Training Beneath a Blue Umbrella Sky
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#15
Usually the swiftness of this instincts was a blessing, but Jigano tilted his head in wry acknowledgment that, perhaps just this once, it would work against them. Still, he had faith in the alchemist's greater experience with his forms, and the manticore's sturdy musculature against his own more sinuous and slender length.

Though he had stood up first, he was unprepared for Remi's swift first attack, shifting back in too-late reaction as the rock bounced off his scales. The look he turned on the alchemist was almost comically affronted - wounded surprise writ large on his scaly face, while amusement chimed silently through the bond, betraying his acting skills.

Then the alchemist got serious, using his earth magic in a way that Jigano could only envy as he shifted his long, serpentine bulk back to give himself room as he watched the tentacles warily. He was still swift for his size, but he was so much bigger than he was used to being, and as the earth-tentacles released their ammunition his attempt to dodge to the right was only partially successful. He managed to get his shoulders out of the way, but the earth impacted against the silver scales of his flank instead, causing an annoyed snort to send a cool breeze towards the alchemist.

He shook himself again to dislodge the clump, nosing the smudges left behind before turning to face Remi once more, tensing his muscles as he nodded to the earth-master with a flicker of frustration at his own clumsiness licking at the edges of his thoughts. Again? he requested, determined to do better this time
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#16

It had taken them months to get to this point, of trust, honesty, and mirth. Despite his boyish optimism even Remi wasn't sure the pair of them would ever reach a place that could be called anything more than polite acquaintanceship, and yet here they were. He found himself glad for it.

At a distance Jigano would likely have been able to evade the attack, but close up and unused to being so massive, the alchemist wasn't entirely surprised to see dirt bouncing off of the silvery scales. Remi had learned that as a manticore, evasion wasn't always an option. Luckily his bulk could sap up quite the number of assaults, but it certainly wasn't intuitive to simply let oneself be hit.

Nodding, the earthen columns disappeared just as two large boulders rose up from the ground. (Remi was going to have quite a bit of re-sodding to do after this). Using his telekinesis and earthen magic to manage the large chunks of earth, Remi sent them outwards from himself as if to make a circle with Jigano at the opposing point. The two hunks of earth would try and simultaneously strike the dragon's flanks, with Remi doing what he could to react to the Sage's movements when he inevitably tried to evade.
until the lambs become lions.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#17
If they weren't friends they were something very much like it, in spite of their rocky start. Jigano had come to value Remi's optimism as a resource that was far too rare in the grey and dangerous grounds. More, the alchemist had earned his respect and trust over the seasons, and it was all the more profound for having been earned the long way. He, too, was happy that they had been able to mend fences and come together to help each other out.

It gave him hope that matters between he and Sam might eventually heal again.

He was no delicate flower on the outside anymore, and the first dirtballs had been more warning than threat. The fact that they'd still hit him was reason enough to take them seriously, though, and Remi wouldn't let him off easy. The dragon's eyes widened at the boulders that arose, and the ease with which Remi balanced them. Oh, he did not want to get hit with those! He snorted, lowering his head, as the stones began to move around, head snaking to the left and right as he curled himself into a crouch. He didn't wait this time, leaping before he thought he'd need to - not straight up, but to the right in an attempt to tackle that boulder and grip it in his talons to shield against its incoming mate.
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#18

It wasn't what Jigano had asked for but the alchemist could only hope it was what he needed. Dodging rocks was one thing, but from the way the Sage had described his encounter with the Voice, Remi thought that perhaps being hit wasn't ever going to be Jigano's problem.

It was being restrained.

And so as the two boulders collided spectacularly—debris flying everywhere—vines suddenly exploded from within. Strong but flexible, they shot outwards like so many octopus legs meaning to coil around the dragon's nose. Then, if possible, to anchor his nose towards his chest as they spread and multiplied, growing more fibrous and reinforced. Biting down to focus himself, the alchemist did his best to focus on his mage. Jigano was strong especially in this form and Remi had no idea who would win should their skills be put to the test.

But this attack wasn't meant to have come from Remi after all, but was meant to represent all the Sage couldn't overcome (or could).
until the lambs become lions.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#19
Well, damn.

