Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Blood and fire. GARIS! We have a situation, fighting between Eilan and one of the new ones. Engaging. Well, at least he'd have a way to earn the 'cubi of the group back in Eilan's good book. That fox had far too much influence with Kassin and local knowledge to let this situation fester. Still, if possible, he'd like to take this one alive. There was only so much you could learn from corpses. And besides, they could always kill him later if it proved convenient.

Thom'Sen meant demon, which meant likely resistance to fire, so he spent an extra instant to make sure his blade was acidic in elemental configuration instead of fiery, and dashed out to keep the demon in between himself and Eilan, keeping in guard while being faced himself, but ready to strike at the spine if the opponent were to turn away. Between the two of them, he hoped this wouldn't take long.

[Lisky]

He was about to reply to Phoebe, when Ked's message came along with the surge of rage, worry, and a litany of other lesser emotions.  His face changed in an instant.  A vicious snarl replaced the pleasant smile. "Bloody, fuckin' hell!" was all he could manage to utter.

The cubi vaulted through the clearing, launching himself as fast as he could move.  The others seemed intent to kill this newcomer.  Had he actually done something to provoke such actions? was that entire family daft?  He probably wouldn't get their to find out the way the other two were going... and dead bodies didn't give information.  While the others seemed content to go on the all out offensive, Garis tried something a bit more subtle. He launched a pair of tentacles for the Demon's ankles,  trying to wrap him up, and yank him away from others.  He kept his mind unshileded so Ked could at least see what he was thinking.  The mental image of the demon dangling upside down, at least until a proper interrogation could be done.  He also used a pair to try and perry the being's blades away from anything vital.  Shouting, "Stop for a moment!"

[Tipod]

Bart made absolutely no sound or movement as Eilan's blade buried itself into his rough flesh, save for a slightly visible shuddering at the impact. Clearly, the attack wounded him on some level.

But not enough to drop him, or stop him from immediately locking his hand around Eilan's wrist in a tight deathgrip. Each claw scraped slightly against the fox's flesh, threatening to dig in and cut his forearm to ribbons. "Drop it. ...and by 'drop it' I mean 'let go before I rip your arm off.'"

Though dividing his attention equally between the adventurer and incubus was a tenuous position: taking his eye off either one for a second too long could put him in a world of hurt. "And you, move where I can see you. I'll be God damned if I'm letting some thug on a flyer get the drop on--"

Bart's legs immediately flared up into white-hot embers as Garis' tentacles approached; great, now he was in some stand-off with three of these goons. "You, if you touch me with one of those fucking things then I swear I'm going to break you face six ways to Sunday. Everybody just back off, alright?"

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

Phoebe winced at the sudden change of mood and winced again when she saw the blade striking Bart. Another harsh reminder that she actually knew nothing about the country and the people here. She couldn't believe that there was anything an unarmed person could say to be attacked like this. Something has to be done. How can I stop them? School had never prepared her for battle and she didn't know what to do. Checking her array of spells she wondered which would be most effective to stop the opponents without actually endangering them or getting herself to the center of attention. Only then she noticed the barriers as well as the sudden "shapeshift" of their caster.
Wow, what kind of creature is this? That's quite some potent magic he has there. At least those blobs are not attacking, so I assume it's some kind of barrier. Does it block magic? I didn't want to use any offensive magic anyways, just something to cool of the situation. Maybe a minor earthquake? It would shake them all up a bit and each would have to recover. But maybe one would use the opportunity to strike? Ah, no, it's also too easy to detect from quite some distance. How about a bit of rain? It should cool them down and could be easily dried magically after the situation is solved and it shouldn't do any actual harm, just making them feel cold or distracted. Hm, but that guy seems to be a demon and those mostly have a fire-affinity, so maybe the rain could give him some real disadvantage? Well, snow for him, it is then. And none of it should harm the barrier-thing if it gets stuck there.
Phoebe started some low muttering to cast small clouds above each of the opponents heads. Three of them should soon start raining while the forth one above Barts head would snow.

