Woodfaire Burning

Woodfaire Burning
Date of Scene:	08 July 2014
Location:	Ivalice
Synopsis:	The town of Woodfaire, outlying Riovanes in Fovoham, is under attack by Archadia, but not by its soldiers! The ruthless machiavellian conqueror has unleashed monsters upon the hapless village, including a fearsome Behemoth! <Location: Woodfaire, Fovoham, Story Mission>*
Cast of Characters:	129, 183, Fuki, 236, 307
Tinyplot:	Of Stones and Sins

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Ultima (129) has posed:
Woodfaire, Fovoham - Fifteen Minutes Ago: It's an ordinary day by he looks of it, and the sky is as clear as crystal all the way to the horizon. The heat of the mid-day sun bears down on all from near directly above in the expanse of the firmament, as cheerful songs of sparrows ring out into the air. The village here, composed primarily of straw huts and tents with the occasional actual house - even by this eras standards fairly low tech, is host to many persons young and old... judging by the sheer quantity of people bustling busily about its square. There's metal workers, working stoves beneath the burniing heat of the sun, and visible farmers and farm hands here mostly but the occassional muddy panhandler or lout wallowing about near the thatched housing isn't too uncommon either. In the square, there even appears to be a village food prepatory area... the fires of which are going even now.

But from somewhere outlying the village, a great bellow comes... and the trees marking the forest's edge begin to quiver before a violet-skinned, impossibly muscular, beast begins to emerge from the trees...Now: There's screaming that can be heard all of the way into the town square and out to the outlying edges, acccccompanied by the high-pitched ringing of a bell that can be heard for possibly miles around. People run throughout the streets, in a horrible state of panic, as a fire blazes in the town center from the food preparatory being decimated... having set ablaze the straw weed around it. A great, violet-skinned, monster with horns the curl like gnarling vines... it forcefully shoves its way violently through a nearby wooden structure with all the force of a train on the tail end of what is apparently another missed charge - meant for the sorry sods ielding rusted daggers and pots on their heads in the square...

Allyn (307) has posed:
It's kind of odd, how whenever the large wolf finds himself in a bad mood he hears about something attacking somewhere. Like the other day with those undead, no he wasn't in a bad mood during that, but afterward. Today those the dire wolf looks to be in a rather bad mood as he arrives, but another fight is just what might get him out of it. He hadn't even settled on what form he was going to take, having been shifting back and forth randomly. He stops for a few moments and watches the beast, but then also glances around to see if he's not the only one to get here, he's not sure he'd want to fight that alone, but there are people that might get hurt.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Another day, another call for help. Wait, but hadn't she thought that very same thing yesterday?

Well, whatever. The happenings of the do not always need to have effects on the present, especially in situations like this. Regardless of however many lives were at stake yesterday, there are even more today. This is something Mizuki has slowly started to re-learn since coming to the Multiverse.

As per the usual, Mizuki soars in with her wings outstretched, but she's not invisible today. No, she's fully visible... and others watching her from afar may mistake her for a bird of prey or an an angel of death. And they would be wrong... unless they were speaking metaphorically. But this time, there's no time to waste on theatrics. She gets down to business immediately, throwing one of her stasis fields out in front of her. Once she does, she holds out her sword and travels at incredible speeds... straight for the beast's tail.

No tail means less balance, and no method of defending itself from behind. Or so she hopes, anyway.

Fuki has posed:
Out taking the coeurl for a stroll, the barded feline-like beast turning into the town. Upon the back of this beast is the Shinki, the black spot upon the large feline's back. "Something isn't right around here." the loud roar... "That way Keesha. Let's check that out. If Lute can tame something that large, then maybe we can." she smirks, "How I'd love to show up that man. Though, wonder if Master would be mad? Nah!" The coeurl takes off in the direction of the roar, whiskers flailing backwards while the Shinki holds on tight.

