saturations | Week 6 cyoa: hei, jiuqing, vin, and kashuu

[somehow, she manages to catch the shield he tosses her way, though it takes her a second to decide how to handle both this and the sword at once. as she watches kashuu dart in to deal a blow:]

Be careful...!

[holding both makes her less effective, to be certain. all the same, she doesn't want to approach without any form of protection, especially since the fire can reach further than the dragon's teeth or claws can. since kashuu is distracting it for a moment, she's trying to rush in towards its side to try and avoid the range of flames, even if the shaking makes her stumble and nearly trip.

once she's close enough, she's discarding the shield for a moment so she can use the unfamiliar weapon as well as possible, aiming to use her newly unlocked skill to stab at the dragon's side. her grip is unsteady, though, unfamiliar.

eli 🔪 vin Roll: [6] Result: 6]

[with a 4 his dumbass self does not land gracefully, he lands on his ass so i can have ass bruise assvidence that will hopefully get him scapegoated.

But he scrambles back up quickly at least, dodging off to the side and trying to loop around to the left of the dragon so it doesn't have Direct Blasting Access to him as he goes for another stabby along the back of its heel if he can get that far, angling his sword somewhat awkwardly since it doesn't have the edge he's used to.

He's also going to cast Intervention on Vin now that she's up close and also DEALING WITH A HEAVY SWORD AND SHIELD AT THE SAME TIME. HELP. He didn't think this through, this is what happens when you're used to fighting with people half your height who could benchpress five of you and still aren't used to being nerfed even after a month and a half.]

[ Wow! Vin will notice a passing white light, iridescent and lustruous, flying from Kashuu to her. When it catches her, there's a blue barrier that settles before disappearing. She feels that the damage she takes will be mitigated, then also a rejuvenating spell with it. Vin has received Intervention.

The dragon lets out a roar as it sees Vin come after it, too. Its claws come for her, but clashes against the glowing shield Kashuu gave her. With each second, the force behind its hand increase. The shield shrieks as its metal keeps Vin safe, but she gets to land her Edge of Shadow. Her greatsword blasts a red and purple surge of dark magic straight at the dragon, leaving it a large wound on its chest. It screeches in pain, but doesn't take any steps back.

With its 7, it knocks the shield away, but not enough to have it cast aside. Its maw dives for her now, fangs bared and looking for more than a nibble.

Kashuu, however, gets thick tail. The dragon purposely swipes with it in hopes to knock him away or break his bones. He gets a chance to nick its leggy though, but it doesn't seem to be bothered by it. The retaliation... Is more tail thrashing. ]

Use these on yourself—!

[she yells. ignore the fact that she used something on him just a few moments ago. it's fine. as the shield gets knocked away, she tries to dodge, but she's not quite quick enough to stop the fangs from sinking into the arm that holds the shield. at least it's not as deep as it would have been without the spell kashuu cast a few moments ago.

she gives a cry of pain regardless, but the bite means that she's close enough to try and slash at its face and eyes with the sword.

eli 🔪 vin Roll: [14] Result: 14]

You!!

[A very mature response spat out in the HEAT OF BATTLE. This is so stupid. Kashuu's whacked by the tail and it fractures his non-sword-wielding wrist, but with a hilarious combo of 2 and 3 rolls, he manages to grab hold of it instead of just getting catapulted into space, and now he's just clinging on for dear life.]

WAGH—!!

[...Actually.

While he's here he'll just try to climb up this tail while it's nyooming around with a 13 roll.]

[ Vin will find, despite the severity of the wound, it does very slowly heal. The pain subsides bit by bit, but in the end she did get chomped on by a large dragon. Its teeth digs in deeper, trying to undo the healing it senses in the wound it made.

For Kashuu, its tail is thrashing about wildly, sensing him on it, but unable to shake him off. It isn't until Vin starts slashing at its face and taking out its eyes does it writhe. It doesn't let go, though. Instead, it lifts her up by the wound and its wings beat. Slowly, it's ascending into the sky with them in tow.

Vin will also notice a toasty warmth against her wound and it's gradually becoming uncomfortable. If they both look at the dragon's mouth and throat, both areas are glowing red... It's preparing to breathe fire again.

