Broke for the better

COLT

I've been sleeping wide awake
Slow dancing 'round the cracks in the floorboards
Fighting myself while lying in a
Bed I made and can't ignore

The guild had put out a call. Crystal spiders moving into territory that isn't normal for them, putting new and undue pressure on travelers and the natural ecosystem. A hunt, or better said like a purge, of those individuals that have found themselves too daring to make such moves and unbalance the delicate order of the world here. 

Colt's got her hands full, but breaking from Hak Etme is a frequent thing to get supplies restocked and organized. With no well established stores and camps made out of tents and other non-permanent things, they're picking up and running around often. Better to do short jaunts to get what they need for a set project, be done with it, and repeat. Already en route to Halo for some trade and restocking, fulfilling the guild call proved a nice break away from the heat and sand and the weight of everything to do or that had been done wrong.

It's no surprise to find Deimos as part of the hunt today, what with it being his land. Colt nods as she walks up, pulling a hand out of her jacket pocket to wave hello before hurriedly fisting it back into the warmth of the fabric. She is dressed warm, having known to be traveling here, but the cold is ever scrabbling to seep in. "Spiders, huh?" she says with a tilt of her head, hat's brim skewing the layer of woods. She shifts her quiver and bow against her back, squinting into the trees some. "I lassoed one of these suckers once up here before, actually. Was trying to attack this woman, although she was harvesting it's silk for a quest."

---

I'm tired of running from the conversations
Screaming in the silence, all alone
I'm frustrated, I can't take it
But I'll fake it, then I'll hate myself again

The Sword made no mention of Colt’s appearance suddenly nearby as the guild assembled, milling around one another and making their necessary adjustments to equipment and plans. He figured she would’ve been deep in the throes of the desert by now, trying to cultivate and extract as much as she could before winter’s colder approach. But it wasn’t his business to pry into the hows and whys, for the present anyway. “They have been pushing their luck all season. Had to get rid of quite a few earlier.” Deimos grumbled in return, staring out over the vastness of the Greenwing with a cold, calm clamor to his features; eyes narrowed as he sought out the particular individuals for their hunt. His Leafchange had been full of anticipation and preparation; ensuring Halo was secure for the impending Deepfrost, and then the any-day-now arrival of his and Evie’s second born. It was a restless sort of energy diligently pulsing and pervading through his chest; that need for liberation and freedom and violence, combined with knowing he needed to be back home as quickly and efficiently as possible.

His brow arched at the notion of the ‘lasso’ again, being careful not to say anything about it but still snorting under his breath. Daring and bold approaches sometimes didn’t suit. “I prefer to set them on fire,” granted with a slight grin; not a wholly unexpected action when it came to potential ruination on his part.

Belial, soaring above, sounded the alarm though – a trill and bleat of movement and motion, before heading southward. “Here we go,” came on a long, slow breath and the sudden shifting into hellhound motions – nose to the air as the monster hunter members followed suit, used to what came next.

Deimos

we're all killers

generated with adobe firefly

COLT

I've been sleeping wide awake
Slow dancing 'round the cracks in the floorboards
Fighting myself while lying in a
Bed I made and can't ignore

Colt's features tighten with the seriousness with which Deimos responds, imagining the plague of such fearsome creatures threatening borders isn't easy. Just goes to show that the guild didn't call for aid lightly, because if this has been an ongoing issue, it's become too large or too persistent to ignore, and they mean to settle the score once and for all today.

Still, Colt can't keep back some of the wild grin that flashes in response to his methods. "I imagine it's quite effective," she hums, wishing suddenly she had a flamethrower in hand. It sounds useful as a warmer and a particularly violent tool that might make the spiders keep their distance. Though, she has no intention of getting close regardless, what with her bow and arrows at the ready on her back. "I'm sure it cleans the webbing in quick order," she adds, further considering the trials of dealing with such monsters in your backyard.

