The Otter

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

featuring

Esben Mathiassen

---

Ciradyl stepped into her personal room after the tense atmosphere settled down and she had gotten a chance to speak with Izayoi. Muscles ached as she unstrapped her armor and changed into a modest, white nightgown that flowed loosely just above her knees. She did not feel the pull of the soft, silk sheets next to her just yet. There was too much on her mind to let her fall asleep anytime soon. A bit of shame came over her as she realized she had not properly expressed gratitude to the Skaealan who had made tonight possible. Honestly, it was an excuse to pry whatever information on subterfuge she could pull from him.

She wandered around the safehouse a little until she managed to find him. Renzo had given her directions but the look on his face told he was a little curious. The Faye cleared her throat as her eyes laid on him ”I hope you are finding the accommodations suitable.” Her voice projected ”I wanted to thank you for what’ve you done tonight. I understand it may not have been in Skael's tactical advantage but you’ve helped give Osprey a fighting chance to be a nation again.” Ciradyl looked for any signs she could read off the man while speaking as honestly as she could.

Esben glanced up from the plate he was currently snacking from as Ciradyl slid open the door to his room. His face remained studiously blank as she spoke, although the movement of his eyes was obvious as he looked her over once. Certain habits were hard to break, especially when deep behind enemy lines—but there was nothing on the tall Faye’s person or about her demeanour to be immediately worried about.

He hadn’t expected the nightclothes, however...Are all Ospreyans so forward?

”Now he owes us and he knows it,” he replied with a shrug, not letting the other thought be known. ”Valheim is the greatest worry right now, and after you made Hien’s involvement in spearheading this rebellion clear, that he wasn’t just a figurehead, it made rescuing him the smarter choice.” Unspoken, but obviously implied, was that his recommendation would have been different had Hien just been a figurehead for the resistance.

As he finished, he held out the plate towards Ciradyl, nodding at one of the other cushions on the floor to sit on in the sparse room—other than offloading some of his gear and changing into clean clothes, he had yet to do anything else with the space, not even rolling out the mattress to actually get ready to sleep. ”Care for some manjū?” he asked, as conversationally as if he hadn’t just been discussing the possibility of martyring one of Osprey’s last loyal nobility. ”One of your people suggested them for a light snack. I couldn’t wait until they came back with the tea to try a couple.”

Ciradyl tilted her head innocently ”Is there something wrong?” She softly asked, knowing full well his attention would have been drawn to her attire.

She then nodded at his new spoken assessment, glad that he was seeing it as such ”His rescue would not have been so critical otherwise.” Silently she bit her tongue at this statement, stating it rather coldly. There was a quick reset on her features as she took his offer and sat neatly on a cushion facing him before continuing ”Hien is a capable leader and warrior that can unite Osprey against Valheim. I have done everything in my power to ensure it.” The coldness of her previous statement lifted, and a sense of hope accompanied her words.

The Faye plucked one of the better pieces on the plate ”Thank you, though it is better with tea.” She cracked a small smile before taking a bite out of the manju, glad that her people were fulfilling their duties well.

Ciradyl spoke again after finishing her snack ”I would like to hear your thoughts on how we may proceed from tonight.” Her voice direct ”I am sure you have more knowledge on these matters than I do so I wish to draw upon it, if that is agreeable?” Her tone and manner of speaking remained mostly formal. She had spent the past year carefully adjusting the way she spoke and words she chose. Now it was difficult to speak semi-casually without actively thinking about it.

Esben chewed thoughtfully on one of the little steamed sweet buns, thinking over Ciradyl’s request slowly before giving any answer. ”Asking me how to proceed on the resistance, ja?” he clarified once his mouth was no longer full. ”I should warn you, partisan warfare and such active destabilization isn’t really my specialty. But I can help with what I know, although I know that none of you will really like the first suggestion I have.”

