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[s]On a less gay note...[/s]

These times were strange, frantic, and quite frankly, rather confusing. Alistair Archibald could say with perfect confidence that only a month or two ago he would have laughed at the mere thought that he would be eager to take Captain Crunch out on a second date. Yet here he was, neck-deep in murderous cultists, doing just that. But the situation did not escape him, and a dark thought entered his mind. In movies, such promises were often followed by the failure to uphold them, often because of death. This was troubling, but there was evidence that real life did not adhere to movie standards. He was naturally the main character of this 'film' and if he was not able to defeat the foes that had stood before him up to this point, to achieve anything of real value, then it had to be that fictional tropes were simply that -- fictional. 

Or rather, he so desperately hoped that was the case. 

[color=c1ba46]"Tch."[/color]

He couldn't let his mind continue to wander, however, as the situation had yet to settle. He understood the importance of keeping civilian casualties to a minimum, but he would have appreciated just a little more assistance on the front lines. Only one other person stayed with him, and through all the fighting and the commotion, Alistair had temporarily lost track of Ashton. He was focused on keeping them from being overwhelmed, so he was not sure if that meant Ashton had been slain or something else. But such thoughts would eventually be answered when, even in the thick of everything, Alistair felt something...wrong. 

There was no way he was just going to ignore whatever this was, so he made his way to the source of this feeling. 

...

...

...

[b]"At the very least, you can't stop me from facing my death standing up!"[/b]

Moments away from his impending death at the hands of Gris, Ashton displayed courage in a situation where many would express cowardice and fear. Death, even in their case, was something to be feared. It was not only often painful, but it hindered their progress and could potentially be permanent at any given instance. Yet even still, the boy did not cower. 

And because of that, Alistair would have no qualms about ensuring his continued survival. 

[color=c1ba46]"I like your attitude."[/color]

Though Huma had been spoken a moment prior, his compliment had more oomph to it than his incantation. But the results should have been the same either way. If Gris had continued forwards without defending himself against the projectile that was launched his way, then he'd suffer a fatal wound. If he immediately continued or otherwise did not stop his charge, then [s]I'd have to rewrite the rest of the post please don't do it[/s] he'd be met with further retaliation. 

Alistair did not look very pleased, his eye mostly catching on to the woman that Belrigger was fighting. She certainly was familiar. [color=c1ba46]"Sandra? So she's the source of this feeling..."[/color] he was unable to prevent the slightest hint of disappointment from showing on his face, having obviously hoped she would be an ally rather than an enemy, but he wasn't distraught and clearly he wasn't going to miss any sleep over it. To liken it to something, it was like he ordered ice cream at McDonald's and they told him the machine was broken. 

He wasn't surprised. 

Needless to say, if they had to fight, he wasn't too likely to hold back. But he already knew there was no way he could do that against someone of her caliber. Admittedly, he would have to do his best to ensure she couldn't get away with holding back on them. A thought that was very unappealing to someone like him. 

Alistair's breathing slowed. [color=c1ba46]"Odessa."[/color] he called to her in an almost calm, serene state. [color=c1ba46]"From this point on, I doubt things will get any less difficult. They'll probably get worse."[/color] a long pause occurred before he continued. [color=c1ba46]"That being the case, we need to give this our all, and I can't do that without you."[/color]