Skyswimsky

Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

Muu

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Indifference was the kind of emotion Muu was feeling upon the blood-stained battlefield. Apathy. Detachment. The sight was supposed to not bother her, at all. Ever since that one fateful day a part of her had died, too, after all. 'I don't care' was an easy chant to repeat as Muu, together with the others, continued on. Not without taking the Swordbreaker for herself of course.

Instead, their travel was now done in near absolute silence. And despite certainly not being unwelcome, this particular lack of conversation had quite a different undertone to it. It was nothing Muu tried to worry about too much, however, for their payment was still plenty. Until, suddenly, she stopped. Her feet kept moving, but her mind stopped thinking.

A familiar mix of odors.
A memory turned day-dream.
She was merely little girl. He was a wrinkly old man. Together in a big bath. Nothing more, nothing less.

Despite the reality of that situation, Muu felt nothing. Her emotions were detached. It was her, and her past, alright. But, just like that? All of a sudden? The past half-year the blade-dancer had spend her time surviving on a day-to-day basis. There had been no need, no time, to think about the why and how.

But now? Now... what exactly? What was she supposed to make of this? If anything, the memory couldn't be anything but weird and creepy.

Thus, despite her usual silence, it was quite apparent that Muu was quite absent-minded for the time being in face of this potential danger.

Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

Getting relatively clean, things were slowly put into motion again as the wagon seemed relatively undamaged and Oscar secured even more food. Even Katya used her amazing healing magic to take care of the worst damage the group had taken. Muu herself seemed to be somewhat in thought for a second before, finally, sighing and shaking her head. Instead trying to make herself useful and somewhat helping Oscar.

Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

What's done is done. The monsters had fallen, most of them anyway, and the group seemed relatively intact. Calming herself somewhat done, the blade dancer took a good look around.

For such an ambush, the group seemed relatively fine. Save. Except as particular sleepyhead. But likely nothing serious. It was in that moment, however, that the girl felt a certain unease in her face. It was still full of shit. Something she quickly intended to change. Clean her face. Clean her sword. She wasn't one to shower all that often, but right now, she truly regretted not being able to take one. Whatever.

Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

The moment poo landed in Muu's face, everything went to shit.

There had been a time where she dodged an arrow from an ambush! And now this!? Maybe it had been luck, or maybe she simply wasn't in focus. Nonetheless, from the moment the monster decided for a rather underhanded tactic everything seemed to work against her. It's attention shifting, there had first been a flying Oscar to take care off. Lighter than she expected, actually, as the ranger was caught in her arms. Yeah, she still had it in. Luck and Fate were for the superstitious, in the end it all came down to skill. Unlike him she didn't share this emotional moment. It was a life and death situation, after all.

Maybe it was thanks to his panic, or maybe he imagined the outcome to be different with a calculated move, but where Muu had carried Oscar just a moment ago, in the next he twisted both of them in a way that the male laid on top of the girl. Quite aggressive, in a way, as the thrown weapon rushed over them moments where they just stood.

"It's okay." She replied, helping Oscar to get off her with only a slight blush this time around. In the end she was still a woman after all. "Focus..." She murmured before quickly getting up in one quick motion, wiping away whatever feces were left on her face before quickly analyzing the situation.

In the short tango with Oscar, most enemies seem to have been taken care of, and the survivors were busy being out-numbered or had a slow tree fired at them. One way or another, they had to dodge the obstacle Ettamri threw at them. And one way or another, Muu's blade would find her way. Exploiting weaknesses and openings, slowly cutting away at the opponents endurance, while gracefully dancing across the battlefield was their way after all. Yet, this time, she wouldn't miss her mark.

These beasts deserved no beauty, and Muu prepared herself to follow up on the giantess ranged maneuver.

Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

Apes. It had to be apes. There was no time to think. No time to talk. No time to plan. After Ettamri made it known that the group was aware of their presence, Muu had already been dodging an axe. Alongside Ettamri, it felt strangely nostalgic. It was obviously not the first time she fought an enemy who fought dirty. Goblins did it. Animals did it. She did, sometimes, too.

But, with the continuous assault, there wasn't really much attention Muu could pay to the others. She couldn't help Katya nor the wagon. The girl was, ultimately, not a tank. Not a support. She was someone who killed with grace.

With the advice given. Just as she practiced. The opponent wasn't armored. A Blade dancers forte were light attacks from unexpected places. Cruelly crippling the opposition before going for a finishing blow. A step to the side, a twist of her body, a back-flip into safety. Slicing and stabbing, with each hit connecting, the follow ups only easier and easier.

Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

Unlike the day before, the mood on the second one seemed a lot worse. Barely anyone talked. It was one thing if oneself was more of the silent type, but totally different if the entire group was progressing through the winter wonderland in the very same mood.

Nonetheless, they continued. And both Muu and Ettamri managed to not kill each other yet. In fact, whatever blood-thirst they may have carried would maybe soon be directed at a common enemy. Something was there. Drawing her weapon, the blade-dancers senses heightened even more as she scanned her surroundings, drawing closer to the wagon to have at least one side be covered.

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Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

Thankfully, Muu hadn't quite yet entered the snow globe as their shift ended, having instead made sure to take one last round and check her own gear one more time as nearly everybody did the freezing. And, just for a moment, she really did wonder if the silver-eyed shield bearer simply carried a lot of misfortune. Maybe he was cursed by some vile magics?

Not that Muu could know, of course, but if there was truly more behind it than just incompetence of his party, they had to be careful. Nonetheless, with the night cut short, her supposed-to-be sleep now turned into more preparation. Collecting wood, cooking and sharing some food, loading the wagon, checking her weapons and doing some simple morning practice. After all, if worst came to worst, she had to get used to the snowy ground below.

With all that done, there wasn't really much for Muu to say in the first place. She had quite some social interactions just early morning hours before.

Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

"Of course." Muu said with more emotion than she had ever shown before so far. "Of course." She repeated, as if she couldn't believe what she witnessed. Nothing. That was exactly it. "This inconsiderate, rude, too-full-of-herself, narcissistic, piece of..." The brunette stopped herself there."No wonder, she likely forgot us, considering she's too stupid to even remember anyone's name." Or not. Muu shook her head. "And to think I tried to make up with her. Unbelievable." She kept shaking her head, before shrugging. "Has any party ever left you behind?" It was more rhetorical, really. "I guess there's a first time for everything." This simple act... hurt. More than any physical pain the giantess could have inflicted on Muu. And, obviously, she couldn't help but think deep down that Ettamri had done this only to hurt her.

Oscar was, simply, collateral damage.

How long had they been away anyway? NOT that long. Nonetheless, what happened, happened. Closing her eyes and taking another few seconds to calm down, Muu nodded towards the ranger once more. "Let's catch up." She could have said 'try to', but failure was not an option.

Following some loosely sort of trail, it was Muu that mainly lead the way until she did not. It didn't bother her to pass the lead to Oscar but, if anything, she wondered if they had literally taken off the second Muu and Oscar had been out of sight. After all the wagon was still not in sight!

Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined

With the Goblins quickly dispatched, Muu decided there was no use in giving chase. Instead, assuring herself of Oscar's well-being. But he seemed fine enough.

"It's all well." She responded to his apology. "Better like that, then the other way around." Gazing into the forest they had just escaped too, Muu wondered. "But, yes, we should get moving. There's an ever so slight chance they might come back, with more."

Rather than waiting for Oscar to finish his business, Muu, too, decided to pick whatever valuables the Goblins had on them to carry. With both of them done rather sooner than later, they would soon return to the abandoned? camp.