Fandom Fairy Tail: Guilds of Pergrande IC

[GasMaskie]

“Told you so.”

For a moment or two, the young man was completely silent. Not out of disappointment, but rather surprise. The course was simply enough, but he had figured that the penalties he had incurred would drop him into the middle of the ranking at the very least. A small smile crept onto his face, hiding his own rationalities. Ultimately, these scores did little to measure the abilities of a mage. They were simply a foot in the door for him. A measure of effort and talent, perhaps? As impressive as the chain-wielding nobleman was, his barebones run had left him at the bottom of the scoreboard.

The orphan remained silent and pensive. There was little doubt now that he'd be eligible for membership in either of the guilds. But, he'd need to try harder. Work harder. The faster he'd find magic that suited him best, the closer he'd be to that far-off 'Super Mage' status. Even as impressive as his physical abilities were at the moment, he was still a long way off from the Saint he had witnessed in his youth.

Then the sudden quaking. His train of thoughts had been derailed by the shaking earth, and he had instinctively moved his feet into a wide stance with his arms outstretched, ready to catch Elissa if she had fallen... Well, maybe he would have enjoyed that a little better if she hadn't grabbed onto a nearby post for support. The Berillan shifted on his feet once the tremor had passed, carefully adjusting the wrappings around his arms as he watched the rest of the developments alongside the dream mage.

His mind dwelled heavily on the words of the rival guild masters. And honestly, he couldn't help but agree with both of them. Standing around doing nothing when you could be doing something was just as evil as committing the crime you bore witness to at times. But knowledge and power without a purpose was something that could be historically linked to the rise of dark mages and magical developments that only served to make the world a more dangerous place. Salt brought his hands to his head, running fingers through his red hair as he struggled to decide on which guild would best suit him.

Salt's gaze fell upon the girl as he nodded and followed her onto the bus. Even as he took a seat next to her, he couldn't come to a decision. And so.

He decided not to make a choice for himself - he'd simply follow her decision. The upper limits of dream magic were something that had stoked his curiosity. Even if she couldn't do much with them in a fight at the moment, he was looking forward to seeing how she'd develop as a mage. And... if he ever became a Super Mage, she'd be one of those that he'd want to show off for, right behind his family... for some inexplicable reasoning that he chose not to really dwell upon.

"Alright! Let's go save the day! If you're going to help, then I'm going to protect you and the injured!" While not quite as loud now that he was right next to her, the young man's enthusiasm and spirit never seemed to relent.

( QuirkyAngel , Mentioned: Lucem )

 

[soggyparadise]

Venrie looked up to Kore, listening intently to her response only for a somewhat disheartened expression to cross his features. She seemed to have avoided most of their questions all together, still leaving the Berillan to wonder both her and her canine companion's names- and on top of that the pink haired mage seemed so tough on herself. Despite both his and Plumeria's praises she insisted on her success being attributed to only the dog, but from where he'd been sitting it seemed their team work was the true means for their completion of the course. That'd be like saying the hive that he supported or Plume's perfumes were their only reason for their scores in the trial. . .Speaking of which- the young man did hear a commotion coming from where the vice guild masters had seemed to be deliberating, and with one glance towards that direction he could see a large board filled with rows of scores had appeared and currently other's who had taken part in the course were talking amongst themselves as the saw where they stood.

The blunet turned his attention back to the two he was conversing, his lips parting to again assure the dog whistle mage of her talent and ask the two to come check their rankings with him, mostly due to his own nervousness over the results however before a word could leave his mouth he froze, a distant boom surprising him into silence. As much as he didn't know about the city he was fairly certain a noise like that wasn't a normal occurrence and with the panicked atmosphere of the civilians that ensued it was safe to say he was right. First his gaze turned to the prompt actions of the guild masters and their second in commands, momentarily awestruck by how efficient and swiftly they moved while he himself was so unsure of what to do, but as soon as he heard their call to action he could feel something stir in his chest, something akin to the feeling of right before he jumped off a waterfall. . .impending danger? or perhaps something more like excitement. Whatever it was he was sure it wasn't something he could ignore and let pass.

His attention was brought back to their little group when he felt a familiar wet tongue lick his cheek, looking back to see the canine heading through another portal. At first he was confused- after all wouldn't Anu be needed if they were to going to help? Or did Kore simply not want to participate? However one look at the girl's resigned expression and how she walked to confidently towards the bus told him that she was just saving her strength for the battle to come.

"Let's get on with it" Her voice was so cool and composed- Venrie could hardly believe it was being directed to someone like himself, but he nodded quickly, springing up with from his seated position and lightly jogging to catch up and fall into stride with the taller girl. He looked over his shoulder to offer a smile to Plume as well as some thumbs up, trying to encourage her to come along as well as they passed the score board, moving towards the bus.

Oh yeah the scores- and in addition to that the bus. Both were overlooked in his moment of feeling cool for being involved in a mission like this. The first was easy enough, a simple request sent a small team of scouts flying off in the direction to not only find out his own score, but also that of his new found friends so he could relay them on their short trip to the bank. Meanwhile as far as the bus was concerned- Venrie would just have to put up and shut up. He'd never taken such transportation in his life, the most high tech vehicle he'd traveled on being the barge that had taken him to the city but how different could it be? He'd heard cars and buses could go fast but so could the neighbor's work horse Henry. He just had to tell himself he'd be alright and that would hopefully calm his nerves enough.
He'd be alright.
Venrie repeated that mantra to himself, following close behind Kore as the guild member prospects filed into the bus- or at least until one bashed his face off of the metal machine. He watched Kore simply step right over him, a bit concerned by her lack of well- concern. But she was probably just caught in her own thoughts right? The berillan male leaned over slightly, tilting his head at the male on the ground before he suddenly sprung up! Blood streaming from his nose- this earned a startled yelp from Venrie and he quickly hurried past, deciding sticking with Kore would be his best bet. Once on the bus he quickly found a seat, taking the one beside the dog whistle mage as he awaited report from his scouting party which came soon enough.

His heart swelled with the news and a grin spread on his lips as he quickly turned to the pink haired girl. "We both did good on the trial I think! You got a 67! and somehow they gave me a 71. . .but I think it must be a mistake, there's no way i should've scored higher than you-"

 

[AnthraxBurrito]

Summar looked only for a moment to see his score. He was happily surprised after realizing he had made it into the top three overall scores. With his mind still on trying to make it to the Mud Sticks, he had already turned away from the crowd when he felt the bridge shake. Then it shook again. This time with a somewhat faint rumble from the distance. Turning his gaze back, Summar caught a glimpse of one of the vice guild master's coming down from the slime golf course. "Was she having a go at the course? Did she make the bridge shake?" Summar thought to himself as he walked back towards the crowd.


“It seems we’ll be having to cut this event short,” he boomed, his voice as loud as ever but without its usual jocularity...

Summar rubbed his ears. "That guy does not have a lower volume setting does he?" He watched as the Bright Hawk guild master once again took control of the crowd as the others around him were preparing for trouble. Summar observed the remaining group, presumably the mages with whom he had just participated with in the slime golf course. He tried to match names to faces but his attention was pulled away by more information being given by those in charge.


Summar was unsure of what was actually going on until the Void crow guild master spoke up, informing the remaining recruits that criminals were preying upon innocent people in town. "What a day this has turned out to be." Summar thought to himself. As civilians dispersed from the bridge, Summar watched the Void Crow vice master conjure up quite the interesting mode of transportation. In his head Summar had quite a few questions, but he figured the guild masters had already accounted for the important stuff.


Stepping onto the bus, Summar was more than impressed by the combinations and varieties of magics used to create such a vehicle. Summar thought back to Adellon's words from before as he entered, "Knowledge and Power mean nothing without purpose." This was something he had struggled with/against his entire life, and that random guy had just summed it up perfectly in a few words. "Looks like I'm a Void Crow" he mumbled under his breath with a smile. After finding a seat, he began to wonder what kind of criminals openly cause trouble before noon, and with such a loud plan. "I just hope whichever guildmaster takes charge of this mission, isn't attack first ask questions later." Summar thought to himself.

 

[Lucem]

Harper Layne​

The scores had been tallied and displayed for everyone to see, but Harper didn't bother looking. He was aiming for the bare minimum during his attempt, so he already had an idea of how things turned out. He didn't need to look up to know that he wasn't winning any awards. It wasn't like he had time to check anyway. Most of his attention was going to Lysandra right now.

