[PQ] Head down till the work is done

Well this is a bit of a pickle. On the one hand, Ronin knows how important this is to Seren, to get this right. On the other hand, 'tis not the season for the Star to be jolly, and all higher reasoning vanishes at the sight of his daughter skidding down the icy slope and into the Ursur's path. He doesn't need Sah to tell him to use his magic (or to give him orders at all, but again, that's the season's fault, sorry buddy) - he's already on his way back, planning on sliding right between his daughter and the hulking creature. "Close your eyes!" he warns, and three starbolts zing to life around his shoulders before lancing towards the Ursur with the intention of stopping the beast dead in its tracks. Emphasis on dead. Ronin loses his ever loving mind, plants himself between Seren and the Ursur and zaps it with three starbolts. Magic: Shooting Stars | The user may summon celestial energy as a projectile. Control is excellent, and multiple projectiles may be created at once. (In quests or other combat situations requiring dice rolling, only 3 stars may be created per post). Type: Light | Rank: Mastered RONIN Darkness is a funny thing. It creeps up on you.

Who am I, that the morning star would light the way for my wandering heart?

Up until now, the whole endeavor had been a perfect storm of bad luck. But here, now, in the moment of truth that all changed.

Sah's protective impulse is highly rewarded as not only does the icicle come loose in his hand without effort, his aim and throw are near flawless in strength and execution. The improvised spear is hurled straight into the front of the Ursur's chest, and the beast let out a howl of pain, red staining its mouth from within.

Already gravely wounded, the creature's fate is utterly sealed a mere moment later. It could do nothing as Ronin came hurtling down to protect his daughter. When the starbolts went off, it spelled the definitive and overwhelming death of the Ursur. With a heavy thud it collapsed to the ground, steam still rising from the gaping maw while its tusks clattered down only a few feet away from the Dark Star.

Slowly, Seren lowered her arms from where they had been shielding both her own eyes and Lilly's. Icicles shuddered and tinkled over their heads, but stilled after a moment, unmoving. Light danced in a blinding after image before her, and with a dazed look she blinked, shaking her head to clear her vision. As she looked up to see her father stand before her, and registered the Ursur on the ground, as well as the spear of ice in its chest, an expression of quiet awe entered her face. She came to her feet slowly, clutching the puppy securely in her arms, and looked between Sah and Ronin. Mute, for once very much lost for words.

Except... "Thank you. Dad... Sah. Thank you."

She could not even bring herself to be sorry that her quest failed so spectacularly. Bad luck, a much needed reminder of how dangerous this world was, and... well. Seren had absolutely learned that magic might well be the best tool she could ever hope for. Without it... she was weak.

Yet, still, blessed with the fortune of having such a father, and such a friend. Perhaps she did not need more than that.

"I... suppose that's that," she murmured, once the immediate shock had subsided. Offering Sah's companion back to him, the girl looked between the two men. A little searching, halfway hopeful. "Do... you both still want to try to find camp? Or we could return. And I suppose we should take care of this one..." Very regretfully, she slipped over to the Ursur, and  knelt to place a hand on its still, unmoving form. She never meant for anything or anyone to get hurt during this trip.

---

Sah rolls a critical hit! and strikes the Ursur straight in the chest with his icicle.
Ronin's starbolts hit the Ursur only a second after, and the creature goes down.

By some miracle the icicles in the ceiling do not fall down on them.

The mission is a fail... but at least they got an Ursur and some insight out of it?

Please post again for wrapping up! Do they go on a fun (now magically permitted) overnight stay, or head home? Either way, this PQ is concluded. Thank you!

Seren

Lightning makes no sound until is strikes

Sah's eyes snapped shut at the warning, only for them to widen afterwards. He'd known on some level that Ronin was powerful, but he hadn't realized just  to what extent. But it did make sense given Seren's own power level. The Abandoned felt rather outclassed in his current company but he was rather proud of that improvised spear.

The second the threat was taken care of, Sah was sliding down the ice to reach Seren and Lilly. Before he even skidded to a halt Lilly jumped into his arms, small form shaking. The Abandoned held his companion tightly, running worried hands over her sides. "Lill..fuck...I'm so glad you're ok." His voice shook slightly, and  Lilly gave a small whimper, hiding her face in the crook of Sah's neck. Giving her a tight squeeze, Sah eyes glanced over and scanned Seren. "Are you ok? You're not hurt? Thank you. Thank you so much for catching her." He was tempted to pull the demi-god into the hug as well but his arms were currently full of puppy. And the Abandoned had a hunch that Ronin would want to hug his daughter after that scare.