[Noone]

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Kassin winced and clutched his side. "Aiiggh!" He cried, he reeled as if he were struck himself by Eilan's blade. He also felt the claws bumping against Eilan's wrist, he twitched accordingly. He looked to Zot, eyes closed, as if in pain. "Nngh, not me, help them!.." he motioned over towards the fighting being and creatures. Kassin looked as though he could barely stand though.

Eilan didn't pull back in time to evade getting his wrist grabbed. He let out some low grunts as  he realized what position he was in, claws brushing against his skin. He struggled a bit, getting slightly scratched in the process. Need to end this quickly... He closed his eyes in annoyance as rain hit his face.
His other hand was still free though. With a quick motion, he grabbed a knife at his side, and then lunged it at Bart's throat.

Seizing initiative, and seeing Eilan strike at Bart, he simultaneously thrust his vitriolic blade towards Bart's spine, striking to paralyze, but not to kill.

[Tipod]

Catching Eilan by the wrist, the strange reptile wrassled awkwardly, trying to keep both of the fox's hands bound. If he could just turn them both around to face the others, get him in a half-Nelson, keep his back to the proverbial wall-- "I said drop it!! And when I say 'it' I mean every--"

With a meaty puncture, Kedered's sword pierced through the side of Bart's gut, easily slipping through and narrowly avoiding his spinal column. Both legs wavered as the fire surrounding them extinguished with hardly a sound, though his grip on Eilan was still as tight as ever, the fox's face pulled in only a scant few inches from Bart's own visage.

"...Tell--" His speech wavered from the acrid blade. "--your friend... to let go, n-now." Both eyes bored straight into the vulpine's face. "Otherwise, in t-two seconds, things are-- *whheeze* hheating up. One--" He shouldn't have even needed to warn them; why he wasn't outright berserking them was anyone's guess.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Damn! Missed his spine! His view of Eilan was obscured by the other creature's bulk, and while the fox had been irritating over the past few days, he was too good of an ally to let a Demon throttle him. A speed spell would be useful, but this fight would probably be over before the time spent casting would be regained. Instead, Ked stepped to his left, letting the blade wink out for an instant, before reforming his vitriolic weapon and trying to shear away at the Demon's arms at the shoulders. Can't snap a neck with no arms.

[Chairtastic]

Orenio really just wanted to stay where he was, guarding his apparent new Lord.  Swiveling his head back to look at the colourful feline, the meerkat saw he was in pain.  And had given rather ambiguous orders.  Oh how he hated that combination; but something had to be done.  The meerkat focused for a few seconds, and the pseudo-array of barriers broke formation, the blobs compressing themselves and soaring through the air at a fairly quick pace, into the cluster of bodies trying to stab each other.  The small blobs would float between the combatants for a minute, while Orenio tried to figure the proper arrangement for his plan, and then would freeze mid-air.

FWUMP!

As one, all twelve blobs would suddenly inflate, sacrificing durability for size, trying to force the combatants apart from one another.  To the touch, they would feel slightly sticky and squishy, and would most assuredly collapse if given a solid blow.

[Lisky]

Garis had a far simpler reaction to the fighting.  He wrapped his tentacles in a fire-resistance spell, and proceeded to attempt to wrap the demon's legs up, and lift him off the ground.  He used 8 tentacles this time, 4 for balance, 2 attempting to subdue the demon, dragging him up and away, and 2 to keep the demon's arms away from his legs.  "Now... can we talk like the civilized people we all are?... and stop assaulting our angelic savior's senses?" 

[Shachza]

Kassin wasn't budging and that was bad.  Toalacuzlotlixao thought he would be able to defend himself, but if this other reptilian started just taking out his frustrations on everyone, it seemed like Kassin would do nothing, not even protect himself.  He didn't really know this Kassin, but at this point he seemed to be Toalacuzlotlixao's "food token."  He paused a moment as he considered that phrase, and he once again determined that he had no idea what the locals meant by it.

He took a moment looking back and forth between the developing combat and Kassin.  Grimacing, he swore a prayer under his breath for the Gods to understand before swiping another dart from his belt, dipping it slightly into one of his gourds, and attempting to prick Kassin on the back of the neck with some Vampire Wasp venom.  As a powerful anesthetic and euphoric a small prick like this should numb Kassin's senses as well as give him a decent high.  Toalacuzlotlixao didn't really consider this an attack, and he hoped that the Gods would see it that way as well.  He just wanted to get Kassin out of there.

