Pyrrha glanced around, but was pretty easily sucked into the words uttered by Raz. Bloo continued to search for signs, himself, but it was pretty obvious from the tilt of his head that he was equally interested in the revelation. She frowned, serious for the moment as the dragon spoke through Razhiel. She knew a dragon, and she knew how a dragon thought and spoke. Razhiel was more closely tied to a dragon than she cared to admit. The words sounded like distant memories - and angry ones at that. "Your dragon... she sounds almost as angry as Lady Belfyire..."
She had more to say, but she was distracted by Raz's gaze. "You're after that sword?" She didn't have the same senses as Razhiel. For all intents and purposes she was a normal human with fancy training and a couple of fancy gadgets. Save for her magic-nullifying abilities, of course.
Bloo yipped, still sitting on Raz's shoulder after finishing his sniffing fest. The yip was questioning, but the accompanying growl said he could smell something off about the magic in the sword. The items were slowly being revealed, but there was no sign of the egg. "... Aw... My shot in the dark isn't going so well..." she wilted a bit.
They eventually revealed the final item, and judging by the fact that it was ankh shaped item, she seriously doubted that was it. "Yep... all that work for nothing. Back to square one," she muttered. The small drake flew to her shoulder as if to comfort her.
The down mood didn't last long though; Pyrrha turned to Raz, a small grin on her face. "Well, I guess since you're here it's not a complete waste of time," she patted Bloo on the head, jerking her head vaguely in the direction of where the sword in the box was now sitting. "Since I'm here, let's get you that sword. What do you need it for, anyway?"
Razhiel gave a quiet, very un-princess like snort. “She is angry about a great many things,” she muttered. At the drake’s growl, Razhiel reached up absentmindedly scratching under his chin. She could feel it as well. Merely nodding in reply to Pyrrha’s question, her gaze flicked from the stage to the pay out counters, behind the stage to the few guards that mingled amongst the crowd.
Turning as the drake flew back to his owner, she was a bit surprised at Pyrrha’s willingness to help out despite her own artifact not being there. “The sword is imbued with dark magic of some kind. I won’t know until I touch it or it presents itself. Anything from a curse to a demon. Since it is in a glass box and given the description, it probably presents itself when someone holds it… My job is to destroy it or obliterate the dark magic.” Loud laughter had her side glancing at the crowd before continuing. “Most people do not care, so long as they can make a profit. They won’t care until say that man decides to handle his newly acquired blade and ends up slaughtering his wife, neighbors, and others until he is stopped. Or he becomes possessed by a demon.”
While talking she had taken a small stone out of her pocket and was rolling it in her palm with her thumb. Ever since her encounter with Larke, there wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t handle the stone. It had become habit, especially while thinking. “I can create the distraction, if you wish to obtain the blade?” What she was contemplating would cause her to not be able to visit Cross Town for a long while but that just made her grin even more.
Pyrrha was not the biggest fan of dragons being angry. She'd lived her entire life under Belfyire, and considering she was basically her current favorite dracoknight for some unknown reason, she had always enjoyed being in the creature's good graces, even if she as a child had tried the dragon's patience at times. She didn't comment on the anger - she knew better than to try the patience of the creatures.
Instead, she listened to Razhiel describe the sword and why she needed to obtain it. It was evil, possibly cursed, or possibly possessed by a demon, or... something. Pyrrha flexed her left hand and gave the young woman a big, already triumphant-seeming grin. "Well, lucky I showed up~" she took off her glove and showed off the tattoo on her hand. "This right here lets me nullify the magic in just about anything, so long as the magic is, well, active. So it might just be your ticket to turning that big bad sword into an ordinary rusty decoration," she giggled.
"By the time anyone knows what's going on, the sword should be perfect for the man to take home safely." Bloo himself gave a reassuring growl. He certainly seemed to have confidence in Pyrrha's abilities if nothing else. Well, okay there were other things, but it was hard not to have some sort of semi-antagonistic relationship with Pyrrha.
Razhiel grinned in reply, this girl was fun. She looked curiously at the dracoknight tattoo, even leaning a bit forward. It was intricate and beautiful. “Active huh? Nullify any magic; that is quite powerful especially against someone who relies strictly on their magic.”
