Savo

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

Einar

Kingdom of Reynes || Outskirts of Galehaut || Morning

"It means you're up early of course~!" His toothy grin was larger than Bel's horse as he chuckled heartily as he winked, placing one hand on his hip while snapping and pointing at her with his other. With that all said and done, he dropped the arm like a sack of gold as it flopped to the side, Einar tilting his head as he sighed, "Glad to see you didn't get burnt to a crisp." His smile was a little more subdued as he looked down at the girl, observing and surveying her face. She was still easy to read, and to him, she was more worn than the rag of a maid; didn't help that he swore that there were bags starting to form under her eyes. "What is she troubled by," he mused before noticing her look pass him, prompting him to break his gaze and take a gander. At first, Einarwasn't exactly able to tell what she was staring at as slews of civilians an soldiers occupied his vision. It was only after he turned back when she saw her face slightly brighten and identified it for him and that's when he finally saw him - a young man, possibly a scout or a unit of the cavalry, was returning to camp on an ebony horse. He looked back to the girl who explained the situation before looking at him, non-verbally inviting him along with her. The mercenary merely responded with a nod and a smile, following behind the girl along as they weaved through civilians and soldiers alike. While keeping close to her, he squinted and frowned a tinge, pursing his lips as he analyzed the young man before blinking and shaking his head. Wasn't going to do much of that from afar. Eventually the two arrived upon the fringe of the camp, intercepting the young man as Bel greeted the man with a wave, whilst Einar replied with his own slight wave. Upon approach, he proceeded to lavish the girl with flattery before cutting to the chase. All in all, he kept silent, watching this little interaction transpire before she went onto introducing the two of them. Einar followed up with a nod, "Charmed I'm sure," before the other young man went into his own introductions. Kyran, huh? He was quite the chatty fellow as he went on to praising Bel before seguing into chatting about one of the dispatches. "Hm, a date? I knew my looks were that good but we hardly know each other," he lightly shrugged and chuckled, "though, I don't think three is a date, let alone seven." Einar pointed at Kyran, "You, Bel, a mage named William, Branna and her dragon of all things, some guy or gal named Trace, myself, and that beautiful exotic dancer we saw the other day, Sumire," he looked back over to Bel and waggled his finger, "I... think its the dancer. I mean, the name certainly sounds and looks as exotic as her."

_________________________ Status: Winning friends, influencing allies Information Class Page Inventory Iron Sword [3/3] Vulnerary [3/3] Experience 15/85 Stats END: D STR: D MAG: C DEX: C SPD: D DEF: E RES: E LCK: E Action N/A Supporting Bel (@Yankee) Kyran (@CriticalHit)

