[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/cd83dc89-6413-49cc-9e8d-a9fba609a17b.png [/img][/center][right][sub][@Eleven] [@Achronum] [@POOHEAD189][/sub][/right]
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Kellen was nearly as shocked as the bandit when he heard Imogen cry out. As Imogen closed the distance between herself and his assailant, Kellen had enough of a mind to take one final swipe at the man. The strike had hardly any weight behind it, but achieved its purpose as the bandit lost the half-second he needed to properly ready himself for Imogen’s assault. The man’s lack of armour made it easy for the blade to stab straight through, and Kellen was greeted by a fresh spray of blood as he saw the metal tip of the sword peek out from somewhere below the man’s ribs. As the body (and Imogen) tumbled to the ground, Kellen found it in himself to take a half step to the side to avoid being brought down in the heap of bodies. He was relieved when Imogen got back up, a bit slower than she might have normally. He couldn’t muster up the words to say thanks, so he nodded quickly before looking back down at the body of the brute she had just felled. Arms aching, he kept the grip on his blade firm, waiting for any sign that he might have survived the blow. [color=ffb5c2]"Kel, are you alright?"[/color] 

[i]Oh Goddess. Was he? [/i]A quick look at his hands and count of his fingers confirmed that there wasn’t anything obviously missing, but the blood from the bandit made it hard to tell. Urgently and with a touch of panic, he started patting himself down. He didn’t hear Imogen trail off, the blood pumping in his ears cutting out almost all sound. There was not much rhyme or reason to this process. Every time he pulled his hand away, there was blood. It was as he was checking his left arm for the fourth time that he heard Jorah yelling in their direction. He turned to look at the Deer’s House Leader, not registering his words but able to understand the expression on his face. 

He turned to see another body lying a few feet from the house the first bandit had emerged from, an arrow planted in its chest. Another one of his compatriots seemed to be weighing his odds against the group of students who had proved to be surprisingly competent. Before he had the chance to make his final decision, a bolt of dark magic struck him, only to be followed by a more powerful one that struck him down.  Nearby, Kayden has successfully dispatched another. The four bodies brought Kellen little relief. He couldn’t stop himself from looking in the horror at the state of them, or more particularly, their injuries. Without thinking, he began to try and wipe the blood from his uniform. [color=63a2e4]“Please…”[/color] It was a quiet, sad sound that fell out of his lips as his efforts grew more frantic. He should have known this would happen. He should have known that he would be useless the moment danger was presented. Lienna had been right to stay. She hadn’t got any stupid ideas in her head about duty or responsibility or heroism. The dull rumble in the earth only confirmed his fears. There was something greater at work here, and he had been foolish to think he would escape a situation such as this unscathed.

It was then that he saw the quintet of vagabonds approaching from the rear. He knew he needed to move. But his head hurt. He felt like he could count the ribs in his chest. And this damned blood wouldn’t go away.  He didn’t notice Clarissa approaching until she had yanked him down into a crouch. He trusted that it was for a reason, but this only caused him to seize up further. Had he been hit? There was a whirring sound in his ears that made it difficult to hear what anyone was saying, but her voice managed to break through the pressure in his ears. [color=FF650E]"You’re okay."[/color] Kellen wasn’t sure if he could trust this Deer, but even in the throes of paranoia and panic, he couldn’t fathom up a reason she would lie to him. His hand stopped its frantic running over his body. It might have been the panic, but a small piece of him thought about telling her about his crest right then and there. [color=FF650E]"You’ll overcome this challenge."[/color] He felt like she meant it.
 
Kellen stood up slowly as Clarissa set off. His left hand, its white sleeve now dotted with crimson, gently reached over to his right wrist to clasp it steady. It was only after a few seconds that his sword stopped shaking. Kayden had seemed to have kept the bandits at bay, but a bandit with a chipped axe was pushing faster than her allies to try and cut off Kayden’s backpedalling. As Clarissa called for magic from the Goddess, Kellen dashed forward, his sword flashing as it clanged against the axe of the flanker. There was a new strength behind Kellen’s swing that nearly knocked the axe clean out of the bandit’s hands, but the boy gave him no time to recover. As his sword drew a wicked deep streak across the bandit’s chest, Kellen took two steps forward to stand in line with the prince.