At the signal of Belial, Colt's gaze lifts briefly, before dropping to Deimos and his retreating words as he seamlessly shifts into a Hellhound. The massive paws leave steaming marks in the snow, water shimmering into ice as the smoking and glowing figure of the large, lava-born hound carries their party forward. "Signal when we engage," she tells a nearby guildmate, staying in the rear as she pulls her bow around, keeping it ready in her hands. She'd maintain distance, though her attentions turn to the side, watching for any flanking manuevers.

I'm tired of running from the conversations
Screaming in the silence, all alone
I'm frustrated, I can't take it
But I'll fake it, then I'll hate myself again

Belial’s directions drove him onward; concentration honed and focus pinpointed into different areas – the spiders themselves, and then the rest of the assembled team. Most of them were experienced, they wouldn’t have been aiming for the arachnids otherwise, but still, he kept one ear twitching back and forth in their direction, picking up on any moments, methods, or movements sure to send someone into an inauspicious nuance. Zuriel bid her own wiles elsewhere, waiting for the time she’d be needed.

As they all flickered into position, so did he – catching the foreign scents in the air, the sounds their quiet motions made as they slunk forward along edges of forest and plains. He ducked down beneath the cover of brush and nettles, the colors and hues of his coat blending into shadowy fixtures despite his immense size and bulk; taking a solid, stoic breath before he watched one of many legs begin to slide forward.

Only then did he launch, jaws locking onto its head, fire streamlining from his paws, as outcries rang out – signals to begin amidst a slew of nets, arrows, and incantations drifting and unfurling around them.

Deimos

we're all killers

generated with adobe firefly

COLT

I've been sleeping wide awake
Slow dancing 'round the cracks in the floorboards
Fighting myself while lying in a
Bed I made and can't ignore

Their approach slows to a crawl, and then a halt. The team shifts and fans out, settling for cover so as not to trade hit for hit with the beast. Colt does the same, creeping behind a nearby tree truck and tucking behind it as best she could. She'd pop her head around every so often to observe, straining to see through the dark of the woods at the threat others are already keen to.

Deimos launches himself in a fury of flame and vengeance, teeth sinking into the small head of the creature that's more leg than brain. It shrieks and wails at the sudden force of pain, too caught up on trying to wrench backwards from Deimos and the other assaults to manage landing any of its own hits. Colt is part of the rest who send weaponry streaking forward, whittling down the crystal arachnid. Colt reaches back for a sharpened arrow and nocks it on her bow, taking steady aim, careful to avoid Deimos or any other front liners bbefore loosing her shot. She aims high, targeting its horrendous abdomen.

---

The Wildwatch: Hunter’s Presence: Rolls with advantage against regular creatures (anything marked with a difficulty of Normal or below).

The Pencil Sharpener | An earthen quiver that sharpens any arrow placed inside.
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Action

Colt: 144 HP
Deimos: 1335 HP
Spider: 366-114=252 HP

I'm tired of running from the conversations
Screaming in the silence, all alone
I'm frustrated, I can't take it
But I'll fake it, then I'll hate myself again

The element of surprise worked in their fervor and favor; ripples of outcries pouring around in victorious, prideful boasting as arachnids’ pains echoed down the throng of wood lines and fields. The zip of arrows. The bristling of others’ magic. Deimos felt no other inclination but satisfaction and vehemence as his canines cut into flesh and fire seared into charred abdomens. The spider flailed and screeched and it bothered the hellhound very little; he’d heard far worse in and amongst battlefields through seasons and lives.

But what did rankle were the after-effects of smug proportions – ear twitching in the direction of his fellow hunters’ faltering nearby. It’d been honed within him from a young age to protect one’s allies, to shield, to preserve, to ensure the rest lived to see another day. Monster hunting was always a dangerous occupation; the toxins from these individuals could ravage and savage if not treated quickly. With a quick, harsh breath, he unleashed further dominion and demise, wreaking havoc on the beast as it strived to throw him off and aside. Then, once he finished this one off, he could head towards those mauled.