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

Einar

Kingdom of Reynes || Outskirts of Galehaut || Morning

Shnk. Shnk. Shhhhnnnk. Einar whistled, the sound of his whetstone grinding against the edge of his blade, eyes locked on his handiwork as he continued this for a couple of minutes. Despite his fixation on his current task, he always kept a keen eye when he was scouring over the sizeable encampment they set up. He peered up for a second, briefly watching as three children hopped over the small, charred fire-pit he had put out before heading to sleep. He didn't bother to scold or reprimand them for playing around this place, but he looked at them with a puzzling curiosity, eyes drifting every couple of seconds whenever they shouted or giggled, resulting in him tearing his eyes away from his current task. Different. That was the word as he pondered on the conversation he had with Bel a week ago, about having a relatively dull and average life, "Obviously hiding something, although..." Einar's thoughts went back to an average life, something he always tended to ponder about after a long journey, the what ifs and what nots, before musing about his own past. He stopped sharpening his blade, instead leaning it against him as he stared glassy eyed into nil, through the children, through the horses, through the men who were chattering about the current predicament. "Can't help but wonder if I was a farmboy, or maybe something grandeur like a Prince from a foreign land! Heh, that would be a treat." He sniggered, snapping himself out of his reverie before going back to work, shnk. Shnk. Shhhhnnnk. As much as he wanted to drift in dreams, or at least seek a link to his bloodline, part of him did doubt he would find it here, but yet there was always a small chance. However, that would have to wait, as he was assigned some jobs, three in fact!... though the third was more of his own volition and curiosity. Einar stopped, tossing the stone back into his tent with the rest of his items before holding the sword up, carefully examining it for any signs of cracking, rusting, or dulling. His nose was but a mere centimeter away from the blade as he went from tip to hilt, like a fine connoisseur of weapons. Smiling widely he held the blade up high and gave it a brief twirl before holstering it with a deft SHNK on his scabbard and sighed with a confident smirk. "Time to get to wo-" His stomach growled, his abdomen mimicking a ravenous beast, causing those kids from before to shriek and run off into the encampment, getting lost in the forest of tents, horses, and people. "-rrsssome breakfast. Right, that," he winced blushing slightly as he cleared his throat and looked around, praying no one saw that before snapping his fingers and resumed his confidant bravado with a toothy grin and began walking. He passed on by different people, some bartering, others mingling, arguing, and interacting, though he didn't give them the time of day as he was busy organizing his own schedule, "I'm going with some people called Thom, William, couple others, the foreigner, and B-" Speaking of the devil herself, Einar broke off that thought the moment he caught a glimpse of a familiar pink hue amidst the clutter and rabble, moving swiftly as he held up a hand, waving at the little lady, "Greetings Bel, you're up quite early! That can only mean one thing," he boldly stated with a chipper voice, keeping that same affable appearance he had the first time he encountered her. In another time, in another place One week ago... Einar stood there, resting by the tavern door as he observed the flock of people, rubbing his chin and furrowing his brows as he examined those who stood out to him as if they were a farmers prized cattle. Of course, he did pick out a few outstanding individuals to him, wryly smiling at each of the prospects. After waiting there for a couple of seconds, he grunted and pushed himself off the side of the tavern, whistling as he flowed with the crowd. His eyes darted about, continuing to survey each and every member, whether they were departing or traveling from Garleton, with most being of the latter. For the most part, he kept to himself, displaying a happy-go-lucky facade as he walked with a beat in his step, though leaning away from people any time he suspected that he was being targeted by someone to pickpocket. The young man didn't bother shooting nasty glares or anything and kept to himself, always watching, even extending into when he entered the city, with the potential targets to swindle out of some gold through a stacked game increasing. As he entered, he struck up a conversation with what looked to be a couple of travelers, a couple of commoners from the looks of it with basic infantry weapon and barely a scrap of armor. While he chattered about, he kept his eyes drifting, resulting in a few interesting characters, such as a lovely lady with pink hair and an exotic dress. His gaze, caused the other two to divert their attention, before being transfixed on the girl, whispering to themselves about trifling matters. However, Einar on the other hand was profiling her, "Early twenties, looks like a foreigner, probably a noble or a performer of some sort, full of herself..." Her body language gave most of it away to him, but what was more fascinating was observing the other two accompanying her. The minstrel was definitely from around here, as his clothes were Lothian in design, but the darker-skinned male that he couldn't get a complete read on, outside of guessing he possibly hailed from Themyscira. Outside of that all was his posture, which told Einar everything he needed to know not only about his occupation, but the relation to the girl. "Damn, well