Saiyan

The Second Falling of the Big Brother Government - (A Tale by KrystalKleo & Saiyan)

Isaac walked, turning his head face-front, expecting that she'd just answer casually and quickly. But then an awkwardly long silence fell on them. He peeked a glance at her in the corner of his eye, then did a double-take when he realised her reaction to the gun in her hands. She looked like she was holding an alien object.

"Uh, a few times."

"Huh," was his subdued comment as they stopped so she could don the new gear.

He watched, somewhat in amazement, as she tried the gun belt on in different ways. It wasn't exactly something to be ashamed of; not knowing how to use a gun. It was just... not a common thing, in Isaac's circles. The young man ran a hand through his hair, finally deciding to help her out after a while.

"Put it near the hand you write best with," he said, then turned his attention to passers-by, giving a nod to a few of them who met his eyes. "Hi," he said to one of them.

He turned back to her and she was done. "You good?" he asked, giving her an encouraging smile as looked into those big green eyes. Interesting eyes. For now, he left the matter, as they wouldn't need to be shooting anyone whilst they were in the city of Grasscroft. "You sure?" he added as a joke.

...

When they arrived at the next tavern, Isaac stepped inside and held the door for Zara as he took a look around. "Hey, this is nice. Cleaner than the last place." It was indeed. The floors were clean, the tables and chairs were in better condition. Even the streets outside were neater. This was clearly the more up-market establishment, for the richer folks of Grasscroft. "Probably more expensive too."

Isaac ordered two glasses of flavoured, purified water. Then asked about the rooms for rent. "We have one room available. Upstairs, window. Expensive," the barman said. Then quirked a brow as he looked over the two of them. "We generally don't like wastelanders just rolling in when they feel like it, so we charge a high price to discourage it."

"One room," Isaac echoed as he looked at Zara. Then back at the barman, "Is there at least a chair in there or something?"

"There's a chair."

"Guess I'll take the chair? You have the bed?" he asked Zara. It wouldn't normally be so awkward but it was clear that she had some issues after spending thirteen years with raiders. And he wasn't sure that sharing a room with a stranger was something she wanted to do. Funny that just the other night, they shared a room, but after the scuffle with the old man who smacked her ass, and the realisation that she'd probably been sexually harassed constantly as a raider slave (and worse,) it had suddenly made Isaac extremely aware and careful regarding her security.

After that, they sat down at a table to let off some steam. Isaac stretched his neck around until it cracked. "Phew, what a day, huh. Glad to sit down and just chill for a second." He put a hand on his forehead, as if checking his own temperature, eyes closed as his mind calmed down. When he opened his eyes, they were on Zara. "So... How does freedom feel, Zara Singh? Has it hit ya yet?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Not sure? Well, that answer did fall into the disappointment category, but at least there was a chance that his idea had limited the griffin's mobility enough that such a killing blow could be landed. A man can dream, eh.

Serenity. One of Gerard's sparring buddies. She was a ferocious fighter. Even after a bunch of bandits had been blown off their feet from a mere flap of the griffin's wings (one even high-tailing it out of there, Lucas saw,) Serenity had gotten right in the beast's face and stayed there. The mental fortitude, the physical skills... the girl was a phenom. It was hard to believe she was the same age. She carried herself with far more dignity and power than any 17 year old girl Lucas had ever known. Lucas found himself wondering what her childhood must've been like, for a moment, but brought himself back to reality and the conversation quickly.

"Let it live?" Lucas echoed the older knight, a little perplexed. Fleuri went on.

"Griffins are majestic, noble creatures once you get past the whole horse-eating thing. There'd have been no point in trying to capture it, though- they're also immensely proud creatures that as we saw already, don't take well to being caged."

"Just imagine we broke it though, eh," Lucas offered with a grin. "My old man's best mate was the finest horse breaker in all the lands. Carrot was his name. Broke the wildest of stallions. Imagine we broke a griffin. Imagine the Knight-Captain's charge at the head of a column. There'd be no stoppin it. And no finer sight.

It was a joke, of course. Well... a half-joke. Well...

""Anyway, I guess you're probably right. If the griffin was no danger to good folk, then it was just another prisoner of Jeremiah. I didn't really think about it that way.

