762/A Scream in the Dark

A Scream in the Dark
Date of Scene:	07 October 2014
Location:	Wyveria
Synopsis:	After a lengthy absence, Ysabel decides to invite people outside of her world to join in a hunt against the powerful Meraginas.
Cast of Characters:	66, 181, 236, 307, 330, 357, 560, 577, 581

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Ysabel Thibault (581) has posed:
    Tide Island, a tropical island off the northwestern coast of Wyveria, marked by a single active volcano and covered in dense mangrove forests. Night has fallen, leaving the sky a dark blanket decorated by stars. The moon shines full, blue, and bright, ensuring that the island is not cast into darkness. Even the mangrove forests are given light beneath their thick canopies, as purple twinkling lights come from large fireflies that weave lazily between the trees.

    The air, heavy with warmth and moisture, is filled with the scents of salt and fruit. The chittering and buzzing of insects form a distant symphony in the night, punctuated now and then by the cry of some bird or ape. Waves lap at the shore, and the island's lone volcano sleepily breathes smoke into the air. The region is one of tropical serenity and drowzy, exotic comfort, no doubt hiding all manner of dangers to unwary travelers.

    The base camp lies on the beach away from the forest, just in front of the entrance to a cave that dips deep underground. The camp itself sits on the dark stone just before it gives way to sand; the tent is formed from curving tusks supporting a good-sized dome of stretched leather, inside of which is a very simple matress for hunters to rest if needed. Two chests sit just outside the tent, one red and one blue, and a large wooden canoe sits on the beach safely pushed away from the tide and tethered to a stake in the ground. It's not the most comfortable place, but it does the job for anyone lingering here for the purposes of monster hunting.

    Ysabel is one such person. The huntress, having called for interested parties outside of Wyveria to join her, is sitting on the edge of the canoe in her Zinogre armor, resting with her elbows on her knees and her hair falling down her shoulder. The glowing points on her armor are even more obvious in the night: claws, ears, arm blades, certain gaps between plates, and the lightning tattoos along her back all shine with an electric blue light. By contrast, the weapon on her back is strangely dull: the Brisant Demolisher seems like little more than a very large hunk of dark indigo, with the vibrant slime inactive and both the axe and sword blades folded up like a gigantic switchblade.

    The huntress drums her gauntlet-covered fingers against the armor of her calf, a vaguely impatient expression narrowing her eyes as she glances between the cave in front of her and the forest to the side. Waiting, waiting...

Chika (577) has posed:
    There is a cat here, or something like a cat.

    Standing about three feet tall, and very upright, she certainly resembles a cream-colored feline, if one who's much too large for any housecat. Point coloration has marked her nose, ears, tail, and feet in striking brown patches, though most notable of all is the pawprint-looking mark that's right on her belly. She's hanging around Ysabel, gripping a long-hafted clubbing weapon that's got an overstuffed cat's paw for its smashy part, and appearing very curious about the newcomers either arriving, or soon to arrive.

    There's a bag slung over her shoulder. It's got a pawprint of its own, but this one's red, giving it...sort of a First Aid appearance. The mouthpiece of a flute or horn-like instrument is poking up through the bag's flap.

Psalm (181) has posed:
    There's a yawwwwwwwwn from vaguely behind Ysabel, as the Psalm of Denieth walks out of the warp near the basecamp and in the direction of the Hunter. A slightly tired look in the Bard's eyes as she ties her long hair into something roughy approximating a ponytail, chainmail clinking as she goes.
    "Ahoy there, Miss Thibault. I'm here about a Quest."

Hana Umikazeno (357) has posed:
    On another alt, this would be the part where a dropship swooped in, opened its door, and a woman in dragonbone armor just jumped the last ten feet without any real harm. This is, however, not that alt.

    This alt is a much more low-key, cautious sort of person, even when going out on a job which is essentially 'relaxation and unwinding' for her. So she comes over the water, riding a jetski using Multiversal tech to keep it nice and quiet on the water. It's enough to get her to the shore, and from there she goes into the forest, heading for the coordinates of the base camp.

    It's been a long time since Hana's taken something simple like 'kill dangerous beast, get money'. So many contracts involving the war, so much Abstractum work. It's nice to get back to basics and just be a hunter-for-hire once in a while.

    When Hana comes out of the forest, it's with a calm, even stride, seemingly unarmed. "Good evening. This would be the camp for the hunt, right? Hana Umikazeno. I'm a mercenary, but I'll do jobs like this gladly if they pay well."

Lucatiel of Mirrah (66) has posed:
For once, Lucatiel of Mirrah finds herself thankful for the fine silk shirt she wears under her leather armour, because it's probably the best kind of garment for this kind of humidity. Humid climates mean that the temperature tends not to drop very much between day and night. That means that the heat is just as hellish after the sun's gone down. Her homeland, on the other hand, is almost a desert climate. It's hellishly hot in the daytime, and it's hellishly cold in the night.

It's almost peaceful, though, as she picks her way down to the base camp, from wherever the tropical isle's warpgate happens to be. It has its charm, the knight of Mirrah decides. There's something to be said for the verdant greenery and--

Lucatiel's estoc whips out of its scabbard, to impale an entirely too large insect. A disgusted flick of the blade casts the corpse back from the morass from whence it came, and another neat flick of the wrist casts away the ichor that stains it.

"Disgusting," the woman proclaims to herself, under her breath. "The more I see of this multiverse, the more I am convinced of its madness."

She wears the same armour that Ysabel may remember her having worn, complete with that magnificent hat and that formidable steel mask, which lends a slight echo to her words. As before, she wears a shield over one shoulder, and two swords -- a cavalry greatsword, and an estoc.

Lucatiel arrives on time, or at least as close to that as can be made. She looks like she's coping with the humidity and weather well enough, although her blonde hair looks a lot more frizzy than it normally does. That glowing armour makes for a fine waypoint, and the knight of Mirrah makes her way in that general direction.

"Ysabel." No small talk, from her, just a simple greeting. She folds her arms as she shifts her weight in the sand, fingers drumming restlessly against the estoc's elabourate basket hilt. Her eyes turn to the cave, too, or at least her hat and mask do. "In there, I take it?"

Auron (236) has posed:
    Before too much longer, a big yellow bird comes into view. It's a Spiran chocobo, with Auron on its back. Typical attire from him -- red coat, leather breastplate, sword on his back. Ysabel might recognize the Ice Crest on his back, though. He'll pull the bird close to the camp, and to Ysabel, and then dismount. "Hello," he offers in greeting, with a nod. "It's good to hear from you again, Ysabel."

    However, he's quickly onto task again. Looking to the others, he offers a nod of greeting to each in turn. He does seem in a pleasant mood, though, his silent greetings including a small smile that's characteristic of him. Then a look back to Ysabel, and he inquires, "What's the target?"

Lance Benson (330) has posed:
    Lance arrives to meet with Ysabel, riding a kind of hoverbike that makes no noise. He is dressed head to toe in an ivory-white heavy coat and light armor set, emblazoned with the Sirius symbol -- two dogs made of fire chasing each other in a circle -- that he's taken to using. His tail sways behind him as he dismounts the futuristic vehicle, his helmet sliding into the collar of his armor, and the cover for the tail blade sliding away as well. He pulls a futuristic firearm from the bike, and looks over at Ysabel with a silent smile.