Straightening, she gave a half smirk. “Lucky indeed.” Her own way would have been pure force of magic, which would be costly in magic and come down to who was stronger- the entity in the blade or her. Most often than not, the object would be destroyed in the process. With the knight, it would be clean and efficient. Who needs a devil slayer when you have a magic-eater.
Turning to the crowd, she rubbed her hands together. The stone she had in her palm was already pocketed once more. “It is going to be loud and we may have to meet outside of town afterwards.” Why did the thought of stirring up templars and guards alike bring her an intense amount of amusement? Authority issues, deeply rooted to the Valland take down or maybe the dragon… maybe a bit of both.
“The sword is still behind the stage, the man has not claimed it yet. You will have to get back there, work your magic, and get out while I am still distracting. In the event that complications arise, improvise as you see fit. Any questions?” Not the best of plans, if you can consider ‘Just improvise’ a plan.
Post by Pyrrha Drakos on Aug 31, 2015 15:02:57 GMT
Pyrrha put the glove back on over her hand. It wasn't able to stop the magic nullifying abilities of the mark, and she generally preferred to keep the mark covered. In her mind it was more like a birth mark than a tattoo, considering she'd been born with it, and she only really showed it off when it was important to do so. Or at least something she thought should be addressed. She put her game face on, looking around at the security around the auction. Not far away would be Templars. If she did this right, no one would suspect she had anything to do with it. She did want to come back to town if required, after all.
Bloo recognized the look on Pyrrha's face and took off to find somewhere nice and safe to watch the action from. "I can get behind the stage no problem," she told the redheaded woman. She put her hand on her weapon folded behind her back; it was there as always, but she wanted to make sure just in case people didn't take her saving them kindly. her brown eyes shifted to Raz, winking at her with a grin on her face. "Let's make some noise."
Without waiting for Raz to start, she moved deftly through the crowd off to a side. Attention would be brought to Razhiel, and that meant being further away would make her own job that much easier. This wasn't what she'd come here for, but she didn't mind getting to do something else important. At least it wouldn't be a big waste of time, right?
Razhiel winked back turning away as the girl took off. Did she actually have a plan? No. She chuckled quietly to herself. It had rained here about a day ago, she could tell as she sent questing tendrils of magic into the wood nearby. The wood was still wet enough on the inside to do the job. The trick would be to do it without hurting bystanders. While she enjoyed stirring the hornets’ nest when it came to the Templars, she did not enjoy hurting people. Though, her distractions would probably scare a few.
Which led her to her first objective- not being seen as the enemy right away, if at all.
Though the knight had come in search of a specific artifact, which proved to not be there, Razhiel was glad to have the help. Maybe she could repay the gesture and help in the girl’s search.
The first distractions, she knelt on one knee as if to tie her shoe. Fingers brushed the ground, currents sent racing along positive pathways until they reached the three empty barrels to the left of the stage. Enough current, steam began to escape from the cracks in the wood. Suddenly they burst apart into pieces with resounding cracks. Her head had been bowed as if concentrating on her shoe but the moment the barrels exploded she looked up in surprise like a normal, non-involved person would.
The moment the barrels exploded, she called upon Fulgur Lupus. The lightning canine appeared not far from her. “Weave. No bystanders. Call. Return. Tackle.” A mix of rushed words, images passed between and the beast took off. Made of lightning his steps were not quiet, his head easily reaching five feet. The beast dashed away, Razhiel jumped back as if afraid. He began to weave throughout the crowd. Gasps, running, and chaos accompanied him especially as he howled, muzzle to the sky as thunder echoed.
Post by Pyrrha Drakos on Aug 31, 2015 20:38:55 GMT
And then it was off. With a loud crack barrels exploded as a beast of magical lightning appeared. Even had he not been Razhiel's own creation his general makeup would have made him of little concern to Pyrrha, but in this case, he was a great way to get people to turn heads. The teenage dracoknight moved forward through the crowd, easily escaping notice as she bobbed and weaved through the panicking.