He understood where she was coming from. While the ones he knew weren't struggling to make ends meet, second children didn't get to enjoy all the perks of being a noble like their older siblings. She wouldn't have to worry about keeping up appearances as much as her brother. Well, it's not like he ever had any intention of telling her to buzz off. He was just making it clear that she didn't have to act cordially with him in order to maintain the relationship between their families. If she insisted on interacting with him from now on, he wasn't going to stop her. He'd be a hypocrite if he did. Just like him, she could do whatever she wanted, not letting the thoughts and desires of other people get in the way. Still, he was relieved that she dropped the honorifics.

Right when it seemed like Lysandra was about to make a troublesome offer, the girl was cut off by the sound of a loud explosion. Judging by everyone's reaction, this probably wasn't part of the event. The obstacle course was one thing, but now the ground was shaking. There was too much going on this early in the day.

Seemingly unhappy about not being the loudest thing in Twinbrooks, the leader of the Bright Hawks guild tried to put that explosion in its place with his loud announcement. After the leader of the Void Crows did the same, the woman at his side quickly went to work and created an entire bus with her magic. It wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing vehicle he'd ever seen, but it definitely looked like a bus. Although, just looking at the outside didn't provide a lot of details about what was on the inside. What was this thing running on? Magic? Would it even survive the trip? Would they? He really hoped he didn't survive all these years just to die in a bus crash.

Before Harper could take a single step, Lysandra suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bus. Not saying anything, he stared at her back with a puzzled expression. He told her that she didn't need to be formal with him, but this wasn't what he had in mind. Resisting would've been too much effort, so he simply followed as the girl dragged him onto the bus. He just hoped that this wouldn't become an everyday thing if they ended up in the same guild.

simj26

 

[Ren Pengwen]

Plumeria Astarte
​

cinnabuns soggyparadise

Plume titled her head, strands of hair gliding down her face, observing the tense mage as she struggled to interpret their wholesome intentions and open up to them. Her skin felt like it could crawl from the intense energy Kore radiated. It couldn't just be her who recognized the quality of Kore's being. She eyed the bugboy, certain that he might have the same sense. He seemed too overcome by his emotions, she thought, and had to cover a growing grin at his innocent expressions.

When the scores appeared, Plume almost immediately shifted her gaze away. There was no point fixating on those biased measurements. There is no existing number, grade or word that could accurately measure a person, she believed. Faint memories of a clipboard filled with graded papers hanging over her every second filled her mind. The mere click of a pen could induce anxiety in her back then. She barely remembers her old life, but they come back to her in fragments from time to time. Nobody can truly escape their past, after all. "I don't care what the score says, you two did great!" She assured, throwing her arms in the air in celebration. If she wasn't so comfortable on her spot, she would have given them both a big tight bear hug.

There was a slight shift in the atmosphere that Plume found difficult to ignore. The tremors started and she whispered gently to the earth below, "Hush. It will be alright. We will defend you at any cost." If they bridge weren't in the way, she would simply reach down to the soil below and stroke it with her fingertips. "Tell me, what's wrong?" A distant resonance answered her question. She noticed Kore prepping herself for the coming dangers and a startled silence from Venrie. An explosion could be heard while they waited for their commands.

"It seems we’ll be having to cut this event short," A voice boomed. The order was given by the guildmasters and a choice was presented to them simply. Plume was slightly saddened by the reality that they would have to split, but she couldn't let those thoughts occupy her mind right now. Fortunately, Anu distracted her with a sloppy lick goodbye before hopping into a portal, leaving Kore in their care alone. She was quick to take the lead and made her way to the bus. Plume could sense the makings of a leader from her. Then Venrie... the little sprout was already following behind when he gestured for her to join them in his own goofy fashion. Knowing that they might separate after this, she was all in. Hopping up onto her bare feet, she ran up to them and then immediately past them, because running is just so much fun! As she approached the bus, she launched herself forward in one long ungraceful jump and landed with a loud thump on the harsh metal. The pounding in her chest managed to distract her for a short while from the pain of her landing. Of course, Kore's entrance was more cool and calm than her own, followed by a cautious Venrie who was quickly startled by another reckless spirit. She hadn't noticed him taking a hit but his nose seemed a bit injured.

Looking around, she was quite happy with the turnout. "Hello, everyone~ Let's do our best, okay?" Plume cheered dreamily as she sauntered towards the near back of the bus, the sound of excited chatter energizing her steps. She found herself happily occupying a window seat, reaching her hand out to press against the clear plastic. It was a strange sensation to her. Being in a bus was somewhat strange itself, but during travels she often found herself relying a variety of transportation to get around in towns or cities so she was quick to adapt to the confined environment. While waiting, she lied down over the two empty seats, her legs leaning almost vertically against the wall and window of the bus. In her slender hands, her glass vials were being examined with extreme care, making sure there were no cracks or weak points in their structure. She hadn't noticed the words of a song that her family would sing on their travels escaping her lips as she lazily stretched herself across the rigid iron and plastic seating.

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Alistair Crimm

Alistair looked from the hastily constructed bus, to the slime course, back to the bus, then sighed. And he'd just managed to convince Mr. Watson to allow him to play on the course again too. Alistair didn't pay much attention to the scoreboard. Just peeked briefly to verify his own score--and see who got the best score of all the slime golfers. Turns out Miss 'Charmingly Forthright' wasn't just all talk. While he wasn't happy he didn't win, Alistair acknowledged that the vice guild leaders made a fair judgement. He'd watched Charmingly Forthright's efficient display of magic, after all. He'd have congratulated her, but had other priorities.

Though, it looked like "studying" the slimes would have to wait.

Not that he wasn't curious about the cause of the tremors either. A Newtown Bank robbery? Who in their right mind would be involved in such a thing? More curious to Alistair though was what they were after. Money was the obvious choice. But then it also might be something else. That curiosity alone was enough for him to step onto Viridian's vehicle--a hunk of plastic and metal. Why waste magic when offered a free ride to an adventure? Neither of the guild leaders' call to action particularly inspired him. He had no interest in either of the guilds, though he'd already decided that if he had to choose one of the guilds it would be the loud guy's.

Bright Hawk.

The kind of guild Peregrine wanted to build wouldn't stand by while people needed help, huh? Interesting. Did that mean they weren't going to get paid to take on jobs? Do lots of charity work? Bit of a let down, but certainly unique if that were the case. Might keep him from being bored. Mages joined guilds for various of reasons--to study magic, make money, increase fame, enact justice, etc. While it wasn't uncommon for guilds to be formed around common ideals/beliefs, money was still a major factor in most cases. Sorcery these days was more an occupation than anything else. Honestly, it was probably because most mages in guilds thought the same way, all had similar mindsets, that Alistair quickly grew bored of them. Birds of a feather flocked together. However, Alistair's favorite bird was one of mismatched feathers...and he had yet to find a guild that matched that criteria.

Alister took a seat near the front, next to a girl who seemed to be twiddling her thumbs.

"You're looking a little nervous there," Alistair commented, a teasing smile on his face. "Does the idea of a bank robber scare you that much?"

He raised a brow when someone leaping onto the metal bus cause it to shake a little. Alistair nodded to her greeting, but didn't really respond. Doing his best depended on his mood, after all. The exact details of what they were supposed to be doing wasn't even really known. Defeat the robber (if it was indeed a robber)? Retrieve the stolen goods (if anything was even stolen)? Protect the civilians (if anyone was even in danger)? For all they know, the some kids were playing with fireworks and somehow caused a small accident. Nothing was certain until they assessed the situation with their own eyes. Therefore, Alistair didn't feel the need to make plans like Miss Charmingly Forthright. Not that Alistair liked planning much of anything.

He enjoyed being surprised.

Hands supporting his head, Alistair relaxed against the metal seat and closed his eyes, half listening to all the chatter around him as he waited for the scruffy-looking girl's response. Or perhaps she wouldn't respond. He was fine either way. While he was curious about why she looked so frightened, he wasn't the type to get invasive.

The One Eyed Bandit Ren Pengwen

(mentioned: Hanarei AtlannianSpy )

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

"N-nervous?" At the strange man's sudden intrusion, Charles voice let out a surprised crack. It was an unintentional slip up, and certainly an embarrassing one, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Given the guy's girly looks, she was pretty confident that he'd probably cracked enough highs in his lifetime to put a youth choir to shame.

"I don't know what you're talking about, weirdo. I'm fine. I'm not scared of a damn thing. Are you sure you're not just uh.. Pordg- Pordj- Porjetting?" As the girl yammered on, her tone became more and more aggressive. "Who are you anyway, huh? You not got a name? You know it's rude to w-, uh wals up to someone without naming yourself right?" This was getting her going. She could feel it. Whatever ground this soap-smelling twink was trying to steal from her with his sudden advance, she was already taking it back.