    "Long time, no see," he tells her, sounding warm. But that's about it. He pulls a sliding lever on the firearm, kickstarting the energy rifle with a loud WHIRRRRR noise. The sound makes his own ears flicker.
    He looks over the gathered party with mild, feline interest. "Hrm," he sounds out, seemingly approving of the gathering, though it's unclear why.

Allyn (307) has posed:
A large sabertooth cat stalks out of the forest and prowls into the base camp. Well, the call over the radio sounded interesting so he decided that he'd come along. He glances around at a few people as he makes his way in, tail twitching back and forth. He wonders for a few moments what Ysabel will think when she sees him, his last run in with her seemed to have shaken her a little.

He spots Auron ride in on the chocobo and once he dismounts he prowls over and rubs his head under Auron's hand. "Hello Auron, been a while." he greets the man and then ponders a few moments, "This should be entertaining."

He then looks to Chika and tilts his head and twitches his tail again then crouches down a moment before stalking over towards Ysabel just to walk past her, "Boo!" then gives a chuckle like purr, before heading back over towards Auron, since he knows him.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Emiya SHirou is no hunter. He's not even much of a Union operative (or so he'd say.) Why, then is he here? Well, he's arriving a minute or so after Auron from a full sprint, only to stop and rest when he arrives with hands on his knees, sucking in breaths. That doesn't last though. He's only winded because he was trying to keep up with a CHOCOBO, not becuse he's out of shape.

    "I'm here!" Whoever the redhead is, anyways. He's only barely dressed for the occasion, having adopted some kind of black fiber-weave armor over his normal clothing to protect his vitals.

    "geeze, Auron. That bird sure can run." he remarks, as if lightly othered by eing left behind.

Ysabel Thibault (581) has posed:
    Ah, there are people. Ysabel lifts her head as she sees the people she invited beginning to approach the camp, and that's enough motivation for her to slip out of her seat and stand on the beach instead. Her right hand comes to rest on her hip as her left is raised in a brief wave, first to Psalm. "Yeah, that's me. Just...go with Ysabel, alright? Miss Thibault's my mother, and I'm not that old yet."

    Hana gets her attention next, first due to the bizarre contraption known as a jetski making her expression twist into a brief look of confusion. After a moment, though, she just sighs through her teeth and shakes her head, saluting to Hana as the oni approaches. "Hana. Yeah, this is the camp. Probably won't need to much tonight, but you never know. Don't worry about the pay, anyway. I've been doing this long enough that I don't particularly care, so I'm fine with splitting it."

    Then Lucatiel arrives, drawing a respectful nod from the hunter. "Lucatiel, hey. Coping with the weather alright?" A glance is given to the cave, the sight of which seems to make Ysabel's already hard expression grow slightly more sour. "Yeah, it's in there, whatever it is. Probably shouldn't be too long of a walk."

    Auron is another familiar face, and after Ysabel gives a bit of a leer to the chocobo he rides, he gets a nod of greeting. "Good to hear from you, too, Auron. Still got your bow with you, huh?" And there's Lance, whose hoverbike earns a similarly baffled look. Geez, what's with these people and their transportation? The feline mutant doesn't get a smile from her, but pretty much nobody does, as is to be expected. She does spare another nod, though. "Hey, Lance. Nice seeing you here, too - GAH!"

    The hunter's brief distraction is the perfect opening for Allyn to strike. Ysabel jumps and shouts in surprise, stumbling aside as her left hand flies to the handle of her switch axe...only for her to glower at Allyn when she recognizes him. "...dammit. I should've expected you to come here, too," she grumbles, straightening up and crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't try anything stupid tonight, okay? I might hit you harder this time."

    Ysabel gives a tense sigh, then, shaking her head and turning to Shirou once he arrives. The boy gets a vaguely confused look, but...well, she decides to hope that he's sure of himself. Shirou's given a nod before Ysabel turns to the group as a whole and speaks. "Alright. So the thing we have to fight today is a Meraginas. I...don't really know much about it, honestly, aside from that it's a wyvern and it lives in caves. Should probably expect poor eyesight, if any, and probably some flight. It'll most likely be big enough to eat any of us whole. Other than that...just don't die, and everything should be great. Follow me, let's get this over with." Without another word, the huntress starts off down into the cave, leaving behind the sandy beach and lush trees.

Ysabel Thibault (581) has posed:
    The cave seems to extend for quite some distance almost straight underground, growing darker and darker as the surface becomes farther and farther away. It's eerily quiet, too, save for the dripping of water magnified to an echo that only makes the cave feel even more empty. It's cooler than outside, too, but the air is no less damp, sending a faintly chilly breeze through the dark cave.

    Finally, as the tunnel opens up toward a giant cavern that seems to be dimly lit by minerals along the water-slicked floor and dripping walls, another sound can be heard by sharp ears. A soft, high-pitched purr of sorts, perhaps comparable to the song of a frog. The source becomes obvious after stepping just a bit further into the opening of the cavern.

    It's a giant black wyvern, a little over eighty feet from end to end. Plates line its back in layers, each one bristling with large, dull orange thorns all the way to the spiraling cone of its tail, where a faint yellow glow can be seen between those plates and at the opening at the very end of the tail. A similar glow shows between the large, sharp outer plates of its membraneous wings, and between the plates of the layered, drill-like horn rising from the end of its nose. That horn is flanked by two curving orange spikes that rise from the creature's brow, and just behind each of those is a giant ear like that of a scaled bat, but lined with more orange thorns. Its eyes are little more than white pinpricks, and just below them is the broad mouth filled with sharp teeth. (http://tinyurl.com/nrcxmas http://tinyurl.com/nm5g3lw)

    The Meraginas stands at the opposite end of the cavern, near a larger entrance that descends deeper into the darkness. The wyvern's head is raised, its ears perked as it continues to make that strange churring sound, head turning this way and that on a sturdy neck. It seems to look toward the hunting group more than once, but hardly for a moment before its head moves aside again.

    Ysabel makes a vague, low sound before grabbing the Brisant Demolisher from her back. "Looks like it's blind," she mutters. "Probably hunts through sound. If you're ready, then let's go at it."

Psalm (181) has posed:
    What a motly crew they've assembled. Psalm knows most of them save Allyn and Chika, and she gives the cat and the wolf a grin as she steps up into the cave with the rest. "Sound, hmm. I can do sound." A little subtle motion as she limber out her arms and her magic. There's a prickle of mana in the air as she smiles and plants the tip of that big greatsword into the rocks at the mouth of the cave. "Ah, just... just keep it off of me while I do this. It will take a bit to set up."

    And then she starts to humm, gagueing the resonant frequencies of the cave. Gotta make this sound just right. A clearing of her throat, and... The Bard's Contralto voice rings out in a deep droning lilting song that starts to fill the chamber, attempting to echo it from all of the sides at once. It's a bit like throwing her voice, but she's trying to mask the origin of her music and give everyone else a baseline noise level to work with.