there goes that idea." Einar would continue to scan over the masses, even after his "companions" left him to gather with the rest of the gathering mob of people, looking to watch this lass perform. "Interesting," he murmured to no one in particular. While he did watch the show, the main thing he noted was that, like her garments and physical features, the way she danced was completely different than dancers from Zion or Lyonesse. He would, at the very least, keep an eye on her and the much younger individual as well that was protecting her. The mercenary's eyes swayed to the beat as he began sifting through the crowds, picking more and more people out, though he did always notice a few stragglers as well, such as that lady on the sidelines dressed in a black garb and a large cone hat. While she did look quite pretty, he also brushed her off as a potential target, figuring that she would most likely see through his ruse quite quickly. "Hmm?" Out of the corner of his eye, Einar saw her, the perfect target. Her clothing, while modest was somewhat eloquent; a little bit beaten, but nevertheless had a lavish design to it all. Furthermore, the way she ambled around and her hold body language as she lead her steed made her look completely green to Einar! There was no way she had fought before, let alone travel anywhere, especially since she left her horse behind, causing the mercenary to make mental gymnastics figuring out her thought process for that sort of action. Clearing his throat and putting on a broad, affable smile that he was certain enough could warm the lass, he strolled through the crowd, keeping a keen eye on the shorter girl all while pretending to be curious in witnessing more and more of the foreigngirl's performance, moving through the crowd before crashing into the girl of the hour. "Bingo~." Grunting and feigning a wince, he took a small step back, bumping into another bystander before taking another step forward and looked at the pink haired girl. Brushing his chest off, he sighed for a second before looking at the pink-haired lass who recoiled and began rubbing her face, but not after apologizing. "Ah, sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention, aha," he chuckled, beaming brightly at the shorter lass as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and placed the other on his hip. Looking over the crowds at the other girl in the midst of it all, he looked back to the other who was still collecting her bearings. "Was jus' tryin' to get a better view of her dancing," he rolled his head and and jabbed a thumb at the dancer as he idly glanced in her direction, "her style is a lot different than the way Lyonesse and Zion dancers move, but it is nevertheless mesmerizing, wouldn't you agree?" Bel forced her eyes not to water from the impact as she looked up at the young man. Young, certainly, but not much older than herself she guessed. Thankfully, the man didn't seem upset by their collision. "No, no, it was my mistake. I was rushing, I should have watched where I was going," she said. She studied him more as he spoke, and when he mentioned the other countries she was assured that he was indeed a mercenary, and apparently well traveled. She smiled wearily at him, and nodded. After just a moment, she shook her head instead. "I was trying to get a look as well. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see her performance..." she sighed, crossing her arms in front of her. "I find dancers very inspiring and was hoping to watch, but..." she trailed off, her gaze sinking to the ground as she wondered: why was she even talking to his man? She should be getting back to Sunbeam now that she'd missed the performance. No, that would be rude of me. I did bump into him and... her eyes flitted back up to the smiling man. He seems nice enough. "You seem to know some about foreign dancers. Do you hail from the Empire?" she asked. She had already met one friendly and capable man on her travels, perhaps this apparent mercenary might share some insight with her as well? Einar looked over the girl, tilting his head as he raised an eyebrow, "Sorry, but I'm not from the Lothian Empire lass," despite the seemingly apologetic answer, he still remained upbeat before briskly raising the hand from his neck and shrugging nonchalantly. "Nor do I hail from any other nation, really," he threw his other hand up and lightly shook his head before wryly smirking, "unless you count the roads as one. After all, they are a part of a destination." "I'm Einar by the way," he chuckled at what he considered to be a terrible pun, still ever so smiling as he looked at the girl and extended a hand out to her. Bel stared at the man's smirking face for several moments. Did he just... did he just make a pun? If it weren't for his simple, informal way of speaking and the sword at his hip, she might have thought he was a traveling jester attempting to make a fool out of her. And did he really call her lass? Bel was still stricken by the pun to be properly annoyed by his words, and besides - she had shed her noble persona in pursuit of becoming a soldier. She shouldn't get herself worked up over things like this. "Oh, um, yes," she stammered, coming to her sense and giving the man - Einar, apparently - a small smile. She took his hand. "Nice to meet you, Einar. My name is Bel. I'm from the Empire myself, so forgive my presumptions." She discreetly gave Einar another once over, reappraising him. He seemed to be in a good mood, it was like a smile was ever present on his face. Although he seemed silly, his posture was impeccable. It was a form she'd seen on many an imperial guard even when they were on break. The make of someone skilled with the