Sometimes having perceptive friends (or friend-adjacents, or whatever they were these days) could be a little too much of a good thing.

Jigano had been hoping for expecting the crunch of stone against stone, and had just started to release his hold on 'his' boulder triumphantly when vines lashed out unexpectedly to wrap around him. First his muzzle, then his serpentine neck, and as he struggled, surprise and then anger building within, the vines only grew more tenacious. He landed heavily on his side, attempting to thrash and tear the vines free with muscular strength alone as his roar of outrage caught in his pinned jaws and came out a hissing growl, like a very large and angry steam kettle. A snarl tore through the Attuned bond, less words than emotions as anger flickered with fear and sparks of rage and panic as he was pinned more and more thoroughly by the insidious green tendrils.

It wasn't the first time he had been bound by vines. It had happened before, also in the basement of the Spire, that source of all nightmares. Then he had been trapped in his serpent form; smaller and less powerful.

Trapped by the Tulmhainar's magic, trying to protect her from the unknown trespassers.

He had hated it then, too, but not to the same extent. The same irrationality and rage. The trick to it on that day had been to be still. To relax and show that he meant no harm, that he was trying to help. The way the Voice had bound him had been different, a cold and casual dismissal, getting him out of the way and threatening him with worse, like a chicken bound for the dinner table. The way Remi was binding him now was more akin to the Tulmhainar's vines. He could survive that. He had before. He forced himself to breath slowly, to draw in air and remind himself that he was going to be alright. He was caught, but he wasn't helpless. He was stronger than this...

The red faded slightly from his vision as his chest grew tight, and though his jaws were shut he could still breath out, exhaling that strange tightness in a cloud of odorless gas towards Remi, instinct calling forth an ability he hadn't realized he possessed in the short time he had been in his dragon's shape. He couldn't quite overcome his emotions to make himself relax, but though he remained tense as a drawn bow he stopped trying to thrash, poised and trembling on the edge between lucidity and bestial violence once more.
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#20

He hadn't asked, but then again, that was all part of it. Life wouldn't ask permission, just as the Voice hadn't when she so completely taken away Jigano's ability to defend himself. Perhaps it was too early, perhaps it wasn't what he Sage had wanted from this, and if so, the alchemist would apologize profusely. All he knew was that his friends had once done what they thought Remi most needed often before he was ready; it was that aid that the bard had asked for.

Flinching unabashedly at the fury and hostility careening through the bond, the alchemist held his magic in place best as he could. Against a dragon though, it took all he had to hold measly vines and such in place, no matter how reinforced they were.

Watching with tense muscles and bated breath as the dragon when from red-zone to a place of much more clarity (or so it seemed), the alchemist waited to see what Jigano would do next. Shift? Retaliate? Tell Remi to stop?

Though he couldn't smell or see what it was the Sage was doing, his body responded immediately. Remi's limbs, already tense and tight, became incapable of moving. Even his eyes refused to blink after a moment, and as panic set in and his mind began to whirl, without his body's ability to minutely address changes in his balance, the alchemist tumbled over stiff as a board. Physically bound his mind was still free, and so releasing his hold on Jigano the alchemist swiftly tried to cushion his fall with a bit of moss.

If..this is you, then well done. If not..I think we may have a problem. Remi called out with relative calm in his mental voice, despite looking like a corpse.
until the lambs become lions.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#21
Each constrained breath was a torture, each heartbeat a small eternity as he trembled within the confines of the vines, fighting back the red rage and panic that threatened to overwhelm him in the balance of each passing second. What he held on to wasn't true clarity so much as a leash on the violence that pressed against his ribs from within, threatening to spill out in a thrashing, writhing paroxysm that would either tear plants or his own muscles in his desperation to break free. It wasn't a conscious response to call forth the paralyzing breath of a silver dragon from his own world - at first he didn't even realize what was happening, not until some of the weight in his chest seemed to ease as pressure within him whispered out to freeze his opponent, as he himself had been frozen, trapped within his own body.