In the back of his mind he rather wished that he could also prick himself with the dart, it would make for a pleasant hour or so.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance had lost herself...she had been placidly watching the child in her arms for quite some time, slowly loosing hope for the beings recovery. Her ears and headwings almost seemed to have a permanent droop to them as her eyes looked emotionally hollow. A sharp build of emotion from many a direction seemed to have wrenched her eyes from the child to find the sources, and that is when she saw the mass of chaos. Also, to the side, one of the new comers who looked to have just  poked Kassin with a dart. Immediately she went to the fella, ears back and eyes narrowed.

"What are you trying to do?"

[Noone]

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Eilan continued to struggle out of the demon's hold. Both arms grabbed now, it was largely in vain, he dropped the knife that he had, it fell to the snowy ground. He was pulled too close to get a look at the vitriolic blade, though he could feel heat from the Demon's legs. He didn't say anything, but continued making grunts as he tried breaking from Bart's hold. His eyes opened wide as Orenio's barrier attempted to separate them. He was silently hoping however, that it could force him away from the demon.

Kassin let out a louder yelp of pain, a sympathetic reaction to Kedered's blade running Bart through. He seemed to be in too much pain to say anything coherent, or move out of the way. He didn't move out of the way of Zot's dart. After being struck, he almost reflexively put his hands up to the puncture point. He was however, too out of focus to do anything about it. He fell silent and crashed on the ground shortly afterwards. He actually seemed better off for it.

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Your eyes open, the warmth you felt a short time ago before fading into unconsciousness seems gone. Injuries you once had though are no longer there. However, the image of your savior... and target... are gone from plain view. It's a chilly feeling, the air is stale, stench of a recent battle assaults your nose, and the frost feels ill on your lungs. It's also a good deal later in the day from when you were first injured.
There's a sound of screaming, not too far off. A brief ping of spells being cast, it's nearby too. Whatever it is, it's not over. While your arms and legs would want nothing more than to fall down and go to rest, hunter's instinct takes over. Now isn't the time to lay down. With a burst of effort, you can move yourself.
There's dense woods around, but no one in plain view. However, other signs point to there being others nearby.

[Aisha deCabre]

Gods damn it all to hell...

That was the last thought of the black jaguar, when she had felt the blade of another adventurer run through her back.  Almost in an instant she knew she was dead, and could only curse herself for making any kind of fatal mistake; and the trouble itself for just existing.

But when she was starting to welcome the cold embrace of death, she instead felt warmth through her very living body.  Her mind was going too slowly to have recognized it as the magic of healing at first.  Some time ago, her eyes had opened briefly to glimpse the frozen outside world and the bloody remains of battle surrounding...and through blurry eyes, the figure that seemed to be healing her.

A tiger angel...Rynkura?  Oh, no, no, not her.  She's all white, this one's all colored.  And has wings showing.  Her muscles bunched up in recognition then, of the image on the bounty sheet she'd found.  Wait just a minute...

But she could neither move, nor act on what she was seeing.  She could only observe as the other feline worked, sometimes taking on an appearance of pain.  And then he had left as quickly as he had been seen, on to another task.  And she could only have time to wonder what...how...why she'd been kept alive.  But the urge to sleep was more overpowering.

Aisha awoke a little later in the same spot, a shiver running through her body from the bitter cold.  The panthress was exhausted...but alive.  The pain was far away, if not gone completely.  And so was the one that she surmised saved her life.  A slight growl escaped the hunter's throat as she ordered herself back onto her feet.  There was minor complaint from them, but she learned to suppress it long ago.  To fall asleep in such weather was a death sentence.

And besides, she needed to assess the situation.  She must have looked to any random passerby like one of the dead rising from the earth...she was still in the same battlefield, and her sensitive nose picked up the metallic and unmistakable scent of blood.  And when her ears worked, they picked up the sounds of a skirmish.  "Oh, sangre," the jaguaress muttered with an accent, trying out her voice.  Sounds like they're not done yet.  Hrm, maybe the angel hadn't moved too far, and I can ask him why a criminal would heal a hunter and just leave them afterward.  I seem to still even have my soul.