Deimos

we're all killers

generated with adobe firefly

COLT

I've been sleeping wide awake
Slow dancing 'round the cracks in the floorboards
Fighting myself while lying in a
Bed I made and can't ignore

As long as they could keep picking off the spiders like this, bit by bit, on the fringes and with advantage behind them, they should come out of this for the better. The great beasts are savage and not so easily deterred as other sorts Colt's familiar with. Still, she notes with satisfaction as her next arrow lands, sinking into the hardened shell of its exoskeleton with a solid thunk, the tip piercing into the softer flesh and body parts beneath. It squirms and shrieks once more, its many legs dashing about in an attempt to strike, webbing leaking from behind in ready use for some assault.

If only it had the chance between the onslaught of their fellows and Deimos' next fiery flash of fang and swift, molten paw. His black, eerily glowing hellhound shape is easy to find among the backdrop of white, an arrow by his own right amid the trees and crystal limbs. The spider drives down with two, sharp and hard appendages towards him, but Deimos is faster and his fleet footed shape carries him sure. Colt still holds her breath for that brief instant, worry creasing her features. Silly, maybe, given his exspertise both in the nature of these beasts, the lands, and his own abilities, and yet her throat tightens with the potential.

His melee assault is keeping more of them safe and upright in the back through, and not about to waste time watching Deimos unnecessarily, Colt gathers another arrow to her bowstring and sends it forth. This time she aims for the middle of the beast, hoping to pierce something more vital.

---

The Wildwatch: Hunter’s Presence: Rolls with advantage against regular creatures (anything marked with a difficulty of Normal or below).

The Pencil Sharpener | An earthen quiver that sharpens any arrow placed inside.
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Action

Colt: 144 HP
Deimos: 1335 HP
Spider: 252-114= 138 HP

I'm tired of running from the conversations
Screaming in the silence, all alone
I'm frustrated, I can't take it
But I'll fake it, then I'll hate myself again

Deimos had been struck by many things in life. Wounds were commonplace when one risked themselves day in and day out. It wasn’t a worry or apprehension for him – nor was he used to others hoarding trepidation for his sake (save for Evie, and even then, she was quite used to his antics). But that didn’t mean he willingly took them; just as capable of melding and molding himself out of the way of bombardments. He’d honed accuracy, precision, and swiftness despite his bulk and physique over the years, ensuring he could duck, dodge, and evade just as well as many others.

So appendages flickering out of the corner of his eye made for quick actions. A snarl rippled through, and despite the way the spider had been maimed and mauled, it still fought; something to be admired, perhaps, if he wasn’t on the opposing side. Avoiding Colt’s arrows was another issue, and he snorted as he heard the shot ricochet into the arachnid’s form, shaking his head briefly, before setting it alight again, jaw clenching over limbs, intending to pin it downwards into smoke, vitriol, and pain.

Deimos

we're all killers

generated with adobe firefly

COLT

I've been sleeping wide awake
Slow dancing 'round the cracks in the floorboards
Fighting myself while lying in a
Bed I made and can't ignore

Seems Colt should be paying more mind to herself than Deimos, who has already proven he can manage just fine. Her arrow sinks into the beast's midsection with another whine of sharp edges cutting into hard shells, unnaturally colored blood spraying up against the shaft as the spider rears back with a writhe of pain. This lands alongside Deimos' hellhound snarls, one limb fully submitting into a lameness against the Sword's tugging violence. Yet, the spider prevails, and it seems to have wisened to how difficult it is to catch Deimos.

Instead, the spider scurries with a sudden jolt of remaining strength, bolstered by an ally that hasn't yet revealed itself. Its limbs strike out towards the back line, where other guild members fight to cut it down alongside Colt. It's a scramble for retreat, but Colt proves too slow, her feet swept out from under her and throwing her hard to her back. Just then, another set of limbs fire out, and Colt's eyes widen as she sees the glint of the translucent swords they call appendages. She rolls to the side, snow packing around her in patches of white, and where she'd just been is punctured by a second spider's violent approach.