    THough if the monster can sniff out magic she's screwed.

Lance Benson (330) has posed:
    Lance follows along at a slow gait. Those who are paying attention can tell that he is incredibly heavy. He leaves deep foot prints -- paw-shaped, thanks to his odd leg and foot structure -- but doesn't seem slow or unwieldy. It may be most of his physical threat is in his density. His eyes focus forward into the cave, wide as he's expecting it to be unnaturally dark. Once inside, he activates a light on his armor, shining from the chest plate and his tail. If it's blind like he's been told, then light won't be an issue.

    The party stops a bit away from the Meraginas. He frowns at the tremendous beast, the sound it makes getting on his nerves. His ears are very sensitive, after all. "Hmm," he rumbles, considering the party. He looks at each person in turn, trying to judge how durable they are. And then, finally, he lurches forward, and runs toward the wyvern, not terribly concerned with his own wellbeing. Psalm needs a distraction, right?

    And he tries to punch it in the nose before it can react, which may be accompanied by a loud metallic THUMP from his own bones if he gets a good hit in.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron chuckles as Allyn rubs his head underneath a hand, and scritches carefully. But no petting, that's for pets, and Allyn is not a pet. Shirou's arrival gets a blink from Auron... whoops! He didn't realize Shirou was trying to keep up. "I apologize. If I'd known you were back there I'd have offered you a ride." It might not look like it, but a chocobo can carry more than one person.

    Ysabel tells a little more about the target and Auron follows the others down to the cave system. And when he gets a look at the wyvern in question he draws his sword. Ysabel's mention of it being blind gets a nod. "With ears like that, I'd expect it. Looks like a bat." Pause. "A much larger, much angrier bat."

    It also looks like this thing has very thick armored hide. Which means that he needs to try to make it /less/ armored. His approach to the Meraginas is surprisingly quick, darting towards the creature with sudden directional changes. As he draws back, a yellow gleam slides down the blade, and if he manages to make contact with the thing, a small explosion of yellow qi should happen where his blade hits.

Chika (577) has posed:
    Chika makes her introductions with an abundant wave for each new face she meets, be it human, human-like, cat-shaped, or bird-shaped, or...orrr whatever Lance's face currently resembles. Without missing a beat, she goes from person to person, making sure it's known both who she is, and that she is definitely, one hundred percent a guild-sanctioned Felyne Comrade. Maybe someday she'll settle down, but today's not that day. Today's hunt marks her first /real/ hunt, after all! Perhaps her excitement is understandable, given that?

    Regardless, once everyone's down to business, she's right there beside 'em, sharpening up both her attention and her attitude. Chika falls into line a short distance behind Ysabel, following the huntress deep into the cave. As she goes, her bright blue eyes occasionally turn into brilliant green discs as whatever light source is caught and refracted.

    Once the churring is heard, she hunkers down and tightens her grip on her weapon. Though a simple Punch Cat Paw, she certainly makes it look fearsome. She proceeds along on soft paws, creep creep creeping into the chamber behind the rest.

    From her safe vantage, she produces one of her magic flutes, and plays a cheerful melody to invigorate all her allies. Anyone who hears the tune and considers Chika at least /tolerable/ will enjoy the benefits of a speed boost. The melody goes on for awhile.

Hana Umikazeno (357) has posed:
    So there will be pay. Good.

    Some of the other people present are people she knows, or at least knows of. Others, she doesn't recognize. However, at the very least she can be cordial and give them polite nods, before falling into pace with Ysabel. "Well, I can certainly promise I won't die. I'm very good at that," she remarks with a dry tone. "100% success rate so far." Some flight. The ability to eat them whole. Interesting mark to be hunting.

    She's quiet for most of the walk, but the cavern finally prompts a remark of, "The decor's not too bad, I must admit." Then her eyes find the source of that strange noise, and her twin revolvers drop into her hands out of her sleeves. "Can't say much for the wildlife, though." She's immediately on a run off to the left, nice and fast thanks to Chika's speed boost. "Let's see if I can't disrupt that hearing a little at the source."

    The cylinders on her revolvers all clack into place, four nearly-instantaneous clicks that herald her switching of elemental effects. She brings the revolvers up, skids to a brief stop, and starts pulling the triggers, left-right-left-right. Her aim is impeccable, the bullets flying with inhuman accuracy straight towards the Meraginas' ear; and when they hit, they explode into a burst of concussive force, the mixture of an 'air-elemental burst' effect combined with a 'high-impact' boost.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn prowls into the cave along with the others, once they have moved out and stops once they reach where the target is. He blinks and tilts his head, never having seen anything like it before.

He watches the others go off and attack the wyrvern. Well, so folks are just going to jump right in, ah well it's what he'd usually do.

So well, he does the same, charges at the wyvern and leaps at it, claws flashing as he tries to scratch it with them. Sharp claws are good for something it seems.

Lucatiel of Mirrah (66) has posed:
"The air is thick, here, but I have seen worse." She doesn't say it, but the dismissive statement still seems to imply a certain, non-sarcastic 'thanks for caring.' Lucatiel continues drumming her fingers on the hilt of her estoc, head tilted just slightly to regard the cave mouth, although it's hard to say what she might be thinking. The mask hides her face completely. In fact, the only part of her head showing that isn't clothing is her long, blonde braid.

Meraginas. Right. Basically, some kind of wyvern thing. Drangleic has creatures like that, and other, more distant lands; so did Mirrah.

She's not inclined to rush in to her doom, though, and so she trails along behind Ysabel. A roll of her shoulder lets her solid metal shield fall, only to be caught deftly and her gauntlets flexed through its straps, holding it tightly. It may not be much use, but then again, it may.

The masked knight seems to consider for a moment as she walks, debating which sword to try... and settles on the big one. If this thing's big enough to eat them all, there's no point in messing around, is there? It looks like something that should probably be carried with both hands, but Lucatiel seems to have no especial problems wielding it with /one/.

In spite of the dark cave, she doesn't bother taking off her mask or that elabourate hat. Apparently the low light doesn't bother her in the least.

...Oh. Yeah.

Hello.

That's a big frigging wyvern. Kind of ridiculous-looking, too, with those giant thorned ears.

For now she seems content to hang back, and let the others poke at the big angry dragon with sticks. She makes her way near Chika, who is adorable if slightly unsettling in her enthusiasm, and the knight simply waits, sinking into a kneel, sword tip trailing lightly in the dirt, shield arm slung loosely over her thigh as she watches the mayhem that's sure to come.

Chika (577) has posed:
    Chika nods at Lucatiel, then furrows her kitty brow and attempts to match her melody to whatever song Psalm's playing. It's the flute that matters more than her music, she thinks, so it doesn't matter too much if she experiments, at least a little.

Lucatiel of Mirrah (66) has posed:
And the mask dips slightly in a nod to Chika. Well hello there to you too, adorable kitty girl.

Ysabel Thibault (581) has posed:
    The Meraginas suddenly perks up as it hears Psalm's singing. Strangely, though, it can't seem to tell precisely where it's coming from. It's head turns this way and that, ears lifting and swiveling to try and pinpoint the source of the sound. Before it can manage to do that, though, it suddenly has a remarkably powerful fist driving right into the base of its nose horn.

