Are you my mummy? (Eilidh, Leona, job)

Eilidh took in the surrounding forest with a pensive expression on her face. I have really got to stop taking jobs in the cursed lands... In all honesty Eilidh hadn't wanted to take this job, and had been deliberately trying to avoid even considering any jobs in the cursed lands, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her and when she saw the request for aid from a little girl in a village actually IN the cursed lands...

Familiar faces twisted by dark magic fade into sight as the shambling corpses of childhood friends stagger from the burned husks of buildings, their moans filled with blame "Why didn't you help us? You were supposed to protect us!"

Eilidh shook her head violently, bringing herself out of her personal nightmare, ever since she'd gone to the cabin and found her friend she'd been seeing that scene when she slept or allowed her thoughts to drift, horribly afraid of what had happened to her village since she'd been forced to leave and wanting desperately to go investigate but not willing to without some backup.

It was that scene that forced itself to the front of her mind when she'd seen the posting for this job to help a village that could so easily been her own, but just like she wasn't willing to take on whatever curse had hit her village alone she also wasn't willing to take this alone, especially since it was posted for a mage much stronger than she herself was, but when she'd gone around the guild asking for someone to back her up she certainly hadn't expected to get the guild master herself as a partner!

Eilidh cast a glance at Leona, unsurprisingly Eilidh saw none of the anxiety that she was feeling in her posture. Though then again, Eilidh would be surprised if it did show, Leona was a leader, and from her own training Eilidh knew that a leader was supposed to be the support that her followers confidences were built on, if she showed any weakness then that weakness would reflect back into the guild causing it to decay from within.

Having enough magical power to flatten the entire forest probably didn't hurt either.

Speaking of leadership, Leona being willing to actually go out on a mission with her guild members like this did a lot to wipe away Eilidh's concerns that Leona was a selfish leader who only led for her own benefit and power. It certainly wiped enough of those concerns away to warrant Eilidh addressing it, and talking with her might take Elidh's mind off of her own personal demons as they searched.

"Guildmistress? I'd like to apologize, when you came to greet me when I first arrived at the guild I was... less than warm towards you. You didn't deserve that."

Wc:489

The night wind blowing her blonde hair around, Leona had entered the Lycan Woods for the first time in a long time in order to aid new Silver Wolf member Eilidh O'Maoilriain at the latter's request. The Guild Mistress accepted the job because she wanted to stop feeling like that she did not deserve the title that had been conferred upon her so long ago. The best way to prove that she had what it took to be the leader of Silver Wolf was to start living up to her responsibilities as Guild Mistress. One of the best ways to live up to her responsibilities was helping less experienced guild members with dangerous jobs.

Leona wore her green-and-gold outfit with Adaptable Armor on her torso, Argent Gloves on her hands and Silver Longsword on her left hip. The Wizard Saint had learned from her recent job in Desierto where she had carried Kasim's Ram Dao as her primary weapon and had been disarmed by enemies more than once due to her lack of experience with two-handed swords. On this job there would be no playing around with weapons ill-suited for the task. For this job she brought her Silver Longsword since it was the best weapon for dealing with werewolves due to it being made of silver and thus able to exploit the lycanthrope's weakness to the metal. Another advantage to the Silver Longsword was that one-handed swords were the first weapon Leona was trained to use as a child, so she could use them with greater ease than most weapons.

Leona would need that crucial advantage because the Lycan Woods was no place for trying new weapons. Werewolves were quicker and stronger than the average human opponent and would not hesitate to rip her apart if a chance presented itself. Furthermore, Leona's life was not the only one at stake here. Eilidh's life was also at risk and the inexperienced mage was counting on the Guild Mistress to help complete the job and get them both back to the guild hall. Keenly aware of the responsibility that was hers to bear, Leona took a quiet breath and looked at Eilidh.

Eilidh had apologized for the lukewarm reception she had given Leona during their meeting at the guild hall a few days earlier. Leona was not terribly upset by what had happened because she was not as charismatic as Leila and did not make the best impression. She was also late to greet the new person due to oversleeping and that certainly did not help Eilidh's impression of Leona. The blonde did not hold a grudge against the pink-haired mage and was quick to let the latter know that.

"It's OK, Eilidh. I know I didn't make the best impression on you by showing up as late as I did." Leona admitted to the pink-haired mage. Leona was not too proud to admit when she made mistakes. The talk with her brother at a low point during her most recent job in Desierto did not fix all of her issues, but now the blonde felt empowered enough to begin fixing her problems instead of feeling unable to do anything but mope and doubt herself. She had earned both of her titles and she would prove that she had earned them.

[Post Word Count: 566]
[Leona's Word Count: 566/3,500]

Eilidh looked at Leona, somewhat confused, "How were you late? I didn't make an appointment or anything, I just showed up at your door and started shouting." Eilidh laughed, "I hardly expected a red carpet!" She shook her head, "There wasn't anything you did that made me act like a tool, I just... I've had some bad experiences with people who...," Eilidh waved her hands around her, visibly searching for what to say, "People who lead from behind rather than from ahead, if that makes any sense. And most of the so called 'leaders' I've seen since coming out into the world have been the kind of people who I have a hard time seeing as examples rather than people who convince others to do their work for them. So when Leila said you were important, "Eilidh shrugged, "I reacted poorly, and that's not your fault."