blade. "Pleasure t'meetcha and it's fine, no harm in asking questions, can’t learn anything if y’don’t," upon taking her hand, gave her a firm shake before letting go and placing his hand back on the side of his hip. He paused for a second, giving her one more look over, taking note of her weapon of choice before eyeing the slowly dispersing crowd. Some went back to their daily lives, mingling either about the dancer or other miscellaneous topics. Taking a quick glimpse to the side, looking at the direction of the stronghold before returning his open gaze to the little lady. ”Anyways, you mentioned that you’re from the Empire… which means you’re here t’join Alnard’s cause, aye?” Bel followed Einar's gaze back to the crowd, and the reminder that she had missed the dancer's performance dampened her mood yet again. There was a woman's shout from the general area the dancer was in, but nothing seemed dangerous. Soon enough the people had moved on. Her eyes lingered, unseeing, before Einar's question brought her attention back to him. "Prince Alnard," she corrected him. Although she would prefer people to use his full noble title, she doubted that Prince Alnard himself would like to be addressed as that. Still, Alnard was not only one of the Imperial Princes of this nation, but he was also her cousin in one way or another - she would see to it that he was respected. Her correction wasn't bitter though, if Einar was not from the Empire she could forgive a mistake like that once or twice. "Yes, I've come from the capitol to join up with his forces... I'm... a little inexperienced though," she said, which was a massive understatement. Just days into her trip she'd met that hunter and nearly shot him while practicing her aim while on horseback. "But! I'm devoted to the cause! I think any help they can get is good, right?" Her voice trailed off toward the end. She was indeed devoted to seeing peace come to the Lothian Empire, but she didn't want to get in the way. "They are accepting even unskilled men who wish to serve, so I thought I would... oh, well, the point is I'm here," she sighed and crossed her arms. "I take it you are a mercenary looking to be hired? You're awfully friendly, different from other mercenaries I've run into." Though it wasn't many, still two friendly folk seemed a low number. "Aye, though I've already signed on four or five days ago, heard the pay was pretty sustainable," Einar interlocked his two hands and stretched them high towards the sun, both beaming as blindingly as ever, "also, you've probably ran into merc's while they were on the job or somethin'; usually don't like bein' distracted when working." Letting both his hands fall back down to both of his sides with a silent plop. "Also, you shouldn't worry about your inexperience, everyone is wet behind the ears at some point in their life," he gave a hearty chuckle before snapping his fingers to the side and jabbing a thumb to his chest, "I might be a damn great swordsman, but I wouldn't be half the man I was today without my dad, so don't sweat it... at least for right now." After his words of encouragement, Einar pivoted around and gestured in the direction of the stronghold, "Anyways, how 'bout we walk, talk, and go getcha' signed up? After all, you're here to join his army after all, not jabber all day with yours truly," he pressed his other hand flat against his chest, as if to either emphasize his words or add a bit of dramatic flair to an action so mundane. Bel listened as Einar spoke, nodding along as he talked about mercenaries and his father. He seemed relaxed, and had certainly proved himself friendly, she had no inkling of any plan or scheme he may have had in mind before running into her. "Oh, yes, let's!" She replied with a smile. Einar's words had worked to cheer her back up. Feeling a little better now, she motioned with her hand for Einar to follow her as she walked back to the edge of the plaza. With the dancer's performance over and most people having moved on, it was a much easier walk. "Thank you, Einar. You've made me feel better about all this. I just have to collect my horse," she explained, and as they moved the large animal came into view soon enough. He was grazing on the plants near the plaza, chewing up someone's flower bed. Bel let out a short whistler to get the horse's attention and he lifted his head up to look at the pair. His coat was well maintained, smooth and dappled gray. His mane was similarly kempt, and flowed in waves. A pink ribbon was tied around the base of his tail. Despite his majestic appearance, the animal seemed to have a nasty look in it's eye as it stared down the unfamiliar person with Bel. "Are you close with your father?" She asked the mercenary. She had always liked hearing what commoner families were like. "My father eh," he uttered as he traversed through the plaza; he still had his smile, but instead of being a blindingly large one, it transitioned to a much smaller, softer smile as he recalled a few of the fond memories he had with the older man, remembering the smile that only a proud father could have. "Well, he's a pretty great man I must say, probably old enough to be your Grandfather at this ah-," just as he was pointing his finger at Bel, he caught the dappled horse out of the corner of his eye lunging forward, attempting to bite his finger. Einar, being a tad swifter, pulled his hand up, causing the horse to bite at nothing but thin air, eliciting a slight frown and one of his eyebrows to rise, "-ge. Kind, caring, though a bit strict, taciturn, and even somber at times. I can remember one of the times he indulged me in a play fight when I was pretty young... and he had a horse like yours, though more