With a 17, the barrier is doing well right now, but the knights only have so much aether between the two. ]

Hurry!

[she would retort if things were not escalating!! unfortunate.

the healing is welcome, but it doesn't fully offset the pain as the dragon bites down harder on her arm, fangs reaching towards the bone. that becomes even more dire as it starts to rise, teeth sinking in tight enough that she can't pull away. she tries to slash towards its mouth with the sword, but that's difficult to do from this angle.

gritting her teeth, as she starts to hear a strange voice in her head, she uses living shadow, hoping to land an attack that will force it to let go before that heat becomes strong enough to burn.

eli 🔪 vin Roll: [13] Result: 13]

[With a 19 to the dragon's 11, Kashuu is unfortunately not flung off even with all of its thrashing. It is tragic for me, aki, but! He'll use his strength to climb up its tail, even though this sucks with a fractured wrist which will probably become a broken wrist soon because he has no chill. Once he reaches its back, he'll heft himself upward, keeping an eye out for Vin who doesn't seem to be DOING WELL since she's in the DRAGON'S MOUTH.

Wasting no time, he'll start bolting along the dragon's back. With a 17 roll, he's aiming to do some damage to one of its wings near the base to keep it from flying too high.]

[ The dragon struggles to keep Vin in its clutches, having to now fend off three total entities. Living Shadow comes as a dark wisp, forming an identical copy of Vin, except its features cannot be seen. Its but a silhouette, holding onto its own greatsword. It lands on the neck of the dragon and raises its sword before plunging it into the dragon.

I find it hard for the dragon to keep Vin in its mouth after that, so it abruptly releases her from its fangs. It forfeits its plans to just explode Vin at this point. She may plop onto the snow, however hard she falls. Kashuu lands a hit on its wing and slowly it starts descending.

With a 1, the barrier that the two knights put up for their survivors break. Rip. Now the swarm of lesser dragons swoop down and the knights are left to defend who they can with what they have. ]

[dice maiden has blessed her on this day, so rather than falling painfully on her butt, she manages to land fairly safely, with only a little wince as she makes impact with the ground. her arm is bleeding badly, but she doesn't quite have time to worry about that as she notices the barrier breaking.

there's a worried glance towards kashuu, because she doesn't want to leave him alone with the bigger dragon, but - she hurries towards the place where the barrier just burst anyways, swinging the sword in a wide arc to hit as many of the smaller dragons as possible while avoiding the people huddled there.

eli 🔪 vin Roll: [17] Result: 17]

[He'll catch that glance but nod her way anyway, because he knows that Saving These Fake People is important to both of them for some reason.

TOO BAD DICE MAIDEN SAID 2 FOR KASHUU which means that as he's withdrawing his sword from the dragon's wing, he's absolutely just tumbling off its side. Fortunately his 12 means he lands Averagely, not graceful and not bad enough to break bones, and he's immediately sprinting toward where its front is to try landing another strike against the side of its neck as soon as it's in range, intending to cut in deep.

He's also casting his last Intervention for this encounter on Vin again so she can defense and regen a little better for 10 seconds against those smaller dragons HELP.]

[ is it, though.

Living Shadow continues to target the large dragon and its assault does not end when the beast lands back onto the ground. The dragon doesn't seem to consider it something it can attack, for some reason monsters in ff14 are kind of smart like that, and it blindly follows the sounds of battle. Living Shadow has left this dragon worse for wear where it's no longer quick, but it is still a threat.

Vin receives Intervention...2! And, again, she will find that her wound is slowly healing and the pain goes with it. It still hurts like shit, but it bleeds less. She may also take less damage than before for a short period of time.