    BGM: http://tinyurl.com/ljdfhne

    The Meraginas staggers back with a high-pitched squeal, shaking its head from side to side in confusion and brief surprise. It's enough of an opening for Auron to charge in and strike at its thigh, sending up a burst of yellow on the impact that makes the wyvern cry out again. The plated armor in that area seems a little softer after that strike; probably a good point to aim for, which Allyn does. Sharp claws rake into the creature's black hide as it staggers, leaving deep yellow claw marks in the monster's shell.

    Just as the Meraginas finds its footing again, Hana sends bullets right into the monster's ear, each one exploding again and again with concussive force that sends the thorny wyvern's head jerking to the side. The creature gives another snarl before turning to look in the vague direction of its direct attackers, apparently trying to line them up. Or does it think they're all the same person? Difficult to tell, though it seems to be looking toward Lance the most.

    With a growl, the Meraginas pulls back its head, just as its drill-like horn begins to gather...swirling wind. That's the only warning that's given before the creature scoops its head forward, digging its central horn into the ground and ripping up some stone in front of it. That's not the main issue, though: the pressure that was gathering around its horn is suddenly discharged, sending a wave tearing through the floor that threatens to send Lance, Auron, and Allyn flying along with the huge chunks of stone that are torn free. Chika and Lucatiel might want to move as well; the wave isn't coming for them, but it's passing awfully close, and those huge chunks of stone could crush the unwary!

    Ysabel, for her part, doesn't rush in just yet. The huntress stays back to pull her weapon free from her back, letting the axe blade slide up along the weapon's length just as vibrant slime in red, orange, and yellow hisses into activity along its blade. This isn't something she's faced before, so she's going to take a minute to gauge its abilities before she takes the risk of close-quarters combat. Good thing Chika has that speed boost active, at least, for when she does jump in.

Psalm (181) has posed:
    Maggie snorts in panic as the rocks come flying around but manages to catch her song again. Luckily there's enough other noise going on that she can hesitate for a moment. She does hear the buffing music coming from Chika though and smiles WIDE in her singing. There's a shift in the air as that song in fact shifts to an air.
    Light and quick and echoing again, but it's got a pep to the step and a urgencey to it. Go Go Go Dance Dance! Take it down my friends and share the bounty!

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Is it a bat or a wyvern?" Shirou seems to be agreeing with Auron's opinion regarding the creature, and has also moved to the group's back for a good reason. If that thing gets anywhere near him, he's toast. The best he can do is attack from afar. he's not an inhumanly powerful warrior like the Servants, or even like the warrior-monk Auron here. He's a squishy, if athletic mortal with only a little, highly specialized magic.

    But his eyes snap sharply to the beast's great size and thick armor-like hide. "If that can be made into armor, it'd solve Bedivere's problem... alright. Trace, on...!"

    Golden light flashes in his hands. In them form two things. IN one, a modern composite bow. In the other... an ancient-styled black longsword. He raises the sword up to the bow like an arrow, and on the way... Kusanagi no Tsurugi thins and stretches into a more arrow-like shape, including growing a notch! So he manages to mount the projected-and-reinforced bow with one of the craziest kinds of arrows there can ever be.

    Winds gather around the blade's tip... "Kusanagi...!"

    The Noble Phantasm shines and gathers yet more wind... and the moment Shirou unleashes it?

    The sword-arrow propels itself with tremendous speed and power. The wind propels it, and a small tornado twists about its business end!

    It's aimed right for the creature's chest, too.

Lucatiel of Mirrah (66) has posed:
It finally looks like the Meraginas notices that it has company, but that doesn't seem to be enough to pull Lucatiel to her feet. Some people might be meditating or something, but it looks like all she's doing is watching the creature through that ornate mask. Her sword is gripped loosely as though in ready posture, and she crouches with her weight forward on the balls of her feet, but she doesn't move so much as a muscle.

Slowly, she climbs to her feet while the Meraginas busies itself with gathering its power and ripping up the stone ground before it. Oh, and a shockwave that manages to tear it up even worse. Which means giant chunks of stone headed hers and Chika's way. Isn't that quaint?

And then suddenly Lucatiel is /moving/, faster than it looks like she should be capable of doing, dropping into a crouch in front of Chika with that bronze shield upraised. There's a little too much debris to dance out of range, but this ought to deflect the worst of it. "Stay down!"

Stones crash into the shield with the sound of a tin can being stepped on -- it holds up a little better than that, but by the sound of it, the bronze is taking quite a beating. And so is Lucatiel's arm, by the low hiss of breath she gives, prolonged and harsh. Ow-ow-ow.

Well, better a bunch of bruising up and down her arm than a crater for her head, anyway.

Yet still she doesn't seem inclined to jump into the beast's personal range just yet. The way she's watching the beast and the other hunters suggests that she's biding her time; forming a strategy, perhaps. Rushing in blindly is only going to get her killed, here, and... well, while that's not precisely as much a problem for her as it is for anybody /else/, it's still incredibly /unpleasant/.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron has to plant his blade into the ground at the wave of force that ripples through the ground. He ducks as much of himself behind the wide blade as he can, but it won't save him from all the damage. That's why he used his right arm in front, so it could block. Even with that, the force drags the sword through the rocky ground, sending him back about fifty feet anyway. Between the force and the flying debris hitting him, he's now cut up and scratched. Ow. And that poor sword.

    Once he can move again, Auron pulls his sword from the ground. He doesn't immediately leap to attack again, though. Instead he raises the sword up in the air, and concentrates his qi into the blade. Calling out to the spirit of the legendary sword through the spirit of his own sword, he mentally designates the wyvern as a target. Still some distance away, he makes a single slash at the wyvern... and a flurry of slashes will appear in the air, aimed at the beast.

Hana Umikazeno (357) has posed:
    Hana settles into a steady stance while she waits, arms crossed over and revolvers both pointed at the Meraginas. She's still for a moment, waiting and watching... but while the shots did seem to hurt it, they didn't blow out its hearing in that ear, as she'd hoped. And then it unleashes a pressure wave from its horn, which puts the oni into a dodge which proves unnecessary when the wave doesn't reach her. Instead, she whips up one of her revolvers, switching to a combination of 'high explosive' and 'high-impact' to give her the sheer destructive force she'll need to shoot a few hunks of rock out of the air. Boom.

    Then her revolvers switch effects again, and she brings them back to the monster without changing her stance. Her target is the thing's ear once again, but this time she has different effects entirely. The rounds will burst on impact, as before, but this time instead of air, they deliver a burst of /water/ - water which immediately freezes into ice, thanks to the freezing effect on them. She is, in essence, trying to plug its ears with ice, perhaps even damaging its hearing that way.

Chika (577) has posed:
    Nothing silences a Felyne's flute!

    Except, maybe, you know, very large rocks and extreme sudden peril.

    The speed-enhancing melody dies on a squawk, though the effects carry on even without an active tune to power it. Chika's ears prick up and her pupils reduce to tiny alert slits as she realizes the danger bouncing her way. Stones even that size could cream a kitty without difficulty!