When she finally arrived, things didn't appear to be as easy as they should have been; There were guards there to guard the boxes, yes, but they hadn't exactly stayed at their posts when a lightning creature appeared out of nowhere and exploded the barrels around them. In their place, a few people were rifling through the goods. One of them was holding the sword in the box - a man who had obviously been handed the large object and was impatiently waiting for the female he was accompanying. "Come on! You saw the auction! This sword alone is worth over half a million Jewels! Now grab your crap and let's go before the Templars get here!"
Pyrrha, unfortunately for everyone involved, was in the way of the pair as the woman finally agreed to leave. "Put the sword down! These items belong to whomever bought them! Probably!" she had to add the last part because who knew how many were taken from places without permission; either way they most certainly didn't belong to these guys.
"Oh yeah? What, you think you can get in our way, little girl?" the man asked her, obviously taunting. "This stuff is ours and no kid is gonna take it!"
The woman hit the man with her elbow, causing him to flinch and drop the case. "You idiot, you have a sword in the box. She just one girl, if she won't get in the way, use it!"
The man gulped and nodded, reaching down to take off the lid. Before he could, Pyrrha had drawn her own weapon in rifle form to fire an impact bullet at him, knocking him roughtly to the ground. Well, that wasn't exactly the subtle she had been going for. At least it was loud enough people might not notice it? Yeah right. "Don't touch the sword," she told the woman, who held out her hands and backed up.
"Just let us go," she pleaded with Pyrrha. "We just want the items. It's not like someone else didn't steal these first, right? We don't want to hurt anyone."
Pyrrha frowned. She couldn't just let them get away with the sword. "If you drop everything and leave now I'll let you go," she told them. If they didn't take the sword or steal anything, what did she care?
"Of course!" the woman moved forward reaching into her pockets to take out some of the smaller objects she'd pocketed while the man hurried her. "Here, all yours," she held out the objects, but before Pyrrha could react, she reached back and kicked the case holding the sword over, causing it to spill out onto the ground next to her male companion. He reached out for the sword; there was nothing Pyrrha could do about it quickly enough save for let out a gasp.
Things were going well on her end, considering there was a current max exodus throughout the auction. Though that did pose a problem, since once it was empty there would be her, her beast, and a ton of guards. She could technically leave, her beast would dissipate after enough damage but she needed to ensure the dracoknight left before she did. That was when she heard the gun shot. A few of the guards heads turned towards the stage. A low whistle and the beast’s head turned towards her before running at a full stretch. Lighting struck from the sky and hit the top of the highest poles eliciting screams from people in their continuous rush. The guards and those citizens who thought they could help attempted to throw spells at the lightning beast but most were afraid they would hit bystanders.
The beast ran and tackled Razhiel. They went down in a rolling heap. It was like two people wrestling, except one was a huge lightning canine. His growls reverberated off the stones. Razhiel’s own expression was feral as her lips lifted in a silent snarl. It was all for show of course but they were honestly trying to see who could best the other. He was her partner of sorts, so of course it was never tested. Why not now? She was in the middle of tossing the beast a few feet from her using her slayer strength when she felt it. The presence of dark magic increased tri fold.
When the man’s grip tightened around the hilt of the sword, it began to hum as if coming to life. The shining dark grey of the blade became enveloped in a transparent shadow. The shadow pulsed, alive somehow as it curled and uncurled along the length of the blade and a tendril reached up, curled around the man’s wrist and latched on. The man’s pupils seemed to dilate as he expressed short, shallow pants with his head bowed. Suddenly he was standing, his movements jerky. He lunged, with each swing of his sword, the dark magic around the blade pulsed, its hunger felt in the air. A quiet, cold laugh escaped the man’s throat, a half grin shy of crazy.
Post by Pyrrha Drakos on Sept 2, 2015 14:27:11 GMT
"Well... that's unsettling..." Pyrrha muttered to herself as the man began chuckling in a rather unnatural way. Even the woman looked at him funny, backing away a few steps. It apparently wasn't normal. Pyrrha flipped her rifle, transforming it into its spear mode.
