There was a strange sense of ‘belonging’ that Ames felt as he performed his soul-effacing art. For a brief moment, the warrior-animist could see his aura seep into his shield, the object filling with that same spiritual light while his own dimmed slightly. At the end of it, the shield moved, not like an object that he manipulated with his mind, but rather as a part of his own body. Phantasmal flames surged over it afterwards, casting a ghostly light to their surroundings, and with a flick of his mind, the shield went out into the dark.

Magpie, in a 500,000 IQ play, followed immediately afterwards. Certainly, a flaming shield was already going to destroy any attempts at the party stealthing, but the brawler had opted to go to the extreme opposite of ‘stealthing’ and began actively aggroing. Her claps echoed brightly through the massive cavern, and no matter how pissed Amulak was, it didn’t matter. The skittering, the slithering, the [i]somethings[/i] within the space between the Ancient Blackened Tree took note, and as the shield hovered near Magpie, offering her a view of the hard stone around her, of the pools of tar and cursed energy that exuded with fumes noxious and intoxicating, the darkness that stretched around her became more pronounced as well. The whites of eyes glinted within firelight, black tendrils pushing against the light only to retract afterwards. It was becoming corporeal, what surrounded Magpie, and yet, nothing advanced.

There was no need to.

From the tar pool a mere ten meters away from the brawler stepped out a humanoid figure, their entire body covered in black mud. Dark red wisps rose from their form, and in their right hand was an axe, chipped and rusted with overuse.

Overhead, the roots groaned and creaked.
[sub][@Shovel][@Searat][@Psyker Landshark][@OwO][@Yankee][/sub][hr]
[b]“Oh.” [/b]Bortz said.

[b]“Oho.” [/b]Droko grinned.

The two of them shared a look, one smug and one knowing, before Bortz slapped Ari on the back with force that definitely would have killed her if not for the friendly fire mechanics in the party system. [b]“I see, I see,”[/b] he laughed. [b]“Love at first sight, eh? If she’s caught your eyes through promo pics alone, I bet you’ll literally propose to her once you see one of her arena fights!”[/b]

Droko pulled him away by his collar, the muscled shaman rolling her eyes in a good-natured way. [b]“Thought you were more of the investigative news reporter type, but mm, you planning on doing some actual PVP too then, Ari? Wouldn’t say that Hanabi’s like, the best role model for you, considering how many extra limbs she’s got going for her, but that’s admirable.”

“Yeah, San-Li’s The Art’s more of that pure skill no gimmick deal, least from what I’ve seen,”[/b] Bortz chimed in. [b]“But also, there’s been people saying that he plays in aut-”

“He does [i]not[/i] play on auto mode,”[/b] Droko hissed, kicking him in the knee. [b]“He [i]practices[/i] in auto mode, and then copies those movements in manual as a way of sharpening his movements. Big difference.”

“See that? Best to keep your eyes set on little miss Flamebringer; least with her fanbase, you’re not liable to get bullied for cordially discussing rumors.”

“Please. That’s still better than what you get into with those Hololivers,”[/b] Droko huffed, before turning her attention back on the catgirl. [b]“Guessing those moves you pulled off in that fight was manual too, Ari?”[/b]
[sub][@GreenGoat][/sub]