robust, experienced, and less prone to try and tear my finger off when pointing." He teased at the horse with a larger than life grin, only to swear that the animal was glaring daggers at him as he felt its hot snort on his face. "What about you Bel? What're your parents like?" Bel listened as Einar spoke about his father, taking note the change in his smile. His bright toothy grin from earlier had certainly made him look friendly, but the smaller warm smile he now wore seemed to fit him much better. It made him look handsome, even. The young noble had a mind to tell him he should tone down his flashy smiles in the future when Sunbeam lunged at him. "Sunbeam!" she gasped, pushing the horse's large face away from the mercenary. "Sorry, he's... he's a grumpy steed, but he usually doesn't bite," Bel said, stressing the last two words as she fixed the horse with a stern look. She would chastise him later. As strange as it may be to berate a horse out loud, she found talking to him to be comforting for her, even before she'd left home. "It was nice to hear about your father, he sounds like a good man," she told Einar once Sunbeam had huffed and backed off. It never even occurred to Bel that perhaps Sunbeam had sensed something in the man that made him react like that. "My parents are..." she hesitated, wondering what exactly she should say. They were wealthy, powerful nobles that enjoyed their position in life and had tried hard to keep their daughter safe and home to enjoy it with them. Yet here I am... she thought. "They are nice," she said, and didn't expand at all. She supposed it was true, as far as noble families went they were pretty nice. They didn't push her into anything she didn't want to do, though that may have just because she was their only daughter - not a son. "Normal parents." She finished. It wasn't that she didn't love her parents, but as long as she was keeping a lid on her identity she would prefer to not talk about them, and that was evident in her clipped words. She took Sunbeam's reins and gave Einar a quick smile. "Let's get over to the registry. Would you lead the way, if you don't mind?" Einar raised his eyebrow for a split second, giving Bel a quick sideways glance with his smile unnoticeably wavering for a second before his facial features returned to the same affable characteristics as before. "Must of been a relatively dull life before coming here, hunters or farmers I'm guessing," he mused out loud, feigning ignorance as he tapped at his chin before waving his hand, "ah never mind that, as you said, what matters is you're here now." With that said and done, they walked down the towns paths, Einar decided not to point his finger in Sunbeams direction again, instead snapping and pointing down the path before weaving and waving his arms, "the path up here turns and weaves a bit, but we should be able to make it to the keep in a few minutes to get you signed up." "Hm," after he finished describing it all, he dropped his arm back to his side and was a little silent in the meantime, looking at the chastised horse as it turned its head to look briefly at him again before looking back to its owner. "I'm guessing your experience lies in handling horses as opposed to bows?" Dull indeed, Bel thought as she followed the young mercenary. It had been a life of learning, that she had very much enjoyed, but there wasn't much more to it. Studies, games, idly chatter at a meal then bed. The times when she got outside to practice riding was always her favorite pastime. And to think it would come in handy in such a way... As the two moved through the streets, she kept a close eye on Sunbeam so that he wouldn't assault anyone else, and hopefully not Einar again. The horse was strong of will, but maybe Bel's nerves were getting to him as they got closer and closer to the recruitment area. It wasn't as crowded as the plaza, but there was still a great amount of people looking to enlist. This gave the young noble some mixed feelings. She was happy to see so many people - whether they be citizens or mercenaries - looking to help the Empire in this trying time... but with so many people, did they really need her? Ugh! Bel physically shook her head to clear her mind and realized Einar had stopped talking for a moment. She'd gotten kind of used to his voice pointing things out as they traveled the short distance. "I am good with a bow!" she said quickly, but she realized it sounded like empty words and she could feel her face heat up slightly. "Well, you're right in that I have more experience riding. Calming and caring for horses is just as important as learning to guide them while you're riding them, and I like to think I'm pretty good at it. However, I've also trained a lot in archery. I am confident in my ability to hit a target." She neglected to mention that she was much better at hitting a stationary target, as the art of bowmanship she'd learned was for recreation, but she decided Einar probably didn't need to know that. She really wanted to avoid embarrassing herself any further today. "Feel free to watch when I demonstrate to the recruiters!" she said, trying to muster as much confidence as possible and smiling at Einar. "But~ it's always nice to have options. Maybe you could give me some pointers about handling a sword?" "Hmhmm, I wouldn't mind teaching you a bit and giving you some pointers, as my skills are second to none after all," he asserted boastfully with a mischievous, toothy grin, chuckling as he gazed over the little lady, "but only if you can show me how good you are with your bow.” He winked, placing a hand on his hip as he playfully ribbed the greenhorn, before waving her off. "Go on, don't wanna keep em' waiting."