    ENTER LUCATIEL! Chika ducks behind the offered shield before the worst debris can strike. A few fist-sized stones manage to bounce past Lucatiel's barrier, delivering hard smacks to the Felyne's exposed shin and shoulder, but aside from a displeased RREOWR that escapes her, Chika seems to be mostly okay.

    Her tail all a-bristle, she swaps out her current flute for a lower-pitched flute conferring strength boosts to her allies. The next attacks to land on that beastly wyvern will hit harder than before, and perhaps with greater accuracy, too. Chika once again tries to back up Psalm's melody.

    She looks pawsitively annoyed.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls when he is sent flying with the rocks and such that are cause by the creature's attack. He roars in pain as the rocks hit him and smaller sharper pieces get through his fur to cut into his skin. Well, that's not a good thing. Cats don't fly very well, now do they? Well, that's fine, the wyvern wants to play things that way does it?

He's not in the air for too long and in true cat fashion he manages to land on his feet, though it is a rather rough and hard landing. He yowls at the impact. It's not a good idea to get close to this thing it seems. He shifts forms, becoming a rather strange looking creature, much like a cobra with four legs. He hisses at the wyvern and then breathes a stream of sand at it.

Lance Benson (330) has posed:
    Lance laughs triumphantly after striking the beast, and leaps back in preparation for attacking it again, but this time with the rifle. He is soon met with a retaliation, though, as the creature gains its bearing before he can line up his shot. He frowns and tries to leap back again -- he's got a big jump arc! -- but he gets hammered by stones which... don't shatter his bones. Metal blood spatters to the ground, but his wounds seem shallow and nothing is broken.

    He twists in the air, and stops when a pair of wings manifest behind his shoulders. He aims his weapon, and takes a few pot shots with the laser rifle at that spot that Auron weakened before! Each blast is a showy beam of bluish-white light that gives a suitably sci-fi noise out and a crackling like surging electricity on impact. He keeps shooting at the creature like this for as long as he can maintain that point in the air. BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

    "Nice one, kid!" Lance shouts over in Shirou's direction, approving of his creativity. The strange mutant man sounds like he's enjoying this whole fight! Despite getting beaned by rocks for his trouble.

Ysabel Thibault (581) has posed:
    Just as the Meraginas recovers from its earth-shattering attack, the strange, whirlwinding sword-arrow goes flying for the creature's chest, striking it dead-on with remarkable force. It doesn't seem to be enough to strike through to the creature's heart, but the way the beast staggers back with the sword's tip lodged in its breast, squealing angrily, it no doubt left an impact.

    Just as the creature is recovering, Auron channels a power to /also/ attack from afar. A flurry of slashes dig into its side and wing, cutting into its solid hide again and again to make it stagger aside. Yellow lines appear across its body, a sign that those slashes are at least breaching the black outer hide. This seems like a good enough opening for Ysabel to strike, and so the hunter does, rushing in with her large axe gripped tight in her hands, her speed enhanced thanks to Chika's song. It seems like the wyvern is about to move, but Hana's next assault ensures that it's distracted for a moment more: ice congeals around the creature's right ear, drawing a surprised yelp as the bat-like monster finds its hearing temporarily blocked. Ysabel's axe swings in against its head, striking once, twice, three times, each hit kicking up a spray of green slime that steadily changes to yellow with each successive strike. Chika's next song no doubt helps with that endeavor, judging by the way the Meraginas recoils from the strikes against its head, and Lance's shots blast in surging jolts that strike through its body and create an even louder shriek of pain.

    Again, before it can properly react, more ice is sent against it! The frigid stream from Allyn blasts against the creature's shoulder, congealing ice over its shoulder...but the monster doesn't seem particularly bothered by the cold strike. It churrs almost curiously, its good ear lifted up, then turns not to Ysabel, or Allyn, or Hana, or Lance...but to Auron. It must think he's the one doing all this.

    Whatever it's considering, it rears back its head before suddenly lurching forward, mouth snapping open to launch an orb of black and yellow energy. The ball smashes down into the ground near Auron, freezing the floor into ice in a large area around the point of impact. More dangerous, however, is the explosion of energy that blasts out from that point: lancing bolts of black and yellow shoot out in an explosion of energy, at once putting Auron, Allyn, Lance, and Ysabel in danger by the sheer size of the blast. The bolts seem to be made from a strange energy, at once cold as ice and rippling with a strange power. Those with a draconic nature are particularly affected, struck through with raw draconic power. It's not aimed perfectly, but clearly the blast makes up for that.

    Ysabel herself doesn't manage to get away in time. The huntress attempts to leap, but a bolt strikes her dead in the chest, sending her hurtling back several yards in a painful tumble. It's a good distance before she stops and immediately pushes herself to her feet, wincing slightly with a hand over the faintly burned and frostbitten point just on her chest.

Auron (236) has posed:
    As soon as it turned its eyes on him, Auron knew he was in for a lot of pain. He is, thankfully, not a dragon. However, he still gets hit by that energy, and flung back against a wall with a loud thud that knocks the wind out of him. He slides down to the floor, coughs. "Ghn..." He shakes his head. Answers the status report on the radio, and then gets to his feet again.

    Following Ysabel's advice on the radio, he aims an attack from a direction apart from one the others are attacking in.

Lance Benson (330) has posed:
    Lance has to stop firing to eject the clip from the energy rifle he's using, the clip flying through the air and shattering in a spray of blue sparks. He reaches to pull another off his thigh, slapping it into the rifle. He keeps up with the Meraginas' movements easily enough, but he soon has to land again, not wanting to overuse his flight in a combat situation. He doesn't have a lot of magic strength these days.

    And then he gets caught in a blast of dragon and ice energy that sends him flying across the battlefield. Because his blood is liquid metal, it solidifies inside of him for a second and the party is treated to the bizarre sight of a petrified Lance tumbling across the cavern floor leaving harsh grooves in the ground. He flexes his muscles afterward, steam rising off of him and his eyes aglow with a buildup of heat in his body.

    The mutant grunts, realizing the spill he just had shattered his weapon. He decides to switch up his tactics, and manifests a black energy around one of his hands. He flicks this aura of darkness at the bat-dragon, and a loud BOOM occurs near the dragon's head where a buffeting explosion of force expands outward, sending an acidic spray of black energy into the creature's face for it to deal with. "This fight is making me HUNGRY!" he calls out, excitedly grinning around the words.

Psalm (181) has posed:
    Woops and now we're pretty much out of any sort of confusion that Psalm could manage to offer. The Bard smiles, pats Chika on the back as she keeps playing. "Good work, kitty..."
    And then she's running in, that great sword glistening dangerously. Magic energy seeps from the blade as the Bard's tone changes, turns hazardous and deadly as she charges in behind the rest. This time the song is a keening Elven Call to Arms, urging, goading and compelling.

    And Maggie throws herself in at a flank of the beast, the sword lashing out to slash at it.