Auron (236) has posed:
Auron doesn't have his chocobo this time, because it would bring too much attention to him. It's clearly not Ivalician. And he's not in that robe either; being mistaken for that 'Thunder God' person once was enough for him, thanks. He's been exploring this world while dressed normally (for him). It probably has brought far less attention. With his apparent age and scars, he probably just looks like a soldier from the Fifty Years' War.

Roaring and screaming and crashing -- oh my! Never a good sign. Fortunately Auron was close by. Always good to know another world if you get too involved in its dealings, right? And speaking of 'getting involved in another world's dealings', he's heading towards there he heard the roaring from, to see what's going on and if he can help out.

Ultima (129) has posed:
The Behemoth releases another monsterous bellow at the commoners wearing pots it is doing combat with. A violent shake of its furry mane, accompanied by dragging a hindhoof through the dirt comes afore an audible snort. The thing rears back on its hind legs, only to come crashing back down on its forehooves and charge again... this time both mewn wielding rusty daggers run for their lives!

The village is chaos now, and the smoke from the wildfire burning in the square can no doubt be seen for miles around despite the dense forestation of this area. Every man, woman, and child seems to be running near aimlessly away in panic... no doubt making it difficult to actually reach the square for those on the ground.

The Behemoth doesn't seem to take much notice of any challengers arriving just yet, it mostly just seems to be flailing and kicking about madly like a pissed off wild animal. That is why, Mizuki's attempt to cut off the tail misses its mark by a bit - the monsters instead throwing its bulky hind legs out to be cut upon by that sword from above.

A pained roar of furious anger comes.

Then, suddenly, ... it turns its beady gaze upon Mizuki and its nostrils flare... before it charges toward her madly in an attempt to run her down for wounding it!

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn glances at the wildfire and the running people as they panic and then eyes the monster again and ponders if he should try to help the people or help Mizuki with the creature. Then Auron arrives and he knows Mizuki will get help, but still the wolf is in a bad mood. So he cirles around the creature once it looks like it is going to go after Mizuki and rushes in to leap for its back so he can bite on it.

Fuki has posed:
The coeurl charges in, launching itself into the air before summoning blasts of magic from its whiskers towards the Behemoth. Landing and skidding to a stop, the Shinki frowns, "Run if you don't want to end up dead by it. And if you need further incentive to run, I will lay claim to this town as well!" Fuki spins her scythe around and points towards the Behemoth, "Keesha, target found. Let's show Lute who can tame the better monster now, shall we?!" The coeurl gives a nod and charges forth, Fuki flying towards the Behemoth with scythe bared. "Hmm, interlopers. Well, perhaps I can put them to use..."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki comes to a halt some distance from the beast, letting it throw its tantrum before making any further moves. But pretty soon, she's having a staring contest with it... right before it comes straight for her! Mizuki is lost in thought, though. 'My, if only I had a toreador's red flag,' she thinks. Ah, but...! Gasp! It's right there! Her reverie is interrupted just in time for her to fly and avoid the brunt of the strike, but one of its horns does smack her leg but good.

"Nnngh..." Mizuki's face contorts. It would appear that the malicious purple invader isn't the only one pissed off now. "... you... pathetic..." She quakes for a moment, holding her leg with one of her hands and quaking. "Disgusting, vile, putrescent, demonic,ugly,grody,horridMONSTER!" You could almost see the flames in the back of her eyes if you looked hard enough. "This is UNFORGIVABLE!" Mizuki dashes, coming to look the monstrosity in the face. While there, she attempts jabs to both of its eyes.

Time radiation explodes, and the next thing anyone knows she's by its right arm, hacking away. Then, its other arm, and then she attempts to finish what she started with one of its legs. She goes on like this for a while, aggressively time hopping to do what damage she can... until she suddenly stops. She blinks a few times, and her cheeks become ever so slightly... rosy.

"A-Ah..." She giggles lightly, waving a hand. "... that was rather undignified..."

