3457/The Marquise vs. The Beast

The Marquise vs. The Beast
Date of Scene:	29 November 2015
Location:	Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
Synopsis:	Janine and Ira brawl over nothing really. But then HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER
Cast of Characters:	353, 687, August Kohler, 901, 908, Janine Liberi, 915, 920

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Janine Liberi has posed:
    The Black Forest really lives up to its name.

    A thick canopy of foliage stretches overhead, effectively blocking out most light, even in the middle of the day. As a result, the ground is mostly barren dirt with only a few hardy shrubs to liven up the gaps between the thick tree trunks.

    However, a clearing has been located a short walk away from the Die Reisenden cabin, where the leaves and branches part just enough to let sunshine cascade in, lighting it up with multiple little spotlights. It's even vaguely circular, making it a perfect arena!

    And that's where Janine is waiting, sitting at the foot of a tree. A sports bag lays to her side, the hilt of her sabre poking out. She munches on a chocolate bar morosely as she waits, eyes fixed straight ahead.

    And no, she doesn't offer to share with anyone else.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    The namesake of hams and cakes is going to be getting some excitement today.

    Janine will find a wait on her hands. Just long enough to wonder if Ira was actually going to duck out of the fight, most likely, forcing the teenager to confirm over the Broadband.

    Though after that, Janine needs to wait a little bit more. Eventually she'll hear thumping noises approaching her location. It almost sounds like an axe hitting wood, mixed with the occasional snap of twigs or rustle of leaves. The source of the sound is apparent when Ira comes into sight: in one hand, she holds an old baseball bat, which she slide-thunks against each tree she passes.

    Breaching the clearing, she stops, standing on the other side, stretched up to her full six feet of height. She casually rests the baseball bat on her right shoulder. "Sorry for the wait." she doesn't sound sorry, "Had to grab something."

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Gudako will not be too far behind Ira. She isn't alone, the teen accompanied by a pink-haired, fox-eared-and-tailed young woman in red robes, with cat paws boots and mittens. It is this person who carries a very large, gift-wrapped box, one presumes the cake she said she was bringing. Berserker whistles merrily, while Gudako is paying more mind to the cellphone in her hands, obviously engrossed in some video game or another.

    As they arrive and Ira stops, Gudako moves to the side, not taking her eyes off her screen. "Berserker, put the box down over here~," she says, and her Servant follows suit, before sitting down on the ground, curling up into a ball and, presumably, napping right here and now.

    "Say your prayers to the RNG gods before the fight!" Gudako finally says. It's unclear if she's talking to Janine, Ira, or if she's actually thinking out loud because of her game.

    One thing is sure at least, her expression is still 8D.

Laer (353) has posed:
    It took some small doing for Laer to track down just where they were talking about, but she's not here to take action; she's here in a more official role. In spite of the wild surroundings, she's wearing an evening gown that is an utter and complete pitch black, almost seeming to absorb the light around her, with elbow length gloves to match.

    The formal attire is somewhat spoiled by her traditional disguise for her ears, a red knit ski cap that is pulled down over the tips of her ears to try and hide her not-humanness.

    Once she reaches the site of the fight, she's going to lean against a tree on the edge of the clearing, lifting a hand in greetings but otherwise not speaking unless spoken to. At least, not for the moment.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
     As soon as Hoshi'd been made aware of what was happening, she was up and out of her house immediately, still dressed in her old Japanese school uniform instead of something a little more sensible for the situation. Thus, when she finally made her way to the place where the duel was meant to happen, she was covered in small scratches from the trees and brambles, and she's not looking particularly pleased.

    What was said over the radio had calmed her, but only slightly. Grudge matches were unsportsmanlike and childish. Standing out to the side, she sighs and glances over to Janine. "I suppose I'd better warn you, it seems we've gotten some Confederate attention. Are you sure you want to do this?"

    Then Ira came along, and... was as abrasive as ever. No point in really asking her if she was sure, was there? "Just please don't hurt each other," she says with a long-suffering sigh. "Explaining injuries to the staff at Drachenblatt won't be very fun for you."

    Gudako gets the same chilly look from Hoshi that she's always gotten. "Ms. Ordria," she mutters stiffly, her arms folded tightly. Sticking out from her hand was her special hairtie... just in case.

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Ark shows up when he hears there's a fight going on. Normally he'd just listen for the recap, but he saw Ira and her head-ghost in action the other day, and he's genuinely interested in what this is going to be like.

The Ether Liner looks like a human not much older than the people with the Personas, but the vivid purple hair and the all-grey tactical gear doesn't really fit the environment. It might be a little surprising, then, when he blunders out of the woods into the clearing, but doesn't actually make any noise until he gets in sight. (He's getting better at this.)