    And anyone who does the same, charges in, will find they carry the strength of the Cavalry behind them.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn hisses as he's caught in the blast of ice, which slows him down a little. Its cold afterall and he's currently a reptile type creature. He shakes his head and winces a little. Over the radio he hears the command to attack it from different directions instead of all being bunched together.

he wanders away from the others and looks for a good place to attack from. He tilts his head, eyeing the creature for a few moments and then breathes sand at it again.

Hana Umikazeno (357) has posed:
    This time, Hana's choice in methods bears fruit. There's a brief flicker of satisfaction in her eyes as she watches the beat flail angrily, and then she's on the move again. Not firing her weapons at all, not bringing attention to herself, letting the others keep its aggression directed elsewhere. Right around the outer edges of the cavern, at the full speed she can manage.

    As soon as she comes around far enough to have a decent shot, rather than stopping her momentum she simply takes a short hop, turns in mid-air, and lands on one knee and one foot, skidding along the ground while facing the Meraginas. Her guns are both whipped up into another perfect firing posture, and for the second time, the oni opens fire with those ice-spreader rounds of hers, trying to freeze the second ear over much as she did the first.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Icy blasts come flying Shirou's way! Thankfully he's at the group's rear, and most of them take the worst of it before it reaches him. he gets a nasty blast of freezing power at him though, and it makes his whole body shivers and shudder, fingers now freezing cold. To counter this, he channels prana through to heat them up. It works, but he still staggers, struggling to breathe despite the icy cold. Wow, that's one heck of a creature!

    But he saw what worked. He saw how deep his strike got. Now if he could just hit something vital, since nothing less really counts...

    Inspired by success, he produces YET ANOTHEr copy of Kusanagi and performs the same alterations to it - the legendary sword becomes an arrow, is drawn across the bow, and launched. WIND SWORD ARROWS!

    In a display of ruthless pragmatism, he uses every second he's got to keep firing them. One after another. Trace, alter, draw, fire. Again, and again.

    he can easily manage a half-dozen Kusanagis like that. The air is full of howling tornado-swords of legendary power, all headed where the first one went!

Chika (577) has posed:
    It's time.

    Bolstered by Psalm's magic, and a bit of her own, Chika twirls her flute in her grasp before thrusting it away into her pack. The way she snaps her pack closed is decisive and seems to carry great significance, as if by putting away her flute, Chika's come to some kind of life-affirming decision. The way she swings her weapon around to the fore only enhances the dramatic effect. Somewhere behind the clawed cat's paw, she nods her determination. "Striking Ysabel is unacceptable! You big brute -- now it's time you learned your lesson!"

    Mrrowr!

    Chika races forward, swings her weapon up over her head, and brings it smashing down on the wyvern's flank in a series of battering blows that kick up some dust.

    After she attacks, she tries to bounce up its spiked shoulders, to deliver one more punishing THWACK to its head, before she tumbles back down to the cave floor in an overbalanced heap.

    Hrrowr! Mrah!

Lucatiel of Mirrah (66) has posed:
Lurching back to her feet, Lucatiel shakes out her shield-arm for a few seconds, trying to banish the numbness that threatens. That was a pretty terrific wallop. Her mask is tilted up, though, watching the angry Meraginas with a calculating eye, and keeping close watch over what the others are doing to it. (Or having done to it, in Auron's case.)

Then Chika is the next to launch into the fray, swearing vengeance on Ysabel, although the monster hunter looks like she's pretty well able to take care of herself. Lucatiel herself straightens a little, considering the monstrous wyvern in front of her. Hmm. To solve this puzzle, all she has to do is think -- what would Aslatiel do in this situation?

Something stupid, probably.

The fencer kicks off from the ground, following in Chika's immediate footsteps. In mid-stride, she slings her shield back up over her shoulder, gripping the hilt of that big, claymore-like sword in one hand as though it were made of wood. Her other hand rips the estoc free from its sheath, and as she nears the creature, she whips the estoc around to try and plunge it into the wyvern's flank.

From there she uses it like a handhold, throwing herself higher onto the beast's back and retrieving the estoc with a neat flourish of the wrist, sheathing it and bringing her greatsword around -- mostly, with the intent of swinging it around and attempting to hack deep into the joint of one formidable wing. The less that thing can flail around to smack its hunters around, the better.

Of course, this is all hoping that the creature decides everybody else is a more interesting target than the second thing running up its back.

Ysabel Thibault (581) has posed:
    The Meraginas growls in apparent satisfaction where it stands, claws scratching against the ground and kicking up sparks of glaring yellow. Its head lifts once more, its one good ear swiveling...and it falls under attack from many angles at once.

    BGM: http://tinyurl.com/n497s9a

    Hana freezes over its good ear, drawing an angry screech as the creature stumbles aside in surprise. Allyn's blast of sand smashes against its wing just as Psalm's blade cleaves into its opposite leg and Auron's sword carves against its tail, all attacks enhanced in their raw power by Psalm's song on top of the support offered by Chika. Lance's explosive assault blasts against the wyvern's head; it stumbles back squealing, one orange horn chipped and some of the ice on its ears cracked, but not shattered. Whirling Kusanagis strike at the wyvern again and again, and while its staggering makes it hard to aim for the chest, those swords find purchase in the softer scales of the bat-dragon nonetheless. Lucatiel's estoc digs into its flank, and the larger greatsword cleaves into the joint of one wing after some determined hacking. Even Chika attacks, smacking against the wyvern's rough scales with more strength than someone her size should be able to muster, cracking into the creature's black hide again and again.

    Ysabel is still in the process of recovering, but she's far enough away that she doesn't have to worry much about the Meraginas' reaction. Blind, deafened, and assaulted from all angles, the strange wyvern seems pushed to desperation, and in a fit of rage, it rears up and /screams/. The effect is dazzling.

    The force of the creature's cry splinters the stone around it in a wide area, and every single orange spike and horn and the gaps where armored plates meet suddenly flare with brilliant yellow light. The Meraginas leaps, and its wings beat as best as they can, sending it up into the air and casting down a powerful gust of wind. It's not in the air for long, though, before it flips...and /slams/ into the ground on its back. The impact shatters the stone floor even further, knocking up debris against those closest to it, but that's only part of the attack. More of that crackling yellow-black energy is discharged from the impact, sending bolts lashing out at the party where they stand with a single grand explosion!

    Ysabel, at least, is far enough to be spared. The Meraginas is lodged in the ground on its back for a moment, too; the perfect opportunity for her to run in. And so she does, clenching her teeth and sprinting, closing the distance to the creature's head. The switch axe slams into the Meraginas again, kicking up an orange spray of slime. As Ysabel brings it around again, the axe blade slides down the weapon's length as the sword blade flips up and locks into place, changing the weapon's formation to its sword form. More slime hisses to life on the sword's blade, and the weapon is coated in a red glow as Ysabel swings it down to cleave into the wyvern once, twice...and with the second strike, the slime becomes unstable, creating a powerful explosion against the wyvern's head. The creature screams once more, rolling over onto its feet.

    Once Ysabel leaps away and the smoke from the explosion clears, it can be seen that the creature's horns are gone, even the thick drill horn, whose core is a glaring yellow.

Chika (577) has posed:
    Chika is not half so lucky as Ysabel!