_________________________ Status: Pretty good shape Information Class Page Inventory Iron Sword [3/3] Vulnerary [3/3] Experience 55/55 Stats END: D STR: D MAG: C DEX: C SPD: D DEF: E RES: E LCK: E Action N/A Supporting Bel (@Yankee)

The Promised Children : Eat, or Be Eaten

Nine

Berlin, Germany || ??? || January 24, 1:15

"Understood" he yawned out, groaning and stretching his limbs, as if he were a cat sunbathing before standing up. He was constantly absorbing the information as he took a few steps forward before sitting back down, this time onto the floor. Slowly, steadily, Nine began to recline onto the floor, before he was lying on his back, still staring into not only the inky nothingness, but the same vivid collections of his victims consciousness. While he did figure out how to maintain both a state of being asleep and awakened a while back, it took more energy than needed to do so, making it more than a waste of time, "Close enough... I guess." As he sat there, disconnecting and reconnecting each thin neuron strip, having a complete map of the area built less than fourteen minutes ago, with the rest of the time dedicated to analyzing different routes, to utilized, specimens that could act as pawns, etc. While he was busy running probable scenarios through his head, he suddenly opened his mouth and began speaking in a tone of voice that was foreign to his handler. "Make sure that the shipment paperwork gets done by the end of the month. Less than a week Theodore, that's all you have, and if you don't get it done- your weapons will be dispersed among the people of Germany and that is all," instead of that same flat pitch, Nine spoke with a very feminine voice, articulating every syllable, mimicking a particular accent and displeased tone of voice. "Y-yes ma'am. Though, I am confused why the Americans wish for this technology anyways- I understand they plan to begin assisting the Russians soon, but don't they have their own weapons they are hoarding for themselves?" "You know how Americans are. They'll steal ideas from whoever they can." And with that said and done, his mouth shut as no more words were spoken from the duo. If anything else were to be said, he would extract and deliver it to his handler without even blinking an eye or yawning. This was the only time he ever had any emotion in his voice, but it was at the behest of borrowing those from others. But now, the true mission began. With all this information he had at his disposal, he set his plan into motion, sending impulse after impulse through his neurons, straight to each and every specimen he was manipulating. All would obey his orders, all would obey his commands. ... ... ... "... she's dead. I'll deposit her in one of the nearby buildings for retrieval." And just like that, it was over in an instant. There was no fanfare, no dramatic tension that lingered in the air for a few seconds, it was over and everything was just as still as her unmoving body. The other specimen occupying the same space were no more comparable to lifeless dolls, making them go through the motions just as he made instructed the Chancellor to forcibly grab her own neck and twist it until it snapped like a twig. Elimination was a minute part of this operation, with the major portion involving where to deliver and store the body. Thankfully though, Nine could still manipulate her vitals and take control of the deceased body. This would be more than enough to fool anyone into believe she was still alive. While this seemed insane, especially with her snapping her neck in the darkened vehicle, the windows were one way, meaning that it was impossible to discern what was going on in the convoy vehicle, let alone knowing of what had transpired. Regardless, they would act as he programmed them to, acting like the Chancellor was alive, forced to believe that their mission still had some tangible meaning. That was what they saw and thought as Nine began altering their memories as they drove to some deigned location he reported to the handler following the 'suicide.' While it didn't matter to him, maybe it would be of some significance to the Church, or maybe it wouldn't. "While I'm rewriting and implanting some memories, what do you want me to do with the other specimens in the vehicle, especially the French one; are his services still required?"

Objectives ::: Eliminate Chancellor Cheska Ridenour. ::: ::: Bring home some takeout for Eleven to cook. ::: Status ::: Sleepy; feeling a bit "exotic" ::: Interacting ::: Classified (@Haruharara) :::

~ Phantom Thieves of London: The Calling ~

Alexander Furst

---

Confidants:: Ava (@addamas), Hakuro, Raven (@FalloutJack))
Whereabouts:: The Metaverse
Day:: Friday Afternoon

---

Alex was dumbstruck at the figure, eyes slowly widening as he bit his lower lip; currently just a silhouette in the sickly green fog, it did nothing to diminish the terror of the unknown with its strange, bizarre shape that was paradoxical and alien to them, something that should exist outside of reality. Befitting for a place such as this as Alex began to tremble just a bit, "Yeah, and I think we found the reason why."