Ciradyl nodded once to his question, finishing the last bit of her sweet bun as Esben continued ”Whatever counsel you can provide would be appreciated. I would like to hear it all the same.” She shifted slightly in place, wondering what his proposal was. There was little at this point she would not consider, not when everything was finally coming together.

”Outsource your planning and leadership,” came the blunt reply. ”If not to Edren, then to Skael, although I’d pick the closer option if I were you. Based off of the trouble you all have been having, what you started to have with Hien’s capture, it sounds to me like things are too centralized, and you’re not nearly at a point where that’s a good decision here. If he’s got a place outside of Kugane that’s more-or-less free from Valheimer control and can be made its own little island of independence, great, but that still makes for too prominent of a target if they bring their might to bear. The only people that should have any idea of the existence of every cell involved, able to coordinate them with each other, should be in a relatively unassailable position beyond Osprey’s borders, and the cells themselves should have no clue who is who outside their own groups. Anything else is both overly risky and overly open to dissolution via infighting should the snake’s head get severed.”

Ciradyl admittedly was caught off-guard by the proposal, shifting side to side. Nevertheless she remained quiet and listened to everything Esben said before forming her own ideas. He had been right. She didn't like it. Hien and Izayoi would no doubt be outraged at the thought of placing Osprey's fate in another foreign country's hands ”I admire your forthrightness. You speak without fear.” It could be considered a threat under different circumstances but she was being sincere. Slowly she stood up and smoothed out the edges of her nightgown, and gently bowed towards Esben ”It is getting late and I have taken enough of your night. I hope we can have another talk soon.”

”Come back any time!”

With that, Ciradyl exited from Esben's room and returned to her own with much to think about. Her caution had gotten the Ospreyan resistance this far, but as a result everything rested on her shoulders and the weight was begin to break her. It would be up to her to convince Hien and Izayoi if she were to go ahead with the suggestion. Her only fear would be that they would end up the puppet of another rival, but perhaps a puppet was just slightly better than a slave.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

---

@Raineh Daze

---

"Why, hello there."

"Huh?"

Fionn looked up quickly at the voice addressing him, worried for a moment that it was Gisela herself taking a moment to notice his presence—seeing a Niyar instead was at least somewhat less concerning, in terms of the potential that his flesh would remain attached to his bones. Not one he recognized, but that wasn't terribly surprising—outside of Fiadh and any of the ones closest to her in the forests around Gleann Luaith and Dún Att, he couldn't really claim to know any Niyar, despite looking around Aimlenn as much as time allowed.

"Bye bye~!"

And she didn't even give him a chance to give a proper greeting before trying to get rid of him. He could see the cliff below her start to shift, rock and packed dirt glistening as though suddenly thoroughly flooded. Worse yet, the change was making its way down to him; if he had to guess, it would turn into a loose enough muck that he'd be almost unable to find any purchase, unless he was willing to shove his arms shoulder deep into it.

A slow, and unattractive proposition.

"Now, now, wait just a minute!" he called, glancing off to either side; at the sight of a tree that had started growing out from the wall, he moved, hand over hand, as rapidly as his skills could allow over to it. Even then he could already feel his holds moistening and loosening under his grasp, faster than he could just climb over to it—with little else to do, he launched himelf bodily, arms stretching out towards the tree as he commanded it: "Gabye!"

One branch bent its way towards him, lengthening improbably to meet his grasp; as soon as contact was made, his fingers wrapping around it, fresh growth twined around his wrist, securing him against a sure fall to his doom. Heaving himself up, he wrapped his other hand around the branch, the grasp on his wrist releasing as he did—heaved twice more, and now he was atop the the trunk that stuck out from the wall, catching his breath. At least it was rooted deeply enough not to fear disappearing in a mud slide.

It would pretty much have to be, he supposed; it was growing sideways out of a rocky face.

He turned to look back up at the small green girl that had addressed him. No doubt she might be a little surprised at hearing him call out some sort of magic she may have used, even if not as proficiently. But he couldn't tell that for sure over the mild surprise—possibly delight? They always were fond of interesting situations, and his failure to go plummeting to the base of the cliff below was surely something interesting—that was already on her face after witnessing his narrow escape.

