"An excellent point," Jigano agreed wryly to Ronin's tendency to put himself in harm's way. The bard barely knew the man and he already knew that! They managed to get the branch repositioned for another blow while they continued their upbeat chatting - and the bard had to admit, it was rather nice to be on an adventure with someone who could keep up their end of some cheerful banter. Edy was his usual companion for trouble adventure and wordplay (there was a sly bit of innuendo in there about how she had a clever tongue, but he decided to save that for her, knowing how she would appreciate it), but he needed a branch from a tree today, not a pile of smoldering ashes. And besides, it was good to branch out once in awhile, and improve relations with the Monster Hunter's Guild!
None of which mattered a moment later as his axe didn't quite do its job - or rather, his muscles didn't - and he was forced to retreat from the Wicker Woman's grasp. Either the tree was smarter than he thought, or else he was doing enough damage to the original branch that the vile vegetation had needed to lash out with an unharmed limb to try and catch its dinner. That thought was as reassuring as the previous one had been the opposite, and though he was normally inclined to pessimism, Ronin's bright encouragement shifted his mood towards the hopeful.
Isuma peeped her support as well, though she was smart enough to stay well back from the action as he sent his raven back to its circling taunting of the nearest unwounded branch, keeping it distracted with divebombs and strafing runs while Jigano nodded briefly to Ronin and dodged back in to the fray. Words could wait until they were safely out of the tricky tree's reach!
This time his blow - not his finest nor his strongest, but enough to clear the last few inches of straining grain - landed true and then through, severing the length of branch with a sudden release of tension for poor Ronin even as the bard and his animal entourage scampered gratefully away from the wicked Wicker Woman. Sap splashed up as the bark parted, but the bard's gloves protected him from the splatter as he laughed breathlessly and went to join his fellow Guildmaster. "Well! I wood-n't want to do that again anytime soon, but I'd say we went barking up the right tree this time!" he declared, blue eyes twinkling slyly to see what Ronin would think of the victory-puns.
None of which mattered a moment later as his axe didn't quite do its job - or rather, his muscles didn't - and he was forced to retreat from the Wicker Woman's grasp. Either the tree was smarter than he thought, or else he was doing enough damage to the original branch that the vile vegetation had needed to lash out with an unharmed limb to try and catch its dinner. That thought was as reassuring as the previous one had been the opposite, and though he was normally inclined to pessimism, Ronin's bright encouragement shifted his mood towards the hopeful.
Isuma peeped her support as well, though she was smart enough to stay well back from the action as he sent his raven back to its circling taunting of the nearest unwounded branch, keeping it distracted with divebombs and strafing runs while Jigano nodded briefly to Ronin and dodged back in to the fray. Words could wait until they were safely out of the tricky tree's reach!
This time his blow - not his finest nor his strongest, but enough to clear the last few inches of straining grain - landed true and then through, severing the length of branch with a sudden release of tension for poor Ronin even as the bard and his animal entourage scampered gratefully away from the wicked Wicker Woman. Sap splashed up as the bark parted, but the bard's gloves protected him from the splatter as he laughed breathlessly and went to join his fellow Guildmaster. "Well! I wood-n't want to do that again anytime soon, but I'd say we went barking up the right tree this time!" he declared, blue eyes twinkling slyly to see what Ronin would think of the victory-puns.
