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And so the flames came, bathing her world a bright crimson, a brighter orange, and finally, plunging it all in relative darkness, leaving nothing behind but a strange, almost comforting warmth and the certainty that she would have to restitch the charred cloth that her ribbons had become.

She would have to check herself for burns too, after the adrenaline drained away.

Blinking the searing light out of her eyes, Serenity cast her gaze over to the griffin once more as it slammed its back against the ground. Another arrow snapped off from its shoulder, while its guts spilled out from its stomach. Sir Fleuri himself managed to dismount moments before being flattened. In the distance, the Captain's voice sounded out as well, high-pitched over the low roar of dying flames. The Bandit King had died, his Bandit Knights would soon be too, and his Pet will soon let out its death throes. Prisoners were being freed from their cages, the flaming tree had turned to a blackened husk, and above the moon rose, casting its alabaster light.

Dame Cecilia was done. Dame Katerina was done. So too was Dame Mori, while Sir Lein was still tumbling off the ground, and Sir Fleuri joined him as well. Upon reflection, despite how [i]easy[/i] this raid was, how utterly expected the final result was, it was still a clusterfuck and still a disappointment. She'd have earned greater merits if she had held off the veteran bandits alongside Sir Renar or claimed the Bandit King's head while he crowed about how pathetic Fanilly was.

Alas, there was no merit, no honor, involved in putting to rest a dying beast.

Serenity drew her hatchet, felt its heft in her palm. Much steadier than a dagger, with a curved haft that made it a pleasure to grip and a wicked edge that sank deep with every swing, every throw. Her arm reared back, her eyes sighted the target through the visor, and she allowed all extraneous thought to exit her mind.

The griffin had lost its escape when it chose to fight. The griffin had lost its guts when it chose to strike. And now? The griffin had lost its mobility when it chose to struggle. Each of those choices, Serenity could understand, and yet...

[b]"Time and place."[/b]

The hatchet spun through the air with a path that would not err, to a target too blind to see a projectile that was just about to cave its skull in.