Now, how best to get his way out of this without making a mudslide himself, or otherwise drawing too much of Gisela's attention to the cliff face rather than the hopefully-more-obvious threats posed by his fellow knights.

"Well, here I thought climbing would be hard enough!" he said after a few deep breaths, waving up with his left hand, the mark that Fiadh had left in his palm glinting in the sunlight obviously enough that the Niyar up above would have no way to miss it. "We haven't met before, have we? Would you let me know your name, please?"

Polite conversation was usually a safe starting path with fae like these. Just had to be careful what you said, how you phrased things, if you wanted any answers.

"You wouldn't happen to be acquainted with any of the Niyar or Senyar in northeastern Velt, would you?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

---

@Octo

---

Fionn glanced at the broom as Gertrude sat upon it. Side-saddle; it only made sense, it'd be too thin for anything else without a seat. Impossible to grip with the legs, unlike a horse.

Or would it be? It would depend on the thighs, of course. But it would be wildly uncomfortable.

"Works for me!" he said, placing his weight against the broom, legs facing the opposite direction as Gertrude's. For balance. The back end of his hauberk shook out behind him so that he wasn't sitting directly atop the mail, and with his now-clawed hands, he grasped the broom on either side of him. "Let's see how high up we can get me to start, eh?"

Without any further fanfare, Gertrude set off, the broom rising and darting forward as fast as any horse he'd ever ridden on. The rest set off as well, Gisela and Krysia wasting no time engaging the others. The plan as the captain had explained it quickly fell apart; no surprises there to Fionn, well acquainted with how often plans would crumple as soon as any enemy resistance was encountered.

Squinting, he could see Rolan far below, taking a shot at the demon before resuming his climb upwards—pausing to reload and take a shot at Gisela herself. "Now's as good a chance as any," he said to Gertrude just in front of him. "Sling me by that cliff face, I'll jump and catch it. Get up as quick as you can and see if you can't give Rolan some covering fire in return."

As the broom made its swift approach for the cliff face in question, Fionn, hands gripping it white-knuckled, carefully positioned himself so that his feet were up atop the stick. Better not to waste any time at all, he figured—he'd just have to hope he didn't throw off Gertrude's flight path too much. Once she came close enough he released the broom, propelling himself off of it with a wild leap that sent him flying straight for the cliff face—

"Gah!"

He slammed hard into the wall, his now-clawed fingers grasping and scratching at the rocky face, carving small furrows as he slid down a bit before they found purchase. His feet kicked into decent footholds a moment after, and he hold on, trying to force wind back into lungs that had just had all the air knocked out of them, nearly three-quarters of the way to the top. Now, his only company was the wind blowing around him and the sounds of battle on the far side.

He reached up with his right hand, digging his claws in and forcing a handhold to exist with his magically-strengthened limbs. "Alright, stay occupied with the rest—"

He dug his toes into another foothold, half-pushing, half-pulling himself up until he could sink his left hand in just like his right.

"—and hopefully you'll be too busy for me coming up behind you."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

---

@Octo @VitaVitaAR

---

"Wait, captain," Fionn interjected, turning from Gertrude back to Fanilly. The others already moved to make their approaches, but whether staggered or all at once would make little difference in the plan, so he didn't feel particularly rushed. "I think Gertrude and I can take advantage of one of those other options a bit, I just need...ach, what's the word..."

He released Gertrude's wrist, flexing his fingers as he mouthed out a few different words, before finally settling on—"Anguīnās."

He grimaced as he felt the flesh of his hands rapidly shift and morph under his command, nails sprouting out into hardened claws that should be more than able to dig into the cliff side or grant an even-surer grip on the easier climb. While it wasn't particularly painful, it wasn't an experience he particularly enjoyed either.