"What's with the crazy laughing?" the woman asked the man, obviously unsettled as well. "C'mon, you're like twice her size, just swing the thing around a bit and scare the kid off alright?" Despite what she said, she was now a good ten feet from him, gripping her stolen goods tightly.
The man didn't answer, but he did turn his head to look at her in an unsettling jerking motion, as if he weren't used to moving his own body. The laughing intensified even as the cold feeling of dark magic permeated the air; even Pyrrha could feel it. Something wasn't right, and after talking to Raz, she was pretty sure she knew what it was. Unfortunately, she'd never fought a demon possessed man before; was she supposed to separate him from the sword? Would touching him or the sword fix it at this point? She just hoped the idiot wasn't going to get himself or other people killed for touching it.
She wasn't prepared for how fast the man could move despite his jerky motions. Actually, it seemed with each passing moment the demon possessing the man was getting more and more used to the body. He charged Pyrrha ferociously, swinging the sword so hard that Pyrrha stepped back multiple steps despite blocking the sword with her metal spear. She let out a surprised squeak as it happened, only able to block again and again as the demon assaulted her. This so wasn't good.
The hair on the back of her arms stood up, deep inside, her body thrummed with an unknown sense that had her focused solely on the unseen area behind the stage. Razhiel’s gaze jumped from guard to guard. They were now watching her, since after she threw the lightning wolf they both stopped and turned to look towards the back of the courtyard. The gig was up. And it seemed her game was called.
She needed to take care of the dozen guards/well to do citizens. The harsh tone of blade on metal reached her ears. Since the beast was silent, the courtyard stilled and sound was easy to catch. Consecutive clangs had her striding forward. Despite hearing it as well as she, three guards made to block her way. Turning her head to the side she barked out, “Faunus, Impetum. Custodium.” Without hesitation the beast jumped over the heads of the guards blocking her way, his leaping bounds sending him across the courtyard in seconds. His jump had the three in front of her ducking which provided her with the distraction she needed to provide them with an unforeseen nap. Her foot snapped out, the tip of her boot catching one’s chin with enough power to send him sprawling.
Faunus crashed through the tent, his aim to smash into the blade. If only to distract the demon from the dracoknight. He paid no attention to the woman clutching her stolen goods. His orders were clear- attach and guard. And right when it was starting to get fun with Razhiel, the demon shows up to ruin it. Arcane eyes focused on the human. Without needing to be told, he knew the vassal was to not be harmed if it could be helped.
She ducked under a fist and came back up with her own upper cut. It seemed, since she had not shown her magic yet they were reluctant to use theirs. Maybe they thought it was all from the beastly wolf. Which… why did they not chase after him? Four lay upon the ground, unconscious already. How long they stayed that way, she was unsure. A smack landed across her cheek. She pressed a hand to it with a mock gasp, “You just smacked a girl!” It gave her current attacker pause who responded, “So? I’m a girl to.” Razhiel shrugged, “Oh, right.” And kicked the girl in the stomach, sending her falling to the ground gasping. Who smacked in a fist fight?
Post by Pyrrha Drakos on Sept 3, 2015 19:17:28 GMT
It might have sounded either concerning or fun to Pyrrha if she could hear the commotion going on on the other side of the stage. She was, however, rather distracted by the demon that seemed to be getting more and more powerful (and more unsettling somehow!) with every passing moment. She had been completely on the defensive the entire time, and while Raz had been messing with the slappy woman, the female thief had managed to get herself stuck to the stage using some weird demonic magic because she wouldn't shut up about the man not acting like 'some weird crazy possessed person' ...which was ironic.
The dracoknight knew she needed to do something; she couldn't stay on the defensive and forever and hope to win, but the demon was actually rather fast. Her own finely honed reflexes and her jump boots had helped even the odds, but she was out of breath. She had only been in a few live combat scenarios before, and before now they had only been with bandits. Demons were scary!
"Okay, you!" Pyrrha blocked a swing as she transformed her spear into gun mode, catching the blade and throwing it aside using the clockwork weapon's momentum. She activated her jump boots as it finished, firing the gun both to try and disable the man and to push herself back even faster in her less braced state. It seemed to work; she suddenly had about twenty feet between herself and the demon, which she wasted little time in using to fire off a few more shots as it closed in.