"We're just here for the fight," Ark assures Hoshi on his way past, grinning disarmingly. He walks around the perimeter of the clearing, and sits down more or less next to Berserker and tries to get comfortable. It's a little weird, for him; the Black Forest is the complete opposite of what he's used to, but the almost enclosed feeling of the thick canopy isn't so bad, either.

Ark shoots Ira a grin and a little salute. Then, he pulls the dagger-like bone weapon from behind his back, lays it across his lap, hooks his hands behind his head and gets ready for some fireworks. He could kind of get used to this place, he thinks.

Caster of Steel is nowhere in sight. Maybe he decided to stay home for this one?

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine waits and waits and waits and waits.

    Which she wouldn't mind, it's kind of peaceful in the forest. But she ran out of chocolate two 'waits' ago, so yes, she calls out Ira over the broadband. And then she has to wait some more.

    By the time that Ira finally deigns to show up, Janine's eternal pout has advanced to a full scowl. "No, you're right on time. Perfectly punctual," she says, voice dripping with enough sarcasm to flood the forest. She stands up, pulling her feet under her and using the tree as support to slide up it. She grabs the hilt on her way up, and with a flick of the wrist, the sheath is tossed to the dirt.

    That's her real sword. Looks like Hoshi's pleading isn't going to go over.

    Her eyes slide over the audience. "I've prayed enough," is all she mutters in response to Gudako, and Laer only gets a long stare before being entirely ignored. "I'm not Union, what do I care?" is all she says to Hoshi, and Ark only gets a nod. Her eyes are boring into Ira now as she slides into a fencing stance. Right foot forward, left foot back, both slightly bent. The Sabre is held up before her, the curving tip pointing up. Her opponent is bigger, and packing a heavier weapon. No way could she win a bind in this situation, so she'll have to rely on footwork and evasive techniques.

    And also Biancabella.

    The blade is turned so the flat faces Janine, her reflection within. "Come, Biancabella," she says, the visage of the bloody woman forming behind her, the white snake around her neck raising its head to hiss threateningly.

    "En garde."

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    At the obviously visible annoyance Janine displays for being made to wait, Ira grins a little wider.

    That grin widens even a little bit further as she sees Hoshi's reaction to Gudako following along, though she takes care to make it seem like she's not reacting to that specifically. She does offer a casual, "Well, it was all over that Broadband thing, right? That anyone can listen to? Can't say I'm too surprised it's getting attention, Confederate or otherwise." Officially, she counts two here between Gudako and Ark, yet unaware of Laer's connections. "That Combat Vagrant guy said he'd come watch too. And I wouldn't worry too much about injuries. You can find some a-plus healthcare out in the multiverse, like Sanary. Just hit one of them up and we can continue hiding this stuff from the school staff."

    Turning back to Janine, she smiles, "In nomine et patris et filis et R N G!" Ira laughs, "Amen!"

    Shrugging her shoulder, she lets her bat drop down so it hangs from her right hand, tapping once against the ground. Her left hand digs into one of her pockets, producing a lighter. To a called Persona, Ira responds in kind, catching her eye in the reflective surface of the Zippo. "Beast!"

    The Beast, massive gorilla-boar monster in his impeccably white royal finery appears looming over her, claws clenched as he arches his back and roars. No sooner than it does is Ira charging Janine head on, a wild look in her eyes. Ira herself swings with the bat at Janine's good arm while the Beast leads with a swipe of the claws.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
     Well, if this was going to happen, she'd at least be somewhat cordial about it. Once most of the spectators file in, Hoshi makes sure to give Ark and Laer a small bow. "I'm Amakasu, if you have any interest in knowing." She shoots a glance around the area. One among at least two. Hoshi stiffens a bit, turning to watch the match start.

    Right off the bat came the Personas. She hadn't seen Ira's before, and it's visage causes her to step back with some trepidation. What was her mind like that she would summon such a Persona?

August Kohler has posed:
August had plans today. He was going to crack through a book, get his homework done, and maybe play a video game if he got all that done in time. Sadly, it turns out two Persona users are going to beat each other up in the Forest, and that is both something he can't let go unsupervised and something entertaining enough that he doesn't want to miss.

The German teenager arrives after the first blows have already been exchanged, spoon twirling in his fingers in case he needs to get involved. He's hoping he doesn't, mostly because he thinks it might lead to the destruction of the entire forest. Turning to Amakasu as he arrives, he tips his head as a greeting. "How much did I miss?"

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    "Hello Hoshi!" Gudako greets.
    If Hoshi is being as chilly as usual, Gudako is being as... carefree as usual, that might be the word for it. If it helps the other teen ease up, it doesn't look like the foxgirl master is really intending to do anything. But then again who can say?