"Right. Going to have to think about a better way to phrase that one in the future, I reckon, but still! If Gertrude can carry me and get me started a ways off the ground on that cliff, I'm a good climber and this'll just make it easier. Especially if she knows a good illusion to make me look like Gretchen until she drops me off, that way it'll just look like she's flying around to scout and harass them like you're already planning."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

"You don't know me well enough to make those assumptions!" Esben replied with a wide smile and a modest shrug. Not that there was time to say much else; Éliane opened fire almost immediately as he finished, sending captain Reisa on a short retreat, and Izayoi followed soon after. Blade at the ready, he moved forward to assist, only to find himself beaten to the punch in intercepting the captain's charge as Chisaki sent Reisa tumbling with a well-aimed kick.

He glanced back to Reisa quickly; attack her while she was down, and risk bearing the discharge of whatever materia she could bring to bear to fight back with, possibly without even being able to harm or kill her. Or, turn tail and grab Izayoi and help the others drag her away, let the shinobi sacrifice herself to guarantee all their escape. One option was more reasonable than the other, one carried greater risk but greater possible reward.

However, the small explosives that Chisaki dug out of her bag gave another option, one that could preserve as many of their resources as possible with a bit of luck.

Elly, Elly, I hope you've brought some more exciting ammunition for us...

He sprinted up to the shinobi, sheathing his blade and hanging his buckler back on his belt; his left hand was raised in a closed fist, a clear signal for Éliane to hold her fire for a moment longer. His right stretched out, fingers deftly sliding between Chisaki's own as he hooked the bombs into his own grasp. "Be creative, why don't you?" he joked, and tossed the bombs over to where Reisa was rising back up. His left hand opened wide, flashing five fingers twice and pointing out at the prone Valheimr captain.

Five rounds rapid, just like at the training range!

As Éliane opened fire from her rooftop vantage point, he turned forward around the shinobi, crouching down slightly; he wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted her up as he sprinted forwards towards where Ciradyl and Hien fought to pull Izayoi back. His free arm shot forwards, hooking elbow-to-elbow around one of Izayoi's, adding his running momentum to Hien's forceful dragging of the older woman to try and reconvene with the rest of their group.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

"Oof!" Hien grunted as he was practically shoved towards Esben, giving the man a pained, rueful grin as he recovered. "Apologies, friend. She's always been like that. Though I'm impressed you got to her with logic of all things."

A moment passed as he observed Izayoi crashing into the Valheimr at Rudolf's side, and his smile quickly faded into the opposite.

"She's gotten slow. Was she injured recently?" He murmured in concern as Izayoi parried a swordsman's blow before riposting with a slash to his throat.

"Injured? No, just out of practice and older than the last time you saw her. Being dead and getting married can do that to you, and I'm sure we'll be in much the same position after a decade. Miina!" He'd just spotted the small Mystrel girl as the two parts of the team reconvened, the rest of Ciradyl's people rushing out alongside them—luckily, it looked like she'd spotted them first, as she already had her hands outstretched ready to heal the injured nobleman. "Take him. Keep him safe or pass him to one of Ciradyl's as soon as you're able."

He passed Hien over more gently than Izayoi had, pulling free his sword and taking up his buckler in a single smooth movement. But for a little knife work and some rifle fire, he was—by far—the freshest of the group. Now that the Valheimer troops had been pushed back and away, thrown into disarray by the unexpectedly strong resistance, internal betrayals, and loss of their airship, the scene outside the makeshift prison had shifted away from an outright battle into something he was much more comfortable operating with.

Then, seeing that captain Reisa had survived the airship's descent, knowing that the others were already tiring and even wounded, the next necessary step in his plan to rescue Hien became clear. As with the infiltration, shock and surprise were his weapons—and there were more ways to achieve that than with stealth and secrecy.

Two fingers stretched out from the buckler's handle hooked around the scabbard on Rudolf's back, pulling the younger man back slightly as Esben took his place and continued walking forwards, into the empty no-man's land between where they were making their stand and the heart of the wreckage. "Captain Reisa!" he called conversationally, giving a polite salute with his sword. "This is a shame—I didn't realize there was such a pretty face hiding under that helmet the last time we met."

