"Milady, I wouldn't dare to look a second time without your permission," the bard grinned back, tilting his head in as close as he could come to a gallant bow in their current position. "I've seen the way you swing an axe!" It was strange but oddly comforting to be bantering with someone again, as he used to joke with Isla and Edrei. Some had been lost to him, yes, but perhaps others would yet be found to soften the edges of those heartsore wounds, building on the foundation of those who had come before in his life.
There were no axes to hand today, but her mention of electricity was a welcome surprise, given the nature of what they were hunting. He took it in stride, no stranger to mages and their tricks, especially since he had got a few of his own back - and some new ones besides.
Swift and fierce the worms struck, but Hotaru was ready and waiting. As the first of the Magna Vermis threw itself against her its soft pink body pressed against her hands first, and the creature whistled an odd, high-pitched keening noise as electricity crackled over its damp skin. The sizzle - and slight smell of undercooked chicken - distracted it from any effective follow through, but it couldn't stop its momentum and she might find herself pushed back as it squirmed frantically in a knot that risked unintentionally tangling her legs in its slimy coils as the electricity tweaked near-mindless nerves to spasms.
She couldn't quite reach the one that went after Jigano, but the bard had it well in hand as the earth between him and the worm rose up in a rough slab. It crumbled as the worm struck it, but it stopped its forward movement and seemed to momentarily daze it. Leaving the offensive tactics to Hotaru, the bard worked swiftly to raise a second wall behind the Magna Vermis they had attracted - cutting off the attacking pair's bigger sibling from seeing the trouble they were about to be in.
"Can you fry them any faster?" he called, backing up against a tree and stomping his foot to keep his own prey's attention.
There were no axes to hand today, but her mention of electricity was a welcome surprise, given the nature of what they were hunting. He took it in stride, no stranger to mages and their tricks, especially since he had got a few of his own back - and some new ones besides.
Swift and fierce the worms struck, but Hotaru was ready and waiting. As the first of the Magna Vermis threw itself against her its soft pink body pressed against her hands first, and the creature whistled an odd, high-pitched keening noise as electricity crackled over its damp skin. The sizzle - and slight smell of undercooked chicken - distracted it from any effective follow through, but it couldn't stop its momentum and she might find herself pushed back as it squirmed frantically in a knot that risked unintentionally tangling her legs in its slimy coils as the electricity tweaked near-mindless nerves to spasms.
She couldn't quite reach the one that went after Jigano, but the bard had it well in hand as the earth between him and the worm rose up in a rough slab. It crumbled as the worm struck it, but it stopped its forward movement and seemed to momentarily daze it. Leaving the offensive tactics to Hotaru, the bard worked swiftly to raise a second wall behind the Magna Vermis they had attracted - cutting off the attacking pair's bigger sibling from seeing the trouble they were about to be in.
"Can you fry them any faster?" he called, backing up against a tree and stomping his foot to keep his own prey's attention.