    Then Janine gets started, summoning her Persona. Gudako's eyes are pried from her mobage, and she watches! With some odd focus, but no discernable changes in expression. There's even an echo of 'Amen!' when Ira says her 'prayer'. Never cross the RNG gods. Ever.

    "Hey August! Over here, we don't have seats but we're comfortable!"

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Ira's Persona is quite beastly, and it has Janine startled. Everyone else's has been vaguely humanoid... wow, this girl has issues. Thinks the girl who has a brutally maimed Persona. Either way, she's poised, balanced... here we go.

    The speed of Ira's charge has her surprised. Of course she would be, having a Persona seems to make you stronger than normal people. Elites, right? She starts to step back, when Ira swings! Batter up!

    The sabre is levelled at her, the bat, sliding against the flat of it so the swing connects with the hand guard! In a fencing match, this would be an unorthodox method of deflecting a strike. But against a bat, it just reduces the jarring hit that sends pain shooting up through her arm.

    And then the Beast rends at her with claws! She keeps backpedalling, the claws only getting a flesh wound on her shoulder, but it sure did cause a reaction! She screams, and Biancabella writhes! More footwork to get her back to her tree and compose herself.

    "Shit..." Janine spits once she's calm, staring daggers at Ira. She flourishes her sword, gazing deep into the blade. Binacabelle gestures, bloody stumps throwing blood towards Ira, when a sudden windstorm kicks up in the clearing, with Ira and the Beast at the centre!

Ark Line (687) has posed:
"Ark Line," he says back, by way of introduction. "Good to meet you, Amakasu." With his hands behind his head, Ark lacks the ability to wave or anything. He kind of wiggles his elbow a bit instead. It's awkward but gets the point across, though it doesn't reall make him look any more intimidating than his Confederate alignment otherwise would.

After that, he's focused on the fight and idle chatter on the broadband over much else. He momentarily wonders what this 'RNG' god of Gudako's and Ira's is, but thinks better of asking just this once. Ark is almost certain it would involve more explanation than he's ready for.

Laer (353) has posed:
    Laer will give Hoshi a glance over. "If you've any power to make a difference, then of course I'm interested in knowing. It's always good to see people putting themselves to work at such a young age." She'll say, airily. "But I was looking for talent in the area, and it does look like there's plenty." She'll say, nodding towards the fight. She doesn't seem too disturbed by the beast that's appeared, though her smile looks just a little false at this point.

    "They do seem angry at one another. Do you think they're practiced enough to not actually injure?"

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    "So what's THAT thing from anyway?" Ira manages to get out as she closes in on Janine. Up close she's probably even scarier. That vague look of...bloodlust? in her eyes likely isn't too reassuring. "Binaca-"

    She starts to stumble over the Persona's name as the windstorm shoots up underneath her and the Beast, which draws a surprisingly loud grunt of pain from both. In that moment, Ira realizes, that both her and her Persona being hit at the same time was actually pretty /unbearable/. Maybe from receiving double feedback?

    So while Ira herself backs off, the Beast continues to bare down on Janine and Binancabelle, taking a half-step to the side so it can line up a massive swat of its big, beefy arm at the bleeding Persona.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
     The thankful look that comes to Hoshi's face when Kohler finally makes it might have been comical in another situation. She comes over quickly to stand next to him, making sure to skirt the area in which Janine and Ira were battling. Good for her, too, the two are starting to get really serious now. "You haven't missed much," she sighs and shrugs. "Just them beating the stuffing out of each other." She glances at the others, then back at August. "They seem like they just want to watch the fight, but I'm a little worried about them knowing where the shack is," she mutters quietly to him.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    A vague smile of satisfaction crosses Janine's face as Ira grunts, knocked back by the sudden gust. She kind of wants to spend the whole fight doing that... but it's taxing, and she doesn't want to give Ira an excuse to say that Janine was running scared.

    She also promised Hoshi that this was over nothing serious, so if she spent the whole fight grim, well. Not that she cares if Hoshi is upset, but dealing with drama is a pain in the ass. "Some Italian fairy tale. 'Biancabella and the Snake,'" she says, pronouncing 'Biancabella' syllable by syllable so Ira can get it memorized.

    Unfortunately, this left her wide open to be clobbered by that massive swipe! She grunts, but doesn't scream like she did before. She lands on her rear, but quickly scrabbles to her feet. Time to show she's not going to be intimidated by this hulking brute, and also The Beast.

    It's the most basic thing you'll see in fencing; the lunge. From the en garde stance, Janine steps forward in a great stride on her right leg, bending it low so the knee almost touches the forest floor. From en garde, her blade seemed so far away, but the lunge brings it in slashing range! So the Italian does slash, aiming across Ira's stomach!

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    "Never heard of it." Ira huffs, mentally making a note to shorten it to 'Bian' or something that sounds less ridiculous in her accent.

