[center][h3][color=gold]Pincer attack[/color][/h3][/center]
[color=lightgray][color=gold]“It may be what you know as Ki,”[/color] they answered, though unsure if they and the shaman were speaking of the same thing or not.

There was no time left for chatter then. The enemy which had sighted them appeared. It was a large bird. They marveled at the creature. They could not tell if it was a natural entity of this world or not. Was it what the residents would call a monster? A demon, perhaps?

Stranger than its size and shape was its focus. The bird wasn’t staring at them as much as it was at three others. How come? Did it not realize they were the one who had trespassed in its territory? By what means did it decide which of them to target primarily?

The stench hit them then, halting all thought, incapacitating all action as they were forced to cough and hack. A harsh, sharp, fiery sensation scorched their nose, the back of their throat, clawing its way to their lungs. Their eyes watered, their nose leaked, spittle flew from their mouth. In desperation, they moved the sleeve of their dress to their mouth, breathing through the thin protective layer.
 
Whether because that worked, or because their body got used to it, slowly but surely, they were able to function somewhat normally. The bird was still slamming into the protective barrier cast by the shaman. It leaked white acidic fluid. Upon contact with the pile of apparent corpses, the bodies sprouted feathers. Were they going to raise from the dead, or would they transform into different creatures altogether? If that pile became a number of enemies…

They’d better knock that bird out of the skies before it gained more allies. The flame-headed man’s experiments proved valuable. Watching what went through the barrier and what did not, they were fairly certain their magic would pass unhindered.

Motes of lights blinked into existence around their fingertips. Multiplying, they rendered themselves into the shape of fire. They raised their flaming arms, pointed towards the creature. Now, an opportune moment–

One person ran out of the barrier, distracting it. A beast of nature pounced. 

Rather than letting confusion prevail, the angel released a swirling blast of light magic at the beast. A pincer attack cornering it from the rear while the tiger preoccupied it from the front.[/color]