Lucas put a whole large potato in his mouth, not anticipating that it would still be so hot. His face froze in pain as he bit into it, desperately wanting to spit it out, but realising that such an action would cross the line of table etiquette, even by his own standards. And so, without thinking, he just swallowed. In one slow, laboured and painful motion, he swallowed the entire thing. The heat was intense, his face stuck with one eye squinting as he stared at Fleuri who was sharing his misgivings about their wild decision-making regarding the griffin.

"...It's a miracle I got out of it unharmed."

Lucas wasn't sharpest tool on the rack, but he noticed that this lesson wasn't just for Fleuri himself, but both of them. It was true; so many things could've gone wrong. He, himself, didn't escape without injury. After the battle, once he got himself to one of the healing mages in the rearguard, he'd discovered that adrenaline had been masking quite a few injuries. A broken collarbone. A broken rib. Fractured wrist. Concussion. And that was without the various grazes and lacerations. Back in the circus, they could've really done with one of the Iron Rose mages in their troupe. They were a boon unlike any other.

What he wanted to say was that heroes don't think about the danger to themselves, they just act - try to save the day. But this was the nonsense rambling of a young man. Instead, he tried to listen to the more experienced knight who was doing him the honour of imparting some wisdom and reflection on the battle.

"I'll try to do better aswell," he told Fleuri. "I just... it's hard to think... battles are..." it was difficult to find the right words. "Bloody madness," he finally settled on. He stopped himself from going on. It was just excuses for his misconduct. "But I will try. To think about my actions more." As much as he was trying to be more mature, the boy in him still escaped. "Got out of it alive though, eh. Sir Lein didn't get flattened. And we rode a griffin... sort of... for a second." He offered the last words with raised eyebrows and a cheeky grin, as if daring Fleuri to smile back. "Not bad, eh?"

By Reon. Already, the lesson appeared to be disappearing out of the thick skull of the gypsy.

After their exchange about the griffin, Lucas chose to focus on wolfing down the third and final course of his meal. Once he'd stopped talking, it didn't take long for the plates to be clean.

"Ah, I. Am. Done," he said to the Flower of the North. "I think I need proper drink tonight. A few, in fact."

Such bravado. Inside, he was worried that these images and sounds of the battle might not ever go away, but he could hardly explain that to anyone here. They were all well beyond their first battles. And what if word got back to the Knight-Captain or Paladin Tyaethe. Sir Lucas Storm can't handle the weight of killing? That might be the last straw.

"What will you be up to, with the rest of your day, Sir Fleuri?"

The Second Falling of the Big Brother Government - (A Tale by KrystalKleo & Saiyan)

When she reprimanded him for nodding off while being chased down, Isaac made a show of shrugging. "Not dead yet," was his response.

He was glad to hear she'd gotten a good rest while here, and it reminded him of where she'd come from. On his face was his usual confident smirk, but in his head he thought, Jeez Lu-weez. No wonder she snapped at that dirty old man. She's soo done with having to deal with anything like that, I'll bet.

Where do you tend to kick up your heels when you're here?" She inquired curiously, drying her hands off.

"Pretty sure there's another alehouse with rooms to rent, at the other end of town," he told her, a point of his thumb over his shoulder. "Let's blow this joint."

After she'd gotten her pay from the barkeep, and gave him her reasoning for the little scuffle before, Isaac gave a half-hearted salute as they walked off. When they passed the table where 'Mr Touchy Feely' was sat, Isaac winked at the guy and chuckled. The bat-wing doors swung back and forth after they'd left.

Back on the street again, Isaac looked both ways to reorient himself, then headed in the direction towards the next tavern, falling into step beside Zara. After a little walking he said, "Oh, by the way..." he swung his backpack around to his front and took out the gunbelt with the .38 Snubnose pistol in the holster. "Here," he handed it to her, along with a small carton of ammo, as they walked. "You're gonna need a weapon for when we head out tomorrow. I trust you've shot a gun before?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Lucas was like a well-oiled machine - head down and spoon shovelling - as he devoured the last of the pottage. It still amazed him, just how tasty something so simple could be. Like the grand gates and entrance of castle Candaeln; it would never get old. As the food in the bowl disappeared and the spoon became ineffective, Lucas dropped the utensil and picked up the bowl itself, pouring the last of it down his throat. He was in heaven already, and he hadn't even gotten to his favourite; Lamb on the bone with roasted potatoes and gravy.