The next moment, a lightning canine was joining the fray, attacking the demon, who stopped its almost cocky swagger in Pyrrha's direction to block the canine's teeth before kicking it off so it couldn't tear the blade from him. The demon itself seemed either unwilling or unable to talk; he hadn't said a word, instead just laughing or chuckling disconcertingly, which had had its own strange effect - apparently it had some sort of magical demoralizing effect that Pyrrha couldn't dispel without touching him or something. She was feeling an unnatural fear that she knew was compounding the healthy fear she'd already felt.
The demon seemed to want to focus on her more than the dog, which allowed the creature to latch on several more times, once almost even managing to take the blade. Was it stupid? Was it fixated on her for a specific reason? Or did it think she'd summoned the dog and could take care of both of them at once?
Pyrrha's gun transformed once more as the Demon got closer, the dracoknight taking an involuntary step back as the hollow feeling of helplessness sought to take hold in her mind. She knew she needed to attack; between herself and Raz's backup she should be able to at least get the sword away from the demon... but that would require getting closer on purpose. She didn't want that. "Stay back... I'm warning you..." she told it bravely, despite the cold sweat forming on her forehead.
The resonating gun shots and growls from her beast had her rethinking her strategy of not using magic. Bystanders be damned. This would not have happened had they not sold whatever they wanted willy nilly. Two of guards turned and began to walk towards the tent. “Hey!” A yell that echoed off the stage. Everyone turned towards her and were suddenly blinded as a bright light erupted from her. A few moans and groans, some shouts as they fell to their knees or blindly walked with hands stretched.
Pushing one person on the forehead, he fell back with a squeak. Boots ate the dirt as she sprinted towards the chaotic mess. As she closed the distance her boots pushed off the ground, and pushing with everything she had, she lunged. As she flew through the sky, Faunus lunged as the demon closed the distance between him and Pyrrha. The demon swung the blade and as it connected with Faunus’ side the beast shattered into tiny pixels before those were nowhere to be seen. It left the demon open as she crashed into his side sending them both to the ground.
Stopping in a skid, Razhiel jumped to her feet while releasing the blade from her back. The red dragon scythe snapped open with an audible click. The man had fallen on his side, a sprawl of limbs. It was almost as if he was knocked out when suddenly he was no longer on the floor and the tell tale whistle of a blade was heard as it descended upon her. She stepped to the side, her own movements pushed to the max regarding speed as she used her devil slayer reflexes and her lightning magic. The blade of her scythe hit the side of his blade, putting him off balance, even if only for a moment, as his blade continued with his downward momentum. Without missing a beat, she swung the scythe in a diagonal slash.
With unnatural strength, the demon brought his sword straight up and caught the scythe on the shaft. His blade slide forward until it could go no further and stopped at the junction between shaft and the blade of her weapon. Locked. He pushed up, she pushed down. The tip had made a shallow cut on his cheek. During this entire blade dance, he would tilt his head and regard her curiously. Though she felt the fear that rose to the surface at the sight of him, it slipped off her like water. The only noises he made was unnatural laughter mixed with clicks and the odd tilt of his head at different angles. A snap decision she let go of her blade suddenly. Without the tension his arms shot up and her blade went sailing behind him. She stepped in, her body almost touching his as her hands vise gripped his wrists. A feral grin as she starred at him, seeing something within her eyes he hissed. “Grab the sword!” The dark tendril that snaked around his wrist had allowed him to hold onto the blade when it would have been wretched from his grip by now.
Pyrrha had braced for another encounter with the creature. he was getting stronger, and no matter how good Pyrrha was, she was still a fifteen year old girl with very little true combat experience. It was both a surprise and a relief when a certain princess of somewhere replaced the dog that had been shattered in the demon's attack.