Auron (236) has posed:
Villagers mildlessly running around in panic, and a Behemoth there. Even Auron recognizes that monster. They have those in Spira, too. Though Spiran fiend Behemoths tend to be two-legged. They're still dangerous, wherever they're from. Definitely not a beast one wants to be anywhere around when they're raging!

There are too many people here, too many to push through immediately. Too many people that can die if someone doesn't act. Besides that, Mizuki and Allyn are quite powerful. Fuki as well. He's confident the three of them can take care of themselves. That in mind, the whole 'too many people around' is the first thing he tries to do something to help. Besides, it also gets the villagers out of the way of the Elites actually fighting the thing.

So instead of immediately going for the Behemoth, Auron turns his attention to the villagers. This is probably going to be like herding cats. Hopefully he's authoritative-looking enough that he can get through to panicked people. First he picks some of the less-panicked people and tries to conscript them into helping him herd people to a safe area, well away from that monster, and that fire. This may very well be 'out of the village' if that's the only place that's truly safe.

Ultima (129) has posed:
Another feral roar escapes monsterous thing as it all but misses it target. This time it comes skidding backwards across the dusty ground, disappearing momentarily through the smoke of the nearby fire, and skids to a halt right in front of a large Ash tree. It then proceeds to throw /another/ tantrum - striking the tree with its hooves hard enough to snap its base like a twig - and charges Mizuki again even as the Ash tree crashes to the ground!

The bursts of energy fired off by Fuki's Coeurl collide with the body of the beast mid-charge though... knocking it off balance and sending it tumbling before it can get very far at all. Through the rising dust of the sandy soil kicked up, and the smoke of the nearby fire pervading the area, Mizuki's onslaught pretty much connects everywhere it was intended to... slicing flesh and meat and spilling the beast's blood onto the ground.

But Mizuki may notice, slow though this creature may be... attempting to cut through this beasts's laayers of dense muscle tissue is like trying to cut through a steel rod with a kitchen knife. And it is for this reason, the beast defiantly rises again, bellowing angrily, before Allyn roars in to clamp down on its leathery hide with bared fangs!

While Allyn is now in for a wild Rodeo, courtesy of angry Behemoth, Auron's attempt to herd people fares somewhat better. Though many ignore, or attempt to ignore him outright, some do listen - primarily men - and he'll soon find he has at least a small mgroup of cooperative people helping him to stem the panic and make sure the women and children get away safely.

That Behemoth, on the tail end of its fourth or fifth successive rage, suddenly seems to decide to charge Fuki and her Coeurl down! But rather than attack them directly, it gores a large, open, wooden crate and then flings it through the air at her with a toss of its head!

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls as he's bucked around on the behemoth, he wishes he'd been in a cat form to give himself a bit better grip to hold on, ah good idea, he shifts his form into his lion fomr and sinks his front claws into the beast's skin, but the ride is still quite bumpy. He does his best to hold on, while scooting along the beast as he can, trying to get close enough to the monster's thrpat. He wont make it there yet, especially if he gets thrown off, he's going to try to cut the thing's air off at least. He roars angrily at the beast. "You picked the wrong angry cat to tangle with" he tells the beast. You don't taste very good either, do you?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki is a bit more well prepared for its charge this time, and deftly dodges by swooping... up. After it skids to a halt, she smirks.This time, she swoops down, holding on to her sword as she goes. She aims straight for the Behemoth's head. For the brief time that she's in the air, though, she's able to see Auron leading people to safety. She smiles just a little. 'Such nobility some people possess,' she thinks to herself. Oh, and... uh. There's a gigantic, charging, mutant cheetah thing too. Does... it have noble intentions too? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Fuki has posed:
Fuki's eyes shift as another being pings into her internal radar. Another Unionite. "Hmm." she looks down, petting down her Coeurl's head as she lets out a smirk, "Come on, Keesha. Let's see if we can't paralyze it." The coeurl nods, only to snatch Fuki out of the air with her maw and run. "HEY WHAT ARE YOU..." the crash of the large crate nearby... "Ah, thank you..." and a drop of the Shinki as the Coeurl lets out a pained roar. Even if her voice isn't carried far, "Distract it, I'm going to try and tame the beast. I have my ways to send it down to the ground!"