"Get the new one Deimos!" she calls out, her voice breaking as she fights for her breath while regaining her footing and trying to run back out of range. As she goes she grabs another arrow from behind her, the bow white-knuckled in her other hand swung around as she fires a parting shot at the first spider and all its audacity.

---

The Wildwatch: Hunter’s Presence: Rolls with advantage against regular creatures (anything marked with a difficulty of Normal or below).

The Pencil Sharpener | An earthen quiver that sharpens any arrow placed inside.
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Action

Colt: 144-25= 119 HP
Deimos: 1335 HP
Spider 1: 138-114= 24 HP
Soider 2: 366 HP

I'm tired of running from the conversations
Screaming in the silence, all alone
I'm frustrated, I can't take it
But I'll fake it, then I'll hate myself again

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

What should’ve been satisfaction in a clean kill ended up with other wilier portions from the creatures themselves. If Deimos was irritated by the notion, he didn’t show it – eyes narrowing, mind calculating and conspiring with this newfound boundary of chaos and deflection. There was no time to be idle – making a decision quickly and efficiently, knowing where boundaries laid between power and precision when it came to shifts and incantations, he rendered back into his usual Warden proportions.

“Duck down,” he ordered to some of them nearby, trusting Colt could finish off the one they’d already diminished, and swept outwards with his enchantments. Emboldened and wicked, they began to clamber and unwind easily from his machinations, threading together, one by one by one. The Air snagged and entangled, intending to maneuver the spider closer into his grasp and stay there, tucked into the sanctions of contorted, controlled winds, while spiraling Fire and Life Drain into it simultaneously; his intentions quite clear.

--

Deimos uses Mastered Air, Fire, and Life Drain on Spider 2.

Life Drain (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can take life force from a living thing to temporarily make themselves stronger within a 30ft radius. Heals for 50% of the user’s mastered damage and damages the target for the remaining 50%.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action

Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control flames within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action

Air manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control air within a 30ft radius.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action

Magic: Tailwind | adds additional air magic damage at mastered level on a successful hit when Deimos uses his air magic.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Other

Magic: Gale Winds | Adds additional air damage at basic level on a successful hit when Deimos uses his air magic.
Type: Grey | Rank: Basic | Cost: Other

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

COLT

I've been sleeping wide awake
Slow dancing 'round the cracks in the floorboards
Fighting myself while lying in a
Bed I made and can't ignore

In her haste to get the fuck away from the reach of their spindly, sharp lips and even worse, their venemous bite, Colt's aim fails her. She doesn't grab her breath and steady herself, and the arrow falls too short, sinking into the snow instead of an exoskeleton. It's a frustrated exhale of disapproval that hisses past her teeth as Colt turns back around and focuses on one thing at a time, which is adding space right now.

Surely not needing her shout, less command than communication despite the way it came across, Deimos doesn't seem to pay it heed and focuses instead on gathering his potential and ensuring everyone's survival. The hellhound vanishes back to man, and in an unfurling display of might, fire the only outwardly visible show of it, Deimos' braided magic staggers into the second spider. The creature visibly staggers and flails beneath the onslaught. In response, the first spider, the one Colt failed to end, lunges to deliver a bite towards the much slower version of man-Deimos. Already so wounded though, the first spider's aim isn't sure, and it misses Deimos.

By now the second spider has recovered a touch, and decided Deimos is a threat, it fires out a spray of binding webbing towards the Sword. This one too misses, Deimos proving quick enough still on his twp feet, and surely the lingering roast and drain of the spider has jostled its senses.

"I've got it this time!" she throws out towards Deimos, signifying she's aiming for the first one again, her arrow loosing not long after her breath in what should be a much steaier shot than before.