    For someone so big and hulking, Ira is surprisingly swift, nearly twisting entirely out of range of the lunge. The rapier slides against her side, opening a tear across her uniform. A thin cut starts to slowly ooze blood. Any reasonable person would probably be horrified by this injury and might even call off the fight at this point-a stupid argument wasn't really worth drawn blood, right?

    "Wow, are you trying to disembowl me or something?" Ira asks, "Think we can survive that now?" It's not a taunt and more like a curious question. "They DO say that Elite are tougher than normal people!"

    Excited, Ira suddenly grips the baseball bat in two hands, shoving her lighter against the handle. The two-handed swing is aimed at Janine's head.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    "Neither had I," Janine says in response. In this day and age, only fairy tales made into animated movies are well-known, after all. Biancabella isn't exactly a Little Mermaid or a Snow White.

    "What, scared?" is all Janine has to say. It's not in a taunting tone of voice, a genuine question as she slides back to en garde. "What happened to 'being numb to pain?' Big tough girl like you can't be scared, ri-" CLONK!

    Janine reels from the two-handed swing to her head, almost dropping her sabre! She pivots on her foot though, years of footwork training still with her! "God dammit..."

    A backstep, and a flourishing of the blade, and Bincabella gestures as the snake writhes! Her bloody stumps flow harder, the droplets becoming rose petals that cascade through the clearing, a cloying, vaguely rotting stench filling the air. It doesn't do much for the audience, but Ira may find her body becoming sluggish.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    Ira doesn't even need to say a word about her own Persona's Disney-fueled infamy. "I'll have to read it later. I wanna know what the deal is with all the bleeding-"

    Oh now Janine is taunting her. Ira actually looks a little mad and blurts out, "I AIN'T SCARED! I AIN'T SCARED OF GETTIN' CUT UP BY YOU! C'MON!" She seems to be lining up for a second swing of the bat!

    In her anger, she swings, and misses, perhaps confounded and sickened by the blood and rose petals enough to throw her off. This only seems to enrage her further and she adjusts her grip on the bat, holding one hand near the club end and the other near the handle. This readjustment is so she can angrily ram the blunt end into Janine's gut.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    At Ira's loud exclamation that she ain't afraid of no sabres, Janine musters a vaguely ghoulish grin. Her pallid only serves to highlight it. "Oh yeah? You sound scared. Scared of something you can't stop from happening." A bat is shoved towards her gut, perhaps to try and mimic the cut she gave Ira.

    But Janine is starting to get the Irish girl's rhythm down, so when it touches her skin, she's backing away. It hurts a little, but her fast footwork keeps the full impact literally a hair's breadth away. Once Ira's arms are fully outstretched, Janine takes advantage.

    Now, Ira has to pull the bat back to get another big attack out. So while she's doing that, Janine is going to slash at her arms.

    Again.

    And again.

    And again.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    The brutish teenager grows even angrier at the taunting. "You think I haven't been cut before? You think I haven't /bled/ before!? Who the hell do you think I am!!" Sure, the Ogre has a reputation but...knife fights? She's probably making that part up and trying to save face.

    She starts to pull the bat back as the blade is brought down on her arms, the first strike actually biting down pretty deeply into the skin and muscle of the girl. After that deep hit, however, Janine finds it extremely difficult to replicate the results, subsequent hits not striking so deeply or missing entirely. Ira steps backwards two steps and swings her bat out, using her naturally longer reach to discourage Janine from getting any closer for a few seconds.

    The Beast stands behind her before suddenly dropping down to all fours and roaring, unleashing a haunting howl that echos throughout the Black Forest. Anyone outside to hear it might be just a little more discouraged to enter the forest.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine just blinks slowly. "Just because something happens once, doesn't mean you're not scared of it anymore... hell, sometimes you become more scared because it happens." Her voice dips to a mutter towards the end there, the fingertips that poke from her sling wriggling slightly.

    She glances at her blade, noting way less blood than there should be, considering how many times she felt the blade connect. Is this another Persona thing? They all really need to sit down and hash this out someday... but then, The Beast lets out a howl, one blows her lanky hair back and makes her dress flutter. She swallows hard involuntarily, tightening her grip on her sabre.

    Right away, she knows she won't like what's coming.

    Her blade flashes, catching one of the sunlight spots. "Biancabella!" The wind picks up again, stronger but more focussed on The Beast instead of Ira. Small rocks are picked up and leaves pulled from the trees!

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    "Well I'm /not/ scared. Especially of you, Janine." Ira growls back, her eyes dropping to Janine's bandaged arm. Her rage fades just a little, a thoughtful look crossing her face. That arm...