The whiskers on the Coeurl start to charge, a low growl coming from it as it crawls back up to fours, aiming its body towards the Behemoth. Fuki, meanwhile, flashes out her scythe into another scythe, one dripping with acid. "Let's see if whittling it down some will help..." and off she charges towards the beast.

Auron (236) has posed:
That the people mostly don't listen to him is no surprise to him. He's not from this village and is noticeably not Ivalician. So it's good that he can find people to help him out. It would have been costly time- and strength-wise for him to have to bodily carry people to the safe zone. Not that he wouldn't do it, mind you.

The fire is another problem. If it's not stopped, it may consume the village. Auron has no magic himself, but there's still a way he can help. His bow. He unfolds the weapon, finds a good place, and fires an arrow at the fire. A Wyverian ice bow will make an 'explosion' of ice where it hits. He's not trying to hit the Behemoth yet. Right now he's just aiming at the fire.

Ultima (129) has posed:
Allyn's refusal to turn loose sees the beast THRASHING madly about in circles in the square, kicking and shaking its tremendous heft as hard as its powerful muscles will allow! He's managed to make it, temporarily, so furious that it doesn't even pay the dropping Mizuki any heed. Because of its flailing, she does miss a direct stab to the crown - but her sword manages to not only cleave off portions of its gnarly horns but skirt the flesh of its neck as well and spill yet more of its blood!

The tiniest fighter, Fuki, does manage to cut into its comparitively massive hide also... leaving a nasty burning wound upon its muscular side!

This, coupled with Allyn's refusal to GET OFF, sees the mighty beast charging reckless through the town... barreling straight toward that half wrecked house from earlier and attempting to crash though the walls in a furious, roaring, blood rage as Auron's arrow sails overhead!

The arrow hits its mark as well, shrouding the area of the fire in fine mist as it turns the ground beneath to frigid ice. That fire is out almost as quickly as it started.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn isn't really paying attention where the beast is heading, he's concentrating on holding onto the monster with his claws. That's the more important thing right now, but if the beast does crash into that building, he'll msot likely be thrown off. He contineus to cling onto that thick hide with his claws, not wanting to get thrown, but he's not sure that this is working as well as he had hoped. Hey lions are known for their strength though and he smells blood being so clsoe to it. He does glance at the back of the neck where Mizuki cut and for a moment he ponders going for that exposed weak spot.

But no, the lion is still trying to reach the front of the creature, pulling his ways as best he can from trying to be knocked off, he's not one to give up, he's after the beasts windpipe! well as his ultimate destination and goal.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki desummons her sword and rushes to the ground, wincing just a bit as she lands on account of the leg injury. But she copes, and uses the opportunity to look over the Behemoth for a weak point. She glances underneath it. No, no soft underbelly. She glances above it. No, as far as she can tell its entire hide is as thick as steel. So what can she do here? Just poke its eyes out?

She shakes her head to herself. She can't take it down, but she can keep it from doing any further harm. Reaching into one of her impossible to see pockets, Mizuki pulls out a rope and... a -gun-? Since when does she have guns?? Bah, whatever. She flies up to look directly at the beast, pausing time and unloading a full clip at each of its eyes. Keeping time paused, she circles around its legs, intending to keep it from moving for a time. When she's done, she ties the most massive knot that she can... and unpauses, letting everything that she had set up fall into place.

If this pans out as she intended, the bullets would strike the beast's eyes at once. Meanwhile, the ropes would bring the Behemoth to the ground like one of the Hoth Walkers on Star Wars. From a reasonably safe distance, Mizuki watches to see if she'll have her way...