The more she looked at him, actually, the more annoyed she found herself getting that he'd taken a seat next to her. The prissy hair, the stupid outfit, the insufferable air of smug self satisfaction in his voice. By knave, she wasn't sure if he was a rich bitch like those two losers from earlier, but he certainly acted like one of them.

Now that she was on the subject, her eyes begun to wander the bus. Little by little, she scoped out the other prospective guild members, and she had to say, they were fairly hit or miss. A handful of them looked like they had some spirit, but the rest... Ah, if she had to put it plainly, they looked like they'd never been in a scrape in their life. Left, right, up and down she was surrounded by that classic brand of schoolyard-fresh teacher's pets who thought they were gonna walk out into a fight for the first time in their life and beat the enemy down according to their dumbass code of honor. She wouldn't haven been surprised if none of them had ever even earned themselves a busted lip or black eye.

It was kind of funny, actually.

"Hey, hey, nevermind that bullshit. You ever been in a fight before? You don't exactly look like the rough and tumble type, you know? You sure you aren't gonna pee your pants and run home the moment the bad guys bust a knife out?"

QuirkyAngel

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Peregrine Laconia, Adellon Thrace, Aurelia Chekhov, Viridian Lannerly

As soon as everyone was on board the bus Viridian adjusted her glasses and slammed a sturdy boot on the accelerator and the bus roared and shot forwards with a sudden surge of mechanical power.

Acceleration is good Viridian noted to herself idly, suddenly lurching to the left to put her whole weight into steering the bus around the corner of a local bakery. Turning’s still a bit stiff though, I think the braking mechanism will scale up well from the test models though. Probably

Fortunately the streets were relatively empty despite normally being crowded with horses, wagons and pedestrians. This left the path of the bus towards the Newtown relatively unimpeded but it was a grim portent, the city guards of Twinbrooks were always very reluctant to put a damper on the city’s commerce by calling for any sort of large scale curfew or evacuation. If they had ushered people off the streets now it was likely a very serious situation.

It was difficult to perceive the rumbling vibrations that had triggered the whole event now under the shuddering of Viridian’s bus as it barreled down the streets. But the especially perceptive might notice that not only was it still present, it was building up to a dramatic crescendo. Viridan noticed it at the last moment and slammed down on the brakes, pleased to discover they worked quite well as the bus screeched to a halt just before something immense and grey BURST through the wall of a nearby building. Rampaging right across the section of road the bus had been about to cover.

The creature was huge, fully the size of the building it had just barreled through and covered in leathery, grey skin, with an immense horn topping its anvil like head. It’s four, squat, pillar-like legs propelled it with alarming speed through the city, demolishing anything in it’s path. Perhaps most concerning of all was a gang of suspicious figures laden down with sacks of loot and perched atop the creature’s back.

“HOW IN THE NAME OF THE FOUR KINGS ARE THEY RIDING A BEHOMOCEROS!?” Demanded Peregrine loudly, bracing himself as the bus screeched to a halt. “We’ll have to pursue them before that thing destroys half the city! But anyone not prepared to deal with it should get off here and see to the civilians left behind, it’s certain there’ll be people in danger with all that wreckage,”

(OOC NOTE: So its not really explicit in the IC here but the intention is for the B rank mages to stay on the bus and pursue the behemoceros while the E rank mages assist with rescuing civilians. Both routes should be engaging and there’s some action planned for the E rank mages as well~)

Adellon stepped out of the way of those departing. He eyed the beast on its rampage with a calculating look. Not that anyone on the bus could see it from where he stood next to Viridian. He was happy he was somehow able to stay standing stable despite the sharp turns and stops, as he didn't think it'd make a particularly good impression to prospective members if he fell on his face. Yet he hoped it would end soon, as he wasn't sure his stomach much cared for the motion.

The…. Behemoceros, as he believed Perry called it, was far too large and powerful for it to be some single mook's pet. So the question was were those on it's back controlling it as a group, or was there one of particular strength leading it and the group? At a glance he couldn't make out and single member acting particularly commanding or using any over magic. His eyes narrowed as he considered a third possibility of the monster being a mage.

He crouched down somewhat so he was level with Viridian. He did not want to chance them mishearing each other as they neared the beast. A sudden turn made him slam his head into the side of the seat, which resulted in his head spilling around it before reforming on the rebound. He really hoped no one noticed that ...or at least thought it was cool if they had. Righting himself he asked in an even tone to Viridian, "What do you make of this offhand?"

“For once I agree with the loudmouth,” Viridian muttered distractedly as she shifted up a gear. “It is highly unusual that they would be riding one of those things, they aren’t native to Pergrande at all and they are normally peaceful, slow moving creatures. That means the creature is likely being affected by magic of some sort, to stop it we’ll probably have to get on top of it and target whoever is controlling it directly…” Viridian pushed her glasses up and then hammed her foot down on the accelerator, eliciting a throaty roar from the bus’ engine.

“We’re going to have to board that thing,”




Meanwhile the mages who exited the bus were confronted with a trail of destruction. The behomoceros had carved a path right through the busy streets of Pergrande with only a passing regard for whether it went through open road or solid walls. Wherever the creature had clipped or outright collided with buildings it had gouged out huge chunks of masonry or wood that fell to the ground below in untidy piles, sometimes trapping people beneath the debris. Outside of the bus the smell of smoke was distinctly recognizable too, attracting attention towards the dark plume of smoke rising up from the direction of the bank.

AllHailDago GasMaskie Hanarei Lucem QuirkyAngel izayoiix AnthraxBurrito Refaulted The One Eyed Bandit simj26 cinnabuns Ren Pengwen soggyparadise

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Alistair Crimm

The girl’s response was as entertaining as expected. Even more entertaining in that seemed to lack knowledge of certain words. Insufficient education? Likely. Though she was aggressive enough to bite back regardless, throwing his own verbal jab back at him. Chuckling, Alistair considered replying that he ‘very much’ enjoyed a good rough and tumble , but that sounded a bit too…suggestive…and it really wasn’t what he was going for, especially with a scruffy little kid, so he went a different route.

“Alistair Crimm.” One eye peeked open to gauge her irritated expression. The smile on his face didn’t diminish in the least. “You saw my awesome slime-slaying skills, didn’t you? Knife or not, a regular bank robber wouldn’t stand a chanc—,”

And then their ride came to a screech halt.

Startled, both eyes opened as Peregrine’s voice assessed the situation and took decisive action. Alistair was on his feet. It was…the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Attention no longer on the scruffy girl, Alistair couldn’t help but admire the monstrous grey beast before them. The size. The horn! Behemoceroses didn’t actually live in Pergrande so he never thought he’d actually get the chance to see one.

When Viridian declared that they were going to get on its back, Alistair couldn’t be more pleased.

“Yes! Yes! We can’t let it get away!” Finger pointed at the escaping beast, the gleam in the redhead’s eyes was undeniable. “I’ll show you how I fight.”

The One Eyed Bandit AtlannianSpy AllHailDago (@ anyone else who's still on the bus)

Elissa Holsten
​

“That’s my cue to get off then,”

Elissa didn’t even need to think twice. There was no way her little tranquilizer darts could even pierce the hide of such a large beast. Nor did she know any offensive spells. The plan had been for her to help civilians and potential casualties anyway. Climbing off the vehicle where Viridian briefly stopped, Elissa assessed her surroundings, immediately zeroing on a person trapped under debris.

“Hang on,” The young dream mage got to work lifting aside the rocks (that she could carry) and pushing (as hard as she could) away the things that kept the civilian trapped. “It’ll be okay. We’ll get you out.”

Managing to free the victim, a middle-aged woman, Elissa supported her while they made their way to a safer area so her wounds could be treated. The scent of smoke wafted past them and Elissa’s eyes flickered over to the burning bank. “You wouldn’t happen to know if anyone’s inside, would you?”

A water spell would be awfully convenient at the moment. Unfortunately she didn’t know any. Therefore she’d simply have to make do without one. Elissa sighed. The one thing she could possibly do with her magic was search for any unconscious victims and wake them up so they could move on their own. Would certainly be easier than having to carry them all to safety. Though, depending on the situation they were in, Elissa had a feeling some would rather remain asleep.

GasMaskie (@ anyone who got off the bus)

 

[Refaulted]

Basil Webster

Basil looked in wonder at the giant monster, which he guessed was a behemoceros based on what the loud man at the front of the bus was saying. The largest thing Basil had seen in his life had only been a wildabear, and this thing had it beat by almost four times it's size. And he was relatively glad he had never had to face one down, because it could definitely step on him without even noticing he was there. If he had some more experience with fighting, he would feel more comfortable at least distracting it, but he didn't have the kind of stamina to outrun it if it chased him down. That just meant there was another thing for him to work on to become a great mage. He jotted that down in the back of his mind to begin working on once he was free.