"Reon, lad, save some for the rest of us, will you," was the comment from one knight, a few seats down and across the table. He was with two others and had been distracted enough from his own conversation to interrupt Lucas' bliss.

After putting the bowl down, Lucas scratched the back of his head sheepishly, closed eyes and a smile. It was met with some laughter.

"You eat like it's your last meal."

That resonated with Lucas and he bounced back, "Well, you never know when all this will come to an end. One minute you're flying high. Next; you're carrion. Or worse."

Worse, for Lucas, would be being thrown out of the Order, left on the streets to live with his failure. Dying for the cause would most definitely be preferable. It was all borrowed time, anyway. He should've been dead already, or a slave in unknown lands. His entire existence, at present, was a free shot at honour and glory he was never born for. Never worked for. In spite of the relatively small hardships that had come in his few months of being a 'Sir Lucas Storm,' it still all seemed to good to be true. Perhaps it was partly why he threw himself into the very front lines of the vanguard in his first battle - to use his own life to spare a more deserving knight from the fate of a probable death.

It was certainly partly why he got as much of this gourmet cuisine down his gullet as humanly possible!

"Aye, that holds true for any warrior," another of the three replied. "As good a reason as any."

Lucas wasn't far into his third course when Sir Fleuri joined him at the table.

"Sir Lucas," Fleuri greeted him...

"Flueri," he announced joyfully, before realising himself and awkwardly correcting his words. "Sir Fleuri... I mean."

"It's good to see you're unscathed."

"Thanks, you too, my friend." It was satisfying to think that he might've bonded with a comrade after standing shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield. It was more likely that Sir Fleuri was simply being polite, but Lucas couldn't help but romanticise the situation. Before this, his only experience of battle was in romanticised books, after all. As far as he was concerned, they were gods-damned warrior brothers who'd daringly took on outnumbering odds, plus a beast of legend.

"That battle got rather hectic, didn't it?"

"Sure did," was the reply. "I still can't believe we got through all that fire... fire both metaphorical and literal." He laughed, the lamp chop in his hand, dripping gravy onto the table. Gypsy table manners didn't exactly measure up to the standards in castle Candaeln. "But of course, I'd have been dead before the battle had even begun, if it wasn't for you." He was referencing the first skirmish, where his impulsive charge had left him in no man's land and the jaws of death. "I appreciate you looking out for me. Can't wait to return the favour... Well, hopefully I won't have to but... you know." The young lad laughed again, unashamed of making a fool of himself.

He took a chomp of his lamb chop and chewed it for a moment before speaking again. "Unfortunately I missed the griffin being taken down. I ended up with my hands full with Jeremiah's prisoners. I had to get them out of there before they burned to ash along with camp. When I got back, the beast was dead. What happened?"

And also, "I managed to leash the griffin. And tie the chain down. Did it help at all?"

The answer to his last question was dripping with hopefulness. Whether 'yes' or 'no,' Lucas would make no effort to hide his reaction - either great pride or disappointment.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

The sight of each and every rescued prisoner who split off from the Iron Rose column - freedom in hand and opportunity to start anew or return to what they'd been snatched from... the sight of Fionn and Gerard, each and every time, holding up the gargantuan sword of Jeremiah - a symbol of triumph that onlookers would cheer and celebrate...

It all made everything worth it.

The pain and injuries, the danger, the horrific nature of bloody combat, the up-close and personal displays of death... every moment of that awful night was worth these rewards.

Follow orders. Don't die.