Eilidh was quiet for a moment after that, idly reaching out to the trees they passed, trailing her fingers along their craggy bark as if she could pull some of the tree's strength into herself. "Did you know I was being raised to help take charge of my village before I was forced to run away? Maybe that's-" Eilidh stopped short, her head whipping about as her gentle caress of the tree became a hard grip, the bark creaking and groaning under the pressure, "Did you hear that?" Without bothering to wait for an answer Eilidh started to scramble up the tree, trying to get to a branch that would allow her a better view.

After reaching a branch that could support her weight and gave her something of a better view Eilidh stilled and strained her ears, listening for any sign of trouble... There it was! Eilidh whipped her head towards the source of the noise, barely catching sight of a dark form slinking through the underbrush, the rustling of leaves caused by it's passing what had warned Eilidh in the first place. Straining her senses even further Eilidh was able to detect at least five of whatever beasts were beginning to surround them. Eilidh grinned as her heart began to beat faster in preparation for a fight as she began to climb back down to find Leona again, scales of the night sky fading into being across her skin as she dropped, whispering "Nebula Dragon's Scales."

Elidh dropped down beside Leona, covered in her defensive magic, "Five beasts around us, they sound smaller than people but bigger than normal wolves." Sinking into a fighting stance Eilidh watched for a sign that one of the beasts had gotten close enough to target, preparing to strike before they got the chance to take initiative.

Eilidh shouted in excitement as she caught sight of one of the large wolves beginning to creep their way forward and flung her hand out towards it, "Chaos blast!" The swirling ball of darkness and light slammed into the face of the great wolf, the explosion flinging it back into the brush with a pained yelp. As the beast scrambled to get back on it's feet the rest of it's pack decided to attack, breaking out of the underbrush to charge them as all hell broke loose.

WC: 548 TWC: 1037/3500

Data:

"Normally I'm awake a lot earlier and in my office, but that day was a slow one for me." Leona admitted to Eilidh. Leona deliberately omitted the part where she spent part of the "morning" wondering what, if anything, she could do to save her desert home. Nebdoui was facing tough times and it might not be possible for the village to rebound from the latest crisis it was facing.

Nebdoui was slowly losing people and there were very few new people to take the place of those who had died of natural causes, were killed in bandit raids, been captured by slavers, or had chosen to forsake the desert to live in the relative safety of the Tri-Council Cities. Without new people to keep the village populated it was slowly dying and there was nothing Leona could do about it. Even her giving up everything to return and defend the village would only delay the inevitable.

Leona focused on the present and faced Eilidh, who had gripped a tree and was talking to her about her own home when she cut herself short because there was something she did not want to say just yet. The pink-haired mage then asked the Wizard Saint if she had heard a noise, then climbed higher into the tree without waiting for a response. Leona kept quiet and listened out for her guildmate, who soon dropped down and reported that she had spotted five wolves heading for them.

Leona saw Eilidh cast a defensive magic to protect them and drew her Silver Longsword with her right hand. She was not going to let them get close enough to Eilidh to harm her even if it meant that the Guild Mistress took a few hits. She stepped three steps forward and raised her left hand, then fired a Wind Blast that staggered the four wolves charging at them and bought them a few seconds to think.

Now Leona had to think fast. Based on Eilidh's warning she knew that there were five wolves, but only four of them were visible. Eilidh had hit one of them with a spell earlier and wounded it but had not killed it. It had retreated to the underbrush, where it was likely trying to circle around and surprise them while the Silver Wolf mages were busy fighting the other four wolves. Leona saw the four wolves get up... thinking time was over. Fighting time was now.

Leona formed her left hand into the shape of a gun, aimed her fingers at a wolf, and fired a Wind Bullet. The silver marble-sized projectile fired from her fingertips and hit a wolf in the head, sending it flying backwards and skidding on the ground at least fifteen feet before coming to a halt. It did not move again, but the other three wolves were still active and continued to charge at Leona and Eilidh with their mouths open.

Leona stood her ground and let the wolves come to her, then attacked one that grew too bold with a swift kick to the face. It yelped and rolled head over heels for a full revolution, then came to a stop and lay still while the other two snapped at her heels. Leona jumped forward to avoid being bitten and the pair of wolves retreated to avoid a retaliatory strike. The Guild Mistress then hurried back to Eilidh's side to avoid being lured away from the less experienced mage. The three remaining wolves would be back soon enough.

[Post Word Count: 586]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,152/3,500]

Data:

Eilidh kept a wary eye on the three remaining wolves as they circled at a distance, having apparently decided to stay out of melee range for the moment as they considered what to do. Unfortunately Out of melee range was well within magic range, especially in an area like a forest where getting TO far away meant taking your eyes off of your opponent, a very stupid and often deadly idea in a fight, especially against enemies who had already taken out two of your own number.

Eilidh grinned with a fierce joy as she waited for her moment, letting the wolves believe that they had all the time they needed, in fact she was feeling so excited she began to sing under her breath. "A burning star, on the horizon, illuminates the moon, and our destiny awaits. As the prophecies of fury unfurls before us," There! the three remaining wolves decided then was the time to make their move, breaking towards the girls. Eilidh Responded with a grin and shot a fist up into the air, sending her magic up to the sky and calling down her favorite spell, "We call for Starfall!"

Feeling that her magic had managed to grasp the heart of power she was reaching for Eilidh pulled that power back for all she was worth, and for a brief second the wolves stopped as the forest around grew brighter and brighter. Eilidh turned towards Leona briefly with an expression of savage joy on her face, "You might want to close your eyes." That was the only thing she managed to say before a burning pillar of white-hot fire slammed into the ground around them. The roar of the flame drowned out whatever sounds the wolves might have been making as the spell burned away at them. Thankfully the spell wouldn't do anything to Leona as someone Eilidh's magic saw as an ally.