He was glad that the bus stopped and let some of the mages off, as he didn't feel like he would be dead weight if it involved making sure civilians were safe. As he stepped off the last stair of the bus, he equipped his Stinger, reaching into the pouch tied to his belt and pulling out five lines of thread, weaving them quickly into the needles on his fingers. He flexed his hand, feeling the magic course through his hand and into the string. He quickly pulled apart some thread in his shirt as well, so it was at the ready in case he ran out of his spools of thread. He patted the sides of his face, taking in a deep breath, and let it out in a long exhale, then turned to the destroyed building left in the wake of the beast.

Before long, he came across a man leaning up against the side of a building, his face sunken and his breathing ragged as sweat dripped down his face. Basil ran up to him just as he collapsed, catching him and laying him down on the ground. Flipping him onto his back, he saw a long shard of stone stuck in his leg, with blood pouring out profusely, spreading over the concrete. The sight nearly made him gag, but he shook his head, forcing down the nausea as he examined the wound. It wasn't deep, it was probably mostly hurting since it was pressing against a bone. Basil gripped it with his hand, looking at the man as he held out a hand. "This'll hurt, sir, but you'll feel better with it out. Just trust me, I have an idea." Definitely the worst words to say, 'I have an idea'. Basil was no doctor, just some ragged-looking kid who this man had never seen before.

It must have been enough, though, as the man tightly gripped his hand, Basil wincing at the surprising strength he had. "Alright, sir, on the count of three, okay?" The man nodded and Basil made sure he had a firm grip on the stone. "One..." Basil stilled his racing heart. The extent of his first aid skills had only been making makeshift splints when he would break his arm or his leg when he was little. He would go home and his parents would bring him to the doctor and he would get patched up there. This was entirely different, but he was sure his own skills in other areas was enough for his plan to work.

"Two!" He pulled the shard out in a single go, and the man howled out profanities that Basil had never even heard before. He tossed the shard away and placed his gloved hand next to the wound, which was gushing a small amount of blood more than before. "If you expect it on three, you must have not have gone to the doctor's much, buddy~!" The thread on Basil's glove flowed out into the skin surrounding the wound, overlapping and entwining, pulling the skin closed and covering most of the wound, stopping the blood aside from a small trickle. He then manipulated the thread to making a patch of cloth that surrounded the wounded part of the leg to stop the last of the bleeding. Basil stood up, and admired his work, grinning at the man. "See? All better~!"

'Best not tell him that that was the first time I've ever done that.' Basil pulled the man up and supported under his arm as he did so. He had worked quickly and precisely, which required a lot of his concentration, as well as his magic power. He could keep going, but he had to watch how much magic he used. He couldn't go using his magic all he wanted. This was an actual threat, not some game like what he had done before, and it wasn't training with Emilia where everything was controlled. He had to be smart. Which was not his strongest suit.

He supported the man as they made their way away from the bulk of the devastation, and he saw a girl with blue hair assisting a woman, and he recognized her as one of the mages from before. He made his way over to them, and let the man rest against a wall, making sure he was okay for the moment, and once he was sure he made his way over to the girl, now able to tell she was probably the same age as him as he got closer to her. He walked up with a grin, trying to brighten the mood. "Honestly, what a first day, huh? And I thought this would be a quiet town!" He knelt down next to the woman, making sure she didn't have any life threatening injuries. He created some bandages from his threads to cover her more serious cuts, then stood up, flexing his hand as the monotonous movements were causing it to cramp. He turned back to the other mage. "I guess being a tailor doesn't mean I just need to work on clothes, huh? Fancy a bit of threadwork can do to close up a person's wounds!" He gave the girl a mock salute. "Basil's the name. I'd love to get to know each other better, but I do believe we have other business to take care of first~. You have any ideas on how to put out all this fire, cause I don't think cloth'll cut it."

QuirkyAngel

 

[AnthraxBurrito]

“Yes! Yes! We can’t let it get away!” Finger pointed at the escaping beast, the gleam in the redhead’s eyes was undeniable. “I’ll show you how I fight.”

Summar admired the red headed guy's attitude, as he seemed entirely unphased by the sheer size of the beast. Glancing back at the beast through the bus window next to him, it was obvious that intervention was needed sooner rather than later. No person or structure would be safe with such a behemoth rampaging about. Watching as the beast tore a path of destruction through a large two story home, an idea popped into Summar's head.

"Excuse me." he spoke up, making his voice clear over the rumbling of the bus and the rampage outside. "I have an idea of how to stop that monster, or at least a way to momentarily slow it down." He said, looking back to the beast.

"It runs like any other quadruped, so if we just apply enough force to its legs at the right moment, we can essentially trip the monster. We don't have to break through the armor, only stop the rampage. Plus, if it works, it would give us a prime opportunity to go after the criminals atop the beast." He explained further, essentially pointing out that focusing either the hind or front legs when the creature is mid sprint, would likely lead to the creature lying on its belly.

He pulled his gaze back from the destruction and look back around the bus. In his mind, Summar continued replaying and analyzing all the information given the current situation so far. As far as he could tell something was missing. That creature was not local to Twinbrooks, so what were a gang of criminals doing riding one. Secondly, that creature was not something that could have just been brought into the city without a second thought, so the question remained how did they get such a creature so deep into the city. "I think it goes without saying, but we need to capture at least one of them, so that way we can get some idea of what their plan is. Riding off on a giant monster might not be the last trick up their sleeve." He finished, waiting for others to speak up with their ideas.

Mentioning: everyone still on the bus

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

"H-hey! Wait a second!" Before she knew it, that stuck up blondie was on his feet and out of the bus. Everything be damned. Who did he think he was, some kind of superhero? She felt like spitting. No guy like him had any business playing at being brave like that. Smug faces like his were for punching, not saving the day.

All that said, she definitely couldn't let him show her up like this.

One of the bus' other occupants had already started to twitter on about some idiot-plan or another, but she wasn't having any of it. Nobody was going to tell her what to do, especially if they were someone who'd gotten high enough on their own farts to walk around town showing off gold magic. She hopped to her feet and pushed her way from the bus, making sure to let at least a healthy half of her body weight collide with the affluence-slinging mage as she went on her way.

"You tryna get yourself killed, twinkle-toes?" She spoke as she came to a stop next to the man, and landed a heavy clap on his shoulder. "Not that I mind if you go and get yourself killed, but ya seem pretty quick to wanna go and drop dead. What, did your girlfriend break up with you this mornin'? You looking to join a guild to die or something?" The girl uttered some sort of mildly degrading spiel as she regarded the beast, but in truth, her nerves were beginning to set in even deeper. The bus was one thing, but man, that whojamacallit was massive. She felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead, but was quick to wipe it away.

"So, uh." She narrowed her vision, and looked the beast over as it lumbered its way towards the city boundaries. "What do we do? Stab it in the foot-wrists until it keels over?"

QuirkyAngel AtlannianSpy AllHailDago AnthraxBurrito

 

[GasMaskie]

As soon as he stepped off the bus, the young man had found himself glancing between the rampaging beast and the devastation it had left in its wake. Even if he had wanted to face off against the creature with his fellow mages, there'd be no growth if he died doing so. Biting his lip, he followed behind Elissa, deciding to spend this time helping out the civilians who had been caught up in this whole mess. His hand left the sword strapped to his belt as he scanned the area and rushed over towards another collapsed building.

With a slight grunt, the young man lifted up rubble from the building's stone walls. Though the mother and child who had been trapped underneath were bloodied and bruised, it seemed like they had managed to avoid any serious injuries. And as soon as they had managed to crawl out, he let the rubble drop back down and pointed in the direction of the busses. The young man cracked his neck as he glanced about the area once more - he certainly wasn't expecting something as massive as that creature right in the middle of the city.

There wasn't anything glorious nor challenging about this sort of work. But it was necessary - and the right thing to do right now. Considering how marvelous the other mages were, he had no doubt in his mind that they'd be able to deal with the creature - and that strange party that were riding on top of it. After rushing over to another building, the young man searched around for any survivors - and upon a weak cry for help, he had begun to dig through the rubble. Finding a young boy, the Berillian scooped him up into his arms and raced back towards the landing area. Unlike the last pair he found, the boy was barely conscious and ihs leg had been mangled when the building came down.

Salt set the boy down upon a blanket laid down by other civilians who had managed to escape and naturally began to gather. He couldn't quite remember if someone had healing magic, but there was usually at least one person - in the novels he had read at least. Though, it seemed that others had begun tending to him the best that they could. The gears in his mind turned as he located the blue-haired dream mage and ran over. He briefly glanced over to the other mage... the one who was deadset on joining the Void Crows?