The first thing Aisha the Risen did was search to see if any of her belongings had been taken, by either killer or savior.  Her pack of food and drink, her sword and boomerang, bow and arrows...they had to be somewhere around if not on her person.  The boomerang at least had been enchanted to come back to her hand by command if it were nearby.

And then after she'd solve that, exhaustion apparent but determination winning over, a haggard-looking black feline clad in blue with eyes of crimson and a cape of (currently) white, would make her way over to the direction of the noises to investigate.  Carefully, quietly, not intending to be noticed just yet.  There'd be no more room for fatal mistakes.

[Shachza]

Toalacuzlotlixao's head jerked around at the sound of Chance's voice which caused him to wobble on his feet.  He was feeling better, but the quick movement caused a moment of wooziness.  Unfortunately this moment caused him to miss Kassin succumbing to the venom and the tiger flopped unceremoniously to the ground instead of being caught and gently lowered.

Toalacuzlotlixao looked down in horror at Kassin before looking back to Chance, reminding her very much of a child caught stealing candy by a disapproving parent.

"HewasindangerandhelplessandIneededtogethimtosafetysoIusedasmalldoseofVampireWaspVenomtonumbthepainandmakehimmoveablebuthe'shadabadreactionand..."  he gasped for breath before continuing.  "...andhewasn'tsupposedtodoTHIS.  I'mbeingpeacefulanditwassupposedtohelpgethimawayfromTHEM.  Soacanacelixliannesoane munalacEilixmounesolatcalao!"  He pointed furiously at the escalating combat with the other reptilian before throwing his hands up in anger.  Glaring at Chance as though daring her to attack him, he bent down to examine Kassin's head for injuries.  Both his thoughts and speech were going a mile a minute.

HowcouldhereactsoBADLY?!  Isheallergic?!  ThegodswillsurelysmitemeforthisafterIhadagreedtobePEACEFULtohim...  His thoughts repeated this same theme over and over, going into horrible detail about what torments the underworld might hold for him after breaking his oath.

He calmed a little after a moment and looked up at Chance again.  "We need to move him."

[Tipod]

Assailed from all angles by barriers, tentacles, and blades, Bart had little option to save himself but to drop Eilan like a hot potato. Restrained by Garis, right forearm badly sliced by Kedered, and his side still punctured and bleeding, there wasn't much else to do besides give up the hostage shtick.

No challenge or witty retort came from his mouth as he glared at the others, eyes focusing particularly hard upon Ked. He was waiting for the next move.

And possibly the next opportunity to punch the incubus right in the nostrils.

[Lisky]

With the demon subdued and the violence seeming to start to subside, Garis yanked the demon a bit further from Eilan before lifting him upside down into the air.  Using his other tendrils to keep himself balanced, the incubus sneered with a mouth full of teeth.  "Now that you completely understand your predicament, let's try this again..."

He walked around, careful to balanced each step with additional tentacles, as anchors.  "Why are -you- demanding answers?  Why are you acting so gods damned hostile?  And why the hell are you being so gods damned dodgy?... IF you need some additional motivation, just imagine one of these little guys,"  holding up a tentacle in a hand, "Writhing their way into one of your -open- and -easily accessible- wounds... and choking the life out of you from the inside.  I've done it before, you can ask those who've been around me for a while... so... i suggest you answer -my- questions -before- i decide to whet my appetite"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered wasn't sure about the wisdom of letting Garis conduct the harsher parts of this interrogation. He had been more hostile to this newcomer from the start, which probably would have made it easier to have Garis use the 'Cubi honeyed tongue.

Still, had to play the hand you were given. He doused his sword and lowered his spells, and slowly circled the ensnared Demon. Trying to smile, he said "You must understand, we have been under some strain of late. A total stranger demanding answers and threatening our traveling companions; it leaves a nasty impression.  I'm sure we can put this unpleasantness behind us. One of our friends is quite the healer, we will have you out of pain in no time if you are willing to just answer a few simple questions."