As suddenly as it came the pillar of plasma cut out, leaving two of the wolves burnt into crisps and one of them severely wounded, blinking it's eyes as it tried to regain it's sight. Eilidh didnt give it the chance as she thrust out her hand, "Chaos Blast!" Another orb of light and dark magic impacted the only remaining wolf, but this time the detonation was coupled with a sickening crunch as the wolf was flung away. This time there were no attempts to stand back up.

After waiting a moment to make sure that none of the wolves would get back up Eilidh let out a carefree laugh, "Now that was a good way to wake up!" As she allowed her scales to fade away Eilidh also took the opportunity to top up on magic power, moving into one of the shadows of the trees around them and swiftly devouring some of the darkness it provided.
After that she made her way towards the wolves, deciding to get a closer look at them. "I've never seen wolves quite that big before, these woods must like to grow 'em big huh?"

As she got closer to one of them a glint of metal caught Eilidh's attention. Leaning down to get a closer look Eilidh found something that immediately brought her back to a serious mood. Reaching down Eilidh untangled the mangled remains of a golden locket from the foot of one of the wolves, thankfully not one of the burned ones, and lifted her find up to show to Leona. "This isn't good, is it?"

WC:593 TWC:1630/3500

DATA:

Leona was concerned that Eilidh might not have a sufficient command of her magic to handle the three remaining wolves before she was harmed, but that concern was ill-founded. Heeding the warning to close her eyes, Leona did so and Eilidh deftly used her magic to handle the remaining enemies with spells that made for a spectacular light show. The blonde was glad that she heeded the warning because there was a good chance that she would have been blinded had she not closed her eyes. Once the spellcasting was over Leona opened her eyes to see two badly charred wolves and one that was not charred but was still dead, which was fine with her.

Eilidh exulted in the victory over the lupine threat before she made a query about their size. Moments after making the query something caught her eye because she walked over to the wolf that was not burned and bent down to retrieve something shiny. Leona sheathed her Silver Longsword since the threat of the moment had been dealt with and answered Eilidh's question.

"I've seen wolves that big before, but that was due to the effects of corruption in Beanstalk Forest. Normally they don't grow that big." Leona replied to Eilidh, mentally going back to her experience in Beanstalk Forest during the early stages of the investigation of a cult that was threatening Earthland. She had encountered several packs of wolves that had been affected by the strange plants growing in the forest; in fact the strange plants were growing on the wolves. Not only were these animals larger, they were also tougher and more aggressive than a baseline wolf. They were so aggressive that they once invaded Beanstalk Village itself in search of human prey that they could overwhelm and kill... Leona arrived just in time to repel the lupine attack before they could kill particularly vulnerable people like the very young and the elderly.

Leona observed that Eilidh had found a golden locket at the feet of the wolf she had inspected. The pink-haired mage's query was spot-on. However the wolf came to possess the piece of jewelry, the circumstances behind its acquisition were not good.

"Yeah. That's not a good sign, Eilidh." Leona laconically commented on the pink-haired mage's discovery. The blonde had a bad feeling that the locket's original owner was not even alive anymore.

[Post Word Count: 408]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,560/3,500]

Eilidh pursed her lips in concern, if this locket was the one that the child's mother was supposed to be wearing then it was more than likely that the she was dead, or worse. The villagers did say that there were werewolves in these woods, if she's been turned... 'Not good didn't begin to cover the situation. Either they'd have to tell a little girl her mother was dead, or have to tell a village that they'd had to kill the little girls mother and hope that the villagers would be kind enough to take her in and let her hold on to the good memories of her mother without tainting them. Then there were the hunters they were supposed to find, and she had no idea where they were either.

Any vestiges of a good mood left Eilidh as she contemplated the situation at hand. Eventually she shook her head and turned towards the other wolves, if one of them had managed to get the locket caught on it's paw, then maybe the others might hold some clues.

As she began to move towards the other wolves Eilidh called back to Lenoa, "I'm gonna take a closer look at the other wolves, maybe there might be some other clues on them." Wasting no time Eilidh began her investigation, having grown up in a village in the middle of the woods she was no stranger to what did and didn't belong on the wildlife that inhabited forests, and it didn't take long for her to notice something wrong with these wolves, not that the problems were particularly subtle.

Eilidh got back to her feet and walked back to the guild mistress, "Leona? I think these wolves may have run into the hunters that the village sent after the woman before us, several of them have wounds that match more closely to spear, sword, and bow wounds than anything we threw at them, and at least one of them had a few links of chain mail embedded into its gums, the others also several chipped teeth, as if they'd tried to bite through metal."

Eilidh looked Leona in the eyes before turning her gaze out towards the rest of the forest, "I think the hunters should be somewhere relatively close by, with the injuries on some of these wolves I doubt that they went to far to find shelter to lick their wounds, to many things like them running around that might smell their blood. If we follow their tracks back we might even find their den, and probably the remains of the hunters," Eilidh grimaced, "Since these wolves are still alive I don't think we can bet on the hunter's survival, and if that one," Eilidh gestured towards the wolf that'd had the locket wrapped around it's paw, "got that locket wrapped up around it's paw from the body of one of the hunters, I don't think the mother's much better off..."