The horde... They are smaller dragons compared to the large one, but they're still large in comparison to Kashuu and Vin. However, since they are tanks and these dragons rolled a 5, Kashuu and Vin fend them off well. They're being pushed back! Still, a blind bloody dragon is charging at them and the survivors. ]

[since kashuu rudely (it was not rude) helped her, she's doing the same, casting blackest night towards him once again.

she's a little slower to attack due to the wound in her arm, even if it's slowly healing. regardless, as the larger dragon approaches, she turns towards it to try to fend it off, slashing out with the sword as it comes close to the survivors. she's trying to take advantage of the fact that it can't see to land a more direct hit into the neck.

eli 🔪 vin Roll: [6] Result: 6]

[RUDELY. RUDELY!!! HELP. They're really out here with their shields, though, damb.

Since Vin's running off toward Big Dragon, Kashuu's just going to focus on the smaller ones, trying to cut down whichever ones are going most aggressively after the survivors, aiming for their throats. His 19 roll will probably help him with that! He'll then try to draw their attention away from the survivors and those two sad beat-up soldiers, attempting to lead them away with an 18 roll and the power of yelling very loudly and doing some flashy snowflake magic about it.]

[ I will give Vin an advantage because its movements are sluggish and it cannot properly retaliate and counterattack despite its 16. The dragon, with its 16, does dig its claws into Vin's leg. The direct hit lands and it cuts into its neck, but not through. Dragon scales are tough, but she does find her sword halfway there. Again... It's going to charge its fire. It's all or nothing.

The soldiers... They try to pick up their own, but there are too many for them three and they are also heavy with their armor. They attempt to use a ramp used for smaller cannons as a stretcher. Nice, nice. They are hustling, lesbians. Let's go!!

The dragons are pursuing now fewer in number thanks to Kashuu, of course, but they fly above, playing the waiting game. One swoops down and takes one injured and yeets them into the white abyss. Definitely dead. One of the knights becomes even more vigilant, taking out their bow to shoot. ]

Don't halt—Falcon's Nest is to our South!

[the claws sink deep thanks to her roll, tearing across her knee, and she stumbles slightly with a grimace. still, she's desperate as soon as she realizes the dragon is preparing to fire again.

with a motion that's as quick as she can make it, she pulls the sword out of its neck, then tries to shove back in, hard, into the cut she's already made. as she does, though, she closes her eyes for a second. under her breath:]

Stop talking to me...!

[is. is she good. who knows.

eli 🔪 vin Roll: [6] Result: 6]

[IS KASHUU EVEN CLOSE ENOUGH TO HEAR HER SHE'S OVER THERE WITH THE FAT DRAGON AND HE'S OVER HERE WITH THE DRAGONS YEETING PEOPLE but this is the expression he'd be making if he did hear her.

It's the expression he makes as he watches one of their injured get snatched up and just wholeass chucked over the side of this mountain into hell, in any case.]

Oh my god...

[Flying enemies.......... are bad.]

—Eh?! Falcon's Nest?! Should we head there--?

[He'll take this 19 roll and try to help them move some of their injured more quickly, poised to fend off any that might try to swoop down and yeet more. He's casting a worried look Vin's way, though, checking to see how she's doing with her LOW ROLLS EXCUSE ME.]

[ Well... She's halfway through its head, but it is firing up its fire ball. Her greatsword has a hard time, but it cleaves through right as the dragon spits its fire. Instead of from a tunnel that is its mouth, the fire just comes in a large wave. Its a heat that doesn't kill her, but... Wow. It is fire, a fire of vengeance and maybe she can feel the hatred in how it searches to singe all it touches. It fills in every gap and hole it finds in her, once the shield she gave herself melts away.

With her 6 and tank traits bolstering her to survive better than other professions, she can stay standing. Barely. The degree of her burns and where is up to you.

The knight had been leading Kashuu to Falcon's Nest already, no worries, but Kashuu does so well defending the dragons and maybe nailing them with his ranged snowflake magic spells when they come to his range. Another injured does not get taken.

Instead, a dragon comes to attack the knight in the back who's trying to snipe the dragons down. ]

Railoux!

[ Their ally cries, but the downed knight fending the dragons maw with their bow yells back: ]

March on! Leave me behind!

