[color=E0D6C0] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wFqApY1.png[/img][/center]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fXzi00H.gif[/img][hr][h1][b][color=30A4D9]Bastion[/color][/b][/h1][/center]

[center][color=30A4D9][b]Race:[/b][/color] Warforged
[color=30A4D9][b]Class:[/b][/color] Guardian
[color=30A4D9][b]Location:[/b][/color] Airship – Top Deck
[color=30A4D9][b]Mentions:[/b][/color] Phia [@princess], Minerva [@FunnyGuy], Menzai [@samreaper], Arya [@Potter]
[color=30A4D9][b]Equipment:[/b][/color]  
[hider=equipment][color=F9D972]☼[/color] Tower Shield  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Greatsword made of Glacium (A material as hard as steel, yet formed from eternally frozen ice.)
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Titan Chain – A reinforced tow chain housed in his left palm, functioning as a powerful grappling hook.  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Aged Leather Satchel   
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Worn but cherished scarf
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Maintenance Kit .
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Heavy-duty rations (for companions, not himself).  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] A delicate glass figurine of a bird—an old keepsake.  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] A locked, timeworn journal—contents unknown.  [/hider]
[color=30A4D9][b]Attire:[/b][/color]  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Etched and weathered plating with bronze accents.  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Fitted harness for carrying supplies.  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Worn scarf 
[color=30A4D9][b]Gold Balance:[/b][/color] 52 gold
[color=30A4D9][b]Injuries:[/b][/color]  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Left shoulder was injured in the battle and is still leaking fluid.  
 [/center][hr]
[i][color=30A4D9]I should sever the Orc’s jugular vein first.[/color][/i] 

Bastion’s optics narrowed as he analyzed the largest of three pirate threats. 

[i][color=30A4D9]This would cause catastrophic blood loss. The others would be forced to apply immediate pressure.[/color][/i]

With a slight tilt of his head, Bastion’s eyes shifted to the woman. She might be the smallest among them, but he could see the ferocity in the way she carried herself… and as someone who had served with a handful of Gnomish saboteurs during the Last War, he knew damn well that even small things can pack one hell of a punch. Briefly, a memory replayed in his mind, of an elderly Gnome bringing an entire Thranish Cathedral down on the enemy with one of his fancy explosives. Was it a war crime? Yes. Was it an effective war crime? Absolutely. 

His focus returned to the female pirate.

[i][color=30A4D9]She should be next. Only because she’s the mystery among them. The Orc deals in brute force. The man called Beckett has his pistols. This woman…she’s given no indication of what she’s capable of. Better to neutralize her first, that way we don’t even have to find out. 

Decapitation would suffice.[/color][/i] 

Finally, Bastion turns his gaze towards Beckett. The man was obviously a showman, but he wouldn’t let the man’s braggadocious nature cause him underestimate his threat level. He understood that the others followed Beckett's lead for a reason, and regardless of whether or not that reason had anything to do with his combat prowess…it would be wise to keep his status as their leader in mind. 

[i][color=30A4D9]If I remove his hands, he will not be able to operate his firearms. This is ideal.[/color][/i] 

His thought process was interrupted when Arya stepped up next to Phia, Minerva, and himself. He looked down to offer her a gentle smile, and did the same for Stella. Just like Phia had done for him. As everyone around him spoke, he took it all in. Some of it made perfect sense. Other bits…confused him.

Phia had urged the pirates to not hurt the captain any further. Bastion agreed with this sentiment. Menzai had attempted to add a bit of haste to the situation, insinuating that other pirates could have seen the ship plummeting from above and be coming to investigate. This seemed to frustrate Minerva, who afterwards asked the pirates to disregard Menzai’s words for her own. 

Apparently the warrior wolf belonged to the other Shifter. [i]Was he some kind of…pet?[/i]

Organic beings always proved to be stranger even than Bastion previously thought possible. 

[i][color=30A4D9]I have so much left to learn.[/color][/i] He thought, his head tilting to one side like that of a confused puppy dog. [i][color=30A4D9]Maybe if these people don’t suffer deaths more terrible and painful than any of them could imagine…as the data suggests they will…I may actually begin to learn how to understand them.[/color][/i]

Something akin to sadness welled up inside of him at the thought. Montages of a hundred ways each of them could die flashed through his mind in an instant. Looking around the strange group, he felt some sense of connection to them all. Perhaps it was a situational bond given all they had already been through and how they are stranded together, or maybe the strange arcane fragments that had oddly been implanted into each of them was intensifying the feeling… it didn’t matter. All he could think of is that he hoped he could help them avoid such fates.

[i][color=30A4D9]Maybe I won’t fail this time.[/color][/i] [/color]