Honey or stick? Honey or stick? Let us hope that he makes the right choice, Garis.

[Noone]

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Eilan was blown back, thanks to Orenio's barriers and Bart letting go. He fell back first into a patch of snow nearby. He tried to muster the strength to get up and keep going, but he was already going well past his limits. His fingers and legs twitched momentarily as he tried to get up, but he couldn't. Taking a few deep breaths, he looked up towards Bart and the others. After that, he laid his head down against the snow, and passed out.

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Kassin seemed to twitch a bit, his fingers tried to move rather vainly. He then put his left hand over his right forearm. A few blue-white sparks flew from his hands, as if he were trying to cast some kind of spell, but could not muster the concentration to do it. Kassin didn't have any open injuries, other than the dart's puncture point. Sympathetic shock, along with the venom was keeping him out of focus.

However, after a few moments, he seemed to get a grip on his senses, placing a hand on his forehead, it started to glow. He seemed to get a bit more in focus, but still looked rather ill. He eventually managed to get himself into a sitting-up position, occasionally rubbing hi right forearm, as if he were somehow tending to an invisible injury.

He squinted up towards Zot, he remained silent, though he nodded weakly.

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Your belongings are mostly intact, there's nothing obviously damaged or missing.
It's relatively easy to avoid visual notice in the dense forest, however, sound seems to travel easily, beyond the rushing of wind. Your ears pick up two sources of sound, one of them obviously louder than the other. They aren't very far apart either. Getting closer, you can hear them. You don't see anyone yet. No one seems to have spotted you either.

[Aisha deCabre]

Relieved that all of her belongings--weapons most importantly--were intact and in their proper places, Aisha carefully pressed on.  Her sensitive ears were faced like satellite dishes towards the area where conflict still abound, and though she could hear no discernible conversation, she hoped that sooner or later she could get an idea as to who was ahead.  Friend or foe.

This is perhaps one of the most chaotic regions I've ever visited, the black jaguaress thought.  Whomever runs this place, they'd better get their head on straight.  If an -adventurer- could get ambushed and killed on the road, it would be hard to tell how many regular travelers have died here.

Soon, camouflaged by her white cape to blend in with the snow and the shadows of the trees, Aisha came upon the source of the noises.  Her ears flattened and eyes narrowed, observing, hopefully before she was observed.  Her ring was thrumming slightly on her tail, with but a very minimal glow under the cloak.

There was conflict, alright, though about waning.  And at least more than one Creature involved.  The hunter instinctively bared her teeth at the sight of a demon, but noticed that he was...restrained.  So, there's at least one 'Cubus.  It's a good thing Chey convinced me to let her give me a mind shield before traveling, then.  The rest, to the eyes, seemed to be Beings of varying species.

And at least another winged one.  Aisha squinted.  ...That's not him, is it?  Urg.  Too far away.  But he seems to be with them; nobody's attacking.

The black feline had an interesting choice to make.  If the poster she'd read about this Kassin were true, and he was with them, then they weren't at all to be trusted.  But she'd briefly seen him save her life with her own eyes and then leave her to recuperate, which was a contradiction.  False bounties weren't common, but still probable.  She's had just a couple before.

And she hated them.  Her targets were at least scoped out to find traces of innocence before the deed was done.

There was little choice.  She'd have to show herself to know, and just hoped she knew how not to raise everyone's ire on a first impression.

Aisha let her cloak's colors change from white to brown--dull but common--and stepped out of the trees, hood up and nearly obscuring her face in shadow.  Her cloak too was covering her shoulders and hiding the appearance of her arms, which were close to her weapons belt just in case.

"S'cuse me!" she called out, voice level going neutral.  Her world-equivalent-of-Hispanic accent made her tone smooth, all while trying not to let the exhaustion still in her legs get the better of her.  "I was passing by, and heard fighting.  There trouble here I can help fellow travelers out with?"

[Tipod]

Yeah, we can put this unpleasantness behind us if I get to break your arm in six places. Fuck off with your little playing-nice routine.