He paused, halting his advance a short ways ahead of the rest of his team. Confident that they'd have his back—at least, Éliane would with her rifle—and that the brazen flirtation would keep the remaining soldiers shocked enough to hold back.

"I trust you're walking up to us to deliver your surrender? You shouldn't make this any more difficult than it needs to be—I guarantee I'll keep it clean if you submit to us."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

---

@Octo

---

As the rest of the group deliberated over their options and placement, Fionn stood off to the side, the fingers of one hand drumming against his thigh while the other still held his sword loosely—now returned to its normal size. Short of 'be fast about it' there wasn't much else he could supply to the planning; much like what Gerard was suggesting, he was more suited to fighting than he was to any other strategy at king of the hill. Unconsciously, his hand shot forwards, grabbing Gertrude by the wrist before she could condescendingly pat their captain's head.

"None of that," he chided, resisting the fleeting urge to crush down on her wrist for her continuing disrespect. Or to say a few words and grow out claws to cut into her pale skin like one of Fiadh's Dernyar cousins in the mountains back home; no, that would be too much, especially after she had just been helpful in the fight against the Talderians. Claws, though...

Giving into protective instincts like the Senyar did or being as belligerent as a Dernyar knocked off a cliff may not be the solution to every problem, but a bit of primal savagery every now and then never hurt things too much either. Fionn didn't release his grasp, although he did relax it considerably, facing Gertrude—for once—with a smile.

"I might have an idea for how you can help after all. Think you and that broom would be able to carry me?"

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

Eve lifted into the sky and Rudolf rushed forwards at Izayoi's words, leaving Esben standing by the former general and her current charge. If it hadn't been for the smoke obscuring things, he may have thought the sun had risen when Eve began her attack; in a moment, though, there was little left but the falling, burning wreck of the airship keeping the battle below lit. A battle beyond his particular capabilities—his skillset wasn't one suited to open war.

"Perhaps that's a position better suited to you, ja?" he said, turning over to Izayoi for a moment. "Surprise is lost at this point, and that's my main tool. I can either stay close to you and we push forward together, or you can pass him to me and cut the path quicker." As he expected, Izayoi's narrowed eyes fell on him almost instantly, wary—overly wary, he would argue—of any betrayal.

"Would you hand off the last worthy leader of your homeland to a barely-trusted foreigner?"

Esben let the words hang for a moment, turning to watch the flash of silvery blue as Galahad leaped to catch Eve, Ciradyl coming to her own landing a short ways away. "I would if they were one of my allies, and were the one to draft the plan that led to his successful rescue," he replied as he turned back, conversational and urbane in the face of Izayoi's suspicion. "We already do xenophobia and isolationism better than you northerners. Don't make us be the pragmatic ones as well."

The stood a heartbeat longer before Izayoi wordlessly passed Hien over, nearly throwing the man into Esben's waiting grasp before rushing ahead, blade flashing in the firelight to cut a path for the young lord's escape. Esben quickly shifted Hien's arm around his shoulders, half-dragging him as they followed the others. "Well, that's for the best, I suppose," he mused to Hien. "Elly might have exploded herself if she had to be the practical one of the group."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

As Esben ran along behind Izayoi and Rudolf, he leaned down, scooping up the fallen guard's carbine next to where she had fallen to his knife. He pushed the lever slightly, opening the bolt just enough to be sure the weapon was loaded, before continuing on his way. Scavenging the enemy's weaponry was a good way to conserve one's own, and oftentimes gave a small element of surprise to the fighting that could otherwise be lacking—both qualities that Esben appreciated.

