BoZV - Arc 2

[Arashi]

"What you did with the bestia. It was great" Enfurnus replied to Aqua.

He then walked over to the soup and got himself a bowl, taking a few sips of it. Even without any meat, it was still nice to have something warm.

Silver quietly began sipping the soup; it was nice and warm. She wouldn't normally be this cold if she was in her dragon form, being from the mountains, but...she couldn't really stay in it with all these people. She'd stand out too much.

"Thanks, Terra." She glanced at the probably very confused woman for a moment.

[Swim]

It seemed like everyone was enjoying her stew even if it wasn't as filling as Terra would have liked. But after listening to everyone discuss the strong likelihood that the fox had been a bestia... maybe it was better off that her stew be without meat. She wouldn't have felt good learning that she'd unknowingly killed someone. All the same, it sounded like Silver had been pretty clear that his advances were unwelcome and he'd had the gall to march back into the camp and give her the eye. Maybe snapping his neck was a little extreme but Terra would have no problem punching his lights out if he came back around. She had little patience for creeps that didn't understand the word no.

Terra swallowed the last of her stew and got up to clean the bowl. Her gaze fell upon her armor which was still streaked with monster blood and she frowned, remembering what Shin had said about the blight already spreading from the mountain and into the forest. By his estimation it sounded like the group would arrive in time to save Eulene but how many wild animals would be corrupted by the time they arrived? She remembered the hulking beast she'd bludgeoned with a tree before and chuckled to think that by tomorrow a fox behaving strangely might be the least of their concerns.

She walked back to the fire carrying her armor and some polish to begin cleaning it. "What to you guys think will be waiting for us when we get to the mountain?" she asked to anyone that was listening as she began to work. Maybe Enfurnus would have some insight on the way Blight usually affected animals and what kind of mutations were commonly seen.

[Sorrum]

"I've never seen anything like those monsters before," started Aqua while she peered into her bowl. "I couldn't begin to imagine what's next. That giant one, though.. that puts my imagination to work. Was that even a living being at once? The world is vast, but Giants?" Aqua looked around at the others, hoping for some light to be shed on her query.

[Arashi]

Silver quietly sipped her soup and soon finished it. She opted to listen for now as the others talked among each other. She knew Enfurnus could explain things much better than she could.

"Not much else other than what we already saw will be awaiting us. Considering the blight kills lesser beasts instead of bringing them back, anything that looks...abnormal will be dangerous. They're called Constructs." Enfurnus looked to Terra, then to Aqua as he replied to their questions. At least, he assumed they were wanting answers. "The things like that giant are made by archmages. If you want to know the entire process, I have no idea what it consists of. I can assume that they use....various different methods. That, and stronger beasts of higher magic origins such as phoenixes and...dragons can end up being powerful blighted forces." He spoke, pausing every once and awhile to sip some soup. He soon finished it up. "So basically, either your generic rakk-er, two-legger blight fodder, monsters, or powerful blighted creatures. Those, at least, are not very common. Be thankful for that part."

Silver snickered a slight bit. Enfurnus almost just used the draconic slur for bipeds. None of them would likely even notice thankfully, but that made it even more funny.

[Bloodbane]

Rion remained quiet, listening to the conversation at hand while enjoying the warm but meatless soup. The things Enfurnus mentioned as far as what was typical of blighted creatures was indeed familiar enough to him, nodding as Enfurnus described the Constructs. He tilted his head briefly at the mention of other higher magic creatures such as phoenixes being corrupted, but said nothing. Regardless, it sounded like Enfurnus was expecting a force similar to what they had dealt with before, with similarly common undead. If that was the case, then fighting through and destroying the crystal within the mountains likely would not be too difficult a mission. Before too long, his own soup bowl was empty, at which time he smiled.

"Fox or no fox, the soup was a good call. Thanks, Terra." He said, before looking over at Aqua. "As far as the giant question... I'm not so sure. Can't say I've seen one that wasn't some amalgam of parts, but the world's a big place."

[Arashi]

Silver yawned a bit, having nothing left to add to the conversation. Enfurnus explained it just fine.

"So...we should get some sleep. Who wants to do first watch? I imagine it isn't the best idea to just set up camp on the floor and have all of us sleep at the same time. Sounds dangerous."

She shrugged. She wasn't really sure; she would opt for sleeping in the trees if she was alone, but that currently was not a feasible option.

[Swim]

"I'll take the first watch," Terra volunteered. She'd already made a private vow that she wouldn't sleep until her armor was finally cleaned, and she'd have to tidy up the cooking supplies as well.

[Sorrum]

Aqua listened intently to Enfurnus, but hadn't much to respond with. His disposition toward the Blight was to destroy, not understand. It had kept him alive and the threat minimal, so it worked. Aqua downed her soup and soon fell tired.

Rion said he hadn't seen a Giant before, yet the possibility existed. She wouldn't bother asking if the others had seen them. No, it would be a surprise. "The Blight is pretty interesting, in a sense. I wonder how it works.." Aqua mumbled. While she was imagining, Terra volunteered to take the first watch. "Ah. Well, I'll go next then. Wake me up in a few hours." Aqua sat her bowl down, grabbed her bag and was soon laid out below the ice canopy.

[Bloodbane]

Rion watched as Silver proposed setting a rotating guard, at which point Terra and Aqua immediately volunteered for the first two shifts. After a few seconds, he shrugged. "All right, I'll go after those two." He said with a nod. With that, he proceeded towards one of the tents that had been built up. "Get some good rest, tomorrow's likely to be a challenge if Shin's intel is on point." He stated, before heading inside.