She fought viciously, and for a moment Pyrrha was too stunned by the sudden display of power to move, herself. She snapped out of it though, when Razhiel yelled "Grab the sword!" She shook her head, feeling some of the fear clearing from her mind as she acted again. Was it Razhiel? Was the demon losing strength? Or had she overcome it? Pyrrha had no way to know and no time to dwell on the question as she surged forward, jump boots propelling her faster than she could have ever gone with her lack of magical enhancement.
The demon struggled, but Pyrrha landed her hand on the flat of the blade, by some miracle actually not getting cut when she did. Things happened rather suddenly from there; there was a flash and a feeling of dark energy that could almost be seen virtually imploding in on itself. The demon was no longer laughing, but instead screaming. It seemed that she'd nullified the binding magic in the sword and without it, the demon wasn't able to stay where it was. An explosion of magical energy surged outward, knocking Pyrrha backwards, the sword following suit. Pyrrha didn't know quite what happened next - she remembered a sudden pain as she collided with the stage head first, and then unconsciousness.
He fought hard, trying to get her to let his arms go. She could feel the build up of dark magic as he prepared something nasty. That was when the dracoknight touched the blade. Razhiel could not describe exactly what it felt like. It was like transference since the knight touched the blade and the man held the blade and she held the man. It was like a wall had been erected between her and her magic. A split second to analyze before the dark magic almost became palpable. Looking into the screaming man’s face, she saw a darkened shadow within the depths of his eyes. It began to burn and suddenly everyone was thrown backwards. The second the knight let go of the blade, Razhiel erected an electrifying shield. It looked like a spherical net that surrounded her. It provided her with enough cushion that though she was slammed into a wall, she felt merely out of breath.
Standing, she took in the scene and whistled low in appreciation. There was debris everywhere as everything within a ten foot radius was thrown backwards. The dracoknight lay upon the ground with the sword next to her. Lucky it did not get propelled closer. Striding to it, she placed her hand upon the sword. She felt nothing, just the cold steel beneath her fingers. Good. Two fingers placed on the girl’s neck. Alive but unconscious and by the look of the cut on her head it was clear why. The woman thief lay crumpled against the stage. It seemed when the magic imploded so did whatever was holding her to the stage. She placed her fingers on both the woman’s neck and the man’s. Both were alive. Amazingly the man was still alive, he would need medical attention. With the raucous the guards were making, they would be here in five seconds. Razhiel however would not be.
Kneeling by the dracoknight, she scooped the young woman into her arms. It would be bad manners to leave her to fend for herself against a strange country’s police force. “Hey.” “You, right there.” “Don’t move.” A few people shouted at her. A second thought for the little drake somewhere… He would have to follow somehow or they would come back. A glance over her shoulder, violet orbs narrowed as she regarded them with her most haughty expression. A net similar to the shield she made appeared. The difference was this one spanned from the stage to the wall blocking her pursuers from going forward. It crackled warningly for those stupid enough to touch it. Without a backward glance she ran. She would not be able to jump exceedingly high with her carrying another so it was a matter of out sprinting and out thinking once they gave chase again.
Post by Pyrrha Drakos on Sept 4, 2015 21:27:33 GMT
"Owww..." The world blurred back into being as Pyrrha opened her eyes. Her head absolutely throbbed for some reason that she couldn't even begin to remember at the moment. "What happened?" she asked no on in particular. She was greeted by the nose of Bloo, who hadn't wasted any time showing up the moment Pyrrha had stopped being moved. A small, pained chuckle escaped her lips as she scooted up and patted the drake. The world came back into view and she reached up, feeling the bandages on her head. It was probably fortunate she'd had some first aid things in her pack; she suspected that was where the items were from.
"Wait..." her eyes opened wide and Pyrrha stood up rather suddenly, wobbling a bit as she scooped up the drake and looked around. They were in an alleyway. Things were quiet now - much quieter than she remembered. "What happened? Did we do it?" she looked around frantically. "Where's that one girl?" The drake looked around as well, but he let out a low 'mrph' noise as he bobbed his head in her direction. "Oh. Wow I must have hit my head harder than I thought." she shook it as if she'd completely missed her companion. "You saved me? Thanks!" she nodded.
Last Edit: Sept 4, 2015 21:29:43 GMT by Pyrrha Drakos