---

The Wildwatch: Hunter’s Presence: Rolls with advantage against regular creatures (anything marked with a difficulty of Normal or below).

The Pencil Sharpener | An earthen quiver that sharpens any arrow placed inside.
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Action

Colt: 119 HP
Deimos: 1335 HP
Spider 1: 24 HP
Soider 2: 366-298 = 68 HP

I'm tired of running from the conversations
Screaming in the silence, all alone
I'm frustrated, I can't take it
But I'll fake it, then I'll hate myself again

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

Wholly unbothered and detached from the semblance of spiders, his only concern laid in his compatriots; ensuring they’d all be living through the current debacle. So as he maneuvered around appendages and webbing, he snorted, half-inclined to roll his eyes, but understanding the inclination to strive and try, despite the inevitable encroaching upon them.

Though, half a glance towards Colt ensured she hadn’t secured the kill, and with it came the unfortunate attempts upon him once more, and he took a few strides out of the way, arching his brow in the Accepted's direction - possibly permitting some dark, dry humor to flicker through. Shaking his head and taking another steely breath, at least with the beasts drawn on him, they’d be distracted from mauling anyone else.

In the interim, however, he continued his work: blistering the wake of fire, life drain, and air around them, contorting, surrounding, and intending to snag at both now – in case Colt didn’t have it this time. Potent and powerful, mauling and maiming, the attempts were vicious, wicked, and precise, shaping demolition and desecration; a fine canvas of destruction.

--

Deimos tries using his Mastered Fire, Air, and Life Drain on both spiders.

Life Drain (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can take life force from a living thing to temporarily make themselves stronger within a 30ft radius. Heals for 50% of the user’s mastered damage and damages the target for the remaining 50%.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action

Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control flames within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action

Air manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control air within a 30ft radius.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action

Magic: Tailwind | adds additional air magic damage at mastered level on a successful hit when Deimos uses his air magic.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Other

Magic: Gale Winds | Adds additional air damage at basic level on a successful hit when Deimos uses his air magic.
Type: Grey | Rank: Basic | Cost: Other

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

COLT

I've been sleeping wide awake
Slow dancing 'round the cracks in the floorboards
Fighting myself while lying in a
Bed I made and can't ignore

Perhaps her operative word here should be, I'll try to have it this time. Her bowcord snaps partway through the draw, the arrow flopping down ahead of her with a great, searing curse cleaving her lips in its wake. Being knocked over and quickly rolling away as she had early had done unknown damage to her bow, the device just an ordinary one, not so god-touched as the quiver. A thing she meant to be working on now, in fact, but that had been her plans before her life went up in smoke and she meandered instead to the desert and its dunes, terribly empty of her favored god's devoted space to worship. Now it'd be some time before she could work on something better than this, and she huffs in greater frustration at the coompounding factors of difficulty.

Fortunately, Deimos is not tethered to such breakable options, and with a notion of preparedness, he aims at both creatures, not permitting them to attempt another act of violence upon anyone. They writhe into a finally, kicking squirm, their shiny bodies eventually turning over, legs locking into a curl against their abdomens. His fire (and the air and the life drain wound with it) engulfs them, both spiders near enough for his aim to land and sweep them both into the afterlife.

Relieved to see their bodies fall at last, Colt sighs and straightens up a bit. She touches her healing ring to her, the warm glow settling into her body, reducing some of the wear and tear she'd acquired here, though it cannot repair her bow. "...Sorry," she offers Deimos as the group regathers, readying to keep pushing on until they can ensure the forest is clear. Colt, rather useless without her main armament, trades with a guile mate who has more options than she, and they continue on to fortify the Greenwing back into a place devoid of spiders.

---

Colt: 139 HP
Deimos: 1335 HP
Spider 1: 0 HP
Soider 2: 0 HP

[FIN]

I'm tired of running from the conversations
Screaming in the silence, all alone
I'm frustrated, I can't take it
But I'll fake it, then I'll hate myself again