Once the adrenaline and fear began to subside, Sah considered Seren's question. He eyed the darkening sky. "It's gotten too close to sunset to safely make it down the mountain. Unless one of you wants to teleport us out, let's camp for the night.  Dinner can be the ursur. I have what we need to prep it anyway." The hunter had been expecting to have to catch and prep a deer or something for their dinner. Not an ursur. But he could still do the task with relative ease. But if one of the demi-gods wanted to send them home in an instant, he wouldn't complain in the least.

Sah

RONIN

the darkstar

light is easy to love.

Sah is correct in his assumption, and Ronin turns to scoop Seren up and into his arms without a word. His torch has long gone out, but he has no need of it now that magic isn't out of bounds - a mere thought of his family has him lighting up from within, a starlit dazzle suffusing the cave. "Are you alright?" he asks his daughter softly, smoothing her hair back out of her face and kissing her forehead.

"I have no issue camping here. We will have to clear some of the icicles - I'll do that while you take care of the Ursur," he suggests, parting from his daughter with another kiss to her dark locks before he's straightening up. "We can try this again in the Greatwood, perhaps?" he suggests. "It's a much better place for spending a night without magic, even though it won't go easy on you."

show me your darkness.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Who am I, that the morning star would light the way for my wandering heart?

The puppy jumped from her arms, and Seren found herself swept up in a bear hug that made her ribs creak. A quiet squawk in protest was all she could manage before Ronin let go; she gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile, happy yet a little awkward about the fussing when Sah was watching.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not hurt," she answered, and gave her father a quick squeeze before wriggling away. Turning to Sah, she touched a hand briefly to his shoulder - the second best thing she could think of, since his arms were full of wolf. "Is Lilly okay? It all happened so fast, I didn't have time to be gentle with her." Much tugging and yanking and squeezing - no wonder if the companion was upset.

Looking up and down the tunnel, Seren wasn't sure she enjoyed the idea of spending the night in this place. But now they had killed an Ursur for the priviledge, which made moving on feel... rude?
"Alright, let's get settled, then. Sah, do you need help with that? Otherwise, I think I'll check how far those other tunnels down there go. So we don't find more surprises."

Reaching for her own gifts, Seren summoned a handful of softly gleaming star-cats around her feet. While small and unable to go far, they could at least provide some light and a bit of heads up in case there was something else nesting in here.

Seren

Lightning makes no sound until is strikes

Ronin's suggestion  got a nod from the Abandoned. "I'd be willing to tag along again to the Greatwood. I love it there, the Wildwood is beautiful." It was where he'd found Lilly after all.

Crisis averted, Sah begun to relax, exhaustion kicking in now that the adrenaline was crashing. He was relieved that they'd come out unscathed. Seren's concern was met with a gentle smile. "She's fine. Just a bit shaken up from it all. You likely saved her life." His gratitude was practically bleeding off of him, written in every inch of his expression.

"I've got it, don't worry." Sah assured Seren as he  began to work on the ursur, skinning and preparing the meat. Lilly curled up tightly against his side as he worked, still seeking comfort. Getting into the normal rhythm of work,  Sah did chuckle lightly in amusement at how fast the demigods were returning to using their magic. It was fair, most of Sah's own magic was more offensive then not. If he had a magic that was useful at the moment, he'd probably be doing the same.

Sah

RONIN

the darkstar

light is easy to love.

In his current state, Ronin doesn't give a fuck who's watching. But he does smile a bit and let Seren go as she wriggles away, watching as she and Sah go about their tasks. "Be careful," he calls on autopilot as she moves to roam the tunnels, Ronin keeping an ear sharp for her in case she gets into trouble. In the meantime, with Sah working on the Ursur, the Star works on getting the fire started.

They'd brought the fuel and the tools along to get it done, but it's quicker work to partially shift his fingertips into phoenix feathers, and soon enough the kindling is crackling and smouldering and there's a fire-to-be on its merry way. With that done, he uses his starbolts to begin cracking away the icicles overhead, trying to ensure that they don't get impaled while they sleep.

show me your darkness.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Who am I, that the morning star would light the way for my wandering heart?

