut it off from whatever's making that banging, we stop it, right?"[/color] She queried her teacher, trying to keep that steel in her voice. [color=green]"Can we do that with a more sturdy Bounded Field?"[/color]