And would come to appreciate more as they ran into a patrol blasting their way in as they were en route to the point where they intended to blast their own way out. As soon as the troops came rushing in, he dove behind one of the standing blocks for cover, water spraying out over his head as the fixture near its top was struck by stray gunfire—

—Before the smell of ozone filled the air, rapidly followed by that of heavily charred meat. The short burst of gunfire stopped, though the heavy footfalls of the other half of the cohort coming to meet them barely faltered as their comrades dropped from their perches. He glanced across the way to Rudolf, giving a small nod at the man's words, before the Edrenian came out from behind his cover and rushed forwards.

"One, two..." he murmured to himself, letting Rudolf cross blades with the invaders and drive them back for a moment to draw their attention. Three.

He came out from the far side of his cover, sprinting up past where Rudolf had engaged the leading portion of the cohort. Some noticed him and turned his way, skidding as they shifted direction to try and run his way as Rudolf occupied the others; once sure he wouldn't catch his own ally in the fire, Esben leveled the carbine at the soldiers, emptying the weapon's magazine in a rapid burst of fire. Those that weren't caught by the lead flying their way would be forced to take cover, returning the favor for Rudolf to advance again and dispatch whoever was left.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

The squad they'd been confronted with within the prison was rapidly dealt with; Izayoi's quick strike left the sergeant standing, wide-eyed and ashen-faced as blood spurted from the stumps where his wrists and hands once resided. The pistol clattered to the floor, the sergeant stumbling backwards behind the closing lines of his compatriots—tripping over his feet and landing hard on his back as the fight began in earnest. Unhurried, Esben slipped the last of the bindings from around his wrists, fixing his sleeves as best as he could before picking up his sword and belting it back around his waist where it belonged.

He picked carefully between the remaining fights happening, the majority of the Valheimer soldiers already picked off between the three Kirins and Ciradyl's planted agents. He narrowly ducked under the swung bayonet of one soldier and twisted past the thrust of another, before hearing each engulfed by Eve's fire just behind him, breaking past the enemy line.

The sergeant, surprisingly still conscious, was shakily trying to come up to his feet a short distance away, braced against one wall where he'd managed to crawl while the others fought. Esben closed the distance quickly, pulling out the dagger he'd been given to cut his bonds, and placed it against the neck of the sergeant, pressing in just enough to be painful. The man stiffened immediately, though any cry he might have given was stifled by Esben's other hand holding his mouth shut.

"Should've shot first," he said, almost apologetically. "Lord Hien's cell is the deepest, ja? How many more of you are around it for us to worry about? Speak quickly, please. I may be able to keep you alive if you're helpful."

"For what?" the sergeant replied haughtily, maintaining a portion of his attitude despite the blood he'd lost and the knife to his neck. "I'm already dead if you succeed or fail, boor. Qui—"

Esben slid the knife smoothly through the man's neck, blocking off whatever the sergeant's last words would've been as the knife tore apart his larynx and blocked any further airflow. "For the record, I didn't say I would, just that I might," he replied conversationally, before roughly jerking the blade forwards, tearing out the front of the man's throat and sending a spray of blood against the wall. The sergeant slumped immediately; but before he could start digging through the man's pockets for any keys or anything else useful, one of the last few soldiers remaining in the squad broke from the line of battle, Esben's eye catching the flash of blonde hair as she ran for an alarm lever partway down the hall.

He straightened, arm cocking back automatically. His focus slightly ahead of the target, he stepped forward, hurling the dagger right in the woman's path. It flipped fully once, point sinking in between her shoulder blades as she crossed its path. "Too close," Esben scoffed to himself as, falling, she stretched out her arms, barely catching the alarm lever and pulling it down with her.

Not that anything could be done about it at that point. He bent back down, hands probing each of the sergeant's pockets before coming out with a ring of keys that, he hoped, would correspond to cells within the secure holding area. He turned back as the others finished putting down the last of the soldiers, waving them over. "You all, stay a little ways behind us and hold any off that try to follow behind," he commanded Ciradyl's people. "Izayoi, Rudolf, you take point. Eve and I will be right behind you. No telling how many they were keeping on top of Hien."