    She doesn't have any time to finish that thought, a gust of wind far mor powerful than the last one blasting her across the clearing and /into/ one of the surrounding trees. The Beast does not fly with her, apparently made of sterner stuff than the teenager, but looking pained nonetheless.

    "Beast!" Ira chokes out, picking herself up off the ground, using a tree to support herself.

    That tree suddenly vanishes under her hand as the Beast uproots it, swinging it overhead with ease as he tries to bring it down on Biancabella.

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
It's about this time that something unusual happens besides forest getting torn up between the two supernatural combatants.

The trees and bushes on the edge of the clearingp art, and a young man steps out. He looks... Pretty normal, all told. Black hair, kind of wiry, Eastern European, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and a coat for the time of year. The other students know who he is, but to the Multiversals it looks like some teen just showed up. There is an old silver pocketwatch in his hand that he seems to open and close sporadically.

Click. Click.

The noise seems to punctuate his steps as he walks forward, staring at the supernatural battle. "What in the hell is going on here?" He asks, disbelief on his face. "Why the hell are you fighting? What are you even /doing/?" And he turns his gaze to the Multiversals present. "And who are these people? Stop this, now!"

Oh. This might be.... problematic.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine manages a tired laugh, the corners of her mouth lifting to a neutral expression as she stares at Ira. "Yeah... guess I'm not as fearsome as I used to be." Is she actually joking? She stares at The Beast carefully. Did that stop it?

    NOPE. As the tree it uprooted, she can only gasp in amazement... and cry out as Biancabella is crushed under it, trapping her! She screams, sinking to her knees as she's forced to dismiss her Persona to free it...

    And then, a trespasser. "Oh shit..." is all she can grunt, getting back to her feet. Her sabre drops from her hand, both from the pain, and the thought that talking at this guy with a weapon might spook him.

    "Look buddy, don't you know it's rude to just barge in and ruin everyone's good time?" Yeah, because that pale look of pain is how everyone looks when they're having a good time.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Whether or not she wanted to, Hoshi stood aside and let this whole thing play out. She knew better than to try to get in the middle of them now. If they didn't settle whatever was bugging the two of them, they might never end up getting along. And that wouldn't work out with them being on the same team. She winced and gripped her fists tight at the sheer amount of force they were throwing at each other. There's no way they'd get out of here without some injuries, healing or no. "This is just so unnecessary," she mutters under her breath.

    She spotted someone moving out of the corner of her eye and turns to look quickly, gripping her hairtie to transform it if she needed to. When she gets a full view of him, however, her eyes go wide, and her mouth drops. That kid was a student at Drachenblatt--and he was seeing the Personas! "Ohh crap--" she hisses quietly under her breath. Quickly, she moves forward to intercept Kaz before he gets too close to the pair. "You're from Drachenblatt Academy too, aren't you? This is..." She looks behind her, and gives a long-suffering sigh. "A sparring match, such as it is. It's dangerous, you shouldn't--"

    Then she actually glances down at the watch. A gleaming silver surface in his hand. Grimly, she reaches into her shirt and tugs out her locket, flicking it open to show the mirror inside. "Then again... I guess it's probably not too dangerous here compared to what you've seen, huh?..."

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Gudako had remained unusually quiet, watching the fight. It was interesting to see what Persona can do, especially in a battle between them. They seem like Servants, in a lot of ways, but also very much not in a lot of other ones.

    The arrival of someone else, someone who wasn't actually invited, causes Berserker's ears to perk up as she lifts her head from her catnap, and Gudako peers in that direction. Her grin widens and she makes for the new arrival, attention pried from the paused fight.

    "Hi, hi! You just stumbled into a superpowered Fight Club! If you want to participate you might be able to convince someone to fight you. Maybe one of these two," she jerks towards Hoshi and August. "It might remove the stick from their bums to cut loose! I'm Gudako, nice to meet you!"

August Kohler has posed:
August has been watching the fight carefully, but he hasn't seemed to need to get involved. The night is probably going to end harmlessly at this rate.

Nah. Too easy. When Kaz arrives, August immediately jumps back in shock. Oh shit. Dispelling his spoon, he turns to the kid as he takes a second to collect himself, before speaking. "Hey there. This isn't much what it might look like. These two got pissed at each other so they're sparring to settle it. And then, when one person hears of it, it spreads, and it ended up drawing a crowd. ...Don't tell the authorities, /please/?" His lie is pretty much the truth, besides a few changing of details- and it's not worth it anyways because hiding the superpowers has been made impossible by Gudako. "...This is all a /very/ weird dream."

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    "Afraid? Should I be afraid of you now?" Ira scoffs. The Beast let's out a snarl and...promptly disappears as all hell breaks loose and a random person suddenly stumbles into their superpowers fight.

    Ira reacts as any rational newly minted person-with-powers would when this situation arises.