He'd managed it. Just barely (in fact, Reon may well have been carrying him through it all, such was his luck) but he had indeed made it through his first mission. On the left flank he rode, mismatched with the dozens of bodies in shining full plate and helms to boot, he might have been mistaken for one of the rescued. Those who observed me in action might mistake me too, he thought with a smile. It was a tired smile. He was exhausted. But happiness filled him. After the battle was over, he'd looked around and saw some familiar figures in the band had made it through alive, including all of Paladin Tyaethe's team. The griffin was amongst the corpses, body still tethered by the chain. After a little tense anticipation, he eventually had visual confirmation on the health and wellbeing of one Sir Gerard Segremors. All was said and done. The Iron Rose's list of injuries was short, and there had been only one casualty. A successful first foray for the new Knight-Captain. Good for her. Good for the Iron Roses. Good for all that is good.

In the city, passing over the moat and through the gate of Candaeln was a treat that Lucas thought might never get old. The knight's eyes drew upward as they entered the courtyard, his expression full of appreciation for such splendour. Once they were dismissed, Lucas went to his room and collapsed on his bed a moment, staring at the ceiling. The moment of solitude and oppressive silence hastily brought back memories of the screams. Of blood coughed into his face as he watched the light in his enemy's eyes disappear. It suddenly occurred to him that, in spite of his exhaustion, sleep may not come so easy.

Each piece of his patchwork armour he removed, looked like armour looted from a corpse. Random pieces of plate and leather, full of knicks, dents, rips and cuts. His heavy leather jerkin was slashed an unnerving amount of times, nevertheless he placed it reverently on the armour dummy, then stepped back and looked at it pridefully. After that, he changed into more casualwear; a white open-throat shirt with some simple black pants and boots.

Not really knowing what to do with himself, only knowing that he needed to be somewhere that was busy enough to distract him, he found himself in the mess hall. After grabbing an excessive amount of food, he sat down at one of the long tables, giving a comradely nod to anyone he made eye contact with. Then, his nose reminded his stomach how bloody hungry he was and he tucked in.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Lucas stood at the gaps of the palisade walls, waving the emancipated innocents urgently past himself. "Come on!" Some of them weren't exactly in the best shape to keep up with a brisk pace, but it was hard not to be impatient, for here he was alone, feeling completely and utterly responsible over one of the Knight-Captain's top priorities. If anything were to go wrong here, it would be on him. "We're almost clear!"

The group funnelled into a line to exit the camp. Lucas knelt down to help a child onto his back, so that their mother (at least, Lucas assumed the woman was her mother) could move quicker. Once clear of the camp borders, Lucas headed to the front and led the group away from camp and back toward the Iron Rose Rear Guard.

Perhaps giving the child a piggy-back wasn't the best idea, Lucas thought as he was hit with repeated spells of double vision. I must have hit my head harder than I thought. The clearing he'd charged across to start the battle seemed so much shorter before. He'd abandoned the battlefield. Paladin Tyaethe had told them to focus on bringing the beast down. She and a few others had held off scores of bandits just so her team could do so. And he'd left without seeing it dead. He wanted to speed up, but some of the injured would not keep up. And truth be told, he wasn't sure he could speed up anyway. Adrenaline was keeping him on his feet, but this little girl felt like she weighed as much as a cow.

Heavy breaths. Slightly staggering steps. But finally; sight of the rear guard. "Help!" was all he could think to say. He wasn't sure how to go about this, but - as always - he didn't think much about it. "Who's in charge!?"

A fairly tall knight emerged from the ranks and came forward, adding urgency to his steps when he started to realise the situation. "Sir Einrich, at your service."

"The prisoners of the Bandit King... as many as I could find," Lucas told him as he dropped down to let the girl off his back. Sir Einrich called for others to take the freed slaves away and get them some care. Lucas received a few 'thank yous' as the group was escorted past and away from him.

"Your name, sir knight?" was the commanding officer.

"Lucas... Sir Lucas Storm," was the reply. It still sounded strange, but there was a note of pride in the exhaustion. He'd actually helped save some lives. Amongst the desires and thoughts of getting back to the battlefield, his mind flashed him a vision of Sir Gerard on the night he'd saved Lucas' life and freedom. "I'm part of Paladin Tyaethe's team. The battle is not yet over."

"Very well," Sir Einrich nodded in understanding. "Good job lad."

And with that, Lucas turned back toward the bandit camp and started running.

When he arrived back in the battle, there wasn't actually much of a battle happening anymore. He could see some bandits, hands up and weaponless. Some of his comrades were no longer fighting, allowing their adversaries a chance to surrender. Lucas advanced further into camp to see what became of the griffin.