"Elissa, do you think you could use your magic to figure out where the unconscious are hidden away? Best I can do at the moment is some heavy lifting and I don't think I'll be able to get everyone just listening around buildings for some cries or faint breathing."

( QuirkyAngel Mentioned: Refaulted )

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Alistair Crimm

Immediately after making his declaration, Alistair opened the window of the magic-made bus and climbed out to get a better view of the great beast. Strong winds blew his hair as the monster-hunting mage made his way to the top of the moving vehicle. The sounds of roaring engine and rampage were a bit louder as well, but he could still make out the chatter beneath him—hear the voice of the scruffy girl calling after him and the plotting of the gold mage. He didn’t remember names, but then, neither of them had introduced themselves during the slime course run. Not the-dark skinned mage nor the scruffy girl currently barking insults at him.

So she’d decided to stay on the bus after all.

Alistair smirked. He’d give her points for bravery. And who knows? Perhaps she could be useful in the fight to come. He certainly didn’t know what her magic was capable of.

In response to her question, Alistair summoned his magic die into his hand. Tossing his cube straight up, the red-head watched in spin in the air for a few seconds before catching the die as it dropped. The object enclosed in his hand glowed brightly. When it diminished, Alistair blinked. He was once more able to see ethernano.

“Fairy eyes again, huh?” Not exactly what he wanted, but not entirely useless.

Narrowing his orbs, which now glittered with gold flecks, a giant wall black flames suddenly erupted along the city’s boundaries, blocking the behemoceros’s escape. It wasn’t real, by any means, and if the beast simply charged through it wouldn’t do anything, but if the creature, or at least the people on its back, had any semblance of danger they would stop or try to find alternate route. Alistair didn’t expect the illusion to fool them for long. He was no illusionist mage after all and while his spells were powerful, his ability to manipulate them was limited. He only hoped to stall them long enough for the bus to get a little closer at least.

“We do what we can to slow it down,” Alistair answered, pouring more ethernano into his eyes and twisting the black flame into a large, fiery demon figure. “Hurting it is okay, but not too much please. It’s not the behemoceros’s fault it’s being handled by a bunch of moronic robbers…”

Assuming the large creature was real and not some transformed mage.

Closer…let’s get a little closer… Now.

The dice was back in his hand and Alistair let it drop, watching the cube tumble. Three, three, three, Alistair mentally chanted. What he needed were wings.

“Aww, dammit! So close!” Alistair lamented when the die landed on a four and glowed, the illusion suddenly vanishing as Fairy Eyes was replaced by a different magic. Siren Voice. Again, another non offensive magic. Alistair considered rolling again, but it would cost far too much ethernano considering the amount of times he already rolled that day. He needed to make sure he had enough reserves to fight as well. Besides, Siren Voice had its uses. It would help the others at least. Alistair sighed, picking up the die and vanishing it back into the pocket dimension, before taking a deep breath.

The next sounds that escaped Alistair’s lips was a melodious litany that sounded pleasing to the ear, but also nonsensical to anyone who didn’t understand Siren’s speech. Regardless, any listeners would find themselves strengthened, both physically and magically. Hopefully those bellow them could hear it. If not…well it was too bad. Summoning an arrow and a thick rope from his camp set, Alistair proceeded to tie rope to the shaft, then nock it on a newly summoned bow. He took aim, waiting for the right distance.

“If you’re going to trip the beast that should help a bit!” Alistair called, raising his voice so the people within the bus could hear as well. “As for me, I plan on getting on this beauty!” Scale its back. Maneuver himself into a better position. If he could get close enough to its ear, maybe he could weaken the beast a bit as well.

That plan in mind, Alistair fired the arrow which, with his strength, managed to pierce the creature’s hide. The beast didn’t feel a thing, of course. Tugging the rope to make sure it was secure, Alistair glanced pensively at the girl who followed him to the top of the bus. Bringing her along might be a hindrance, but it might be worth it as well. It was hard to tell. Alistair smirked.

He always did love a gamble.

“Wrap your arms tightly around my shoulders if you want to join me. Otherwise, feel free to do things your own way. Gold mage’s plan of concentrated attack on the legs is a good one. Make it fall. Make it sleep. Whatever works, works. Since magical creatures are all different, they all a require a different handling method…though, I’ll admit it’s my first time dealing with a creature if this size. It’s a good experience~”

The One Eyed Bandit AtlannianSpy AllHailDago (@ anyone else that wants to say they heard the siren's song)

 

[Hanarei]

Jade Evergarden
​

Jade looked to Elissa giving a light nod and smile in return as they were soon off driving into the fray. The sight of the beast smashing through the buildings only made her that much leery of the damage being caused by the hooligans. There was no question how dangerous it was and how easily lives could be lost in the process. If the beast itself didn't crush them, there was a chance the rubble of the buildings could. Flooring to a stop to drop off those who might be less fit for the job, Jade had for a moment stood up, though biting her lip as to sit down. While she wanted to help those in trouble now, there was no giant beast or criminals to worry about. Their wounds and injuries could be helped out just fine by a typical doctor or someone with mild medical knowledge enough. She was better off staying on the bus to get up close to the threat where the time to rescue and treat those involved was much more likely to be dire.

"Careful when dealing with the injured. If someone is seriously injured or if they are experiencing back, neck, or serious abdominal pain attempt to get medical staff there to help evaluate the staff to see if its safe to move them without making it worst. Only move those people if there is an immediate threat in the environment they are in where waiting isn't possible or medical staff aren't able to get there to help them out. If you do move them, make sure they stay still and try to minimize moving or twisting their body. Use a plank or other straight object to help rest their body on being careful not to bend or twist their body getting them on it. Keep them their body as flat as possible. " She spoke out, feeling a bit uneasy just relaying some information rather then staying back to help direct it. Hopefully there would be plenty of doctors and emergency workers there to make sure those bad cases wouldn't be an issue. She watched as they got off uncertain if they really all might of caught what she said. Hopefully they were aware enough to know how to act.

Jade looked to Alistair seeming to glare at his focus on fighting and showing off rather then the concern for the people. Her attention shifted to Summar at the suggestion of tripping the creature. Jade seemed a bit mortified at the very thought of it more so worried about the buildings it could topple into on the way down and the people it could crush in the process. Still, it seemed it would be difficult to simply stop it in its tracks. Jade rested her hand on her chin in thought trying to think of anything else before speaking up.

"We can't simply trip it anywhere, you are going to get more people hurt or killed. Still... just letting it rampage through the city isn't any good either. Perhaps a sedative... no... I don't think I'd be able to produce enough for something that size anywhere near quick enough." She spoke seeming to pause a bit in thought as it seemed her tangent thought of trying to slow the creature wasn't panning out as she said it out loud.

"I can use my plant magic to create some sturdy thick vines that might be able to trip the beast up... perhaps even to bind it temporarily though I'm less certain if I'll be able to do so quick enough or make it strong enough in such a short time to keep it restrained for long... if at all. While my plants can grow fast, the amount it would take to restrain it completely would take way too much time and I'm not sure even then if it would be enough to hold it. If we are going to make it fall we should try to keep it on the ground or at least take that chance to make sure it gets away from hurting others in the city who still be lingering around inside the buildings."

Jade seemed to be in thought again showing signs of frustration and anger, both annoyed at herself not able to think of another solution on her own as well as the fact there were scumbags that would be so reckless willing to risk peoples lives for their own selfish pursuits.

QuirkyAngel AtlannianSpy AllHailDago AnthraxBurrito The One Eyed Bandit izayoiix Lucem cinnabuns (Everyone getting off the bus getting a quick lecture of 'be careful moving a seriously injured person')

 

[simj26]

.

 

[cinnabuns]

"That's such a pretty crown! It's so shiny. I've never met anyone who is royalty before!"

Anaïs was quite confused by the words the boy spoke to her on the bus. Royalty...? Her crown?

To be mistaken for someone of a higher status due to the crown on her head was perplexing. Mostly children did that. Maybe this boy had a childlike heart. That was something she could admire, especially at times like this, when they were headed off to fight this behemoth.

"I--"

Before she could continue, the boy's attention shifted to something else, and once again, she felt quite alone. She'd taken too long to respond, she thought, a bit dismayed that she didn't have a chance to reply. Oh well. It was quite alright. As far as she was concerned, she wasn't that important, and it was her fault for not immediately answering him. Plus, he seemed pretty busy, and due to his aforementioned childlike behavior, it made sense. So much was catching his attention at once, and she understood how he felt.

Tap, tap, tap.

And, speaking of.

Anaïs heard a familiar caw, and then another three pecks on the glass near her, and she immediately went to open the window so she could speak to One-Eye.