[Sorrum]

Aqua turned over to look at her armor, sitting not too far away. The helmet's visor glinted the fire's flames. She'd miss talking to her father tonight, but there was nothing that could be done. She'd have to call him when this mission was over. She sighed, and pulled her blanket over her head.

[Arashi]

Enfurnus nodded. He thought the suggestion was a solid plan.

"I'll go after you three, then. Though, I don't mind going sooner if any of you are really tired." He walked over to a tent and settled in.

Silver simply shrugged after the others spoke.

"Wake me up when ever you'd like me to go!"

She wandered off to a tent, which felt kind of...odd to her, but she assumed it was the right thing to do. It was at least nice and cozy in there. She soon fell asleep.

~

Morning soon came, after all party members completed their watch. Silver went last and was already awake, sitting in a nearby tree. She planned to let everyone sleep as long as they needed to.

[Sorrum]

Aqua sat up tiredly, rubbing her face and hiding her eyes from the glare of the sun. The darkness over the camp ebbed back with each passing minute, as Aqua sat stoically in her mat. She temporarily enjoyed the warm sunlight on her figure, until her senses were given a shock when water dripped from her now melting ice shelter. Her arms swung, somewhat harshly, to dispel the conjured frost back into the mana it was summoned from. Aqua looked around now, unsure if anyone else was awake to see her flinch over a drop of water. A moment later, she was up and stretching, preparing herself for the day.

As her body prepared, the gears in her head began turning. They were sure to encounter their enemy today. She felt ready. Tension stimulated throughout her body in anticipation of battle. She routinely packed her supplies and equipped her armor.

[Bloodbane]

Before too long, Rion had made his way out of his tent for the second time, looking around at the sight of the group gathering around their camp. "Hopefully everyone rested well. Doesn't seem like the storm hit us, so that's lucky... maybe that luck will hold until we're done with our mission." He stated as he began packing up the camping materials. From there, all that was remaining would be to head to their destination and get their job done, leaving him to wonder what exactly that would entail.

[Swim]

While the others lay down for the night Terra gathered all of her gear before her and got to work cleaning away all of the gunk which had stained her armor the first night. Although the others had made no comment about it she felt personally ashamed for leaving her gear in such a state for so long. On some level she knew that there had been no time, she hadn't anticipated leaving the very next morning and the fight had left her injured and exhausted. At the time it had been more urgent to let her body recover then to stay up and fix her armor- and yet Frida had found the time for it. Terra was very proud of the armor she'd crafted, all of it had been handmade and it was the only keepsake she'd been able to take from Delbray. Functionally she was confident that it was as sturdy as the elf's, but she still felt quite drab in comparison. This would be an important step towards rectifying that.

Terra tested the joint on the final piece to ensure that nothing would inhibit her movement, she'd need everything to be functional today. Satisfied with herself she stood up and stretched, noticing that the fire had burned down. She walked a few paces to grab some new logs, returning and gently placed them in the fire pit. Once she'd reconstructed a good solid base she placed her hands on them, willing them to ignite. Flames leapt forth and soon the fire was ablaze once more. Her task(s) complete Terra yawned and walked over to where the others were sleeping, touching Frida lightly on the shoulder to wake her. "Morning," she said brightly even though it was still dark. "Your watch."

-----------------------------------

The next morning she awoke to the sounds of her companions breaking down the camp. The fire had been allowed to die down again, they had nothing to cook for breakfast and would probably be leaving as soon as everything was packed up. Terra sat up and stretched out, having grown stiff in her sleep. Once she'd limbered up she picked up her armor and fastened everything into place. She slid her hands into her gauntlets and strapped Supernova to her back.

It was a bit windy, causing the part of her cloak that wasn't weighed down by the rifle to billow a little, but that seemed to be all that remained of the storm. Terra was relieved not to have been rained on but confused that it seemed to have dissipated without any trace. She couldn't see the dark clouds in any direction leaving her puzzled as to where it had gone. It didn't matter though, she had something more important to set her mind on. It looked as though everybody was ready to get going. "Shall we?" Terra asked.

[Sorrum]

Aqua greeted her companions as they rose and moved about the camp. She observed Terra's armor and thought on how it compared to her own. It looked that she had taken the time during her watch to clean it as well. She was quite the busy body it seemed, even being the one to serve supper. She even restarted, shaking off the chill that had set in at the camp. Aqua had been ignoring the emptiness in her belly this morning out of respect for the cook, but the fire gave her an idea. "Breakfast might be nice.." Aqua thought. She grabbed Sharksbane and trudged off from the camp.

Aqua stalked lowly through the wilderness. Her most likely claims would be a few berry bushes, but with any luck she'd catch animals who were planning the same. She was lucky enough to come upon something else. She found a fairly calm stream a good distance into her walk. The water looked clean, thankfully free of any corruption the blight may have placed. Aqua smiled, this would be easier than she thought.

She pulled Sharksbane out and extended the staff fully. Aqua set it down on the ground beside her, and placed her hands in front of one another with her fingers crisscrossing. Her hands glowed a light blue, and as she pulled her hands apart a webbing of icy thread formed between them. She then repeated the hand motions, growing the webbing larger with each repetition of the act, until she was holding a sizable net.

Aqua gripped the bundle and attached one end to her spear's crystal endpiece and, after digging out some worms and freezing them halfway against the nets inside, threw the net out into the stream and waited patiently. She pulled back on the net using one of the spear's buttons, and along with it came a fish that had been netted into the icy web.

She repeated the process several times until she had caught at least enough for each person back at the camp. Satisfied, she carried the fish, still in the net, over her back, whistling a maritime tune as she trekked back to the others. When she returned, everyone was nearly ready to go. She walked over to the fire and placed the fish on individual spits and put them close to the fire. "Might have to take these for the walk." She said.