    It's not so surprising that a Felyne can't take a hit the way an armed and armored hunter can. As Meraginas looses its terrible roar, Chika's sent bouncing across the ground in a dizzying tumble. As Meraginas comes crashing down, back-spikes first, Chika's right in the line of fire. It takes a desperate scramble to avoid being crushed -- but the near-collision is still a frightful event, made worse by the shockwaves and splitting ground. Chika bounces across the ground, gets pelted by rocks, and picks up her fair share of bruises and scrapes in her attempt to duck for cover wherever she can find it.

    Disarmed in the hullabaloo, and more than a little disoriented, Chika's left reeling in the back of the chamber.

Hana Umikazeno (357) has posed:
    The sudden scream is enough to stagger Hana, who crosses her arms over herself protectively. She lowers them about the time the Meraginas reaches the peak of its jump, at which point it's too late for her to do anything to hit it in the air. She grimaces, taking a cautious step back... and that's when it comes down.

    The bolt coming her way isn't something the oni is prepared for. Her spinning dodge comes a moment too late, and it clips her as a result, drawing out a pained hiss. But as ever, she's an oni, and hardy enough to not let the pain faze her. The spin brings her up in another stable firing stance, and this time her weapons have changed to a tried-and-true damage combo.

    Each pull of the trigger dispenses a round endowed with armor-piercing properties - and once a round pierces the creature's hide, it will explode, in an utterly vicious combination.

Psalm (181) has posed:
    Maggie's body goes sprawling after the puts some blood on her sword, the Gleamsong Edge sputtering merrily away as more magic broils away the fluids.
    But she's got ot catch her breath before she can get her own music running again, the blade holding the tune for a few moments while that happens. But so much is happening so quickly, and she's not sure how much longer for this world the massive beast is destined.

    The Song Shifts again, to a Droning Dwarven Dirge. A song of Ending. Of Passing, of the Hunt. An Honor to Prey.

    End it.

Auron (236) has posed:
    The shaking of the ground rocks Auron's stance, making it impossible to get out of range of that energy. The explosion sends him skidding across the ground, and when he comes to a stop, his hair and clothes are smoking. That /really/ hurts! But Auron is nothing if not tenacious... so even though it takes him a few moments, and his arms wobble as they push him back up, he gets back to his feet. He can't take much more of that; hopefully he won't have to.

    Seeing Chika, he heads over in her direction, hoping to cover her against any more attacks coming her way. And he watches the thing flailing. He doesn't want it to get up before the others can finish it off. So he gets an idea. This usually doesn't work on 'boss' monsters, and he's not sure if this one qualifies as that. But he decides to give it a shot anyway. At least it doesn't have to hear for this to work.

    Concentrating qi into his throat, he points at the creature with his left hand, and then sweeps that hand from right to left in a quick, almost dismissive gesture. When he speaks, his voice seems to echo abnormally in the cave around him, as if the sound didn't want to fade normally, but rather wanted to layer on itself in the air.

    "DO NOT MOVE!"

    Hopefully this will hold it in place, hopefully still in that vulnerable position, for the others to strike it.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn hisses in pain as the crackling energy along the ground hits him. Well, that's not good at all. He stands there for a few moments stunned from the odd sight of the wyvern leaping on its back and the energy. After a few long moments he shakes his head and hisses again. He ponders what to do this time. Sand seems to work, but does he want to try that again.

Well, lets try something a bit more wreckless, he begins running towards the creature and leaps into the air in an attempt to body slam the creature.

Chika (577) has posed:
    Chika's going to stay right where she is! As Auron guards her, she occasionally gives her head a shake, but she remains pretty wobbly even after the initial shock wears off.

Lucatiel of Mirrah (66) has posed:
Baring her teeth behind her mask, Lucatiel goes with the flow, trying to keep her balance as the creature rises up. Mostly, she does this by returning her greatsword to its scabbard, whipping the estoc out of its scabbard, and attempting to shove it between armoured plates, because it makes for a convenient handhold.

Bracing her boots against the Meraginas' craggy hide, she does the only thing she can think of, and that's hold on for dear life, because being thrown off and trampled would be painful. Also, she probably wouldn't survive it. This thing looks ridiculously heavy.

Wrenching her estoc deeper into the hide, Lucatiel looks up to watch the thing try to rage its way into victory, and also because there are people lobbing explosive things at the beastie while she's trying to 'ride' it like a bucking bronco.

This was, in retrospect, a really dumb idea.

Thanks, Aslatiel.

While she can't do a lot of damage until it stops trying to shake her off, she can at least maintain her perch here. Shifting her grip and stomping a boot against its hide, Lucatiel holds on for dear life, occasionally shifting her grip on the hilt to shove the blade even deeper. It may not be terribly damaging, but it's got to be annoying! And distracting. And therefore possibly helpful to the others.

Lance Benson (330) has posed:
    The wyvern screams with such strength that Lance finds himself in a bad way. He is slammed into by the sound, his ears flicking backward-- and he's open to the pain of the dark bolts of energy as they rain down on everyone. He shouts in pain as he's sent flying into one of the walls of the cave with a loud impacting noise like a wrecking ball. He pulls himself off the wall after that, and hisses from the pain throbbing in his head.

    He doesn't let it deter him long. He barrels toward the bat dragon and leaps up into the air. He tries to land on the spiky creature with violent force, and begins just clawing at it with both hands, his tail stabbing and poking like an extremely angry scorpion. But he doesn't look angry. He looks like he's having a blast, even now. He happens to be aiming for the weak points created by Lucatiel's stabbing motions, and tries to keep an eye on what she's doing so he's not hogging any real estate on top of the thrashing creature.

    Unlike the others, he doesn't seem very concerned with the actual spikes. Regeneration is quite a blessing for him. It also makes him insane and reckless. Whee~

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Whwagh--" Shirou's knocked clean off his feet by all the rumbling, and thrown backwards. This good, since being on the ground means more debris lands on him than slams INTO him. Mostly pebbles. a few lareger rocks... but hey, much better than getting clobbered in the side by a boulder.

    Grunting and bruised, also a little bloodied, Shirou pulls himself to his feet and tries something a litle different. A different blade forms in his hand. A weapon of obsidian, though it's carved blade glows a hot white. The jagged, primitive design is fierce and bears the favor of a war god.

    Yet even this weapon he alters, transforming it into an arrow. It's much LONGER than Kusanagi... "This obsidian arrow will pierce even reason itself..."

    It's mounted, drawn back... and released. There is no special elemental show when this thing flies for the thrashing beast, but its passage is ominous. The blade that cuts down all that stand in its way now cleaves a path right for the Meraginas!

Ysabel Thibault (581) has posed:
    People go flying, though Ysabel seems mostly focused on the tumbling Felyne. Her frown grows more pronounced as she lets the others take care of the Meraginas; she, instead, rushes over to stand between Chika and the wyvern, poised just beside Auron with her switch axe held in front of her in its sword configuration. Just in case the thing gets up enough to strike again.

    Just as the Meraginas begins to get to its feet, however, Auron's words strike through it in a powerful command. As much as it wishes to rise, that power-infused order keeps the wyvern where it is on its side, hissing and squealing in pained rage. It's perfectly open, and everyone takes the opportunity presented.