Eilidh shook her head, "Anyway, what do you think?"

WC:520 TWC:2,150/3,500

Wondering how exactly the wolf they had killed came across the golden locket, Leona stood in silence while Eilidh announced her intention to investigate the wolves further. The blonde walked a few steps in Eilidh's direction to keep up with her guildmate so that she was not caught alone if more of them showed up looking for trouble. She then stood by and supervised the proceedings, letting Eilidh conduct the investigation without having the Guild Mistress literally breathing down her neck every step of the way. While Leona would fight on their behalf and ensure their safety from threats that they were not yet ready to handle on their own, Leona did not intend to hover over her charges. She planned to be more of a supervisor and let her guildmates discover their skills without stifling them by curtailing their initiative.

"OK, Eilidh. I'll be nearby in case you need my help." Leona called to the pink-haired mage, who was already at work inspecting the dead wolves for any irregularities that could give the Silver Wolf mages clues as to their pre-mortem activities. Eilidh had asserted to Leona that the wolves had run into hunters from the village that had hired them. Soon enough her guildmate had found the evidence she was after... the mage dutifully listed the irregularities she discovered and pointed out each one to Leona.

Leona quietly walked over to Eilidh and knelt to examine the wolves because she wanted to see the wounds for herself. Leona's examination confirmed that Eilidh was right on all the points she had raised. The wolves did indeed have wounds more consistent with wounds created by bows, spears, and swords than the means the Silver Wolf mages had used to dispose of them. Leona could clearly see each distinct type of wound on the bodies of the wolves.

"You're right, Eilidh. I see what you're talking about now. They look like they were made some time before they found us." Leona said to Eilidh before shifting her focus from their bodies to their teeth. Before the Wizard Saint had walked over to see the wounds for herself, her guildmate had also asserted that at least one of the wolves had chain links from chainmail stuck in its gums and that multiple wolves had chipped teeth, most likely from attempts to bite through chainmail. Leona carefully examined their mouths one by one and found an abundance of evidence to support Eilidh's assertions. The condition of their gums and their teeth were consistent with the claims; the signs that Eilidh had pointed out were right where she said they would be.

"I see that you're right about the teeth of the wolves as well. Nice work, Eilidh." Leona complimented her guildmate as the latter turned her attention from the wolves to gaze at an expanse of forest that loomed in front of them. The blonde paid attention as Eilidh made another claim, one that theorized that in between the locket, the assortment of wounds, the links in the gums, and chipped teeth, the hunters the village had sent were not alive anymore. Leona had a feeling that her guildmate was right yet again.

"I think you're right about the hunters being dead, Eilidh. If the hunters were killed by the wolves, their bodies would have most likely been carried back to their den to save for later. If we're really unlucky the mother might be dead as well. At any rate, we'll have to find the den to confirm or disprove what we think. Finding the din in question shouldn't be too hard." Leona opined to Eilidh, stepping forward a few steps to gaze into the woods using her natural night vision. She had not seen any more wolves yet, but this was no time to relax. More of them could be lurking in the abundant underbrush in the area.

[Post Word Count: 660]
[Leona's Word Count: 2,220/3,500]

Eilidh nodded to Leona in acknowledgement of her statement, she had honestly been planning on taking the lead in this regardless, yes Leona was stronger than her, and yes she was the guild mistress, but Eilidh grew up in the forest and knew how to track it's denizens. Unless Leona told her otherwise she was also going to assume that Leona wasn't as experienced with such activities, though if she had decided to take over Eilidh supposed she wouldn't have been able to stop her, so it was gratifying to have Leona defer to her in this situation.

Another point in her favor, not trying to lord her position and power over others at every opportunity. As she began following the signs of passage from the wolves, which wasn't nearly as hard as it normally would have been given that they were still nursing injuries, Eilidh reflected on what she'd learned about Leona so far. In all honesty she was turning out to be an actual leader, willing to listen to her charges, not acting as if the everyday jobs of her people were somehow beneath her, actually being personable, either authentically or by conscious effort, and willing to admit to her own mistakes, even without prompting. All in all, she was turning out to be exactly the kind of leader Eilidh was being trained to be before she had to escape her village.

As she continued to follow the trail Eilidh resolved to do something nice for Leona when this was all over, even if she said it was nothing Eilidh had been rude when they met and being in charge of any number of people was stressful enough without trying to deal with people who didn't like you for no apparent reason. Having come to that decision Eilidh turned her full focus to tracking the wolves. The path that they were following was long and circuitous, but that was to be expected if the wolves had already been hunting for some time, and Eilidh was perfectly content to follow that trail however long it took, after all if she got hungry she could just snack on some shadows or the light creating them, though she did make an effort to be quick since Leona didn't have the same luxury and nobody wanted to be out all night with a belly getting emptier all the time.

Eilidh was also comfortable with the silence that stretched between them while they walked, both of them keeping their senses strained for any other dangers that might sneak up on them. Luckily it seemed that the wolves had managed to scare off most of the other predators in the area, meaning that other than a few biting insects that could be deterred by a flare of magic and other basic hazards that could be avoided by keeping an eye out for where you were going and ducking or stepping over them as necessary the two went on their way essentially unmolested until they found the cave where the wolves had been holed up, and where several more were still left behind.

Eilidh was able to hear the wolves well before they got close enough to for the remaining wolves to notice them, or consider them a threat if they already had. Eilidh motioned towards Leona to slow down and get low to the ground before she followed her own advice and started to slink through the underbrush, attempting to stay as quiet as possible. Before long she managed to get to the edge of the clearing in front of the cave. Eilidh froze for a moment, stretching her senses to their limit to try and get a count of the wolves they were dealing with. After a moment she turned towards Leona and whispered, "It sounds like there's three or four adults in there, and a few juveniles, to young to be pups but not old enough to have outgrown play fighting. It's hard to be more exact without being able to see deeper into the cave. I don't suppose you have something that could clear them out while they're bunched together in there?"

WC: 702 TWC: 2852/3500

Deciding to let Eilidh lead the way, Leona followed her guildmate away from the wolves they had killed and went deeper into the woods in search of the den from which they came. The route seemed to be a lot longer than she had expected, but Leona saw no need to rush the trip because accurately tracking anything was no easy task, let alone tracking predatory animals with a keen sense of smell. Their sense of smell made the task dangerous because at any moment the mages looking for the wolves could end up being the ones who were hunted.

Leon noticed that silence prevailed during their walk through the woods, but Leona did not mind in the slightest. Both of them could claim the perfectly valid reason of listening for the wolves if one asked the other why they were not saying anything. Besides, the Wizard Saint was terrible at making compelling small talk. Leila was a much better conversationalist who had charisma in abundance and the ability to draw people to her. In contrast Leona was not much good at social situations and had an underwhelming appearance.

Leona really needed to work on her social skills because being Guild Mistress was a job that required having good social skills to both convince prospective members to join Silver Wolf and to retain Fairy Tail and West Fiore Trading Company as allies. As it stood the blonde's social skills were passable if one was feeling generous enough to describe them as such. Leona was determined to become a better Guild Mistress, but now was not the time to engage in random small talk. She and Eilidh had a job to do.

Aside from the usual assortment of annoying insects that came out at night, the Silver Wolf mages did not encounter any serious opposition and arrived at the wolf's den unharmed and ready for action against the real threat. Eilidh motioned for Leona to slow down and get lower to the ground to reduce the risk of being detected by the wolves still in the den. The Wizard Saint quickly did as instructed and lowered herself to the ground by at first going to one knee, then quietly lowering herself to her stomach to cover the remaining distance by crawling through the underbrush. Moving that way in armor was rather difficult and the Silver Longsword at her left hip did not do her any favors, but Leona dutifully followed the pink-haired mage to the edge of a clearing and somehow remained quiet enough to avoid notice.

Once the pair had stopped the blonde heard a whispered query from Eilidh. The question asked if Leona had a spell, weapon, or other means of catching the remaining wolves together and wiping them out all at once. Leona understood where her guildmate was coming from. The two mages did not need to face at least seven wolves in open combat because while they could certainly win the fight, fighting such numbers could lead to Leona and Eilidh taking injuries that were avoidable.

Leona thought for a moment if she had anything that could eliminate all the wolves in one attack. While her Wind Strike Magic was powerful, most of its spells were best suited for one-on-one fights. One of her few spells that could hit multiple opponents at once was Wind Blast, but that would mean making her presence known to the wolves and the whole point of Eilidh's request was to catch them unawares. The blonde decided to pursue another line of thought.

Maybe her summons could do the job.

Leona wondered if Tempest Avian could do the trick. His Steel Flechettes ability could saturate the wolves in metal feathers in short order and stand a good chance of hitting them all before they could mobilize. Then the blonde took a glance at the cave and saw an immediate problem.

The cave was wide, but the roof was only about six feet high and did not give a good angle for attacks made from above. The Steel Flechettes could not hit them from a high angle that achieved the best dispersion. Tempest Avian would have to land and fire straight at the targets, which would alert them and given them time to go on the offensive against the metallic owl and his summoner.

"I had an idea to use a summon with a crowd control attack, but with the roof being as it is, I can't guarantee hitting them all. What else can we do?" Leona asked Eilidh while eying the cave. The wolves were still blissfully unaware of the presence of the mages plotting their demise. Leona wanted to keep it that way until the mages were ready to act.

[Post Word Count: 800]
[Leona's Word Count: 3,020/3,500]

Eilidh took another moment to consider Leona's question. While what she was suggesting was certainly better than nothing, and in fact was a fairly good option in general, she saw one problem with it, though to be fair it was an issue that Eilidh should have thought of before asking in the first place. Anything that they did to the wolves in the cave ran the risk of damaging the remains of the hunters that they thought would be in there, making it much harder to use them for any kind of investigation. Or worse, they could cause a cave in and totally block off their access to the hunters bodies and any clues they might hold.

Eilidh frowned as she considered her options. She really didn't want to fight all of the wolves at once if she could help it, and there was no way to pick them off one by one without alerting all of the beasts to their presence, though taking even one of them out would be preferable to allowing the whole group to charge them at once. The best option would likely be to try and lure them all out and take them out at the entrance of the cave before they got a chance to spread out, but throwing a rock or even shouting to grab their attention would likely only attract one of the wolves, maybe two if they were lucky.

There was only one plan that Eilidh could think of that might work, but it put her in more direct danger than she'd like, but if she was smart about it there would still be less danger than taking on seven or more wolves at once, though she doubted Leona would like it, she rather doubted anyone in Leona's position of responsibility for a weaker teammate would like it.

"The more I think about it, the more worried I am that we'd damage the bodies of the hunters further, or worse cause a cave in. Our best bet would be to lure them all out, but without very good bait we won't get all of them, I do have one idea, but it's pretty risky, for me at least. I could bring out my scales and use magic to boost my speed and run out there to get their attention, and when they all got close to me I have a spell that will slow them down by a lot. At that point they won't really be able to dodge if I get out of there and you could use your summon to get them all. I do run the risk of getting attacked while I lure them out, but my scales should protect me, and I'd rather this than allow a fight to drag out."

WC:473 TWC: 3,325/3,500

Leona listened to her guildmate lay out a plan and did not like the prospect of Eilidh using herself as bait to lure out the wolves. However, her guildmate had raised a good point about the necessity of luring them out before hitting them with a crowd control spell. If Leona or the summon damaged the roof of the cave in any way, it might collapse and seal off the bodies of the hunters, thus denying the mages access to crucial evidence that might help them along. Leona looked towards the cave, then turned to the Argent Gloves on her hands.

Leona's Argent Gloves did more than look good and boost her defense. They granted her enough strength to push, pull, or lift objects that were up to twenty tons in weight, so theoretically she could clear out the rocks one by one if there was a cave-in. However, even if she cleared out all of the rocks the bodies of the hunters would be crushed beyond recognition, destroying any potential clues as well. Taking those outcomes into consideration made the decision simple. It would be a lot easier to take a chance on Eilidh's plan to reduce the risk of the clues being destroyed in an avoidable cave-in.

Leona tried to come up with another option, one that would keep the pink-haired mage out of danger. The most obvious solution would be using herself as bait instead, but that would make her end up looking like a glory hound and contradict her stance on letting guildmates take the initiative. Since each second of delay raised their chances of being detected before the plan could be set in motion, Leona would reluctantly consent to Eilidh's plan.

"OK, Eilidh. If you're willing to take a chance and lure out the wolves, I'll let you go through with it. But first, let me call my summon." Leona said to her. Leona was not ready to bring out the wolves just yet, so she called in Tempest Avian using telepathy.

"TEMPEST AVIAN SUMMON!" Leona thought. Seconds later the metallic owl flew down and landed to her right.

"What do you need?" Tempest Avian asked Leona. The Wizard Saint faced her faithful summon and spoke to him.

"I'll need you to fly up and use Steel Flechettes on some wolves my guildmate is gonna lure out of that cave. However, my guildmate's gonna use herself as the bait, so I'd like you to try and avoid hitting her if possible." Leona informed him of the plan, pointing towards the cave in question. The metallic owl quickly spotted the cave in question.

"Hmmm... it's risky, but it might work. My Steel Flechettes can't reach inside the cave from a high angle due to the low roof, but if they were lured out into the open I could hit them a lot easier. There's still a risk to your guildmate, though." Tempest Avian informed Leona. Leona turned to Eilidh, whose determination had not faltered between proposing the idea and the summon being called in, so she would let the mage carry out her plan. Leona then turned back to Tempest Avian.

"She's willing to take that chance." Leona addressed her summon's concern.

"Very well then. I'll do what I can to avoid hitting her, but I can't make any promises." He told Leona before taking to the air and flying just above them. One he was airborne Leona turned to face Eilidh.

"OK, he's ready and I'm ready. Let me know when you're ready." Leona said to Eilidh. Tempest Avian was Leona's second-strongest summon, so despite his small size and rotund build he could hit like a freight train. Hopefully Eilidh's magic would protect her in case of a friendly fire incident.

Tempest Avian:

[Post Word Count: 652]
[Leona's Word Count: 3,672/3,500]

Eilidh nodded when Leona offered her agreement to her plan, though when the summon was brought forth she looked at it a for a moment in confusion. It was certainly an... interesting beast. A metalic construct made to resemble a kind of stout human bird hybrid the beast was certainly able to capture attention with it's bright colors and high-tech appearance. Then again, for all Eilidh knew all summons looked like some kind of robotic master of the elements. Pushing the summon's appearance from her mind Eilidh focused her attention inward while Leona explained the plan to Tempest Avian, preparing to cast the spells necessary to keep her alive.

Scales of the Nebula. Once again Eilidh's skin was covered in thousands of glittering scales, creating a living tapestry of deep space. Once that spell was complete she focused again, preparing another spell.

Starbound Wings. Suddenly a two masses of light and shadow began to bulge and stretch off of Eilidh's back for just a brief moment before bursting out into a pair of large draconic wings that, like her scales, provided a window into the deepest parts of space.

Without wasting another moment Eilidh flapped her new wings and burst out of the underbrush at a considerably faster velocity than her already considerable running pace, rushing into the cave to confront the wolves. Once inside she had a split second to count their numbers, she had underestimated there were actually four adults and three adolescents, before she acted to provoke them.

"Star Swarm!"

As the wolves were still shaking off their shock hundreds of tiny burning stars flashed into existence, spinning around Eilidh and filling the cave like snowflakes in a blizzard, lashing out against the wolves and burning through their fur to leave deep troughs of burned flesh as the smell of burning fur and meat filled the cave. The wolves attempted to fling themselves back as they yelped in pain and shock only to find they had no room. Almost as quickly as it came however the swarm flickered out, leaving some very angry and and confused wolves attempting to recover. Eilidh waited just long enough that they were able to focus back on her before winging her way out of the cave, shooting up into the air as she exited, the wolves hot on her heels.

Eilidh hovered just low enough that the wolves kept their attention on her as she waited for them all to bunch up under her, jumping to try and snap and swipe at her feet before she back-winged enough to get the distance to swoop in towards the wolves. Eilidh used her speed and armored form to brute force her way through the pack, feeling teeth and claws slam into her armored form and tear at her clothes more than once, each blow weakening her scales even as the held the damage off. As she reached the center of the group Eilidh let loose one more spell with a shout, "Nebula's Pull!" Instantly a black orb formed around Eilidh and then expanded rapidly to envelope all of the wolves and a good chunk of the area around them.

Several of the wolves staggered as they felt the strength leached from their bodies, beginning to move much more sluggishly. One of the wolves was able to get one more strike in, and this one was the final straw for Eilidh's protection as the bite crashed through the scales, though they did lessen the blow. The beasts teeth ripped through the flesh of Eilidh's thigh as she desperately flapped her wings, barely managing to kick the beast off as she escaped the edge of the pack, shooting out of the black dome she had created before crashing and skidding along the ground with a pained cry before shouting, "Now!"

WC: 648 TWC: 3973/3500

Data:

Leona felt apprehensive as she stood back and watched Eilidh put her plan into action. The youth used a spell to grant herself temporary wings that looked a lot like a galaxy, but the Wizard Saint did not have long to admire them before Eilidh burst out of the underbrush and attracted the attention of the wolves sheltering in the cave. Leona listened to the sounds of Eilidh casting a spell called "Star Swarm" and the wolves yelping as Star Swarm hit all seven of them at once. Unable to stand by and listen to what was happening, Leona burst out of the underbrush and reached the fighting just in time to see a wolf's bite tear into her calf as the pink-haired mage attempted to get clear of the canines.

"EILIDH!" Leona shouted as Tempest Avian gave a status report.

"I'm at the right angle and they're all out in the open. I can hit all the wolves with Steel Flechettes now." Tempest Avian reported calmly from his vantage point in the sky. Leona did not hesitate to give the order.

"DO IT! FIRE THE STEEL FLECHETTES!" Leona ordered aloud. She hoped that she had given her guildmate enough warning to get clear of the area because the wolves were about to be caught in a sharp steel rain that did not discriminate between friend and foe.

"Firing now!" Tempest Avian confirmed. He flapped his wings twice and appeared to hover in the air for a brief moment before flapping them mightily, sending a storm of dozens of metal feathers raining down on the wolves. Leona heard yelping as the steel rain hit all seven wolves and missed Eilidh, who had thankfully been unharmed by the attack thanks to flying clear of the wolves just in time.

"All of them are hit, but they're still active. Should I fire another round of Steel Flechettes?" Tempest Avian asked telepathically.

"No. You've done your job. I'll take it from here." Leona answered him. She strode in front of Eilidh and faced down the wounded but angry wolves, who wanted to make their tormentors pay for the attacks. The blonde would make sure that they did not attack Eilidh again.

Leona took three steps forward, then raised her right hand and fired a Wind Blast that hit one adult and all three adolescents, knocking them to the ground where they weakly raised their heads before going down for the count. The remaining three adults snarled at her, including the one that had wounded her guildmate; she could tell from the blood on its muzzle.

Leona watched all three wolves charge simultaneously and looked back at Eilidh. She was too close to use a Storm Impact without hitting her too, but an Air Burst was the next-best way to handle all three at once. Leona prepared the spell, then jumped into the air and flung eight tennis ball-sized balls of wind at the charging wolves. She hit all three in the head and they yelped in pain before flopping over and twitching briefly, then ceasing all movement.

"I'll watch for more threats from the sky. You go check on your guildmate. She's a brave one, if I may say so myself." Tempest Avian complimented Eilidh's bravery in volunteering to be bait for the successful plan and risking harm from the Steel Flechettes attack. Leona spun around and hurried to her guildmate's side, dropping to one knee.

"Are you OK?" Leona asked Eilidh with concern, looking at the latter's leg wound. Leona wished that her summons could use heal spells, but none of them had any healing spells and neither did Leona. Hopefully Eilidh could heal her wounds with her magic.

[Post Word Count: 639]
[Leona's Word Count: 4,311/3,500]

Data:

Eilidh ignored Leona as she took care of the rest, knowing that she was more than capable of mopping up a group of already injured and slowed beasts like those, in favor of examining her leg. Thankfully the wound looked worse than it was, yes the tears left by the wolf were deep, but luckily they the wolf had hit any arteries or gotten through to the bone, so it was something that could easily be fixed.

Just as she was about to cast her only healing spell Leona came over, having apparently finished up with the wolves, and expressed concern. Eilidh shook her head dismissively, "I'm fine, I've had worse before, and it looks a lot worse than it is, just give me a second and I'll be good to go."

Eilidh focused her energy as a white light began to glow around her body, "Moon's Caress." The silver light began to pulse and send out waves of magical energy through the clearing, causing both Leona and Tempest Avian to glow as the magic searched for wounds to heal while passing through the still forms of the wolves as if they weren't there. On Eilidh the light seemed to focus on her wounded leg, causing the gashes to glow almost blindingly bright even as they rapidly closed up. The light faded as quickly as it came, but in it's wake Eilidh's leg looked signifigantly better, there were still some rough patches on her skin, but those were more akin to shallow scrapes than the gaping wounds they had been before.

Deciding not to waste any more of her magic Eilidh decided that was good enough and got back to her feet, testing her leg to make sure she was good to go.