"Hello, pretty bird." The girl smiled brightly, leaning out the window and holding her crown so it wouldn't fall as the crow flapped its wings alongside the speeding bus. "Did you happen to see something?"

One-Eye cawed again, and she looked in the direction they were headed. That...thing was massive. She pushed down the anxiety she felt looking at it and focused on the crow's call.

"How many mages did you say? You saw too many of them to count?" Anaïs eyed the beast, trying to get a good look, but her eyesight wasn't as good as One-Eye's. The beast was...quite incredible, it she were being honest. In another situation, if the grey beast wasn't making a mess of this town, she definitely could find herself wanting to pet it. She had no knowledge if the creatures were naturally docile. But if the crow said there were a bunch of people on top of it, that must have meant something. Maybe they were controlling it somehow? Anaïs seemed a little sheepish at asking the next question to the bird, but she had to ask, as she'd never seen one of those things before. "...Ah, and One-Eye, uhm, do you happen to know what exactly that thing i--"

“HOW IN THE NAME OF THE FOUR KINGS ARE THEY RIDING A BEHOMOCEROS!?”

Anaïs froze in place, just as the bus finally came to a halt. She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to that man's boisterous behavior. Regardless, at least that was another question answered, she thought with a sigh. A Behemoceros? She'd have to see it up close, definitely. Peregrine continued speaking, saying that those who weren't prepared for this should stay to assist the townsfolk. Anaïs took a moment to think. While she could be useful there, she had a feeling she could be more helpful when they reached the Behemoceros. Anaïs held her wrist out, and cawlessly, One-Eye returned to his spot there, allowing some time for the girl to save her Ethernano.

She held onto the back of the seat in front of her when Viridian slammed her foot back onto the accelerator and sent the bus zooming forward, after some of the passengers had gotten off and headed into the town. Her heart almost leaped out of her chest; if she hadn't been careful, she could have flown right out of her seat. That wouldn't have been a pretty picture.

"So, hey, uhm." Anaïs spoke up to those still on the bus after she moved from the window. "Behemoceros. Do we happen to know its weaknesses until we get those guys off the top?"

The plant mage she'd seen earlier spoke up, along with the gold mage. Anaïs listened as the green-haired woman explained she could use her vines to stall it for a moment. "Well, miss, it was a good plan...what if...." The gears in Anaïs' head were turning. "What do Behemoceroses like? Maybe we can distract it away from the buildings and out in the open, like you said."

[ Refaulted , Hanarei , @ anyone still on the bus ]​

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Elissa Holsten
​

“That’s amazing,” Elissa replied, setting the woman down on the blanket as Basil wove thread into cloth to bandage the victim’s injuries. She’d been dream practicing during the guild tryouts and missed a majority of the magic performed during the event. Therefore she was pleasantly surprised when one of the mages, who got off the bus according to Peregrine’s instructions, had a convenient magic handy. Saved her the trouble of tearing some clothes. “My name’s—,”

"Elissa, do you think you could use your magic to figure out where the unconscious are hidden away? Best I can do at the moment is some heavy lifting and I don't think I'll be able to get everyone just listening around buildings for some cries or faint breathing."

Elissa nodded, looking towards Salt. He'd just introduced her well enough. “I can. Sensing someone in a dream state is basic requirement for dreamweaver magic, though my range is nowhere near as good as my mother’s.”

The blue haired girl closed her eyes, concentrating.

A few seconds later she opened her visual organs and pointed to the burning bank. “There are definitely some unconscious people inside.”

Glancing at the boy who gave her a mock salute, Elissa responded to his question. “Water puts out fire by blocking out the oxygen that fuels it…but if we don’t have a way to generate water ourselves—or any way to displace oxygen in the air— then we’ll need to look for a different source. There’s got to be something among the crushed buildings we can use. A fire extinguisher, a working sink, anything…”

Magic was a useful tool, but it wasn’t the only way to put out a fire. Scanning the vicinity, Elissa managed to locate some fire hydrants. She found some buckets among the debris and started to fill them. Not a very quick process. Not flashy, nor showy, but it was something she could do. She’d come to help, after all. And, even if there were other people who could do the job better, they didn’t seem to be present at the moment. Looking up at the burning bank, Elissa wondered how long the people trapped inside could wait. She looked back down at the buckets of water…and sighed again.

Taking one of the buckets, Elissa dumped the water over her head, making sure her body was damp enough to not easily catch fire. It wasn’t like her to be so impulsive, but Salt would need her help in order to quickly find the people trapped in the burning bank. “Fortunately the man whose dream I entered seems to know the layout of bank quite well.”

Pushing her dripping wet hair back, Elissa's gaze drifted in the direction of the behemocerous, blinking incredulously when she met the sight of an equally terrifying black fire demon in the distance just as it disappeared. Convinced she was just seeing things, Elissa lifted two more buckets by the handle and held them out to the two boys. “I could really use your help in saving their lives.”

Whether they came with her or not, Elissa intended to enter the burning bank.

GasMaskie Refaulted

 

[GasMaskie]

The young man remained unusually still as the girl went about her course of action, his eyes fixated on her doused form. From the way she moved her wet hair back to the droplets that ran down her clothing, he couldn't help but be entranced by her form. It took Salt a moment to find his bearings once more and he lightly slapped both his cheeks. He dragged his wandering eyes back towards the burning building, not quite sure why Elissa had suddenly drawn his attention like that. Strangely, he could already feel the heat on his cheeks from this far away.

"Good thinking Elissa! We'll have to be quick though - the smoke and the state of building'll make this some real risky business. I bet it was a banker - though I wouldn't turn away information from a would-be thief's dreams if it meant saving everyone." The wannabe super mage unsteathed his rusted weapon - it'd had to do as a tool for gaining access to survivors and maybe even batting away falling debris. His eyes fell upon the figure of a burning demon in the distance - for some reason, it made him shiver. But it wasn't near the bank, so...

He shrugged, it was possible that it was an ally's magic. And if it wasn't, the group going for the behemoceros would take care of it. Salt took a bucket from the dream mage and proceeded to pour it over his head. He pulled the collar of his capelet up over his mouth - it'd have to do as some sort of filter, especially since he'd probably end up doing most of the heavy lifting. There was little doubt that the other boy would join the effort, and he'd just have to trust whatever magic he brought to the table.

"Ready when you are then!" He had already made up his mind about the matter. Of course, he'd have to wait for Elissa's directions - efficiency definitely equated safety in this case, and rushing in would likely only end up making one more victim to rescue.

( QuirkyAngel Refaulted )

 

[simj26]

Viridian wasn’t the only one who had noticed the peculiar behaviour of both the beast and those riding atop it. However, the knight-in-training’s observation of it was not one of scrutiny. Rather, it was one of pure curiousity. It was interesting. Very interesting. What did it mean, indeed? While the bus broke out into an uproar, with myriads of voices filling the interior, Lysandra was caught in her own world, the many equations and possibilities filling her head. None of them seemed implausible. Something was missing from the mind map, and that was what stopped her progress. What was it, indeed? A behemoceros, in the first place, shouldn’t have been able to infiltrate a city like this without notice. While she supposed the hullabaloo that the twin guilds had created would have provided a little diversion, something the size of a building should not have gone unnoticed.

What sort of magic brought it here, and how powerful was it to conceal a behemoceros like that? She folded her arms across her chest, resting her chin on one hand, and gave a low laugh. Fascinating. Simply fascinating. Was it, perhaps, that the behemoceros was a transformation? Take Over? Some other magic she couldn’t identify? Splendid! Something she could learn. She had to know. She had to understand what was making this beast tick. Driven by her curiousity alone, she left Harper’s side, moving across the interior of the bus slowly, pushing past any who were in her way, just to get a closer look at the specimen. Someone was asking about any knowledge on the behemoceros' behaviour, but her ears barely registered her words. Her slime buddy slipped out from under her tunic, resting itself on her shoulder, as if observing the behemoceros with her. She took no notice of it. It was wonderful, seeing a creature like this up close and personal. She had to know, she had to understand. She had to get a clearer view. Without hesitation, she slid out of the closest window, clambering up onto the roof of the bus, alongside another pair of mages- a redhead and the girl who dirtied the water from earlier. The redhead rolled a trio of dice, and cursed. Before she could comment on the weird practice, however, he released a flow of magic energy that wrapped itself around everyone around him. She didn't know exactly what it did, but her body felt lighter. Dice magic, perhaps? Effects confined into numerical values on the dice, maybe. Interesting. She'd study that later. For now, she had to focus on the specimen in front of her. One of the bus' remaining mages asked a stupid question, and the redhead fired an arrow into the creature's hide. She glanced at the nearby mages, who all spoke excitedly about their plan. So he thinks it’s being controlled by morons and robbers? Possible, but improbable. The manifold possibilities within her head all led to a single conclusion- the controller wasn’t a moron, and he wasn’t a fool. This was a multi-pronged assault, and these bravehearts were falling for the facade.