At least, that's what he felt like saying. "...I'm not taking questions from him." He looked back to Garis. "You wanna know why I'm so edgy right now? Because I got caught between a bunch of lunatics and hillbillies with swords, that's why. It's been a long, shitty week and the last thing I wanna do is spend any more of it with a band of criminals. Let alone criminals who--"

Aisha's interjection cut him short. Immediately, his focus snapped to the approaching feline, then back to to Garis and the others; if he spoke up and warned her, he'd probably get killed, but if this was just a traveler who didn't read any wanted posters, these incubus heels could probably pass Bart off as some hired goon that helped cause the little battlefield scene they stumbled into. What the hell was he going to do now?

...besides wait, and keep the proverbial finger hovering over the panic button, of course.

[Shachza]

"Are you feeling well Mister Kassin?  That wasn't supposed to happen."  Toalacuzlotlixao started to reach out to put a hand on Kassin's shoulder before hesitating and drawing it back.  "Vampire Wasp venom should make you numb, not pass out.  You look better though.  Please forgive me."

"See, he's fine..."  He started to say as he looked back toward Chance.  Just then a Panther stepped out of the shadows a distance away.  Feeling very protective of Kassin while he was sitting on the ground, Toalacuzlotlixao did the first thing that came to mind; he summoned his bow.  In one fluid motion the bow appeared in his hand as he grasped the string, drew, and willed an arrow composed of magic into being.  The arrow was pointed in the newcomer's direction, but Toalacuzlotlixao's earlier intuition was correct and a wave of vertigo washed over him and he wobbled.  Altogether a very unimpressive display until he got his feet under him, and again he had to use his tail to balance himself.

Seeing no weapons drawn, Toalacuzlotlixao took to scanning the nearby area for other strangers not yet seen while holding the summoned arrow at the ready.

In 3 seconds flat his mind had gone from scared for his soul, to concerned about Kassin, to protective, to angry, to nauseous, to determined.

[Lisky]

Garis sighed at the demon's agitation, he still seemed dodgy, and it almost seemed a reminder was in order.  That is, until his thoughts were interrupted by an interloper.  Intruder was too harsh a word, as the browned shape emerged from the woods.  Garis probed carefully, focusing...  A bit too slender to be the usual enforcers he'd seen... the voice too pleasant, poised, feminine. she seemed to show no aggression, however, she was there.  If she ran, it could be trouble, if she stayed, he'd have to be careful until he could discover what was actually up. Her body-language suggests confidence, not fear, and her movements slow, deliberate.  She wants to be seen.  Not from around here...  

Rather nonchalantly, Garis used his tentacles to push the demon several feet further out, still hanging, but well clear of each-other's arm-reach.  He sensed the lizard's agitation, and used a spare tentacle to nudge his bow ever so slightly.  " Lets try and be a bit more friendly until we know what's up... alright?"  He said, rather nonchalantly to the skink.  

Hauling the demon along with him, the Cubi took a few steps towards the newcomer.   He pulled the demon behind him, so as to be easily reachable to both Ked and Eilan.  He replied to Aisha, "I do believe the trouble is being handled, mademoiselle, i would approach for a more formal introduction... however, as you might guess, a good deal of my attention is rather wrapped up at the moment... if you'll pardon the pun."  

He sent a message to Ked Do you think you can handle the demon on your own?  If she bolts, i'll need to catch her, and i'm unsure of whether or not i can manage to maintain my grip on the demon while doing so.  Try and keep yourself calm, and keep the others out of trouble... at the very least, we can see what she knows, and go from there.

Turning his attention back to the feline, he said, "I'm curious though..." a coy smirk across his face, "...Is there a particular reason you were wandering the woods?"

[Shachza]

Toalacuzlotlixao blinked a couple of times at the strange appendage that was lightly nudging his aim away from the brown-clad Panther.  He's never seen such a thing in person.  He was a little put off by the fact that he seemed to be suddenly surrounded by an Incubus, but he still wanted to do nothing more than examine that tentacle at length.

His gaze followed up the tentacle to Garis' himself.  The 'cubi had a friendly smirk on his face which was totally disarming.