The Second Falling of the Big Brother Government - (A Tale by KrystalKleo & Saiyan)

"Yea I did, and I needed something to do while you decided to stop gallivanting across the wasteland..." Isaac waved away the comment, his cocky smile remaining. "...Needed to eat and pay for a place to sleep." She told him softly, shaking her head. "You took your sweet ass time getting here. Any problems for you with our friends?"

He was about to let her know that the raiders had been taken care of, but was interrupted when the barman walked in and took control of the conversation. Zara looked apologetic while Isaac merely observed, sharing his gaze between the two, as the man gave her a telling off and she explained her actions. By the end of their exchange, the wasteland hero was getting bored and began to inspect his fingernails.

After hearing her reply, the barman had more to say. "Well, if you can't take simple banter then I'm afraid you won't last long here. The Three Legged Dog isn't exactly 'up-market.' And neither are it's patrons." He looked at Isaac, who nodded in agreement, then turned back to Zara. "I'll give you a moment to decide whether you'll be continuing with your duties. Or I can pay you for your hours given and we can leave it at that. I have customers."

And with that, he went back out front. Isaac watched him go, then turned his attention back to Zara.

"It's not like you need this job, anyway," he offered. "I mean; you'll probably be wanting to move on soon right... get further away from The Diamond Backs? We can leave tomorrow and head deeper into New York. There's a place called Liberty Point. It's about as safe as this place, and further to the west. I know a few people, over that way. Could get you a real job and a place of your own... I think."

It was a bit presumptuous of him, to assume that his Big Sis, Katie Wensdale who just vouch for a random wastelander on Isaac's behalf. But even if she turned him down - which was unlikely - the time spent travelling and the temporary place to stay would be enough time to teach this girl how to manage herself out here.

He looked her up and down as he thought about it.

She was already feisty enough - and fierce when protecting herself - that much had been proven. She wouldn't need much more than a good opportunity to be all set in the unforgiving wasteland of New York.

"Took me a few hours, but I lost the raiders up north," he suddenly said, remembering her question. "Then I went for a quick nap and kinda sorta fell asleep for real, ha." He stood up straight and ran a hand through his messy. blonde hair. "I thought I'd be here by noon, but them's the breaks."

The Second Falling of the Big Brother Government - (A Tale by KrystalKleo & Saiyan)

Isaac stopped a couple of steps inside of the tavern, a habitual smirk on his face as scanned the taproom. Evening business had just begun and place was filling up. Tables were smattered with chattering patrons, a piano player was going at it in the corner, setting the ambience. It was pretty nice. Isaac leaned aside as another patron entered the establishment and passed him. At first he didn't see Zara at the table in front of him, with all the distractions around, but then he remembered what she was wearing when they were together. And so, his blue eyes were drawn back to the cute ass at one of the central tables in the room, and his gaze followed her body up to her brown hair.

Bingo, he thought to himself, opening his mouth to speak. "Z-"

When the man a the table smacked her on the ass, Isaac paused, his eyebrow shooting up. Fortune favours the bold, they say. Isaac shifted his weight onto his back foot and folded his arms. This could go one of three ways: Either she could A) shrug it off, finish her cleaning duty and move along. Most female tavern staff would probably take this option, in his experience. Or she could B) Take the dirty sonova-bitch up on his offer. Make them sweet caps. No shame in that.

And then there was C).....

Isaac's eyebrows were once again raised as he watched Zara spin around and grab the man by the throat. The sound of chairs scraping as people reacted in shock, filled the room. Even the piano player stopped his tune. Isaac hadn't been in here 2 minutes and he was already having a blast.

"If you ever so much as touch another woman like that again... So help me sanity.. I will make sure you never, ever enjoy the feeling of a woman riding it again."

After she shoved him back in his chair, he gasped to catch his breath, then struggled to his feet. "You crazy bitch, a man pays you compliment and you have the nerve to put your filthy paws on him!?" he was not happy, and drew his gun.