A small, but nonetheless wild, smile crept onto her face. Her eyes darted across what she could see, taking into account everything that was visible, every movement she could perceive, and every act she could predict. She had the blueprints of the plan, now all she had to do was execute it. She picked her newfound slime friend off from her shoulder and shoved it into her pocket once more. Without hesitating a second longer, she broke off into a sprint along the roof of the bus, and, at the edge of the bus, she leapt forwards. She threw her hand forwards, sending her Projection outwards. She took into account the lag time between her summoning and its appearance, letting herself drop a few feet, before her Projection caught hold of her, and with a swing, threw her forwards and upwards, towards the beast. Her sword scraped across its scabbard as she drew it, and as her body slammed onto the behemoceros' side, she drove the blade into the thick hide. The beast gave no indication that it felt anything.

She could probably take a few mages on her own, especially at close range. There wasn't a lot of space to manoeuvre on the beast, not without falling off. With the cold fire of determination in her eyes, she lifted herself up onto her sword, and, balancing on it and the arrow beside it, she looked around for a handhold, before she took another leap, catching hold of one of the many crevassing folds of the creature's armor-like leather hide. She summoned her Projection once more, who withdrew her sword from the behemoceros' hide, and returned it back to her scabbard.

"Okay. Alright. Here comes justice," she muttered under her breath as she began to scale the beast's hide.

 

[cinnabuns]

Kore had to admit to herself that she'd never been on such a vehicle as this one before.

Or really, any vehicle.

Kore found a seat, placing her hand on it as well, feeling the rumble of the engine through her palm. Obviously this was magic, but...is this what civilized people rode in? Kore had seen the cars and buses around but she herself had never ridden in one before. Technology wasn't really her thing at all. But, this was obviously the fastest way to that monster.

The bus sped off, and Kore held onto the seat, looking a little frantic.

She really, really missed the ground.

"We both did good on the trial I think! You got a 67! and somehow they gave me a 71. . .but I think it must be a mistake, there's no way I should've scored higher than you-"

"You did better than me. That's why you got the better score."

Kore was thankful Venrie had cut into her transportation anxiety with talk. But unfortunately, there was only one answer to what he was saying. Kore hadn't done good enough in the course. She didn't take it too hard, at least not this time. She didn't fail, anyway. If she were home, there were only two options: Pass or Fail. Here, there were numbers. She could tell she needed to do better, and she would. Especially if she were given the chance. Kore soon realized she had been very blunt, and while she was okay with that, she took the chance to give Venrie a bit of praise. She noticed his words were...undermining his hard work. Kore's eyes softened. She wouldn't stand for that.

"You did well, Venrie. Do not doubt your abilities."

Or you'll end up like me.

"Hello, everyone~ Let's do our best, okay?"

Kore looked over to Plume and nodded. She would absolutely do her best. "You, too." She had to do her best. She had to prove herself here; her score hadn't been bad, but she wanted to make sure she made the Guildmasters proud. And their Vices. Kore looked out the window afterwards, peering at the monster as they drove closer.

“HOW IN THE NAME OF THE FOUR KINGS ARE THEY RIDING A BEHEMOCEROS!?”

Kore didn't bother answering that exclamation. She had a feeling Peregrine knew already; they had manipulated the poor thing with their magic. Kore's fists tightened at the realization. She'd had her fair share of hunting, but with hunting came respect. It was a give and take for the land. It wasn't manipulation. They weren't harming animals for their own nefarious deeds.

Were these people not strong enough on their own that they needed to ruin an animal's way of life just to get what they desired?

Kore seethed. They were weak. Weaker than her.

When the bus stopped, Kore was reluctant to get off. She wanted to help the monster, but she knew, deep in her heart, that she wouldn't be enough to handle this. She'd seen the others in the courses. She'd seen her score. She was better off, helping the people affected by the - what had Peregrine called it? Behemoceros? Kore stood, walking to the front of the bus, heading off, but made sure to call for the people she thought could help her before her feet touched the ground.

"Venrie. Plume."

Kore surveyed the area before picking up her whistle, blowing into it, and almost immediately, Anu appeared out of a portal, tail wagging. He, of course, was excited to be out with Kore once more, but once he sniffed the air, he stiffened up. Kore tried to think as she headed to help someone on the ground. There was so much fire, and unfortunately, she had nothing she could use to help. She gritted her teeth. Useless.

Anu barked, taking her out of her thoughts, and she looked towards the jackal as she lifted the person up. While she had been distracted, Anu had wrapped a large piece of rubble and was attempting to pull it off of another citizen. Kore made sure the person she was helping could walk before heading over to the jackal, taking a hold of the bandage and starting to tug. The rock began to shift, slowly, but surely. In the corner of her eye, she noticed that a handful of the mages on the bus were headed into a burning bank. Kore made note they should help, after their current issue. Thankfully, the two were strong; even though it took a long moment, it was working.

She and Anu could definitely benefit from assistance. Unfortunately, Kore wasn't going to ask for it.

[ soggyparadise , Ren Pengwen , Mentions: QuirkyAngel , GasMaskie , Refaulted ]​

 

[soggyparadise]

Venrie could feel his chest tighten as the engine of the bus roared to life, feeling the vibrations of the vehicle along his back and under his fingers as they rested on the slightly uncomfortable iron and plastic seat below him. At least Plume seemed calm enough- stretched out in her own rigid seat, a soft song passing her lips. Focussing on that seemed to actually soothe the young berillian albeit only for a moment. When the mechanical beast lurched forward, building up speed as they rumbled towards their destination he felt the familiar flip of his stomach once more, and he held it tightly as though doing so might save him from losing the last meal he ate.

The poor lad’s amber colored eyes screwed shut as he hung his head barely hearing his new friends words rebutting his previous statement about her having certainly done better in the trial of slime. No he was instead much too focussed on the overwhelming rumbling of both the vehicle he was in as well as the crescendoing noise of the ground beneath them. To his trained ears the harsh cacophony of them both was pushing the envelope of what was simply unpleasant and what may be able to be classified as a type of torture. His hive as well were in a bit of a frenzy, disapproving of his current surroundings, but still they held tight for their host, some of which crawling into his ear canal before he clamped his hands firmly over them in an attempt to dampen the sounds.

A sudden deafening crash was the first thing to shake him from his focus on the painful noises, his eyes opening and head raising just in time to see the blur of leathery grey flesh barrell past the windows of the bus, only to be followed by the exclamation from whom would hopefully be his future guild master.

“HOW IN THE NAME OF THE FOUR KINGS ARE THEY RIDING A BEHOMOCEROS!?”

The name of the beast didn’t stir much knowledge in the nature enthusiast’s mind save for a brief few paragraphs covering it in a book he’d read years prior. All he could remember was about the same amalgamation of facts that Viridian came up with- there was no way he’d be of any use on this mission, after all he was still but a mere E rank mage, yet at the same time he didn’t know if he’d be able to find purpose with the rescue team either. He was rather weak physically and would have difficulty moving heavy debris and at the same time he had no way to put out a fire.
Still Venrie knew it’d be the best place for him. He didn’t want to hold back the skilled mages who would be handling the behemoceros, and even if he could save one person, he knew leaving his home on this journey would be more than worth it because he would make a difference in one person’s life.

And again just like before, Kore’s voice cut through his jumble of thoughts as clear as a whistle.
“Venrie. Plume.”
She wanted him by her side- despite his shortcomings that he was certain were obvious as can be, she still called for him to follow her off the bus.
He stood on shaky footing, stomach still reeling from the ride to their current point but with each step he took he became more confident, his slim frame easily moving down the narrow aisle to the front of the bus, bounding down the stairs and onto the rumble covered street.

To his left he saw what appeared to be some sort of suicide mission into the burning bank, as from what he could remember none of those mages had a magic suited to such an environment while on her right Kore and Anue struggled to both lift a massive piece of rumble as well as help the citizen out from underneath. Without much thought Venrie ran to the dog whistle mage’s side, hooking his arms under the young man’s armpits before dragging him backwards out of the way of the huge chunk of building he’d been trapped beneath. One of his legs was mangled, but thankfully enough he was unconscious and thus was at least spared for the moment from the intense pain that was sure to come.