    Allyn's bodyslam crashes into the wyvern's weakened chest with a sharp /crack/. Armor-piercing bullets strike through the bat-like monster's solid hide, exploding and sending plated shells flying from the assaults again and again. Lucatiel's sword digs deeper into the injured joint, and Lance's vicious, bestial assaults dig into the wounds already formed to make them worse and worse. And finally, a great, curved blade is formed by Shirou, and its jagged length flies true: the chest that was already weakened is pierced deeply by the sword, far deeper than the Kusanagi had dug in before. The Meraginas struggles and howls, but after a time, it simply can't hold up any further. The wyvern's yellow glow dissipates in a cloud of sparkling gold that poofs off its body, and with a last, churring growl, it finally collapses against the cave floor.

    Victory! http://tinyurl.com/mx3rjh2

    Ysabel takes a breath once the Meraginas falls, then lets it out in slow relief. The Brisant Demolisher's slime mold fades away, and the sword blade flips back into its resting position before she tucks it on her back again. "...finally. For a blind and deafened monster, that thing was a pain in the ass. Are you all holding up alright?"

    A glance is given back to Chika. The hunter pauses for a moment, then reaches into the small satchel at her waist. After a moment of rummaging, she pulls free a small yellow vine with tiny flowers along it, and after crouching down beside Chika, she hands the faintly aromatic vine to the Felyne. A sprig of Felvine! "Nice work."

Chika (577) has posed:
    Felvine?!

    Chika's right ear perks up; then, her left. Her nose quivers. Her eyes widen, and her pupils follow, spreading out into two matched discs of gleaming black /interest/. With a purring chirrup of a mew, she pounces onto the vine, and instantly forgets all her pains and worries because /this smells so good/.

Lucatiel of Mirrah (66) has posed:
Lucatiel hangs on as the creature collapses, because that's about all she has the wherewithal (or the balance) to do. She waits a few moments after the creature sags, if only to make sure that she won't be trampled by its death throes. It stops twitching, though, and she finally wrenches her estoc free--

Or tries. It sticks in the stiff hide. Frowning behind her mask, she braces a boot against the Meraginas, heaving with all her weight and back, and the estoc finally comes free with a faint /pop/ and a spatter of the wyvern's blood, sending Lucatiel tumbling gracelessly backward to land flat on her rump.

The masked swordswoman picks herself up, flicks the gore from her blade, and replaces it at her hip with a quiet snort.

"Tenacious," she comments, stepping back to let the others discuss tallying up the loot and the remains. She'll be happy with some kind of monetary compensation. And maybe a hot meal. Hot meals are nice.

Lance Benson (330) has posed:
    Lance is sitting atop the dead wyvern. He looks down at it for a while, covered in its blood. He licks some of the blood off his nose, seriously considering the corpse. Ysabel talks to him, and his head raises to look at her, but when he looks at her, he looks through her like she's barely even there, to him. He holds up one hand, with his index finger raise. 'Hold on.'

    And then he SLAMS his hand into one of the wounds, and pulls out a chunk of wyvern meat, which he crams into his mouth. He contentedly chews and sits there, and he begins to purr, too. He's just...significantly less adorable about it.

Hana Umikazeno (357) has posed:
    Finally the monster dies, and for a few seconds, Hana holds her crouched stance, unmoving.

    Then she stands up, still aiming her revolvers at it, and holds /that/ stance for a few more seconds.

    Finally, apparently satisfied that it's not going to get back up and attack them, she lowers her arms, and then just releases her grip on the Girls. Rather than falling to the ground, they dart back up her sleeves, safely stored.

    "I took a hit from one of those bolts of energy, but it doesn't feel serious," Hana replies to Ysabel, twisting her body a bit to test her right side. "So now what? Do we have to bring part of it in to collect our payment, or...?"

    Lance's snacktime doesn't seem to faze her in the least.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Emiya SHirou seems okay enough.

    Until he sees Lance tear out a chunk and gulp it down raw. That makes him turn VERY QUEASY, and very much in a different direction. "...I'm okay." He squeezes out. Bwegh.

    Though he also approaches Ysabel a few moments later. "Uh... I'm not interested in the reward so much as I am some of the hide. It looks like it'd be great armor for a friend..." Or maybe himself...? Maybe. "If that's not spoken for." He'd hate for it to BE spoken for.

Psalm (181) has posed:
    Maggie, for her part, slumps to the floor of the cavern, and sighs. Her chainmail clinks a bit as she pulls out a bottle of water from her haversack, taking swigs to try and rest her vocal chords. She 'watching people eat and start to squabble over the kill, and she's perfectly alright with that. This was more practice for Bigger Things. Always bigger.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Well, the creature is dead it seems, so not much else to do. He shifts back into his wolf form since things are done and shakes out his fur, eyeing the dead creature for a few moments. He pads over towards Auron though afterwards, "That was kind of interesting." he wags his tail a little. "I think I am going to wander here a while and see if there's anything else interesting like this thing."

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron's not sure who Ysabel's comment is aimed at, so he answers, though it's a short response. "Nothing too serious." He pauses at Lance's chowdown, but doesn't say anything about it. He just hopes Lance doesn't eat anything they're supposed to turn in. He doesn't give it a second glance after that first rather confused one.

    Allyn's words get Auron's attention, and he nods. "Be careful," he cautions. "From what I've seen, this isn't the only huge monster in this world. If you get caught in there, come back to the camp. It should be safe."

Ysabel Thibault (581) has posed:
    Once Ysabel is pretty confident that everyone isn't about to keel over, she turns to Hana with a brief nod. "We'll have someone from the Guild come out and check out the body for proof. It'll take a bit to work out, but I can just send your payment over when the paperwork's finished if you don't want to wait around for a while. Technically..." She frowns a little, rubbing the back of her head. "...I took this one on solo, so you didn't officially come with me. I'll have to transfer the reward over, but I don't really care about it anyway."

    Allyn gets her attention next, drawing another light frown. "...alright, fine, go out and do whatever you want," she grumbles, waving a hand at him. "There'll be a lot out there, but don't blame me if it eats you." Shirou gets her attention next. "Well, you helped take care of it, so you deserve to have some of it. I can just have a blacksmith make an armor set for your friend, though, if you give me their proportions. They take care of shit like that all the time, and they'll be able to imbue it with the monster's properties more effectively." Her head lifts to the others. "That goes for the rest of you, too. If you want some kind of equipment from this thing, I'll have it commissioned and sent over." A glance to Lance, who gets a vaguely scrunched look. "...or you can just do it your way, that works too."

    A glance is given to Psalm. The huntress rummages in her satchel for a moment before producing a vial of very cold blue liquid with a strange, ice-like crystal floating in it. "Hey. Psalm. This might help with your throat." She tosses it to the bard, trusting her to catch it, then crosses her arms and turns back to the Meraginas.

    "Well...I guess that's it for tonight. Thanks for helping out, all of you. You were better suited for this than I thought."

Psalm (181) has posed:
    Maggie smiles up at Ysa, and happily takes the bottle of... whatever that is, swigging merrily.