[b][i][u]Courtyard -- Library of Knowledge[/u][/i][/b]

Someone [i]really[/i] didn't like Taylor's attempt to defer the bout. He was intimately familiar with this kind of rant, vaguely recalling giving a similar one in the past. As Fiona went on, he slipped a pair of earplugs into his ears, and reached for his gun, expecting to face the first strike when his guard seemed down. Then she started to transform, and he froze with his hand on the pistol's grip.

[i][color=#0099CC]Okay, these earplugs are trash,[/color][/i] Taylor grumbled internally as the ogress launched into the air and unleashed her mighty scream. Despite his complaint, the earplugs did their job, and the shrill shout was merely painful instead of utterly debilitating. He went down to the ground, but quickly came back up, drawing one of his pistols and letting fly a couple shots, deafening in their own right, aiming to punch a hole in one of her new wings. Momentum was enough to carry her through his initial assault, so he got up and moving as she spat out her venom, and while he managed to evade the caustic spit, he found his foot ensnared by the webbing she'd shot right afterward. With his free hand, he drew one of his knives, cutting through the spider web and got to his feet before Fiona could reel him in. [b][color=#0099CC]"Ignite,"[/color][/b] he intoned through clenched teeth, and arcane script all over his outfit flared into a furious crimson as he raised his gun and pointed it at the ogre. [b][color=#0099CC]"I [i]know.[/i] This isn't [i]my[/i] first time."[/color][/b]

[@PharaohAtem]