"I will," she promised with a smile, perhaps a little too flippant and casual considering what just went down. Giving Lilly and gentle pat on the head, Seren gathered up her cats and began to slip and slide her way back down the path, to the rotund convergance of the caves.

On closer inspection, only two of the openings were actual tunnels. One was merely a deeper indent in the rough stone walls, dark and shadowy - an alcove fit for a bear, and likely where the Ursur had been nesting, if the cracked bones and tufts of fur was any indication. The other two paths were deeper, and Seren very cautiously entered the right hand one. Sending the glowing felines ahead, she followed the path several yards in, all while the walls grew closer together and narrower, until she had to walk hunched over. Claustrophobia was not an ailment she suffered from, but she could still feel the weight of mountains looming above her head. When the path ended, it was abruptly and in a pile of rubble. Stone and gravel filled the path forward - which meant that nothing would be able to come for them from this way, at least.

The other tunnel proved to be a bit different. It was wider, for one, and the floor was strangely smooth for a cave. Where the first one had carried the look of a lava tunnel, along the lines of Rae's Fingers, this one seemed... made. When the path showed no sign of ending, and the crash and rumble of Ronin's falling icicles had faded to barely audible, Seren decided to turn around. The deep darkness behind her back was unsettling, and lingered on her face when she returned to the others.

"One of the paths end in a cave-in," she reported, "but the other one... I don't know, I had a bad feeling about it. There... aren't any cannibals left in Halo anymore, is there?" She tried a laugh, like it was only a bad joke... but it sounded much too strained to be wholly convincing.

Itching for something to do, she approached her father to retrieve her bag, and the equipment needed for setting up camp. "Do you think we should keep watch tonight... just in case?" The question was mostly directed at Ronin, though her gaze passed over to Sah as well.

Seren

Lightning makes no sound until is strikes

Sah glanced at Seren as she gave her report. The second tunnel was certainly a cause for concern. "Ah, well... they're are some occasionally. But usually not in the Fangs. When they are seen, they're typically at Whitebrim which is on the tundra and not the mountain." Even when he'd hunted there, Sah had never encountered any cannibals.

But then a thought occurred to Sah that had his eyes snapping to the tunnels. "Shit. Wait. They're supposedly an Ascended shrine up here somewhere." He'd never been personally,  but he'd heard of it, and how it was within a tunnel in the Fangs.  His eyes went to the two demi-gods of Safrin. "Maybe we shouldn't camp here, just in case."

Sah

RONIN

the darkstar

light is easy to love.

Ronin by now has been quite looking forward to some Ursur in whatever way it ends up being cooked, and he's lit up by the merry light of the fire as Seren returns and both she and Sah brim with dramatic and horrible news. Slowly, the Star's shoulders sag. "Come on," he says, beckoning for them to start picking their way back up and out of the cave. "It'll be dark before we get back to Halo, but you two can ride on my nimbus and I'll shift."

Already he's starting to pack away the things they've brought, shifting to hoist his bag onto his shoulder, and Seren's too. "We'll stay at an inn in Halo, and we can head back home tomorrow," he decides, nodding at the Ursur carcass. "Animals will make quick work of that, so it won't go to waste."

show me your darkness.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Who am I, that the morning star would light the way for my wandering heart?

Seren's sigh was disappointed too. While the place certainly did give her the creeps, she had hoped... But Sah's words seemed to seal the deal on this her first expedition, and when Ronin began to pack up the camp, Seren did not protest.

"Another time," she mourned, giving the cave a last look around. "Here, Sah, let me get that for you." Hurrying over, she would help him pack the already butchered meat and ursur pelt at least into a large bundle, and deposit it into her pocket realm. It could be retrieved later - she didn't want this to have been an utter failure, and if that meant at least one of them got something from this, then she would make it happen.

It was a small comfort, at least. And another one too, that they would be treated to a ride on the nimbus. Small pleasures to take the sting off this disappointment of a mission in ruins. "Let's do the Greatwood trip, yeah?" she reiterated. "Sometime. I... thank you both, for trying to make this happen."

And with that, the group departed.

- FIN

Seren