Edited 2022-03-29 03:15 (UTC)

[good news! the wound on her arm is getting cauterized! bad news! everything else!

the fire spills over her hand and arm as the shield is destroyed, and she cries out again, the damage extensive. she doesn't collapse, but she's clearly incredibly pained as she looks at the severed dragon head nearby.

please hold while she decides what to do next.

im mobile but i got a thirteen]

[I MEAN. He may be over with these other dudes but he's not so far away that he can't see that wholeass wall of fire from the stump of a dragon's neck washing over Vin.]

Vin—!!

[Probably at the same time that these other people are having their own tragic moment, rip. War is garbage and even though he knows it so well, it is still so tiring every time.

In any case, if no dragons seem to be heading Vin's way, he'll try to help fend off the dragon going after this apparent Railoux which WITH AN 8 PROBABLY WON'T DO MUCH. But. He's always going to prioritize the people he cares for, especially in a situation where everyone else is probably fake anyway, so. After that he's briefly ditching this side of the squad to sprint her way THAT'S HIS ADOPTED STRAY CAT AND SHE NEEDS HELP. The sprinting at least is a 13.]

[ Vin! Will not be met with any new enemy. The dragons are too focused on Kashuu and friends. Unfortunately, for Kashuu, yeah. He won't be able to help "Railoux" much. The dragon claws the shit out of him and it knocks off his helmet. What Kashuu will see, instead of a regular human that he does not recognize, is a familiar face. What is the point here when this pour sword is dead? His chest is gored through by the talons, as if the dragon is making a nest out of this poor lad. ]

Damn it, Kunihiro!

[ That's also a familiar voice. Damn. Identity reveal... Kashuu will leave them, but at least they're close enough to Falcon's Nest that he can see reinforcements are coming. ]

[since she's out of dragons to behead and kashuu seemed to be dealing with some nonsense before he ran her way, she'll start heading towards him in turn! she's kind of staggering at this point due to the ridiculousness going on with her arm and the wound on her leg, but it's fine.

she's still dragging this huge sword behind her just in case......]

[Oh, that's a face. That's not the first time he's seen Horikawa damaged on one of these ventures, either! Seeing his body gored so viscerally invokes a kneejerk response, where he wants to abandon everything to help him, but. Well.

It's not real, right? Because Horikawa dies and dies again, gutted open or nailed to a wall dirty and burned or just simply gone without a warning or a trace, and it's never real. The same with the bodies on the tables, or the emptiness of his Citadel. The same with that familiar voice. In this moment, it's not anguish or despair or loss that pulses through him so much as a fury, raw and biting and ice-cold - a venomous, roiling hatred for this place and what it does to them.

He'll keep running until he gets to Vin and he's just going to try scooping her the fck up with his 15 roll and making a break back toward Falcon's Nest and its oncoming reinforcements where that familiarly voiced Other Knight was. WHERE'S THEIR HEALER HELP THEM.]

Keep your guard up, tell me if you see anything from behind.

[ !! You're GOOD! The knights that have helped those Kashuu left behind are being ferried back to Falcon's Nest. Unfortunately for Kashuu, he will see the knights taking Horikawa's body back with the other surviving knight by their side as they draw closer to the village. When the leftover knights see Kashuu and Vin in their state (poor Vin, really), they rush over to help them. There is a man that leads the garrison and he speaks first.

This Elezen gently asks Kashuu to entrust her to the knight on black chocobo, so she can be flown to Falcon's Nest immediately. "Her injuries are grave, but naught our conjurer's can't handle. Do not fret, my friend... And I thank you with all of my heart. The second knight on chocobo can accompany you after her." His voice is soft with a friendly lilt, trying to comfort them.

And beside them there are two black chocobos with knights ready to ferry them! Yes, no? Maybe so? ]

[in any other situation, she would probably fuss about being princess carried, but everything hurts and she's dying (okay not the second part (unless...?)). she nods in agreement to his request, trying to clamp down on any pained noise that comes out of her mouth. when they make it to these knights and this stranger giving them that offer, though—

she'll go with whatever kashuu thinks is best, but that doesn't stop the way her uninjured hand tenses on his arm at the idea of being separated for any part of this, even if it's just riding separately. how are they supposed to get there on the same chocobo? good question that she's not thinking about!! she looks up at kashuu, though.]

...What should we do?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject