Snippet #2099570

The group continued to walk. Darkness was beginning to fall around them, and it was beginning to make the group nervous, especially those who were trained. They could see the ambush possibilities, they could see the things that could happen. The others were just tired, they wanted to lay down, to sleep, they were so focused on getting to where they were going, they didn't see the hazards that were around them. At least not until the crackling of sticks echoed in the trees around them. Kass was the first of the non-warriors to notice it, and her tired mind associating it with what she was afraid of most. The shape of a bear's silhouette warbled in front of her eyes, and she gave a shriek, scrambling backwards and back the way they had come.

They kept walking for a few hours, but for the past hour or so they were being followed. It was only a few at first, but they kept growing in number. Either way they were slowly gaining people, yet halting their assault. Zet wasn’t entirely sure why, he could only assume they didn’t feel safe taking on a group of their size, with the manpower they had. Zet knew of a clearing up a bit further. He knew he could guard everyone better from that point, rather then being surrounded by the trees the bandits loved to strike from. Plans never really do go perfectly though.

Zet turned to Kass as she shrieked and ran off. “Shit... Everyone stay close together, we’re not alone. I have to get Kassidy.” Before even giving anyone time to respond, he took off after her. He knew it was a bad idea, and the bandits may attack the two alone, but he couldn’t leave her. After all, she was the water host. She was actually moving quite fast, so by the time Zet was near her, they were quite a bit away from the main group. The next moment that passed by was complete instinct. He saw the dagger, headed right for Kassidy, so he dove at her. Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her to the ground, taking the thrown dagger right into his opposite shoulder. “Stay close” he whispered as he got to his feet. As the bandits dropped from the trees around him, it was a group of about ten, with a few all too familiar faces among them. ‘Well now, long time no see Krovi.’

Meanwhile while the rest of the group was unsure of what was happening completely, more of the bandits decided to strike the main group. The first hit was from a throwing star, lodging itself right into Scarlet’s shin. She screamed a bit out of pain before falling to the ground, tears in her eyes. Bandits began to drop from the trees, surrounding the group, however it was clear that not all of them had decided to drop down and join the fray yet.

Kass was surprised by the arm wrapping around her and forcing her to the ground. She let out another shriek, but the voice in her ear made her blush. When Zet got to his feet, she just stayed low to the ground, looking around with frightened, deer-like eyes. These people knew Zet? Who were they? Maybe they wouldn't attack them? It seemed like a slim hope, by the way the men were looking at her and at Zet. Like he was standing between some very hungry men and a piece of meat. She absolutely did not like that look.

Zet eyed the men standing around him. 6 of them seemed like some nameless illiterates. A bunch of nobody fuck-ups, which was saying something with this group. “Well if it isn’t the Roland family. Didn’t I teach you all a lesson two years ago? Don’t tell me you want me to spank you again in front of all your friends now, do you?”

The oldest of the 4 Roland siblings stepped forward as Zet made his snarky comment. ‘Two years ago you killed our father and oldest brother, leaving us to fend on our own. We couldn’t fight you back then, but today we’re out for blood. We’ve done nothing but train since that day, and now we’re going to kill you, your friends, and even your little girlfriend here. Although, I may take what I want from her first. Seeing as she’s such a fine specimen of woman and whatnot.’

Zet just stared at them, keeping his cool. Although the comment he made about Kass, really started to get his blood boiling for some reason. “You were all too pitiful to waste my time killing back then. Now however though, I’ll be sure not to make the same mistake twice. I’ll kill you, your two brothers, and that sister that likes to whore herself out to draw in targets for you. After all, you’ve made it so easy by all being here together. Then I’ll kill every last bandit you sent against my friends. Do you know why? Because you pissed me off and threatened my friends. You won’t lay a hand on Kassidy, and any of your other friends that lay a hand on any of my other friends, if they don’t kill them first, I’ll make sure to make it a painful death.”

The Roland siblings were clearly unhappy with his response, not that they would have been happy with any response. The surrounded him on all 4 sides, 4 people with them blocking any spaces they had between them, and the last 2 men staying in the tree’s above. Zet had been readying his Kyoketshu-shogei the entire time they spoke, and was confident they’d all be dead from it in a matter of minutes. “Hope you don’t mind if I make the first move.” He said with a smirk, as he ripped the dagger from his shoulder, tossing it into the tree above him. As soon as the man who was pierced by the blade came crashing to the ground, the group’s assault had begun.

Kass began to cry at the bandit's words. What? He wanted to do what to her? She sat back and crawled backwards, bumping into a tree and letting out a squeal. When she realized it was an inanimate object and not a would-be rapist's body, she pulled her legs up to her chest and cried a little. But Zet was surrounded. What could she do to help him? She was a gem host, after all, she had to do something. She put her arms out in front of her and tried to make the gem do...something. Anything. She didn't care what, it just had to do something. But no, nothing happened. Instead, the cold feeling just radiated through her again and she breathed out a cloud, shivering. She was useless. Zet was going to get hurt, or...or worse, and she couldn't do anything about it.

Zet’s weapon fell from his sleeve. As soon as it happened, he began swinging it around him. Normally a wound on the shoulder may lower range of motion a bit, but it’s not like Zet had never felt a pain like it before. All in all, it didn’t affect him all that much. He needed to be the most careful from the man still up in the tree. The rest were fairly easy to watch, and to counter their moves with death blows. He made the first move, but all the other moves after that, was all on the enemies. They had greater numbers, but he had more skill in his right ass cheek then the entire enemy group around him did.

The nameless idiots were the first to act, charging him as a group of four. A tactic that may have worked on someone not trained to counter ambushes. Zet swung the chain at the nearest person, using his ability to ensure clean cuts through the body. He didn’t like using it, but he didn’t have time to fuck around. Upon contact, the man’s arm was cut in two, the blade not stopping there, and ripping clean through the entire body, then straight back into the position it was before Zet even attacked. It was all one fluid motion. One that wouldn’t have been too hard to dodge with any sort of decent training in evasive actions. With a second swing he slit the throats of both the person nearest in front of him, as well as behind him. The 4th got in close, forcing Zet to jump backwards. The damage on his body had already begun, one cut appearing as an X on the back of his hand, the other overlaying further damage to the wound on his shoulder.

As he jumped back, the Roland’s tried to get Zet off guard. The youngest tried to drive a spear into Zet’s back, however he was far too noisy to make a sneak attack viable. Zet heard him back there, quickly jabbing the blade on the end of the chain into a tree and pulling himself up. Flipping backwards, he freed his weapons, jumping down on the shoulders of what some would still consider a child, no older then 15. Zet made good on his promise, gripping the boy’s head with his feet and snapping the child’s neck. William Roland was dead. Using the end of the chain to whip the spear up from the hands of the fresh corpse, into his own hand, he grasped it and tossed it into the final one chasing after him. This left three Roland’s and the man up in the trees.

Seeing her youngest brother die, Tracy Roland, the only female sibling of the bunch, could not contain the urge to yell out from the pain of witnessing it. Knowing exactly where she was from the yell, Zet pulled a throwing knife tossing it at her, while enhancing it with his ability, a cut opening on his forehead as he did. Jeremy Roland tried to jump in the way, to save his sister, however the same blade with the force to cut a tree in two, tore through flesh and bone with relative ease. Just two left now, the nameless thug in the tree above, and the eldest brother, Luke.

Awe stricken by the way his siblings were slaughtered with ease, and now fueled by anger and hatred, he charged in at Zet. Although that played into Zet’s plan perfectly. Spinning the chain, Zet finally sent the blade up into the trees above him. Narrowly dodging the charge of Luke Roland’s blade, Zet jumped to the side, wrapping the chain around his throat a few times. It brought the man acting more like an angry bull to a halt, but it was too late. As the corpse fell from the trees, the blade lodged clean into his skull, the chain started to pull up. Zet jumped on the corpse adding more force to the chain which was still wrapped around Luke’s neck, as well as hanging over a thick branch. Finally, when there was just no more give to the chain, Luke was jolted up into the air, snapping his neck immediately for an instant death. Ripping his blade from the thug’s skull, unwrapping the chain from Luke’s neck, and finally retrieving his throwing knife, he then walked over to Kassidy, wondering how she’d take it all. After all, Luke did want to rape her, and they did just discuss killing a few hours ago. Maybe now she’d see why it was necessary.

Kass could only watch in horror as Zet killed the entire group of bandits in maybe a minute. He was so powerful...so skilled...but so much blood. During the fight, blood had splashed onto her clothes. She didn't notice it until Zet was already walking over to her, but she just looked down at her own hands, her own shirt, with disgust and horror. She feverishly tore the shirt off of her, over her head, and letting her breasts hang loosely in her bra. She didn't even care. All she could think about was the blood on her hands. The blood of now dead men. She brushed futily at her hands, trying to wipe the blood off her. She let out a small shriek and cried, still scrubbing hopelessly at her own hands. Her eyes flickered around the clearing, at the dead amongst them. They were animals, yes, disgusting examples of human kind, but did they truly deserve this? She couldn't say. In her mind, she could see the gore and it made her sick. She leaned over and puked, ejecting everything in her stomach. Beef sticks, water, bile, everything, until nothing was left. She just pulled her knees up to her breasts and cried, holding her arms out and away from herself as though they were snakes.

Zet ran over to Kass as she started freaking out. Of course pausing as she ripped off her shirt. She froze for a minute, knowing he shouldn’t have been looking, but he couldn’t seem to look away for a few moments either. Finally snapping himself out of it, he ran over and placed his hands on her’s. He stared into her eyes, even though he didn’t know if she could see his. “Kassidy, calm down. You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you. The blood is not yours. It’s the enemy’s or at worst mine. I’ve got you now, you’re safe.”

Kass looked up with Zet, and for a moment, that lingering thought of fear flickered over her face. Whether she was afraid of Zet, or of what she had just heard and witnessed, was entirely a mystery. Her shivered calmed a little, but she was still freaking out, “I-I-I-I....they're...they're dead. Blood...on me...I don't...I...get it off. Please, oh gods, please, get it off! Get it off me!” She shrieked, pleadingly and hysterically looking into Zet's face, up under his hood and into his eyes. She had never had blood on her before. Not someone else's blood. This wasn't right. It was already starting to become tacky against her skin. It was disgusting. She wanted to scratch at the skin until she bled herself, until she had taken the blood and skin of her arms off, “I didn't do anything to them, why would they want to hurt me, to-to-to-to-to touch me, to-to...to rape me?! I didn't do anything, and they just, they wanted to hurt me and kill me, and I didn't do anything, and now they're dead! I don't...I don't understand, why, why would they want to hurt me, they aren't even Shadelians, I don't even know them, I don't even...I'm not even a threat to them, but they wanted to kill me. They wanted to kill me.” She spewed, all the while her eyes were frantically looking about the clearing, the carnage and gore, before looking up at Zet again, because honestly, she didn't understand. Why would they want to do that to someone else? Someone they had never met before, someone who they had no idea who they were.

Zet didn’t know what to say, so instead he just took out his water pack and started washing the blood off of Kass. He could replenish his water at the town. It was fine to use it so close to things now, especially if it would help Kass feel better. He didn’t know why Kass specifically, but he felt the need to make sure she was taken care of especially. “Calm down and listen, alright? They are bandits. They live off stealing from others, killing everyone, and yes sometimes raping women they find attractive. It doesn’t make perfect sense why they’d choose that kind of life, but that’s why they wanted to hurt you. It has nothing to do with who you are. They’ll kill man, woman and child, for a few bronze pieces or worthless tokens that have but sentimental value. The wanted to kill me, and you, and all of our friends, just to steal from us... We’ll I guess they did have an extra reason to want me dead... These were not good people though.”

He finished washing the blood off her arms, drying them with a part of her shirt that wasn’t covered in blood. “I told you my abilities were only good for death and destruction. I wasn’t exaggerating. This is what I do for a living. This is all I’m good at. I suppose I’m not a good person either when you look at it... I just have more morals then they do. I kill people when it seems necessary, not for any other reason. I had to kill them to protect you, me, and the others. This world won’t make sense much of the time, that’s human nature. It’s unpredictable, and often impossible to understand. Kass this will not be the first time you see a scene like this. You’ll find it easier to live with, given time. If we all don’t, we’ll end up worse then this, as will all those we love.”

Kass let Zet wash her arms clean, barely listening to what he said. Things would only get worse from here on out. She would have to shed blood on her own. She would have to kill. If she didn't...the world as they all knew it would be gone. When her hands were clean, she put her arms around Zet and cried into his chest, “I don't wanna kill people. I don't wanna hurt anyone. I wanna go home. I wanna go home.” She sobbed, shaking her head, “Please, just let me go home. Just let me go back to my Mom and Dad, and my teachers, and my house, and my peaceful life...I just wanna go home...I'll be good, I won't ever go out exploring ever again, and I'll do exactly what my mom and dad say, and I'll never ever do anything bad ever again. I just wanna go home...” who exactly she was pleading with wasn't entirely clear, but it wasn't Zet. She wanted this all to be a bad dream, to be something she could wake up, laugh off, and never think about again. She wanted to see her parents. Hell, she wanted them to yell at her. She wanted them to punish her for exploring the woods again, lock her away in her room for the rest of her life. But she didn't want this.

Zet didn’t know what else to say, or how to react. Who was she asking to go home? The gem hosts? The universe? Unsure, and since it would probably never be a good time to ask, he just put his arms around her in a friendly embrace to try and make her feel better. He rubbed his hand on her back, even though it was her bare skin. She had very soft skin. “The Gem hosts chose you for a reason... You have a kind and gentle spirit. You will be the one to heal our injuries in the future. You stay close to me, and I’ll do the killing for the two of us. Unless... unless you fear me... or can’t stand me after what I did here. You will find a fighting style that works for you. Even if you avoid killing most of the time. I don’t think going home is an option anymore, Kass... We’ll find a way that works for you though, and if you’ll have it, I’ll protect you from the horrors of this world the best I can.... The best I know how...”

Could she do that? Could she fight without killing? She didn't know if it was possible, but the prospect helped her to calm down a little. He asked her if she was afraid of him. Was she? She didn't think so. No, his arm around her made her feel safe. She just kept hugging him, her crying turning to weak sobs, “Thank you...I just...I don't know anymore...I'm not cut out to do this...I'm not cut out to be strong and fast and tough like you...” She whispered, shaking her head, “Do you promise...? To protect me?” She asked. She felt childish and stupid for saying that, she really did, but to hear that she would always have someone looking out for her would be a godsend...she leaned into him a little more, turning her head and just resting it against her chest, her pigtails draped loosely around her shoulders, “I'm not afraid of you...and I don't hate you...you did what you had to do, just like that hunter did what he had to do...I know you don't enjoy hurting people...but we do what we have to to survive...” she whispered again, though her voice sounded...defeated. She was resigned to having to do this, but she wouldn't like it...

If Zet was perfectly honest with himself, he didn’t know what to do anymore either. He was doing what he felt was right, making the rest up as he went along. He couldn’t help but smile as she said she didn’t hate or fear him. Before answering her though, he took the mantle off his shoulders that she had returned earlier, and draped it around her . She could cover herself well enough with it, and they could get her some new clothes when they got too the town. “As long as I draw breath, I will do what I must to protect you. I don’t say things like that, if I do not intend to make good on them. Wrap that around you until we can get you some new clothing. You may look like a Krovi for a bit, but that’s not a terrible thing in this town, so you’ll be fine.”

A weird thought came to Kass' head when he spoke of looking like a Krovi, but she brushed it aside. Where did it even come from? Envy, probably, “If only I could do more than look like a Krovi...You're strong and fast, and you don't hesitate to kill bad people...but I'm useless...I don't know why the gem hosts picked me, I'm just a stupid little girl. I can't protect anyone. I can't fight off the bad people. I can't even do what I'm supposed to do and heal anyone. I'm not ready for this...” she whispered, looking away from him. His words comforted her, maybe more than they should have, but she didn't really care. She cast one last glance at the gory scene Zet had left behind, before forcing herself to her feet, “I've held us up enough...if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had to use your power and hurt yourself. Let's just go...”

Zet didn’t make any expressions as she mentioned looking more like a Krovi. “Trust me... it’s not something you want to look like generally. My people are hated. Some order us killed on sight, and we have no choice but to escape without defending ourselves. If we were to defend ourselves, it would just make us look worse to all of Elenia. Please don’t tell yourself that you’re useless. Just because you’re not the best fighter, doesn’t mean you don’t belong with us. A war needs many positions filled. You’ll get the hang of your gem eventually, and then you’ll be stronger then I could ever hope to be. Give yourself some time, and a chance. You’ll be ready when the time calls for it.” As she stood up and began walking, he walked next to her. “Are you sure you’re alright? I can’t even begin to imagine the gem’s affects on the body, let alone the trauma you just witnessed. I can carry you back, if you don’t think you can walk. It would be no trouble. Oh, and don’t blame yourself for my ability. It doesn’t even hurt, and I wanted to get them all done with quickly. I had a backup in case you were attacked and I couldn’t help you though.” Just as he said that Ruby flew out from a nearby tree, perching herself onto Zet’s bad shoulder. He only winced a little as she landed. “This is Ruby. If I couldn’t protect you, she would have.”

Kass was barely listening. To tell the truth, she felt like she was in a haze. Her legs were on auto-pilot, and if she actually stopped to think, she would find she didn't have the strength to stand. Yet she walked. Doing anything else, stopping, thinking, it would make the images come back, make her remember, and she would fall. She wouldn't fall. Zet's encouraging words, simply fell upon deaf ears. She was useless. She was probably the most useless in the group. She couldn't do anything but cry and get into trouble. She would only weigh her new friends down, until she dragged them to their deaths. She wanted to cry, but nothing came out. Maybe she was just too tired to care, too tired to cry. Vaguely, she heard herself mumbled, “I'm fine...I can walk...” before pulling the mantle tight around herself. To be honest...she didn't really feel all that cold anymore. She was drawing on the gem's powers just to stay upright, and she didn't even know it. Maybe it was for the best. Her eyes felt heavy...so heavy... “How long until we get to town...?”

Zet couldn’t actually tell what Kass was thinking, but he could tell that she was barely with him anymore. She was barely even standing. Maybe it was the Gem’s power, maybe she had more will then she thought. Either way, Zet knew exactly what to do. He scooped her up from behind, carrying her in his arms. The wound on his shoulder hurt a bit as he picked her up, but it wasn’t much of a problem. “Not much longer. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to get you and everyone else there in one piece.”

Kass wanted to protest, to say something, but she was just so comfortable in his arms...to be off her feet. But she couldn't sleep just yet. It didn't seem right. A few tears came to her eyes and she shook them away, “I'm sorry I ran away.” She whispered, looking away from him. She gently let her hand touch his face, where blood had begun to bead from the wound on his forehead, “I'm so sorry...”

Zet looked down as she began to speak, but when she touched his face... he didn’t really know how to explain how he felt. Maybe it was because he wasn’t even completely sure himself. “Don’t be sorry you ran away. I understand. It’s been a long day, things are overwhelming, and you got spooked. We’ll get back to the others, make sure they’re all still okay, and then we’ll head to the town so we can all rest for a few days.” He walked a bit further before smiling once more. “For the record you don’t look bad at all in the Krovi colors, not that I can imagine you looking bad in anything... I just... Well they just suit you better then they would others.”

Kass actually felt herself blush a little, “You're a nice guy, Zet...I don't care what anyone else says. You're sweet.” She said, giggling a little. She felt a little better, now. She didn't know why, she just did. Without really thinking about it, she said, “I bet I looked better without the mantle, huh?” She asked, blushing fiercely as she did.

Zet smiled as she said he was a nice guy, but tried to hide the slight blush as she mentioned looking better without the mantle. “As I said before... I don’t think there’s anything that you wouldn’t look good in. Lack of clothing included. You’re a pretty girl.”

Kass blushed and would have said more, but everything just got to her. She mumbled something before finally drifting off to sleep with a small, sheepish smile on her face. No doubt she would have plenty of time to be embarrassed about everything later.

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Ari cursed as the blade found its way into Scarlet's leg. She knelt down, pulling her helmet on over her hair, quickly wrapped a cloth around her wound, and put her hand on Scarlet's shoulder, “Stay down, out of the way.” She said, before standing up and unstrapping her weapon from her back, “Alright. I am tired. I am hungry. Now I am fucking cranky. Which one of you assholes wants to die first!?”

Scarlet nodded to Ari as she said to stay down, but tears began pouring from her eyes. She actually never really did get physically hurt like this before. Emotionally yes, but physically no. The bandits though, self serving as they are, didn’t give a rats ass about her pain. One of them in front of Ari laughed as she threatened them. He threw another dagger, this time at Ari to distract her. “Come and try to kill us. Though I’m pretty sure getting yourself killed won’t help that little skank down there.” He said motioning at Scar, most likely for just how much of her legs were showing in that dress. When Arienna was properly distracted however, a bandit swung down from a tree using some kind of weird grapple hook, grabbing Scarlet and landing out of Ari or anyone else’s attack range. Scar stared at Ari for a moment with fear in her eyes, completely blindsided by what was happening. Less then a moment later, the bandit with Scarlet, as well as the one taunting Arienna earlier, both took off into a different part of the woods.

“I am glad we have a volunteer. I am going to make you really fear a Shadelian soldier.” Ari growled, but the sound of wind rushing behind her caused her to turn her head. By the time she got her bearings on what had happened, both the bandit with Scarlet and the one who had signed his own death warrant were running off into the woods. Ari's teeth grit. Now she was pissed. She wasn't really sure why she was so pissed, but she was. The look of fear in Scarlet's eyes...like she was pleading with her to do something. Why did that bother her so much? Ugh, this stupid friendship nonsense...maybe the noble girl had gotten to her after all. She shook her head and charged down the path after them, without really looking back at the group she was leaving behind. She wasn't even aware of how far she had gotten when she had finally caught up with the bandits, but she kept her weapon at the ready. She didn't even think of the words as they came out of her mouth, “Let my friend go, or I will make you regret the day of your birth.”

As Ari caught up to the bandits, the one holding Scar held a knife to her throat. Standing was not only hard for Scar, but now excruciatingly painful as well. ‘Best be dropping that weapon, unless you want her dead.’ As he finished speaking, about 8 more bandits dropped around them, completely surrounding Arienna. The man holding Scarlet lifted his arm, and ripped Scarlet’s dress, leaving one of her breasts almost hanging out of the now ripped top of the dress. ‘Drop it or not only will I kill this girl, but I’ll make her regret the day of her birth.’ The one that taunted Arienna earlier, removed Scarlet’s earring, checking them out with a smile. Real gold, a very nice thing to find on a target.

Ari glanced around her. This wasn't exactly a favorable situation, especially with Scarlet's life now hanging in the balance of her decisions. She wasn't going to let these fuckers have their sick pleasures, not with her, and not with her friend. The word was weird to her, even now, but it seemed...right. She dropped her glaive and her bag, which still had Whiskers in it. Her billhooks were concealed in the gauntlets of her armor. Before the glaive even hit the ground, the billhook blade was in Ari's hand, caught between two fingers and up over her shoulder. She brought the weapon around, launching it to bury itself right in the bandit's skull, right between the eyes, “You will do no such thing.” She said, the second billhook striking the bandit who had stolen Scarlet's earring right in the middle of his chest. She knew she didn't have time to grab her glaive and get into formation, so she just waited for the blows that she knew were going to come.

Scarlet fell to the ground, almost as quick as the corpses that were closest to her. She watched as the remaining bandits all charged in at Ari, with weapons drawn. She tried to pull the billhook from the man’s skull, but to no avail. She couldn’t get over him, to reach the one in the other guys chest either. Looking around her, she had her bag with her claws in it, but those were too small for Ari to wear. What could she do? .... Ari needed a weapon. The dead bandit that was holding her, had a short sword on his waist. Well, it was better then nothing, right? Working the sword from it’s sheath she watched the bandits close in and attack Ari. “Ari, heads up!” She yelled out, though tears still poured from her face from the pain and the fact that not only was she just threatened with death, but rape as well. She tossed the sword to Ari, but it was a first time, so it didn’t exactly fly nicely. It flew through the air, revolving as it did so. Finally, the blade plunged into the back of a bandit, who blocked the blade from hitting Arienna directly. He yelled out in pain, as the force made him turn around, leaving the hilt easy for Arienna to grab and use, before the corpse fell to the ground. Scarlet was left with a look of horror on her face, for both having just killed the first person she ever had, as well as realizing the blade thrown like that could have hurt Ari, or worse, as well.

As the first bandit came close, Ari gave him a wicked hook to the jaw, shattering the bone under the force of the impact, as well as the metal from her gauntlets. She heard Scarlet call out, but she couldn't exactly stop what she was doing. A second came at her and she put her arm up to block the man's blade, only to hear the sound of metal cutting through flesh behind her. Horror swept through her as she was sure one of the bandits had gone after Scarlet. She turned, afraid of what she might see. Instead, a bandit had a sword sticking from his back. She slid the living bandit's blade down her arm, gripping it in the palm of her gauntlet, keeping him from swinging again, while her other hand grabbed the sword Scarlet had thrown. A mace thundered against the side of her armor, just narrowly missing her free left arm, but she yanked the blade free of the dead man, jabbing it into the man whom had attacked her with the sword. She didn't have time to pull it free, so she just wrenched the blade from his dying hands, turning and stabbing the man who had come at her with the mace, before kicking him back. His corpse took the second sword as well as his own mace with it. That was five men remaining, and she was once again weaponless. In the scuffle, her glaive had been kicked to the side, and she was now surrounded once more by the bandits. No problem, she supposed. As one of the bandits charged, she used his momentum to trip and send him into another bandit, making them fall together in a heap. She leaped for her glaive, grabbed it, and rolled to her feet. She smirked a little behind her helmet. Now they were in trouble. Before they could even realize how much trouble their newest charge was putting them in, Ari moved fluidly, like a dancer, swinging the glaive once and cutting through the first man's tunic and chest, slicing the meat. Without stopping, the second head of her glaive came into contact with the next man in line, leaving him without a head, the blade cutting through the fleshy throat and going between the vertebrae, severing the spinal cord and dropping him like a bag of sand. An upward slash of the first glaive head, fluidly strung in chopped off the next man's arm and her next slash with the second head cut diagonally across his body. She stabbed the last man in the chest, the blade sinking in completely. When he fell to the ground, she twisted and yanked the blade free...wait a second...that was only nine. Where did...?

The last bandit decided to go after the easier target, brandishing his blade at Scarlet. As he approached, something moved up Scarlet's back and attached itself to the man's face. Whiskers bit and clawed at the man, who struggled to get the seemingly rabid animal off. When he finally yanked the cat free, Ari stabbed him in the back, “Let my kitty go.” Whiskers dropped to the ground as Ari kicked the corpse off her blade. After a moment of silence, Ari collapsed.

Scarlet looked on, feeling terrified, highly upset, and useless. She couldn’t even move as the last guy came after her, luckily her life was saved by Whisker’s distracting him. As Arienna fell to the ground though, fear ran through Scarlet’s body. She tried to crawl towards her through the pain, and early stages of the panic attack she was having. “A... a.... a... a... a... a... Ar.... Ari..... A... a... a... are y.... you.... are you okay?”

Ari just rolled over onto her back and let out a sigh, tearing her helmet off of her head. She knew she had to get up, knew she had to help the others, but she was just...too tired. All of her energy was gone, and her adrenaline was dried up. She just rolled her head to look at Scar and smiled a little, “We make a good team, you know. You have my thanks for the sword. I would have been in trouble without it.” That was stretching it a little. Would it have been a terribly horrible situation, no. Would it have been a longer fight, more than likely. But Scarlet looked like she could use some encouragement right now, and it was all she could give at the moment. She sighed again and closed her eyes, trying not to fall asleep, “Gods, I am tired...I have a spare tunic in my bag. It will be too big for you, but you...should make yourself decent. Dry your tears, I am fine. Nothing a good rest will no fix.”

Whiskers licked his fur a few times, before trotting over not to his master, but to Scarlet, and rubbing his head against her leg, before looking up at her, “Mreow?”

Scarlet stayed silent as Ari began to speak. She was okay, and alive... that was the best news. However, Scarlet couldn’t stop shaking. She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing from her eyes. Looking over at Whiskers as it looked at her, she picked it up and pet it a few times, before she finally broke down mentally and fell over to the ground, still protectively holding and petting Whiskers. “I..... They want... wanted to ra..... and then ki..... then I almost ki....” Not even able to finish a statement, though it wasn’t hard to finish them for her, she just began to cry uncontrollably.

Ari shook her head a little, sitting up. After a moment, she crawled her heavy body over to Scarlet and laid a hand on her shoulder. She didn't really know what to say at first, but finally, she spoke, “I am sorry...but this is war. This is what we are, now. You...and I...we are the same. We are soldiers. We are fighters. Death will not be unfamiliar to us. The faster you accept that...well...the faster you will be able to sleep easily.” To tell the truth, that was actually the first human Ari had ever killed as well. It had always been training against Everen, or some of the other soldiers whenever she trained. She never had the opportunity to kill. But it didn't bother her in the slightest. She had seen the dead before. Death itself was no stranger. She was a soldier...a fighter...a protector. This was what she had to do. After another moment's rest, she stood up and retrieved her glaive, sticking it onto her back, putting her helmet into her pack, and threaded her arms through the strap. She stuffed a piece of waded up bread into her mouth and chewed it, before going back to Scarlet and kneeling down. She pulled her spare tunic from her pack and put if over Scarlet's head, taking Whiskers for a moment so the girl could thread her arms through the proper holes. When everything was said and done, she handed Whiskers to Scarlet again, before picking her up. She felt an odd sensation run through her, the need to comfort, “Shhh...it is alright...I have you. You are safe now. Do not think about it. Just know that you are safe, and that I have you.” Scarlet wasn't all that heavy. It wasn't easy to carry the girl, but she did it. She didn't really know how, or why, but she did.

Scarlet was shaking, as the tears kept coming. Ari helping her did help, but she was still freaking out on the inside. After the tunic and things were on properly, and she was in Ari’s arms, the tears began to slowly stop. She did hold on tightly to Whiskers though. “They.... wanted to....” Silence fell as she tried her hardest to stop crying and just calm down. “T... Thank you... for saving me...”

Ari shook her head. Her strides were tired, and she hoped to the gods that the other gem hosts and guardians had been able to clear out the bandits without too many problems. She sort of wished she could be more...comforting than she was. She knew her cold, stiff metal skin wasn't exactly the best thing in the world, but it couldn't be helped, “They wanted to, but now they will never do anything to hurt you or anyone else ever again.” When Scarlet thanked her, she simply smiled a little, shifting Scarlet's weight a little, “We are friends, are we not? It is what friends do for each other, right? I will not let anyone hurt you, Scarlet. You are my only friend...and I will keep you safe. I promise.”

Scarlet tried to smile a little, but in truth her psyche was like swiss cheese right now. Every movement made her skin crawl, every sound made her jump a little, every thought was more terrifying then the rest. “That’s not true... You have Whiskers here too...” She tried to smile, but it just couldn’t for,. She pet Whiskers on the head. “Thank you too...” Looking up at Ari, she began to tear up a bit once more. “I.... I almost... stabbed you.... I’m... I’m so... so sorry....”

Ari smiled down at Scarlet, but this blubbering was...well, it was beginning to annoy her. Still, she remained pleasant, “But you did not. You saved me from being attacked from behind. I thought you threw that like that on purpose. And you need not dread, that blade would never have penetrated my armor. For your first fight, you did well.” She said, giving Scarlet a reassuring squeeze. The girl was lucky. And to tell the truth, she had been lucky as well. The blade would not have penetrated her armor, but it could have knocked her off balance, which could have been dangerous. If those bandits had been well trained...or even had better than shitty leather armor...she could have been in trouble.

Scar’s tears began to stop once more, though she was far from happy, or anything but upset. “I... I didn’t throw it like that on purpose... I... I don’t know how to fight... I’m not very good at it... if you weren’t there I would have been... been... I would have been raped and killed... I never killed anyone before... I never... I’ve never been stabbed before... I just....” She was at a loss for words, so instead she moved her head over, leaning on Ari’s chest plate. The suit of armor may have been cold, and not comforting, but strangely Scarlet felt welcome by it. It was inviting and warm to her. Then again with her fever nearing dangerous ranges, maybe the cool metal just felt good on her skin.

Ari nodded a little, “I have never killed before either...” she said. Another secret she didn't want the others to know about, but she felt she could trust Scarlet with it, “I have been wounded grievously before, by someone who was supposed to love me. He did it on purpose, again, and again, and again. To make me strong. To make me a soldier. I do not feel anything for the deaths of those men. They deserved what they received. And when I kill the man who hurt me so many times before, the man who called himself my father, I will feel nothing as well. Does that make me a bad person? Does it make me any better than them? I do not know. Rest assured, though, Scarlet, that you are my friend, and I understand the weight of that word. I will not let anything happen to you. While I cannot promise complete immunity from the dangers that will befall us, I will say this. You will not die. You will not be assaulted as those men wished. Not while you are my friend. As a warrior, and on my honor, I swear it. Alright?” Did she just say that to make Scarlet feel better, as she had intended...or were her words genuine? She didn't know. She didn't care to think about it now. Not while they were still so far from town, and Scarlet's condition only worsened, “We must get you aid for this fever. I can feel the heat through my armor.”

Scarlet was finally able to smile a little as Ari spoke. “I don’t know what he did to you... but I know you’re a good person... and... I know you’ll be there to help me... when I need it...” She paused for a while longer, thinking to herself. “It’s... supposed to be super strong and intense fire magic, right?... It only makes sense that I get a little hot from it... Not that I needed anything to make me hot...” She said joking a little. She couldn’t tell just how high her fever was, but if Ari could feel it through her armor, well it wasn’t the best of situations. “When I get better... will you help me learn to fight?... I don’t want to be useless anymore... I know I’ll never be as good as you are... but maybe a little help so I don’t... endanger my friends anymore...”

Ari tried to quicken her pace a little, to get back to the others. The Sorian or the other Pyrian, they had to have something to quell a fever. She shook her head a little when Scar spoke about her past, “You do not want to know. That much I can assure you. I have never hated someone as much as I hate my father...and...I have never known fear like the fear I have of him.” She said, almost ashamed. She was a warrior, she wasn't supposed to fear anything...but her father... “Everen Intuneric...a name I hesitate to think about, and especially to say. The fear it strikes into me is like nothing I have ever experienced before...but I will make him pay for everything he has done...one day.” She paused for a moment, closing her eyes, “I will make him pay for you, mother. I swear it.”

She kept her eyes closed for another minute before she looked up again, a new resolve in her eyes, “I will teach you to fight. But...I do not know if I know how.” Again, she felt ashamed to admit it, but the only teaching style she knew was her father's, and she could never inflict that on another living creature, “I will do my best...for now, simply rest. You will not get better working yourself up.”

Scarlet watched on ahead of them as they walked. She wasn’t sure if it was leftover sounds ringing in her ears, or fighting off in the distance, but either way it didn’t matter. She was useless and Ari was too exhausted to fight anymore. Scarlet wondered how she even had the strength to continue helping her now. Part of her also wondered why, seeing as she was such a burden. Why continue helping her? Surely even friendship had to have it’s limits. “One day... I hope you feel comfortable enough... to tell me your story... I will hate him with you... I will try and help your fear of him... I’ll... do my best as... as a...” Scarlet yawned a huge yawn, as her eyes began to blur. She couldn’t see straight anymore, from either the fever or exhaustion, or even both. “.. I’ll do my best as a friend...” As she finished her statement, she lost consciousness. Unclear if from just being far passed even over tired for a young noble woman like herself, or from the gem, but either way she was now asleep.

Ari said nothing as Scar spoke. She was wondering the same things. Why did she continue to carry this girl? Why encourage her? Why not let someone else come get her, she could just as easily drop the unconscious girl and let the panther, or even the wind host come get her. She wasn't heavy. Even the inventor could carry her with relative ease. But she didn't. She just kept walking, just kept carrying Scarlet, until she could see the others. The idea of someone else carrying her, it seemed like a betrayal, almost. To Scarlet, and maybe a little to herself. She looked over the group, and even at this distance, she could tell that nobody was dead, save for the bandits. That was good, right? Before she rejoined them, she whispered one thing to Scarlet, “This is my burden to bear. No one else may bear it for me. I pray you never have to experience his cruelty, or his hate.”

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

Nadanna swore under her breath as she readied her sword. She readied her medical supplies for if anyone got injured and prepared herself for the bandits.

Edwards sighed as he took out his shield and mace. He had dealt with low lives before and these guy would be no different. Two-bit cut throats that will do anything for a bit of coin. Their tactics would be disorganized and their forms sloppy; this would be no challenge.

Ven wasn't exactly prepared for this. He looked around as the bandits closed in on them, “Shit...shit, we have a problem.” He muttered, more for Jet's benefit than his own, “Bandits...all around us. Down four people, split into three groups. Suggestions?” He asked, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small glass vial with luminous liquid inside. He may not have been a very good fighter, but he had ways of dealing with the occasional highwayman that generally didn't require him to lift a finger.

Jet had no idea what was going on until Ven began to speak. Bandits all around, split into three different groups? He heard Zet mention Kassidy, so that meant they were gone. He wasn’t sure who else had left for the other group, but there was little time to consider that now. They had a problem on their hands. “Be a bit of a predicament we be findin’ ourselves in. I can fight without me eyes, but not when allies be around. Tell me where ta be swingin’ and I can be o' some use.”

Monroe stood still, rotating his head around a bit. If he focused, he could use what he had to move one limb at a time, but he’d need to make sure every hit counted. Luckily Terrans had a pretty tough hide at least... “They thinned us out enough. Everyone stay close and don’t let them thin us out more.”

Nadanna held her ground but Edwards sighed and set his mace down. He drew his short sword and just threw it at a bandit, going into his chest. He laughed a little and picked his mace back up.

As if a dam had been opened, Edwards' attack opened the flood gates on the bandits. They surged forward, each targeting a member of the group. Ven cursed and threw the vial at the nearest bandit, which shattered and gave a hissing noise as the bandit's skin seemed to almost fall of his face, looking as though he had been burned in intense heat. Ven cringed a bit at that, but took the opportunity to remove his belt, turning Jet around and moving against him so they were back to back before looping the belt around them and tying it taut, and keeping his wings comfortable and out of Jet's way, “There, we're back to back, and nobody else is around. Can you fight like that, I have to, shit, on your right!” He shouted as a bandit came at Jet. Ven glanced at the others, throwing another vial across the field, hitting a bandit who was coming up on Nadanna from behind.

Jet didn’t exactly like this, and even more so that his movement was restricted to staying back to back as well, though what could he do about it? It wasn’t like he could fight any less restricted with the others around anyway. Although a notice on a weapon would have been nice. Jet pulled out one of his trench knives and swung right, as he heard both Ven’s voice and the sound of the leaves to his right. Luckily that bandit only had a short sword and minimally sliced Jet’s side as he split open the man’s head. Grabbing him by the throat, he pulled him close like a meat shield, and stabbed him in the heart just to be certain he was dead. Holding the corpse close he cleared his throat. “Oi, tell me if they be swingin’ a sword at me.”

Monroe held still and waited for the bandit to come at him. As the one did, he was able to move his arm enough to grasp the blade, and then he mustered up enough strength to grab the bandit by his face. Twisting his body, he slammed the bandit’s head against the nearest tree, falling over after the bandit’s death. This gem was taking it’s toll, even more so then he thought. He couldn’t stand any longer, though after some rest on the ground, he’d be able to walk again most likely.

Shadowmere wasn’t sitting on the sidelines either. She may have been a rather tame animal, but when under attack she wouldn’t hesitate to attack or kill. She did just that. Lunging for the throat wasn’t exactly hard since these bandits weren’t used to fighting one. Panthers came from the other side of the kingdom, so them and any other large cat weren’t a common thing to come across. Within a matter of minutes there were two dead bandits at her feet. One she went straight for the throat, the other had various bites and scratches across their body, before she ripped out the throat. It wasn’t a clean death for any of the bandits, though in fights like this it usually wasn’t.

Edwards didn't have anything else to throw, but he began breaking the bones of whoever came close. One he struck in the chest, knocking him to the ground as blood began to fill his mouth. He kicked him back to his bandit friends and went back on the defense.

Nadanna almost didn't see the bandit that almost took her life. She was stunned, just watching the man fall in front of her, the blade that would have killed her. She looked to Ven with a stunned looked on her face. She swallowed and nodded to him. 'You dumb girl, check everything at all times.' She thought to herself.

Ven kept his hands steady, making sure to check that his new allies were out of the possible splash radius before he threw any more vials. Occasionally he would call out a bandit (and weapon, this time) that would be coming at Jet, but mostly they were kept at bay by himself and the others. As another bandit came at him, he reached into his duster again, only to find that potion tapped out. He cursed again before checking another pocket. While less effective, this potion would work as well. He threw it just in time for the bandit to be half-frozen, the potion freezing almost instantly as it touched the air as the glass shattered against the bandit's chest. Not dead, but definitely not coming at them again any time soon.