He didn't know what was happening until Remi fell nearby, and Jigano rolled a brightly opalescent eye to follow the sound. He couldn't see the alchemist well given his own gift-wrapped state, but that was solved a moment later as a familiar voice pushed through the haze of fear and rage and coalesced into recognizable words in his mind. The dragon snorted, exhaling the last of the gas through his teeth before sucking in a fresh breath and latching onto the puzzle with the desperation of one who needed a distraction from the clamoring panic at the edges of his own mental voice. Ah... I think... the silver dragons of my world... most of them breathed ice, but some could breathe a paralyzing gas?" he hazarded, unable to stop himself form shifting and squirming within the living prison he was still bound by. Release me, please. If it's the gas, the effects should wear off soon. If it's not... I should get you back to town as quickly as I can.
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#22

Oh some of them breathe paralyzing gas, do they. Remi hummed back dryly, his mental voice sounding strangely amused by it all. Nevermind the fact that after what he just pulled with Jigano he was in quite the helpless state should the dragon decide that willpower was a bit overrated.

Releasing Jigano instantly, the vines and such falling lifelessly to the ground, Remi could only wait where he was to see if he was going to be made an example of by a dragon-Sage who didn't appreciate being pushed farther than he wanted to go.
until the lambs become lions.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#23
I... I'm sorry, the bard offered, genuinely contrite beneath the tendrils of panic and rage that continued to gnaw at the edges of his thoughts. I didn't realize I could. Which had partially been the point of this, in a way. Finding limits, testing control. He had found the limits of his physical strength, but discovered a new ability in doing so.

But moments later the vines fell away and Jigano rose swiftly, stretching limbs and spreading his wings out to their full extent as he rose onto his hindlimbs and tilted his head towards the sky, letting out a reverberating croon of relief. A few moments later he dropped back to the ground and padded over to Remi, nosing the alchemist's arm gently as he settled back down. Shivers of reaction still rippled beneath his scales, and his limbs were a little shaky with adrenaline and relief. He curled a protective circle around the paralyzed man, sending a puff of chilly air from his nose over Remi's feet as he watched the young man for signs of returning motion. Does anything hurt? he asked worriedly. I'm afraid I don't know how long this will last if it was my fault... A fault he was becoming slowly more certain of, as he searched inside himself to find the tautness in his chest where such a substance could have come from.
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#24

Remi sent an amused pulse towards the Sage, mentally waving away the apology. Ronin blasted me with stars the other day. Apparently I bring out all sorts of new abilities in those around me. He silently chuckled.

As Jigano breathed the frosty air against Remi's lower limbs, the alchemist returned absolutely nothing; physically nor mentally. I take it you have just done something? He asked, unable to tilt his head to see. But no, nothing hurts. I feel absolutely nothing. Remi added with a mental shrug.
until the lambs become lions.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#25
A useful sort of skill, Jigano tried to tease back, relief clear in the bond at Remi's good natured acceptance of his apology and lack of anger. With the confining bonds gone his own draconic temper was swiftly receding, washed away with the joy of freedom and ability to stretch his wings again.

Less relieving was the way Remi stayed motionless, and apparently numb. Ah, I just sighed a bit, the dragon admitted sheepishly. The numbness worries me as much as the paralysis though. We'd better get you home. Hopefully Ronin wouldn't be too annoyed at Jigano if he was blasting his husband with stars, too. Taking great care, the dragon shifted his talons into the earth beneath Remi's prone form, lifting gently from below to avoid scratching him. I guess here's where we find out if dragonflight is like ravenflight, he warned his helpless passenger with an attempt at levity that might have fallen a little flat under the circumstances. Powerful muscles bunched beneath silver scales as he leapt to the sky, wings beating hard to lift Remi's weight as well as his own. Much like the first time he'd flown, he relaxed into letting his body handle the minute details and soon he was winging his way across the fields, cradling his young friend close to his chest to protect him from the wind.

It didn't take long to reach the Settlement and get directions to the new Taliesin residence (though not without a few screams and shrieks from startled townsfolk as he landed). It was a contrite bard indeed who carried Remi inside and discovered to his dismay that his Healing magic had no effect on the paralysis, though at least after a short nap (and a very worried Loreseeker trying not to pace) the alchemist seemed fully recovered and no worse the wear for their new discovery.

{Finished}


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)


RPG-D