Everything in his body was telling him to move as the incongruous, strangely shaped horror drew near, smashing a similar, fleeing shape that he saw earlier into a fine mush just a couple of meters away from him. Alex tensed up as the way he heard that creature squish was nauseating and splattered a bit onto his shoes.

A knot was forming in his stomach as the boy finally took a step back in tandem with the creature who retracted its ghastly limb, before its full body pierced through the fog. That semi-unfettered boy who entered into this strange world was now full on shaking, flustered by this shadowy creatures appearance as his heart beat erratically.

"Oh FUCK this!" Yeah, the Raven didn't have to tell him twice as a shadow appeared overhead as he pivoted around, tightly grabbing Ava's wrist before giving rough tug to pull her along, yanking her and taking himself out of the danger zone as a malformed hand with faces on its fingers crashed down where they once stood. With that done, he began booking it with the other two, letting go of the younger girls wrist once he felt she was fleeing an not stunned from the scene.

While they were back to scrambling and running away, Alex always kept his eye on the alien being, always watching the way it squirm, each twisting tendril of a limb and way the faces contorted, well, lets just say they weren't supposed to look that way. It was something that constantly inspired fear in his heart and kept him running with the others for what felt like an eternity, even though it was most likely less than a minute.

Suddenly, the bird scrawked instructions for them, to head down this alleyway and take some stairs down. Despite how frantic this situation was, he was able to connect that she was directing them down into the depths of a metro station. What he couldn't do was retort right now, nothing snarky or thought provoking, stating his distrust, nothing of that on his mind.

Alex, in his panic, didn't even think, just did, and funneled into the alley with the others as the beast closed in behind them and the bird departed on her own. From the outset, it looked like they were home free.

But the figure standing at the end showed them otherwise as it slowly began to melt and disfigure into small, teardrop blobs that splattered onto the pavement with an eerie plop before levitating a little off the ground before distorting. All of them had a mish-mash of human features that looked out of place, wherever they were.

As they came to a pause, Hakuro made some comment about parkour or some shit, but Alex just blocked that out and began scanning for something he could use, anything.

And then, he saw it. An opportunity. Bending his knees, Alex kept keen eye on one of the trashcans off to the side "We don't have time for maybes, only absolutes! If we can't get around them, then-"

Alex broke into a sprint, leaving the two behind him, straight on a collision course with those ominous, patterned slimy drops, "I'll just make a way for us!" If anything, Alex would probably consider this a stupid plan later and attempt to think up better things to do, but right now, he only really saw this as their best option.

He had to take this into his own hands as he snatched up a lid and held it up like a shield, staring down those blobs with a fearsome mien, gritting his teeth as his eyes grew sharp and burned. "Out of our way," he roared, slamming into two or three of the blobs that swarmed the area like wasps, causing a few of them to back off before looking to descend upon him.

While he did manage to break through and open the way up, this offered a new can of worms - the fact that he was surrounded by these things. More over, while his senses were still heightened, backing up would probably cause him to bring these things to Ava and Hakuro. Even more so, it looked like he only really provoked them and not harm them too much, as evidenced by those three blobs sloughing off his now bent makeshift shield and reforming.

...!

Alex blinked.

A sharp pain cascaded through abdomen and to the rest of his body as he felt the air being knocked out of his lungs, followed by a hard thud to the ground. His head was shaking as he was surrounded by these swarm of blobs, hovering around him like hornets. Dizzy. He was shaking even more profusely as he struggled to get up a bit, only to see some of these things slobbering tongues and the fact that one of them had attached to him.

He clicked the roof of his tongue and grit his teeth, "Get the hell off of me!" His other hand shot towards the blob, sinking in as his fingers dug into it. Using the strength he could, he worked to wrench the thing off and toss it to the side, but it was ineffective as a few more rushed in. He couldn't think right now and his instincts took over, adrenaline gushing through his arteries and veins as he quickly rolled over, nearly avoiding getting doggy piled on as a few of the swarm instead slapped and slammed onto the street.

The entrance to the metro station became clearer, yet so far away as he began getting his thoughts somewhat straight, "Bloody hell, I wish I had a gun, weapon, something, anything right about now!"