He didn't point the gun at Zara, but all the same; Isaac decided he'd played spectator for long enough and walked forward to intervene, drawing his gun and holding it beside his head as he moved between them. "You might wanna put that pea-shooter away sir. I promise you, you do not want this." The man looked at the massive pistol of Isaac, who grinned. "Yup. Mine's bigger."

The loud click-clack of a shotgun loading got everyone's attention.

Isaac looked and it was the bar owner, behind the counter, pointing his shotgun their way. "And mine's the biggest. Now put your guns away before I fucking blow you all to hell." Isaac and the red faced customer complied, the the barman looked at Zara. "You. In the back. Now."

"Ummm, I'm with her," Isaac told him, then gave a helpless shrug.

The barman narrowed his eyes, thought for a second, then flicked his head pointedly at the backroom door. Isaac grinned and followed Zara into the back.

"So, you found your way to Grasscroft," Isaac greeted her as they got into the back. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms. "New job too? Damn girl, you don't laze around."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Amidst the volume of noise, he thought he heard his name. It was so hard now he was mid-fall with the wind in his ears. However, what was easy to notice, was the sudden lightness of his body. So accustomed to managing his own weight in the air, it was unmistakable.

A spell. It had to be.

Lucas landed on the back of the griffin with both a comfortable accuracy and a comfortable impact. The heavier Sir Fleuri landed a split-second earlier. The two had earned a moment of surprise in their aerial ambush - a moment to steady themselves for a wild ride ahead. The griffin began bucking and thrashing around, trying to dislodge them. It's massive wings flapping might've been doing more to thwart Fleuri, who was in front, but for Lucas they were only a huge distraction. With his excellent balance, Lucas adjusted his weight this way and that, riding the storm, until it finally calmed.

The calming was so instantaneous, there must've been a reason. But Lucas didn't think on it overlong. He only sensed his chance to rise up onto his feet and started gathering up the length of the chain, until it was only just long enough to go around the griffin's mid-section. Then it started moving again, just as Lucas began to start swinging, whirling the chain above his head, like a lasso. Whirling such a steel chain was hardly easy, and it's first rotation was close whacking Fleuri in the head. Fortunately it was high enough to clear him.

One step, the griffin took. Lucas maintained his balance, looked over the shoulders of Fleuri at the head of the griffin, and followed it's focus to it's new target. It was Sir Lein - the Hundi archer was not the most difficult to recognize. The chain picked up speed on as it progressed it's 2nd rotation.

Two steps, the griffin took. Wobbling but righting himself again, Lucas realised he had to act quickly. With a roar, he lashed the chain down. It whipped down... around, under... and back up...

The griffin leapt into the air just as Lucas caught the chain's end. Had he not caught it, he would've been thrown off the griffin's back, but now he had makeshift reigns to hold him fast in position as the griffin sailed up into the air. For a brief moment, Lucas had a view of the slowly burning campsite. The height the griffin had leapt, lowered the volume of battle just a little. At the zenith of the beast's arc, Lucas used the drop in g-force to snap a set of manacles from the end of the chain onto the length of it. As he let go of the end, the chain pulled tight to create a noose, tight around the griffin's body, the pulling force keeping it firmly locked in place.

Here we go, was the single thought as the griffin began to fall just as quickly as it had risen.

With just one single, steel strand to hold him in place, Lucas knew whatever happened, the landing was going to be rough. One hand held the chain fast as he plummeted to the ground, feet firmly on the broad back of the beast. Knees bent slightly, muscles coiled like springs, ready for the perfect moment to explode. His free hand threw off the bandoleer of steel around him, and just as the mythical beast hit the ground, Lucas dove off to it's left side.

His grip loosened, the chain ran through his hand fast and furiously. He flew off the griffin's back and hit the ground - feet first taking a painful portion of the impact - rolling several yards across the dirt before crashing into the steel cages nearby. "Ugh!!!"

He didn't know what hurt more. Was it his shoulders? His back? His legs? All muscles and bones felt like they were pounding with pain. His skull felt like a church bell that'd just been rang. All he could he hear was a constant single-tone buzz through his head. All he could feel was a broken body's agony.