Jet took out the bandits as Ven called out, throwing the corpse, and grabbing the new bandit that attacked each time. It was rather said that tied up and blind, and he could still kill these guys only taking a small cut to his side. “Oi, ye best not be droppin’ any o those near us. I can’t be tellin’ what they do boyo, but they don’t sound fun.”

Monroe took a new tactic, this time sitting on the ground. If he could muster his strength into one arm, then he’d still fight. Picking up rocks he started tossing them, like a mini catapult. The accuracy wasn’t the best since he wasn’t in good shape from the gem, but when they hit, they did their job.

As the fight continued, Edwards became a little more bolder, moving away from the group and pushing the attack. As he broke another bandits leg, another jump on his back. Before the bandit even had a chance to stab Edwards, he grunted in pain and threw him off his back and brought his foot down to his neck. He glared as heard the crunch of the bandits neck.

Nadanna rush out and started to pull Edwards back to the group. “You fricken idiot what the hell are you doing?!” She yelled, not noticing the bandit to her side. A clean cut as the sword hit her leg, making her drop to her knee. With a quick jab she gutted the bandit, droped her sword, and grabbed her knee. Edwards looked to her and took one of her arms away from her leg and dragged her back to the group. In pain, Nadanna started to try and stop the bleeding as the battle went on.

Ven was trying to keep up with the bandits, and most of them were dead by now (or frozen, which was good enough for him) but he was quickly running out of potions. Finally, the last was exhausted, and all he could do was stand there. That was when he heard Nadanna shouting about...something. He glanced away and saw her being dragged back by the other Sorian, “Shit. Alright, uhm...I'm gonna cut you loose, alright big guy? Just uh...don't do...something, we've got wounded. Come here kitty, look after your master, okay?” He said, quickly untying the sash from himself, before slathering some salve onto it and tying it around Jet again, covering the man's wound, “Right, that's fixed...kind of.” He was now pretty much useless anyway, when it came to fighting, so at the very least he could keep his fellow guardian from bleeding to death. He stooped by her side as she tried to stop the bleeding, “What can I do to help?”

Jet wasn’t sure what was going on, but apparently he was being ditched by Ven. Not that he really needed that much help at this point if Shadowmere was around. Jet closed his eyes, trying to see if he could hear a difference in footsteps, but it was just too hard to tell who was who. At least until he opened his eyes. His vision was poor, but there was a bit of it. He could see shapes. Outlines of people. Enough of an outline to know if they were one of the people that were in the group or not at least. At least he thought so. "Oi, Shadowmere. Bite me if I attack an ally.” Shadowmere gave a small growl, acknowledging him. At least that’s what he assumed as he charged at the bandits. Shadowmere covered his back as she usually did, and at least many of the bandits charged him rather then him having to guess. It wasn’t exactly hard for him to kill them. He trained himself in speed, and accurate attacks, even if he couldn’t see very well.

Edwards stood firm to defend the girl that pulled him back. She was only trying to help and she got hurt because he was stupid. Nadanna looked at the Sorian. “Just tie this rag around my leg as I block the wound!” She shouted as she grit her teeth in pain. Why did she have to play hero all the time, it never ends will for her.

Ven didn't question, doing as he was told. After all, she was the medic. Once that was done, he looked around. The bandits were now pretty much dead, and by the looks of it, the other two pairs were making their way back as well, with Zet carrying Kass, who looked to be unconscious, with Arienna and Scarlet in a similar situation, though Scarlet's leg was still bleeding. He focused back on Nadanna, though, “Now what?”

Arienna trudged into the camp, only to see the medic and Sorian inventor preoccupied. She sank to her knees and gave a sigh of exhaust. She finally lay Scarlet on the ground and gave a few dry wheezes. Her energy was gone entirely, “After that, I do not...think it is too much to ask for a break, yes?”

After all the bandits were either unconscious or dead, Jet sat on the ground with Shadowmere at his side. “Oi, we all still breathin’?” Jet’s best guess was that they all were, but it wasn’t like he could actually tell. After all, even seeing outlines, he had no clue who sustained what injury.

Zet arrived back with Kass, just moments after Arienna arrived back with Scarlet. Though it seemed they had similar situations, although Scarlet was hurt a bit physically and the bandits were probably a lot less personal with Arienna. Zet held onto Kass. He could carry her for hours if he needed to.

“I’m no medic but it looks like everyone here pulled through. We do have time to rest, but not very much. There’s more then just one group of bandits made up of 50 or so men in these woods. We’re only a half an hour away from town. We’ll be safe soon, the bandits hardly even come much closer than this to it.”

Nadanna continued to slow the bleeding as best she could, but she needed to stitch up the wound. From her bag she got everything ready and looked to the Sorian. “I need you do take the rag off and...arrr...hold the wound close together...” She grunted as she laid her leg flat. As the Sorian did what she asked, she began stitching. She looked up to him and nodded. “Thank you...”

Edwards didn't stop guarding Nadanna and Ven till the all clear was given. This happens every time he goes off on his own when he is in a group, someone got hurt on his fault. He sighed and looked down to Nadanna. “I'm sorry.” He said before walking to a tree and leaning up against it.

The mismatched group, for what else could one call such a group, rested. Each did their own thing, watching over those they thought of as friends, checking those they called allies, and just resting amongst the corpses of the fallen. After about an hour of recuperation, the group began to walk again. Zet carried Kass, Ari carried Scarlet, Ven helped to support Nadanna, and Jet was able to lean on Shadowmere to guide him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, they came upon the town, which accepted the weary traAvelers after a few moments scrutiny. Each showed their thanks to gods above in their own way, or didn't at all, but all were thankful for the fact that, for the moment, they were safe. Pooling what money they had, they gave the inn owner a fine bit of coin to stay (a few people had taken it upon themselves to gather coins from the fallen bandits, though who had done so was truly a mystery) but in the end, they all ended up in their own rooms, on their own beds. And one by one, they proceeded to pass out.