Snippet #1452800

Laeral, Jurial Plains

It was unfortunate, but most of his group were very shut-in socially. Aside from the Human Beserker, (who he liked) most of them remained relatively quiet and formal- something that surprised the Deep Human. He was surprised that he seemed so average among them. A blind spellcaster, a Nightmarian dragonfly, a several humans... He shook his head. However, now was not the time to be thinking nonsensical thoughts. He had become tentative acquaintances with Caine the Beserker, and Gilleas Arkha, which was a good start considering the small size of their legion. Like the others, he had formed up and paid close attention to the Captain.

The descriptions of the Children seemed very glorifying, and in these times nobody bothered trying to sugar-coat things. Kisikoni immediately tensed up- these opponents were not to be underestimated. He wasn't too sure if there was a difference, however, in magic and the ability to shoot dragonfire. Sure, there weren't any exterior tricks, but with dragonfire that can burn Nightmarian armor, it was almost too much to compensate for lack-of-magic. He tried calming the butterflies in his stomach. None of the training he was given back at base camp covered how to deal with dragonfire, just that avoiding it would be the best move.

Kisikoni took his ten minutes like everyone else- to suit up and find a partner. He picked the light Live Armor, because his style was very quick and focused more on his agility. Much of what he learned for self-defense relied on the ability to react, which would be hampered by heavier armor. He brought his own weapons- the Butterfly Swords and his personal crossbow. Comparing to the one he saw with his commander, Sid, Kisikoni's was much longer. He debated whether bringing it into battle would be viable. He decided that he had already carried it with him a majority of the way- and it was quite possible that he'd never make it back to Laeral to retrieve it. He looked into the available arms supply, and took with him a supple double-edged dirk. It would serve as a useful last-ditch weapon. He sheathed it to his lower leg. He was finished within the ten minutes, but only mere seconds after was he called to begin the march.

Falling in under his commander's group, he remembered what Captain Wrath had mentioned. A partner would be very, very useful when combating dangerous opponents such as the Children. He realized that both Gilleas and Caine had partnered up- which gave him the opportunity to get to know the rest of the group. Unfortunately, most of them consisted of female elves. The rest were mostly dark elves. He chuckled mentally as he assessed his position. Now, he was the outsider in this. To be honest, he was more familiar with the elves than the dark elves-who tended to be loners. He felt that he would have a better chance if he asked a elf to partner up. Most of the other legionnaires had already begun pairing up- but a particular group of three had caught his attention. Sure, two of them were dark elves, but with an odd number it was worth a shot.

"Sorry to interrupt, ladies." He said as carefully as he could, when the opportunity presented himself. "My name's Kisikoni Ayalen of the Deep Humans. I, er, am worried about the upcoming battles and," He decided to get to the point, "I need a partner to cover me." He smiled easily, trying not to let his butterflies get the better of him.

---

???

"Curses, cut off again." Mercy Yan'vega muttered. Two more Children had cut her off again, trying to trap her in the forest. However, such close quarters was a spider's domain, and forests came as naturally to her as a sword went with a shield. Her life in Ecclavaria had seen to it. She scurried up a tree, and as the quickest member of the children climbed up after her she dropped and slammed his head onto a branch. THe branch broke, and the child's head bent to an unnatural angle. Before she could go any further, two more Children had caught up. She spun her whip, keeping both at bay as they exchanged glancing blows with the web of steel.

The Child struggled on the branch, but with Mercy's legs pinning him down he could not call upon any sort of supernatural power. Especially due to the magic-repellant ability of the Nightmarian shell. When the two Children backed off, Mercy too the opportunity to dip her head down. Almost as graceful as a kiss, suddenly her fangs flashed and flesh was torn from the Child's throat.

"Ohhh, tasty." She whispered. Actually, it was rather spicy. Must be the influence of the dragons. If it were a real Dragon, Mercy would probably be spewing her own flames, and not because she became a Child herself. It was replenishing, actually. It focused her mind due to the prickling spiciness. Kicking the Child off the branch, she heard a crunching sound come from the ground below. She grinned and took off into the trees once more. They were getting a little angry. Magic and fireballs were few and far inbetween now, so she assumed that being killed wasn't in their plans. She used her legs, and swung down from a branch to snag a Child following her from below and strangling him. The Child wordlessly struggled against Mercy's unrelenting hold, and the chain-whip itself was unyielding in it's nature. Holding the Child up, another lunging enemy sliced into the Child's side with a nasty-looking killij. She laughed, pushing the limp Child caught in her whip into the other, knocking them both on the ground.

It had been more than two days of straight action, and Mercy was strung up on Child-flesh and Adrenaline. She holstered her whip, drawing her Kusarigama. She wasn't going to let them touch her without a good ol' fight. "Come and get some, boys." She taunted, waving her abdomen at the dark forest, light filtered by the canopy above her. Two Children jumped at her, and she rolled to the right and let them twist to dodge each other mid-jump. One had a black ball connect with his head, and the other charged in. The blade in his hand flashed, but was quickly maneuvered away and the Child felt a curved blade gut him. The child stumbled back, looking around wildly.

The Nightmarian had already fled the scene as both children recovered slightly and continued chase. They silently cursed Zakair- why couldn't they just kill her?