Auron (236) has posed:
Auron nods as he notes the fire going out. Good. That's one less problem. Though that does still leave the most obvious -- and most dangerous -- problem. The Behemoth. And since it's heading towards a house, that's something that Auron needs to fix. Sadly, he doesn't have a rope or anything so... time for one of those really stupid things that an otherwise intelligent man should know better than to do!

In this case it takes the form of Auron trying to get ahead of the Behemoth -- hopefully not too hard, since he'd had to find a high point to fire from anyway -- and pulling his blade to hold securely before him. He's angled it to hopefully entangle what's left of the beast's horns. He's planted his feet and leaned forward, expecting a massive amount of force to come at him. And for the beast to attempt to throw him.

He probably won't have any warning of what Mizuki's doing before he attempts to get where he's currently positioned. Having no time-based powers himself, and not especially being resistant to them, whatever way the events Mizuki set up unfold, he's not likely to see them until they do.

Fuki has posed:
Fuki grins as her scythe digs in and causes wounds, the little shinki continuing her scything assault upon the big purple awesome beast before her. If Lute can tame a large beast about fifty thousand times his size, why can't Fuki tame this thing! About the same, right? "Keesha, Blaster!"

The Coeurl gives a firm nod and whiskers shoot forward, sending a burst of psychic and paralytic energy at the big beast before the Coeurl rushes in in case that doesn't work. "You're coming with me!" the shinki shouts at the beast, readying her scythe once more for something heavy.

Ultima (129) has posed:
The gargantuan beast contines to charge right toward the house even as Allyn clings tirelessly on, swiftly picking up speed with every powerful raking of forehooves across the dusty soil. In this blur, Fuki passes right out of its mostly forward-facing vision... the beast lacking the peripheral sight to track her. Auron's attempting to leap into its vicinity, however, causes the beast to lower its head in preparation for RAMMING SPEED! And, it is just as it does so that time begins to slow to a crawl for the furious beast.

The result of Mizuki's setup is thus: 1) one of its eyes is indeed struck by a bullet, but the other ricochets off its tangle of horns, 2) The rope manages to trip the beast up (but does not restrain it, unfortunately - this is a beast which can kick down trees... rope isn't going to avail too much while it has energy to fight), 3) The resulting fall combined with Blaster making contact sees the beast crashing to the ground head first before turning into a rolling AVALANCHE of muscular heft that threatens to crush everything in its way! ... And Auron is presently in its way, nevermind Allyn who may be getting a several ton full body 'massage' from that thing's rolling heft against the ground!

At the end of it, there is a dust cloud... and a downed Behemoth... but for how long...?

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn roars as he is about to get 'massaged' by the behemoth, well, at least he's quick thinking he shifts his form again, the lion becoming a large giant tortoise with a thick shell. Perhaps the ten foot long, six foot high shell will at least support the weight of the beast. He withdraws his head and legs into the shell so they don't get crushed. Either way it is going to hurt, but its the best defense he has right now! pain is alright, its death thats not, just too bad tortoises have no way to attack, or not anyway that'd actually hurt.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
At this point, even Mizuki is starting to breathe heavily. No, getting knocked in the foot isn't too bad, but seriously. All of these time shenanigans she's been doing have been taking a lot out of her! But still, she has a little left in her, and she's certainly not going to stop fighting until this... -thing- meets its maker. Once it has slid to a stop, she tentatively approaches with small, soft steps, summoning her sword back into her hand. Whatever she does, it's going to have to be strong, and it's going to have to be fast; this is probably the last big attack that she's got. So, after contemplating things for a while, she ultimately decides on something pretty simple.

Another monochromatic sphere appears around Mizuki. Like before, it seems like it's making her move faster, but... what does she plan to -do-? That question is answered shortly as Mimi holds her hand out to her side, and begins to... spin. And she continues to spin like a top for a number of seconds, each revolution bringing the sword around for another hit. Again, and again, and again. No, that's not gonna be fateful, but maybe it'll be enough to make it pass out.