“Pl-plume probably has some kind of pain killer right?” Venrie asked Kore, his eyes wide as he seemed unable to tear his gaze from the man’s leg. “Wh-what should we do about the bank- those guys are going to get themselves killed, b-but my hive isn’t good with fire.” He asked, tripping over his words as he struggled with his own panic about the situation. Finally his gaze looked up to meet Kore’s once more. “Tell me what I need to do and i’ll do it” The male said, eyes full of desperation to be pointed in any sort of direction. He’d grown up always being told what to do, what things needed to be fixed and what chores needed to be completed, and now when it came time to take serious action he found himself at a loss.

 

[Ren Pengwen]

Plumeria Astarte
​

soggyparadise cinnabuns

Plumeria’s smoky orbs scanned the environment they passed by as they approached the threat ahead of them. She observed the interval changes of the scenery as the clean cobbled streets and sturdy buildings were preyed upon. Peregrine’s thunderous voice managed to redirect her attention to the cause behind all the demolition – a behemocerous. “We’ll have to pursue them before that thing destroys half the city! But anyone not prepared to deal with it should get off here and see to the civilians left behind, it’s certain there’ll be people in danger with all that wreckage.” As much as her eyes sparkled in awe for the magnificent burly beast rampaging with all its might, she couldn’t ignore the obvious danger looming over the crumbling town. Plume considered using her aroma magic to calm the behemoceros but ultimately decided against it. It wouldn’t have any effect unless the poor creature could be contained to a single area where her soothing spell could concentrate. Besides that, the true source of destruction seemed to be stemming from elsewhere. Making intricate plans and strategies really wasn’t her thing so, gratefully following Kore’s call, she playfully saluted her seniors on her way out instead. “Good luck, little birds!” She chirped as she descended from the bus, comfortably settling on stable ground again. The transition was seamless for her, though she was happy to stretch her legs once again.

The trail of hazardous debris seemed endless from where she was standing. More notable was the small gathering of injured civilians and her fellow mages tending to them. Plume decided to quickly scan the inside of the buildings, making sure nobody was hurt or stuck inside, before collecting some water from the abandoned taps in an empty vial. Making her way to the gathering sight, she could easily notice how distressed they were. Luckily nobody was unconscious or seriously injured. She happily soothed the nerves of the recovered civilians, in the way that only she could, as she applied some first aid knowledge to thoroughly tend to any minor injuries. The other mages seemed to have their sights set on an intimidating pillar of smoke. Their bravery put a sweet smile on her face. She trusted them to handle the task, opting to stay back and keep track of the recovering civilians.

Venrie’s distant stuttering speech reached her ears and she instinctively approached the situation. His plea for instructions momentarily distracted her from the victim before them. “You already know exactly what to do, it’s instinct. The more you worry, the more you suppress it,” She flashed him a quick smile, rubbing his head with a therapeutic rhythm.

Returning her attention to the unconscious man, she quickly checked his pulse, careful not to move him, and asked him some questions in the hopes that he wasn’t completely out cold. However, he was unresponsive but thankfully still alive. Using the bottled water, she attempted to clean most of his wounds and revealed the extent of his injuries in the process. Plume spoke up while washing out the blood and dirt, “Kore, will you please bandage our friend here? It’s just to stop the blood flow for now. He’ll need proper medical care soon.” With every fiber of her being, she truly hoped the citizens would be recovered and taken into professional medical care soon. It pained her to see them so frightened and hurt.

 

[AllHailDago]

Aurelia Chekov​

A single glance was all it took for Peregrine to communicate what he wanted from her. With Adellon and Peregrine likely being paramount to the monster and mage fighting, and Viridian driving the bus, she was the only "authority figure" that could depart here to help keep things in order. She wasn't much for taking command, but she was even less likely to refuse an order. Spoken or implied.

Debarking from the bus last, she made her way to the civilian group that had seemingly become a makeshift treatment area. Her jaw twitched and her eyes darted here and there a few times as particularly loud and destructive sounds occurred. Thankfully the civilian who had taken charge didn't seem to notice. Aurelia recognized them as someone she'd come across on... good will missions with Peregrine. He seemed to be as distressed as most adults were by her presence, but the current situation let him override that to accept her help.

She gave a few curt orders, but stopped short as she found the green haired recruit from earlier rattling off much of the same advice but better. Excellent, an actual medical professional. She'd do better here than Aurelia's battlefield medical experience could provide. In fact a fair number of the recruits had taken very quickly and cleverly to action. It almost made her smirk. Almost.

She eyed a group prepping to enter the building by dumping water on themselves, and another helping get civilians out of the ruins of homes and businesses. The water was a clever trick, but unlikely to be sufficient once it began evaporating. She supposed between the healer and the small group saving lives, things were well in hand out here. She supposed tackling the bank was next.

Aurelia pointed at the green haired recruit and loudly stated, daring any civilian to be stupid enough to disagree, "Jade. You're in charge out here. The Masters and the others have the monster handled, keep people alive."

She pointed in quick succession at the three who had seemed to form a three person cell before they even got on the bus. She was thankfully able to bring their names to the forefront of her mind with unusual ease. "Plumeria, Venrie, and Kore. Cooperate with Jade and save those you can. Do not follow us in." She tossed a sheathed combat knife to Kore, who struck her as the leader of her little group. She did not bother saying what for.

Approaching the three who had begun to prepare to enter the building, Aurelia pulled her pistol and a bandolier of bright azure bullets from her Armory. Frost gathered in her hair and eyelashes, making them slowly appear to turn white. The air around her began to rapidly chill and spread out in a radius around her as she loaded her first six shots. She put names to magics to faces and addressed the three. "Salt. Basil. Elissa. You three are with me, stay close and the fire won't touch you. Direct those you can out, stabilize those you can't. I'll douse fires as we go." With that she walked straight into the burning building.

Hanarei
Refaulted QuirkyAngel GasMaskie
Ren Pengwen soggyparadise cinnabuns

 

[Refaulted]

Basil Webster

Another boy close to his age ran up to him and the girl, who he now found out was named Elissa due to the boy referring to her as such. The two of them seemed to know each other, so maybe they were friends prior to the Guild tryouts, but Basil didn't pry. Instead he listened to Elissa mumble and try to come up with a plan while he massaged his hand, the cramps finally beginning to leave. She spoke about dream magic, which had Basil's eyes light up. He wanted so badly to ask her about her magic, this 'dreamweaving', but now was definitely not the time to be fanboying over other people's magic. He looked at the boy and the sword he had, wondering if he was a magic weapon user like himself. The idea of someone coolly swinging a sword in a fight made him shake in excitement, magic weaving around them. He would have to ask them about their magics when there was time.

Elissa turned to him and began explaining how water would help them, talking about stuff like 'displacing oxygen', which Basil just tilted his head at with an innocent smile on his face as he listened. When she ran off and grabbed some buckets, Basil waited patiently as she filled them and brought them back over to them. She proceeded to dump one of them onto herself, soaking herself through. Something clicked in Basil's mind, and he began to understand what she meant. This Elissa girl was much smarter than him. He was glad he wasn't going to be alone in this and there was someone who knew what they were doing.

As she handed the two of them buckets, Basil stole a glance at the other boy, and noticed his cheeks being a little red as he looked at Elissa. Basil looked back to her, then back at him, one eyebrow lifted, but he didn't say anything except snicker slightly.

The boy pulled out his sword, and Basil was slightly taken aback by how rusted it was. The state it was in made Basil feel like he would nearly faint. Back in Bell Port, he would sometimes watch the local blacksmith, Miss Klin, forge weapons for hunters or wandering mages, and the amount of detail she put into her craft was astounding, and she treated every weapon and tool that came through her doors like it was a fragile child. The fact that this boy had let his weapon get to this point had Basil hoping he would never experience Miss Klin's wrath at the sight of his weapon. But Basil just kept his mouth shut as the boy covered himself in water, responding very excitedly to Elissa.

Basil was about to pour his bucked of water on himself when he heard a strict voice from behind him speak his name, and he turned to see one of the Vice Guildmasters walk up to them, wielding a gun in her hand and a bandoleer of bullets. She was the same woman he had wanted to ask about her Requip magic, but up close, she seemed much more intimidating, so Basil would have to wait for maybe a better chance to ask her. She told them to follow her, and Basil felt the chill of what he assumed was her magic as she walked past them towards the building. He turned to follow her. "Right behind you, ma'am~!" He turned to look at the the other two, motioning towards them. "Come on, you two! Oh!" He made the same overdramatic salute to the boy with the sword. "The name's Basil! Let's try not to die and save some people, yeah~?" He turned back and followed Aurelia inside.

Spoiler: Mentions/Interactions

Mentions: none
Interactions: Elissa QuirkyAngel , Salt GasMaskie , Aurelia AllHailDago