    "I GOT HIM!!!" she yells and hurls herself at Kaz, trying to bodily tackle him to the ground.

August Kohler has posed:
And then Ira makes an awful decision, so August makes a worse one, and dives into her path. This is going to /hurt/.

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Ark just kind of waves at the stunned new party. He disentangles one of his hands enough to do it, and then puts it back behind his head again.

"Ark," he says by way of introduction. "Gudako's got a good point. I mean, unless that's weird. Is that weird?" He looks momentarily thoughtful. "I guess I could fight you, but it wouldn't be very fair... or Berserker could." Ark is pretty sure he's only seen Gudako's servants chase butterflies and be adorable.

Ira handles it, though. Sort of. Ark just laughs.

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
"Stop giving me this bullshit." Kaz snaps immediately in response to the initial barrage of half-explanations. "I do not have time for this. You are telling me this is a sparring match? That people are having a good time?" He points. "The Ogre just pulled up a goddamn tree and hit you with it!" The watch clicks open, then he snaps it shut. Click. Click. Oh, he knows who people are.

Gudako introduces herself and makes an offer, while Ark also points out that he's willing to join in, and Kaz just shrugs. "You know what? I can be-" Well, whatever he believes suddenly gets put on hold as Ira charges him.

Click. The watch opens, and there is an explosion of blue light around him. "Koschei." He calls.

There is a rattling noise as a form takes shape behind him, coalescing out of the light. An ancient old man, with sunken eyes that burn, with rime clinging to his long white hair, moustache, and beard. An aged, cracked crown of iron is bound to his brow, but little else of the Persona is visible as the rest of him is entirely cocooned in chains, the being writhing and struggling against them as if it tries to get out. Behind it, hundreds of chains of all shapes and sizes trail off into an unseen distance.

More importantly, many of those same chains erupt out of the forest, ripping across the field to try to wrap around Ira and yank her up short and bind her in much the same way.

It doesn't stop her from plowing straight theough August and hammering into Kaz regardless, smashing them both to the ground with a grunt and a yell. "Christ." He spits. "You hit like a truck of bricks." He pushes august off. "Get off me." He mutters as he rolls to his feet, shaking his head. "Stop this stupid crap. I don't want to fight and you people should not be fighting either."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Hoshi's face goes from concerned to indignant. "Do not call me a liar. What you saw is exactly what it looks like--a sparring match. The only difference is that they're using their power against each other." She grunts irritably. "I don't like it much more than you do."

    And then... things started happening quickly. Hoshi turns around to level a glare at both Ira and Janine, only for Ira to run straight past her. "Eh? Crap! MacNally, don't--!" She springs into action just a bit too late. Thankfully, it saves her from being tumbled together with the rest of them, bound by the chains of the... Persona. She thought that the Beast was horrifying. This was...

    Hoshi's eyes fall back on Kaz as he pushes August off of him and grumbles. Hoshi jumps and goes to help up August and Ira, holding out her hands for both. "C'mon, you two... Sorry about that, uh..." She coughs and looks up, blushing. "I... don't know your name. I'm Amakasu Hoshi. How did you end up coming here, anyway?"

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    Ira's not so surprised Kaz knows who she is. He even used that lovely nickname her reputation has earned! It doesn't really strike her as weird, either, if only because she's not thinking of such things right now. More: "If we give him a concussion he'll think this is all a weird dream-OOF!"

    August dives in front of her. Unfortunately, Ira does have enough weight to her to knock August over and continue onwards, knocking both of them into Kaz. Fortunately for both boys, they won't have to suffer beneath the weight of the beefy Irish girl. Chains whip out from all around in the forest, wrapping around the Ogre and pulling her upwards to where she rests, dangling upside-down in the middle of the clearing.

    This makes her VERY unhappy. "Hey!!" she writhes, trying to free her arms from where they've been bound to her sides. "Let me down!"

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine is staring at Kaz the whole time, thinking. How could she make this go away? Could she pull the 'my family has mafia ties and if you blab they'll break your legs' thing? She really doesn't want to, her father is legitimate but...

    And then. Koschei.

    Janine freezes up ant the horrifying visage. The Beast is intimidating in a primal sense, but Koschei is... frightening. "Well. This is awfully convenient," is all she says, trying not to let any of that show. Things like this didn't really happen, so she's a little suspicious... but all he's doing is telling them to stop, not saying he was going to tell everyone. Better than she had hoped.

    "Yeah I think I'm done," is all she says, staring up at the entangled Ira. It takes a bit of finagling with her one hand, but she picks up her sheath and slips the sword into it. "Why are you out here anyway?" she asks of Kaz, tapping her foot.