As Mizuki comes out of the spin, though, she's... staggering. It takes her a while to get out of there, but eventually she's able to take to the sky one more time in a final, lopsided retreat. 'The rest I leave to you all', she thinks to herself, 'so please see to it that it is sufficiently mauled.'

Auron (236) has posed:
Nope. Nope. Auron's not planning on moving. Whether it's the head-on charge of the beast or the thing's rolling weight, Auron's got his sword in front on him, flat aimed towards the rolling beast, and his weight leaned forward. If the beast doesn't stop rolling, it'll still impact with his blade. And as soon as it does, Auron digs his feet in as much as possible and throws his weight against the other side of the flat with a grunt of effort.

He's at least trying to keep Allyn from suffering more damage than strictly necessary, to say nothing of trying to preserve the structure the Behemoth is rolling at. Since the people are (mostly) out of the way of immediate danger, he's trying to keep their livelihoods as unscathed as possible. Including houses. Because being homeless sucks.

Fuki has posed:
Fuki gives a nod, smiling at she holds her ear. "Alright. Evacuate the perimiter around the beast. I'll be escorting it out of here and if you're in the way well, let's just say I will have only one use for you and that's on the end of my scythe!" her demands are also met with thunder from the Coeurl, framing around the Behemoth. A grin upon the Shinki's face. "And if you kill it, I'll mark each and every one of you for taking this prize from me!"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki tiredly looks in Fuki's direction, throwing out just one more field to alter the transmission of her voice. To make it louder, since she's just too tired to shout right now. "If you want it, take it," She inhales, "but you don't have to be so rude...!"

Fuki has posed:
Fuki smirks. "Well then. I think I /will/." With this, she sends a signal... and has herself and the Coeurl latch onto it as strong as they can. Fuki's holding onto the horn and the coeurl's hopped up onto the back, digging claws in.

Ultima (129) has posed:
For all of several moments, the Behemoth does not move from the spot it fell toward... it certainly seems to be down. Mizuki's encroachment is, at least, initially met with no resistance. But as those cleaving cuts finally slice into the beast's flesh again... it's beady eyes pop open... and a snort comes...

...then all HELL breaks loose!

Suddenly, despite it's injured state, the felled monster bursts forth from the ground with fervent rage... even as her assault continues to spill more and more of its blood upon the ground. In one, last, burst of adrenaline fueled panic the thing attempts to VIOLENTLY shove her out of the way... pausing for only mere moments to turn and dart full bore toward the forrestation in the distance... with the newly clung Fuki and Coeurl in tow. One lat rodeo for these two is likely... before this thing passes out somewhere from sheer blood loss within the next few minutes as would be apparent from the pool of crimson fluid it left in its wake...

Allyn (307) has posed:
Once the creature is gone, Allyn shifts back to his dire wolf form and growls a little and then stretches to make sure none of his bones are broken, well seems like that shell did the trick. He looks off in the direction that the behemoth went, "and I was hoping I'd get to eat that thing for dinner." he grumps, "Ah well, maybe I'll track it down or one like it someday and then get to eat it, though I bet it tastes horrid." he pads over to Auron, "Want to go hunt? I'm still hungry."

Auron (236) has posed:
Lightning! Auron has a house behind him and a Behemoth in front of him! He can't really move too far. Hence he's nailed by the Couerl's lightning quite directly. And he's holding a very large chunk of metal when this occurs. With a choked grunt he is forced down to a knee. At least the Behemoth is down.

Or wait, NO IT'S NOT! Auron can't do much more than cringe, but luckily it aims its charge in a different direction. With Fuki still clinging to it. Auron's not worried about Fuki. He knows her allies will help her. And if they don't, she kind of deserves whatever happens to her, for being such a deceptive, ruthless creature. His thought?

'Poor Behemoth.'

However, Allyn's words get his attention, and he looks to the shifter. "If you'd like." The paralyzation is starting to wear off, and he stands, with a wince. He shouldn't be completely useless in the wild; at least one of the Assassins he trained with was an expert tracker in the forest and could hunt quite well...