Lucas lay hurt, a little away from the griffin, Fleuri and Lein. Out of sight and out of mind, hopefully. Fortunately, the chain had lashed through the air, the right way to land near him. He reached out groggily toward it - eyes rolling to the back of his head a moment - but it wasn't close enough. He'd have to move. But he couldn't.

Move!

One limb willed to movement at a time, Lucas got on all fours. He was not so out of it that he didn't know what he'd crashed against. Steel. Heavy steel. There was a perfect tether point right behind him. He crawled to the chain, his shoulder in so much pain that he face-planted into the dirt as he grabbed the chain. Another burst of willpower and he pressed up from the floor, then struggled to his feet, almost keeling over as he swayed back towards the steel cages with his griffin leash. In agonizing wrenching motions, he pulled the chain through the steel bars.

Wrap. Pull. Wrap. Under. Over...

He tied the special knot he'd been taught for when it was his turn to help put up the circus tent pavilion. He'd done it a fair few times. Enough that he could manage it under such duress. Reon, it wasn't even six months ago that he'd last done it. If the griffin had stayed close enough, for long enough, he would manage it.

As his vision slowly sharpened and the loud buzz in his head quietened, his surroundings became clear.

"Help us!"

"You there, let us out of here!"

Lucas blinked a few times, trying to fully regain himself, and saw that the cages he'd tethered the griffin to, were full of prisoners. He stumbled backwards a couple of steps to view them - their pleading eyes, their crying voices. Then the awareness of the griffin behind him became his reality. The rising temperature, the burning tents in the background. More fire than before. And more still to come, no doubt. He had to get them out of here. There was no waiting for the battle to be over. It had to be now!

He stumbled over to the cage doors, saw the padlocks, then looked around for something heavy. To add to his luck, there were corpses nearby - dead bandits with arrows sticking out of their faces (compliments of Cecil and Lein, no doubt.) Lucas raked up a dead bandit's longsword, went over to his chain knot, then planted the sword right through it, to create a final lock that would keep the griffin here, in place, to be killed. He took up the next dead bandit's weapon next: A battle axe.

Lucas brought the two handed axe around, up and down on the first padlock. And then again. The padlock smashed apart. He moved to the next cage door and attacked it's lock... "Argh!!!" ...until he'd managed to smash that too. The slide-bolt doors were opened and all of the prisoners came out, some rushing, some tottering, others limping.

"Stay together!" Lucas shouted to be heard above the din. He did his best to corral them as he looked about for the safest passage through the camp - through the fiery battlefield. They were practically in the centre of it all, and there was no shorter route to choose. East was certainly out of the question, for the giant tree trunk, ever burned and ever barred the way. "This way!"

And so Lucas, with all the prisoners from the cages, tried to move west-ish, through the burning camp and to freedom. The young knight put himself between the prisoners and the griffin. The beast was busy dealing with Sir Fleuri and Sir Lein, but Lucas would rather be the first to take a hit, if the creature managed to turn about and see them.

The path was not clear, but it was there. Past the griffin, over the corpse-strewn, ember-strewn ground, past Paladin Tyaethe's team and out to safety.............

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"Watch your damned flanks, boy!" "!!!" "Next time, I'll let you die if the griffin doesn't have you first!"

Lucas had turned about to see Renar fighting one of Jeremiah's elites. The reprimands and the view, together, told the story that he'd just had his ass saved. Again. In the back of his mind, he took on board the criticism and warning, but at the forefront of his thoughts was helping the orc-slayer in return. His legs charged back along the route of the trailing steel chain, it's clinking sounds minute amidst the chaotic cacophony of violence, until he was past the steel's end and the snake-like trail began to take form once more. It wasn't that Renar needed the help, exactly. The man was as accomplished as they come - beyond these lawless rebels, for sure. But it was something to have his comrade quickly back in the battle elsewhere, wherever he might be needed (who knew in this chaos, not Lucas.) And then there was the feeling that he absolutely had to at least attempt to repay the favour. First Fleuri had saved his life in the previous skirmish, and now Ren-

Speaking of Fleuri...

When the darkness of night contrasts with raging fires of hearths, trees and magic, a person's visual perception may not be at it's highest. This goes especially for young men who lack experience of the madness of battle, on top of all that. And thus, fleet-footed knights dressed head to toe in black armour, tend to come seemingly out of nowhere.