Laer (353) has posed:
    Laer will straighten back up, nonplussed from the intervention and breakdown of the scheduled mano a mano duel, sauntering her way over. "Well. Thank you all for a wonderful show!" She'll say, seemingly sincerely. "It does an old heart some good to see youth with energy." Laer says, putting on the old woman front to the fullest.

    She looks maybe midtwenties or early thirties, though, so it loses some effect.

    "Are you planning to let her down, or are you going to just leave her that way?" She'll ask, curiously looking upwards at Ira. She doesn't seem to give off an opinion on which way would be correct.

August Kohler has posed:
August is easily knocked forward, though it doesn't hurt as bad as it /could/, due to Persona resilience. As Kaz pushes him off him, August falls onto his wallet, groaning. "No, they were actually sparring, believe it or not. They're idiots, entertaining idiots, but idiots nonetheless." Pot, kettle. "And the crowd comes from...well, other worlds. Interdimensional spectators. Long story, but I expect you'll believe it, seeing...that." Koschei is immensely terrifying, but August is going to pretend it's nothing and remain perfectly calm. Ish. "Also, atleast half of them were having a good time, so that wasn't quite a lie either." August glances at Gudako. "Now, yeah, why /are/ you out here?"

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
Kaz looks over to Laer, watching her for a moment before nodding. "No point in keeping her up there." He says, and gestures. The chains lower, putting Ira on the ground before they unravel, whipping back into the forest with a deafening rattle. Koschei, too, vanishes into nothingness, and the teenager shrugs. "We have more useful things to be doing with this power." He replies, but they have pertinent questions. "I needed lumber for a project." He shrugs again. "I remembered there was supposed to be an abandoned cabin out this way, I was going to salvage it." He replies, opening his coat to reveal a hammer and crowbar.

He looks back over to the group. "Are you going to keep smashing each other so I can get back to work, or should I call an ambulance?"

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
     The Persona being gone is a huge relief to Hoshi. The way that the old, withered face stared out from under all that metal... She shuddered a bit, then straightened up. Start acting like an adult. "You... I'll go with you to the shack. I know where it is. It'd be good if we were able to explain at least some of the situation right now." Turning to look at Janine and Ira, Hoshi sighs and rubs her eyes. "You two need to see a healer. I'll ask on the radio if anyone is willing to come."

Janine Liberi has posed:
    Janine stares at the crowbar. "Sorry, we took over that cabin. Gonna use it as a base. What a shame, not like there's any other kind of wood in a forest." She kicks a tree trunk to emphasize her sarcastic jab.

    She glances at Laer and adds, "Glad to hear that you got your jollies watching teenage girls kick the shit out of each other," in a very un-glad tone. Bunch of goddamn weirdos in the Multiverse, she swears. "Eh, I'll be fine. I've hurt worse than this." Though, she realizes that explaining the claw marks might be a bit of a chore. "But I guess some more bandages couldn't hurt. Trying to start a new trend you know?" A glance at her sling.

    She stares at Hoshi and rolls her eyes. "Don't dance around it Amakasu. Listen, guy. We're a team looking into the Forest. Not this forest, the one in the mirror. You want in?"

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Ark appears more impressed once he sees Koschei. Okay, maybe it would be a more even fight. He would feel less bad about it, anyway.

"Can't be doing more useful things if you don't exercise your abilities," he points out. Ark stands up, snatching up his Knight Arm. He flips it over in his hand a couple of times, the bone war fan clicking a little against his demi-gauntlets. "Gotta be practiced enough to use it when you need to. As long as nobody's permanently injured, you can do a lot worse than a couple of fights with your... Personas?" He thinks that's the term.

Ark glances over at Janine. "Mirror?"

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    Ira squirms, flipping herself around as the chains unravel so she doesn't get let down in an undignified fashion (with her skirt over her head on her face). She straightens and stretches herself, looking midly embarassed by the whole experience. "Yeah, yeah, we're done." Ira grunts, inspecting the cuts in her arms. Only one of them seems /really/ deep, deep enough that the blood has started to saturate her jacket.

    When they speak about healers, Ira considers mentioning that she /could/ call Sanary...but opts not to. It'd probably cause an incident. "Hey, Ark, you said you could do something for us, right? It's not internal bleeding but..."

    She eyes Kaz, "...yeah, what she said." She jerks a thumb at Hoshi. "It's kind of our base now so if you dismantle it, I'll have to stop you." It sounds like she'd really, really want to stop him.

August Kohler has posed:
"I'll come with you. We're kind of using the shack, but there might be some sections that can be torn down." August moves towards Hoshi, before looking in the direction of the shack. He then turns to Janine as she speaks, nodding. "Die Reisenden. The Travellers. We know that people are getting trapped in the Forest, so we're putting a stop to it. Already saved one person, but we doubt it's the last."

