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[img]https://i.postimg.cc/DyH88WMW/Kid-s-Hat-Final.png[/img]

[color=8258fa]Level:[/color] 7 (57 -> 63/70)
[color=8258fa]Location:[/color] Edge of the Blue - Carcass Isle - Where All Things Must Come
[color=8258fa]Word Count:[/color] 1336 (+6 EXP)

[color=8258fa]Hat/s:[/color] Sprint, Terry’s Cap, Ice
[b]Stress:[/b] 50
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Apparently content to ignore the Koopa King’s prodding, the Orphan of Kos fixed its harrowing gaze on the more proper, direct challenger it found in the Hero of the Wild. A practically tangible air formed between them as the two started to advance on each other at an equal, deliberate, measured pace. The tension was cut like a taut cord with an opening strike from the Orphan, flying headlong toward the Hylian with a disarming shriek, and bringing the grotesque, organic, bladed mass that it wielded for a weapon forcefully down where the warrior once stood. It ceased barely a moment in its continuous onslaught, howling in layered voices of raving madness with every frenzied exertion as it swung at every still-living thing around it with absolute abandon. Fewer than a handful of moves from it was all it took for them to recognize the strength and ferocity commanded by their frighteningly vicious adversary.

The Orphan was absurdly agile and inhumanly mighty for what appearances and first impressions would suggest, and terrifyingly savage to boot. Even Link, boasting the keenest reflexes and thickest nerves out of all of them—and possibly anyone alive—may have found himself at least somewhat surprised by the way it initially dove at him. They all might have, if not for the preemptive assist provided by Ace for a much needed speed boost to be put to best use dodging. It was no wonder the entire village ecosystem of dark-dwelling monsters lined the cave hall in prostration to it. They were afraid of it, and with every right to be. Somehow, even without seeing it for themselves they had an intrinsic insight on what it was they were bowing to, and why. Hat Kid found herself wishing she had the same prior knowledge, but with different feelings and intentions that wouldn’t have changed regardless. In fact, she suddenly felt far less sorry for the Orphan, seeing now what it was capable of, but what she lost in pity (if not entirely) was made up for in cautious respect gained for its abilities and a poignant realization for what it truly was—a fiendish, Eldritch abomination, and [b]their enemy[/b].

Though she started slightly outside of its effective range, Hat Kid dodged away for distance as the Orphan began slinging its weapon in wide rotations to extend its reach. Between the brutal damage it visibly inflicted on far more durable fighters than her ([i]Bowser[/i], of all people), and the sundered defenses of others otherwise, it became rapidly apparent to her that she couldn’t fight this thing. At least, not directly, physically, and certainly not alone. Out of a squad of dedicated melee and ranged fighters alike, with some hybrids, she fell squarely into no particular category, so if she was to make any difference in the fight, she would have to try playing what few feasible roles she could, making use of everything she could with the correct timing and a little creative thinking.

To start, she summoned her newly bound Spirit to her back to unleash Fire upon the Orphan as soon as a scant moment of opportunity where her allies were clear of it presented itself. Then, once it was occupied again with single combat, she engaged Sprint, leaping for the monster's exposed back, Homing in on the glowing weak point at the nape of its neck. Kicking off in a layout by the foot that made contact, she shot back down with a crashing, flaming fist just as the creature dropped forward to plunge a placental landmine into the sand, bouncing from the back of its head with another successful hit, only to be caught midair by the bright blood eruption that followed. Against the likes of this wild Guardian, it seemed even playing for just one extra hit proved to be a fallably greedy tactic, one that very well stood to cost more than it was worth.

She rebounded to her feet as her back made passing contact with the sand, drawing the attention and ire of the Orphan for having recovered directly in front of it. She sidestepped the first slam attack aimed at her, flipped over the second strike as the weapon was dragged in a corrective horizontal sweep, then was forced to a hasty halt by an uncomfortably close blade slam that caused her to stumble and fall as she attempted to right herself, and slipped by the last hit with a desperate side roll, the tremor and proximity of impact just about lifting the lightweight child from the ground. Evasive acrobatic finesse turned to an imbalanced scramble with every successive near miss until she found herself shuffling backwards on all fours for a few steps as the Orphan menacingly continued its advance at a walking pace, heaving the organic great weapon overhead in preparation for a heavy downward smash. As a hurried flight response, she blindly aimed her Hookshot behind her, anchored onto the rocks, and winched herself away for a narrow escape as the club fell, drawing her Ray Gun to take a handful of parting shots at the Guardian’s head as she went.

Hat Kid took her turn at a distance while the Orphan went between the melee fighters, carefully squeezing off three more Ray bolts at it, and missing all of them. The Orphan’s constant, borderline erratic movement and her lack of proficiency with ranged weapons made for an unproductive attempt, never mind the meager sum of damage success would have amounted to. When the fiend went airborne to assail Jr, the child saw a need and chance for her to assist, grapnelling up and onto the Clown Car with him, aiming down over the rim, and quickly firing a blue umbrella beam at the Orphan from point-blank. She followed suit in abandoning ship, leaping upward instead of outward, stepping even higher still by using the Black Mage’s Ice spell as a footstool where it formed high overhead. She wouldn’t be far behind in following the arcane cryobomb down to crash on top of the monster, first exhausing the last of her Ray Gun shots in a falling dive before righting herself and assuming her vastly heavier Ice form to drop the rest of the way.

A second or two behind the Ice spell, Hat Kid’s crystalline form, petrified in pristine blue ice, came slamming down between the Orphan’s shoulders, the cold quake of impact traveling through its feet to spread the concussive effect through the ground in a radial five to ten meter space around it. Yet, for all the weight packed into her lethal terminal drop, the Guardian remained largely unmoved, failing even to break its posture beyond its natural hunch. Throughout the battle, even their heaviest hitters had barely managed to so much as make the monster flinch, and her heaviest attack, specifically intended to crush or launch enemies, stood as no exception.

Trembling furiously with effort, the Orphan threw its head back with an agitated scream, launching the still frozen Hat Kid skyward once more. As it bounded up after her with its weapon reared back, she dared not drop the form just yet, for the dense coating of ice was all that would shield her from the likely fatal blow heading her way. The wizened fiend swatted her away like a tennis ball, shattering her defense instantly. She survived the hit with a hard landing, thankfully sustaining significantly less damage than she otherwise would have, but consequently setting her entire assortment of superpowered headwear on a universal reboot timer. For the next ten seconds—in a fight where every one of them counted—her Hats would be good for little more than fashion statements. While she had a moment to spare, she turned her sights intently back to the action, popped a Honeycomb for a small but helpful hit of vitality, holding it in her cheek like hard candy as its rich contents worked to restore her, and crouched to a runner’s start onto the Mage’s Lay Lines that formed beneath her…