[center][h1][color=de8f4e]Isana[/color][/h1][/center][right]Interactions: [@Rune_Alchemist] [@OwO][/right][hr][hr][color=lightgray]
Now more bloodied, more banged up, but still willing to fight.

At least, until…

[color=white][b]“THE SHIPS!”[/b][/color]

It spread like wildfire, no one the wiser where the first spark had been ignited.

The adventuring party watched in confusion as one of the main paths whose flank they’d been protecting turned into a mess. A retreat was called, but it was a chaos of bodies turning, limbs squeezing, not in sync at all. The frontline was the rear-line, and nothing made sense anymore.

[color=white]“What–”[/color] Eustace swallowed.

[color=de8f4e]“[i]the hell,[/i]”[/color] Isana filled in, full of disbelief.

[color=white]“FUCK!”[/color] A thud from a fist punching a wall cracked through the air. Raoul’s outburst was enough to snap them out of their daze.

Mary’s nostrils flared as she glared at the monsters and demons who were gleefully taking advantage of their disordered troops. [color=white]“Let's cut them down.”[/color]

The four looked at each other, agreeing on their course of action with a single glance.

They advanced into the rear: Eustace and Raoul headed right into the thick of it. Mary, the precise slayer even with how worn out she was. And Isana? She weaved in and out of alleys to strike when least expected, then back out to recover as well as confuse the enemy.

It was grueling, never-ending, and pointless. What to fight for now that the ships were gone?

Yet fight they did.

Martenos Kaides’s appearance revitalized some.

All she could think was, [color=de8f4e][i]Father…just [b]what[/b] happened out there?[/i][/color]

Out of nowhere, the force of a dying star appeared, rending all in its wake.

[color=white]“Isa!”[/color] She was pushed into the alley by Eustace. The only reason she survived, she was sure.

Colours and shapes blurred, her heart hammered irregularly, painful intermittent clenches sending fresh spikes of agony throughout her even as her whole body seized up in shock.

[color=white][i]“Isana!”[/i][/color]

She felt cool touch on her cheeks. Leaned into it, opened her eyes, Eustace’s face in front of her.

[color=de8f4e]“Ye-yeah…I-I’m…”[/color] she stood up, pupils blown wide, gaze darting around wildly. She forced herself to breathe. 

This wasn’t the time. She could get them killed, damn it!

Hands trembling, she nonetheless slashed through an advancing goblin who’d thought it could strike them down.

[color=de8f4e]“Okay now,”[/color] she said, tremors almost gone. She met his gaze. [color=de8f4e]“Thanks.”[/color]

[color=white][b]SCREEEEE-EEE![/b][/color]

Birds monsters and wyverns circled the skies. With the ships gone, they’d migrated here.


[color=de8f4e]“Strike them down fast!”[/color] Isana gnashed her teeth. Her heart rate was still abnormal, but if she ignored the overwhelming demonic presence, surely it would ignore her too. Surely.

The flying enemies swooped down, clawing at the main force, sending fire at them, and otherwise being a menace.

She scaled a roof, saw that several others had had the same idea, silhouettes outlining rooves across the main street. If only they had time enough to set up traps–!

Alas.

A rock would have to do. Isana picked up a crumbling brick. A violet haze suffused her body, aura fueling her strike as she shot down one of them.

In the distance, she spotted Raoul clinging to a wyvern’s neck, stabbing at it furiously. Mary stood her ground down below, slashing at any who dared approach with her katana. Eustace had found a spear to launch.

Their snaking line of soldiers was being culled nonetheless. Goblins scampered through the alleyways, adding pressure to their flanks.

She had no idea when or how, only that she’d been chasing some of the nasty buggers down with Eustace when she spotted a hint of flowing white hair. Heart stuttering, she veered off course.

[color=white]“Isana?”[/color] Eustace questioned.

[color=de8f4e]“It’s them!”[/color] She stumbled towards them, those precious treasures she’d thought lost to her. The alleys were charred, smog clogged the air, fires raged, but those two stood out with with the radiance of twin suns. [color=de8f4e]“Ophelia! Estelle!”[/color] She wanted to run, but all she could do was limp. When had her ankle been pierced? 

Ah, who cared. She made it there. Unbeknownst to her, tears were slowly trailing down her cheeks as she reached out for a group hug.

Her sisters were there. Eustace wasn’t far behind. Even Raoul and Mary were out there somewhere.

Her loved ones were within reach.

That’s what mattered.[/color]