"I am just protecting Mister Kassin.  My oath requires me to be peaceful to him, but the spirit is goodwill.  Sitting down would not be a safe stance in combat so I am honoring my oath."

With some effort he took his eyes off Garis' wings and went back to looking around the area for more newcomers/potential enemies.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha wasn't too sure as to how she'd be received, after showing herself.  But when she was regarded, and when the reptilian one suddenly stood up to draw a bow on her, she stopped and raised her hands in the multicultural gesture of goodwill.  Well, I guess I'm immediately suspect...not like that hasn't happened before, she thought.

But before she could say anything, the one that she assumed was an incubus stepped forward while holding the entrapped demon at a good safe length.  There was a quick sigh of relief from her, and she lowered her hands again.  Good, at least one has a little sense of diplomacy.  Her ears did perk slightly at the name that the reptile gave the winged tiger he was protecting.  So, he IS Kassin.

The panthress kept still and seemed emotionless, though she did smirk a little at the pun.  When the canine finished, she shook her head with a chuckle and pulled back her cowl.  The face revealed was that of a melanistic jaguaress, with eyes of a shade of deep red.  She had a smirk on her own face, calm and certain of herself, despite the situation.  "You say you don't have time for formal introductions, and yet you jump straight to the question of why I'm here, huh?"  She shrugged.  "Right to the point.  Good; dancing around isn't my style either."

Aisha hummed and bowed her head politely.  "To be honest, I didn't start out this deep in the forest when I was traveling here.  I'm not from around, and wasn't exactly prepared for how chaotic this place is.  I was ambushed by a bunch of brigands and caught in a bit of a battle--if you'd have gone back into the woods, you'd see a ton of bodies to prove my point--and got on the wrong end of a blade whilst running."

She lifted her cloak to show a nice, round hole towards the center of the back, and stains of blood.  "But, I guess someone decided to show me mercy, because I woke up back there and I still had a pulse.  Next thing I heard was you all scuffling," the panther gestured with a wave of her finger directed at the group.  "So I thought, maybe I could find people who could tell me where the hell I am, or the healer that I owe my life to.  But, maybe I'm delusional, after all I'm still a little shaky in the feet."

Her arms crossed.  "That's my story."  She glanced back at the reptile.  "And you don't have to worry about your friend there, señor.  As an adventurer and traveler, I have friends of many Creature backgrounds.  Angels, 'Cubi."  Her eyes narrowed as they went back to the wrapped prisoner.  "Demons however, I don't like."  She smirked back at Garis.  "So, if you want, I'll let you be done with your little friend there before the formal introductions, and I can ask why you are all wandering the woods, too."

Whomever the panthress was, she stood her ground, and didn't look at all about to run.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

I can handle the demon, and in truth, I tire of its posturing. Perhaps we should simply slay the thing and be done with it?

Kedered kept his ears pricked up, trying to hear and read the newcomer, a being, if she boasted about being an adventurer. She seemed a bit too put together for the usual Ithralian rabble, and her accent was odd, alien. She was probably from across the sea then.

Still, there would be plenty of time to interview later, as Ked walked behind the demon, he spun out spells to enhance speed, then strength, then sensory output, and kept a sword conjuration up at a hair's trigger. If the demon tried to bolt or attack, he'd cut out the thing's guts.

[Chairtastic]

Orenio let the barriers drop entirely when the brawl had come to a stop.  But of course, never a dull moment, someone else had shown up.  Just narfing glorious.  Since the main threat from the enraged demon was being handled by Kedered, from what Orenio could see, the feral meerkat scurried over to Kassin, and began digging in the snow, getting down to the soil beneath.  Pure energy barriers took a significant amount of effort to create, let alone maintain through a battle.  Now, earthen barriers just needed a sharp douse of energy to get moving, and the natural properties of stone and soil would take over from there.  But for them, he would need a firm connection to the earth, which the snow hampered.

He imagined he looked quite ridiculous, a weasel-like creature furiously tossing snow up in the air, to create a disk of exposed earth.

[Tipod]

Just as Kedered grew tired of Bart's attitude, so too did Bart scoff at the faces on display. Being held upside-down wasn't helping matters either.