Lucas skidded to a halt - sword still raised and poised to strike - his heart jolting in his surprise as the massive sword of Sir Fleuri swept into vision (followed by the knight himself) and damn-near cut the elite bandit's legs off. "Reon," Lucas swore under his breath, feeling like if he'd not been slowed down by the weight of the chain, he might've lost his own bloody leg!

"Judging by that chain, I take it you have a plan to deal with the griffin."

"I... well..." Lucas turned briefly back to toward the position of the griffin. It was still engaged with Serenity. Then his eyes went to the tower, before his attention was brought back to Sir Fleuri, who's tone and demeanour suggested that he didn't have time for the stuttering young knight. And who could blame him.

"I have an plan of my own. If I can get on its back and cover its eyes, that ought to greatly hinder its ability to fight or fly."

"Yes," was the response of approval. With the watchtower in mind, his own mental cogs were turning. Pity that they were the cogs of an inexperienced maniac. "Yes. And I can lash this chain around it's body so we might tether it the ground and prevent it's escape." He looked about Fleuri's person to see the knight had nothing yet to cover it's eyes with. "I'll get into position, to be ready to mount it, when you are. The watchtower," he said, pointing behind himself. "I'll drop from there. As soon as you make your move, I'll make mine. Hopefully we should ambush it in unison."

He forgot to even wait for an affirmative, nor assuring the knight that he was quite capable of sticking such a landing without hurting him. In his excitement, he just rushed off, chain trailing behind him.

The heat seemed to intensify as Lucas approached his target. Perhaps it was Katerina's spells magical residue. Maybe running with the heavy chain was just taking it's toll. Either way, the boy was sweating. He ran through a scorched battlefield, avoiding the many pocket's of fighting. It seemed that the Iron Rose knights were winning the overall battle. Still no sign of Captain Fanilly. Smoke plumed and tiny embers danced through the air. Bloody but not beaten, Lucas ran on.

He gave the griffin a decently wide berth as he closed in on the adjacent watchtower. Within sight of the ladder, he was suddenly jerked to a complete halt by the chain. He fell over, then felt the chain being pulled on. Looking back, he saw a half dead bandit staring at him, helmetless, burns and boils covering every inch of his face. A survivor from the destructive magic earlier. The sorry state of a man had managed to grasp the trailing chain and tried to use it to pull himself free of some burned and collapsed supply crates. Lucas was in a rush, he didn't know how long he'd have before Fleuri was ready to go, so he scrambled to his feet, and wrenched the chain from the dying man's grasp. Once it was free and clear, he hit the ladder and started climbing.

He heard the tower guard, shouting his head off, well before he'd gotten to the top. The bandit was trying to call reinforcements to the relevant quarters of the field, while firing a few crossbow bolts off too. In his loudness, he failed to hear his doom rising up behind him. He only knew it had come when a blade burst from his chest.

Lucas surveyed the battlefield, not daring to spare a moment to look over the felled tree and search out Captain Fanilly and her team. He could only hope that they were doing okay. He didn't want to miss his queue on the plan, he'd never forgive himself if his failure to live up to his half, here, got a better knight killed. The griffin was right below him, but the black-armoured knight was much more difficult to track down. It took some time but when Fleuri became visible, it seemed he was ready to go. Lucas carefully lowered the end of the chain down the side of the tower, then climbed over the edge and attempted to climb down the side, as slowly as required to stop the chain from making noise. Once he was as low to the griffin as possible, he hung there, easily, from one hand, feet planted against the tower supports, as if he was simply stuck to the side of the thing. He would attempt to spring from the tower and land on the griffin, right beside Fleuri, as the older knight mounted. A more-than risky manoeuvre but he'd done similar things with horses, back in his circus days, before he was a full-time main eventer. It wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility, even if the circumstances (and the bloody beast in question!) were different.

He was primed, waiting for Sir Fleuri to make his move.

And when he did, Lucas let go and swooped down on the griffin, as if giving it a taste of it's own medicine.

The firelight flashed across the face of the young knight, as he fell through the air, to light up wide eyes and a teethy open-mouth grin.