As he looked up, more of the swarm was looking too assault him as they buzzed and shot themselves towards the downed Alex, who instead rolled backwards to avoid them and to try and regain his footing, only to stumble back a bit once was on his own two feet again, but that wasn't enough as another rushed him down. On reaction, Alex went to swat it away, only to watch as what he countered with wasn't the dented trashcan lid and instead the barrel of a Thompson submachine gun.

This left him more confused, befuddled than anything right at this moment, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially right now when he was under attack. Taking aim at the swarm, Alex pulled the trigger.

TATATATATATATATATATATATA!

And the bullets flew, some missing, others penetrating, but it was enough to cause some of these things to hiss and groan before backing off; a few even began merging back with one another. However, Alex, in this moment didn't bother questioning anything else, didn't bother commenting on the absurdity of this all. The pain felt real, what he felt was real, this gun despite being lighter than what he went out to shoot with for some strange reason felt real.

And what was especially real was the fact that these creatures were completely distracted by Alex at the moment, as he continued to spray and pray.

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

Say, Enalais and Expolar, you two going to join the discord?

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

Einar

Lothian Empire || Garleton: Plaza || Evening

A sigh of relief left his lips as he watched the lady and her dragon soar off after their payday, resting there for a second before standing up before realizing there was a small issue - his sword was stuck. The blade was driven completely through the sods body and he saw the extent that he went into this assault, looking at the slim grooves in the dirt behind him, "Might of went a bit overboard on one guy." But then again, they didn't finish this dude off, so whatever, it was justified, at least right now. Standing up, he pressed his foot against the spine of the corpse as he tightly gripped the blade that was lodged in the body and dirt and gave a rough jerk to pull it out. While this did waste time, Einar counted his blessings, as this time having other bodies wasn't a complete liability to him as his weapon slowly began to unfastened. As he continued jerking back and forth, the mercenary caught a couple of things out of the corner of his eyes. For starters, the dragon lady managed to slay the newest bandit looking to harass Alnard and that other fellow with the spear was looking to engage and catch their leader off-guard. While watching this, Einar's blade became looser and looser before it finally popped out, causing him to stumble back, but not before he witnessed a flash of fire from the princelings hand, igniting the back of the leader, who looked to be in a tight spot. "Welp, time to finish this," he thought, studying the leader of this bandits for a second, before dashing forward. While he was still busy blocking that other mans spear, Einar took the opportunity to soar past the weapons of the two, sword raised to the side before he swung at the bandit leaders guts, looking to spill them in one decisive strike.

_________________________ Status: Time to end this Information Class Page Inventory Iron Sword [2/3] Vulnerary [3/3] Iron Bow Experience 15/15 Stats END: D STR: D MAG: C DEX: C SPD: D DEF: E RES: E LCK: E Action Using the Weapon Art, Decisive Strike, on the Bandit Leader Supporting Alnard (@Sho Minazuki) Branna (@Typical) Thom (@Enalais) Trace (@Haeo)

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

Considering most people are busy and probably not going to post at the moment, I'll have something up in the next hour or so.

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

@LiverisGood aye we still are taking applications from what I know, so hop right in. Currently we are finishing up the boss fight and will probably get onto the next day/camp after this all.

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

And now we play the waiting game.

All I know is I'm hoping to Decisive Strike the boss and quickly finish the guy off, but I think I'll wait until Branna and Thom get their hits in as well. Also, what are this guys stat's or does it not really matter at this point since he's going to get his ass kicked once we all stab, slash, cut, and generally maim him?

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

@Lugubrious maybe this can be discussed here or when the discord comes up? I'm guessing Dinas for now until discussed in further detail.

Also, to kill two birds with one stone, @Expolar, neat, so I guess now I have a better idea of what our army is made up of. Funny enough, since Sho will allow us to have second characters down the line, I was doing a little more thinking about what type of character I want and one of them would of come from Suddene as a haughty noble who is searching for a way to increase her families prestige and seek a way to have her house rise up so she can become one of the Four Monarchs as a Flier class. The other from Themyscira as a former pirate now working as a part of a towns militia with the Journeyman class.

And for what Einar is going to do after this is all over, I really didn't have much to plan outside of having him see how Bel is holding off and then go off and interact with some of the other soldiers and mercenaries around camp, possibly supporting with one or two of them if possible.