Laer (353) has posed:
    "Oh, you didn't hurt each other all that badly. Besides, you did put it out there for everyone to hear. Why would you do that if you weren't trying to put on a show?" Laer asks, but she seems mostly amused more than annoyed. She'll move closer to Ira. "I know a little bit of first aid, if you want me to take a look."

    She doesn't wait on a reply, though, withdrawing a bandage from a bag strapped to her ankle, attempting to place it on the deepest of cuts. "Hold still, would you?" She'll ask, clasping at Ira's hand for a moment before setting to work if the teen allows.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Oh this was going super well. Right up until chains, tackle, no-win. Now Ira seems kind of annoyed! And Hoshi is being weird. Oh, a healer! She can provide, at least. Gudako grins, snapping her fingers loudly and then making finger guns.

    There's a brief rush of magic, as red lines trace themselves on her skin. Same red as her Command Spells (of which six are visible, but I'm lazy and never pose them) on one hand, just... all over her body. They (the weird lines, not the Command Spells) look like computer circuits, with very sharply defined lines and patterns.

    "Pew pew!"

    She shoots a few bright green finger gun bullets at Ira and Janine. This causes HEALING. It isn't top-tier or anything but it's okay, basically magical painkillers and some wound smoothing over. Laer's first-aid is overall going to be more effective long-term. And then the red lines on her body recede and disappear.

    "I have totally lost track of the conversation with everyone talking at the same time. Are we going to eat the cake now?"

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Ark looks back at Ira, now that she's less chained up and more... bleeding profusely. Yeah, that's kind of a problem. He flips the closed fan again, holding it right-side up and walks across the clearing. Laer and Gudako seem to have most of it in hand, but he figures he should lend a hand if he's asked. "Yeah, sure." He holds out the bone weapon, horizontally.

"Correct Future!"

The object glows. Amber light fills in the etchings and carvings all over the surface. His eyes mirror the glow for a second. He frowns, focusing for a second. The bleeding... well, it doesn't /stop/, but it does slow significantly, making it much easier to apply light healing and some proper first aid. The wound just feels lessened. It hurts less, bleeds less...

"That'll last a couple of minutes. Enough to make sure it's stitched up or something." He jerks his head at Laer. "She's got you covered, I think."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
     For a moment, Hoshi stares out into the forest with a scowl on her face. She'd wanted this to be private for a whole number of reasons, but now the cats were out of the bag anyway. "Yeah... That. It's clear you already know about the Forest, and... Well, so far you're looking at all the Persona users. Except them." She motions to Ark, Lear, and Gudako. "They're from outside. And not particularly welcomed," she mutters under her breath. The heated stare Ark and Gudako in particular get could probably light a figure itself.

    Regardless, Hoshi felt it was time to leave this atmosphere, and she starts walking towards the shack. "If it helps, I've already asked my dad for some lumber," she calls to Kaz over her shoulder.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    "Oh? Sure, here." Sanary, Ira gathers in short order, seems busy with something. Strange how so many of the healers were busy with things right now! Casually, she shows the deepest cut on her arm that Janine inflicted with her rapier minutes earlier. It is deep, well into the muscle, but fortunately not down to the bone. This becomes the prime target for Laer's bandage after Ira moves her hand once it's grabbed by Laer.

    Moments later other smaller, less serious wounds that Janine inflicted, close thanks to Gudako's finger gun, "I didn't know you could do that." Sure, it wasn't as boss as Sanary's healing but it's not something she's in a position to complain.

    Finally the bleeding on the largest wound slows due to Ark's magic. She leaves the bandage to cover it, however, not bothering to peek at it. "Okay. Thanks, I think I'm good now."

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
Explanations come, and Kaz nods. "The forest of mirrors. The man in red mentioned bad things were happening there." He looks a little irritated at the assertion that the cabin's been claimed, and then shakes his head. "Looks like I am going to need to fix the cabin instead of breaking ti down. Fine." He looks at the fallen tree. "You have no idea how treated lumber is made, do you? I can't just cut up a fallen tree. It wouldn't last a year." He folds his arms, thinking for a moment as he taps a foot, apparently just letting Janine's sass flow around him. "All right. It is your clubhouse. Pool some money, I will buy some materials and work to begin fixing it up over the next week. Best to do it before the snows. Should get some kerosene and heaters too."

Gudako mentions cake, and Kaz snaps his watch open, looking down at it. "I do not have time to stop for cake. I need to get moving shortly." He looks to August, however, and nods. "Kohler, right? I think I have seen you around school. Drachenblatt." He pulls out his phone and unlocks it. "All right. I will help you guys. Give me your contact info so we can keep in touch. I am often out working." From his clipped, dry tone, this is probably an understatement. "As far as the interdimensional thing, I certainly can't judge anymore. Today more or less proved I was not going mad." He pauses. "Or at least that I am more sane than some."