The temptation to insult their latest arrival was sore, but that wouldn't accomplish anything besides probably a jostling from Garis. As much as it pained him, Ked was the only one he could talk with. After muttering a quick "besame el culo, you fuckin' *mutter mutter*," he shifted back to the skulking incubus.

"...maybe I fucked up in my introductions here, but isn't the bottom line that your little friend pulled a sword on me because I'm a blood relative of the guy who ratted on you?" His head turned, getting a sideglance of the skulking incubus behind him. "You're a Taldorthar, right? If I assumed all you Tall's are the same, I'd just ask why you're not serving tea and sandwiches at some old lady's bridge game or tutoring some rich guy's brat. When was the last time a Taldorthar did anything big like the wanted posters say?"

His eyes kept on Kedered as best they could. Slowly, the little cogs in his head spun. "...Unless, like my cousin, you're not really a criminal at all."

[Noone]

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Kassin put his hands on the ground, for support. He looked a little dizzy. He took a few deep breaths, trying to remain calm. "S...sorry... I just... need a moment..." He winced and looked over towards Bart and the others. Sighing, he then looked at Orenio with a perplexed look. He then took a few more deep breaths, eying no one in particular. "I... appreciate what you tried to do regardless... you can put the weapon down..."

He then looked up at Toalacuzlotlixao. "I should probably explain... I'm extremely sensitive to what those around me feel... such that it can be debilitating if I'm feeling to much pain or misery. When..." He stopped.

He then turned his view towards Bart and the others. Closing his eyes, he let out a soft sigh. "Us creatures, you'd think we'd all be pacifists if we can feel those around us so keenly... I suppose not all of us can..." He rested his hands on the ground once more, again, trying to stay calm.

Eilan was still completely out.

[Lisky]

Rather unceremoniously, Garis unfurled his tentacles, letting the demon drop to the ground behind him.  Ked has his back, and therefore, holding onto him was moot.  He reformed large leathery wings, folding them behind his back as he took a few steps forward, before taking a deep bow with an intentionally overacted flourish.  "Perhaps formal introductions could work after all.  Garis, Ahnasazi clan."

"As for what we were actually doing... investigating the disturbance, and saving whomever we can.  A road littered with bodies tends to be a good sign of struggle, after all... and... well, we encountered a little problem with one of those... As you might guess." 

He smirked back at the feline, pulling his arms behind his head in a casual, relaxed pose.  He flexed his arms lightly while craning his neck to the side. "however, it seems the mood has lightened considerably now that you've arrived."  Flashing his set of bright white fangs in a wide grin.  "If you're fighting exhaustion, perhaps we can scrounge something together for you.  After all, being tired and an empty stomach can't be pleasant.  Come, come, lets finish getting you patched up."

Garis gave Aisha a wave, signaling for her to step forward.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered forced a smile, trying to keep things friendly, and dropped the speed spell, so he could talk normally. "He is perhaps, a bit overzealous in his desire to keep the group safe. I think it was more your refusal to identify yourself and state why you wanted to know that really set the encounter as a hostile one in his eyes."

He circled, counterclockwise, more out of habit than of any conscious desire to get behind the demon. He pulled back his lips, and let memory guide him as his voice dropped into a toothy whisper. "I have not perused those wanted posters in great detail. But you need not worry about my credentials. It was, seven? Eight years ago? I forget exactly, springtime though. Trying to stir up a bit of trouble in Astarea, get them to see the threat that the Thularians caused. Well, I did not get exactly what I wanted, but I managed to get my hands on a Legion commander, a thousand under him."

Warmth accompanies recollection, and his eyes mirrored the satisfied glaze that they took in the aftermath of the act. "It was funny, he was not afraid of me in the slightest. Hated, with a black sour frothy rage, but no fear that I could discern. His soul tasted ever so vaguely of cinnamon, but with a very bitter aftertaste. But come now, crime is so much determined by who in power you offend. you should have enough sense to realize such things are largely meaningless. A better question, perhaps, is what can we offer one another? Bargains are so much more pleasant than bloodshed, especially as outnumbered as you are."