"Alright, I'm good, we should probably go see what we can find of the Hunter's remains, I just hope that the wolves left some-" Eilidh was cut off by a twisted howl that echoed around them, sounding more like some horrible combination of a wolf's howl and the wrathful screams of a human being.

Before either of the women could say anything a hulking beast made it's way into the clearing from where it had apparently been hiding. The monster looked like a mix between a wolf and a human, if that human was eight feet tall and absolutely ripped. The werewolf also still wore the tattered remains of a ruined dress and stared at them bright green eyes filled with anger and hopeless madness.

Eilidh whispered mournfully, "I think we found her mother..."

WC:438 TWC:4,411/3,500

DATA:

Leona was relieved to see that Eilidh was OK and not permanently crippled by the bite to the calf. The pink-haired mage brushed off the wound physically and verbally; in fact she used a healing spell called "Moon's Caress" to heal away the worst of the wound. What used to be a gaping wound was now a rough patch similar to a scrape on concrete instead of an open wound inflicted by sharp teeth. If she had not witnessed the wound herself Leona would never have known that the rough patch on the mage's calf used to be an open wound.

"OK then. Now we check the hunters for clues and-" Leona started to suggest to Eilidh when she heard a howl from somewhere very close by. It was impossible to ascertain the exact location because of the sound quality and the dampening effect of so much shrubbery nearby, but soon Leona got a good look at the source of the howl because it came right to the mages. It made a dramatic entrance by forcefully parting the underbrush it had concealed itself in with two large, muscular hands and walking with a heavy gait into the clearing where the mages were discussing their next plan of action.

The source was not a wolf... well, it would be more accurate to say that the howl's origin came from something that was once a human woman but was now partially a wolf. It was like the transformation was incomplete and the hapless woman was stuck in the limbo of being not fully lupine and not fully human. The creature was eight feet tall and had a muscular physique that many professional fighters would kill for; the tattered remnants of a white dress hung off of its abnormally muscular frame and highlighted the tragedy of the situation.

Leona's green eyes met the creature's own and the blonde felt a sense of sadness. She was too late to save a life... again. There was only one way to "help" the woman now, but it would be unpleasant for everyone involved.

"I believe you're right, Eilidh. We've found the mother." Leona seconded Eilidh's opinion with audible sadness and resignation as the blonde's eyes continued to meet those of the mother. Leona put her hand on the grip of her Silver Longsword and prepared for a thoroughly unpleasant battle with the hapless woman. Unless Eilidh had access to a magic spell that reversed transformations, the Silver Wolf mages would have to kill the transformed woman to protect the people of Earthland from the threat she posed should she go into a frenzy in an inhabited place like another village.

"What do you need me to do?" Tempest Avian asked telepathically.

"Stay airborne and be ready to attack the wolf on my command." Leona answered the question with resignation.

[Post Count: 487]
[Leona's Word Count: 4,798/3,500]

Cripple the enemy. Eilidh didn't give the werewolf a chance to take initiative, leaping directly into action. "Umbral Grasp!" Instantly a piece of Eilidh's shadow broke off from the rest of it and began to flow across the ground towards the beast as it attempted to dodge, being somehow able see the shadow piece against the rest of the shadows cast by the trees or sense it coming, but it was thankfully slower than the spell, and even as it attempted to lunge to the side a draconic arm erupted from the ground underneath it and took hold of it's body, squeezing tightly as the monster yelped in pain before the arm faded away, leaving the monster moving significantly slower than before even if it seemed to shrug of the damage with little effort.

Thankfully before the werewolf could turn it's attention to Eilidh She had already taken to the air, and hopefully out of range, though she wasn't about to take that fact for granted. Defend yourself. Taking a moment to concentrate Eilidh shouted out, "Scales of the Nebula!" Just as earlier Eilidh was again covered in her glittering scales, and she emerged from her concentration just in time to dart out of the way of a pillar of earth that was rushing towards her. Apparently she wasn't as safe up hear as she thought if the beast could use earth magic like that.

Which meant that she needed to keep it moving so it couldn't attack again. Eilidh began to fly around the top of the clearing, being careful to stay out of Tempest Avian's way, looking for the best opportunity to let another spell fly.

WC:290 TWC:4701/3500

Data:

Leona took her hand off of the grip of her sword and tried to think of a plan while Eilidh sprung into action against the beast. This was no time for pity or for fancy plans. The once-human creature was now a threat that needed to be eliminated for the safety of the people of the Cursed Lands as well as for the safety of her guildmate. Eilidh had used a spell called "Umbral Grasp" that caused an arm to reach out of the earth and squeeze the creature in its hand. The enemy had taken little visible damage but it moved a lot slower than it did when it first arrived in the clearing.

"I've got a clear shot on it, Mistress. What do I do?" Tempest Avian asked telepathically.

"Just stay up there and keep an eye on it. I'll handle this one." Leona answered before maneuvering into a position a good distance opposite the beast and well away from Eilidh. Leona would use a Silver Tempest spell to land a powerful hit on the creature and she needed to avoid friendly fire. The Wizard Saint put the index and middle fingers of her right hand together, then raised them and aimed at the sluggish opponent. Leona focused magic until the fingers glowed silver, then fired the spell, which manifested as a silver horizontal tornado that raced from her fingertips to the target.

"Silver Tempest!" Leona called out.

The tornado hit the creature squarely in the torso and it staggered back while clutching its head. Its green eyes had an unfocused look as if it was disoriented from the Silver Tempest spell, which was her intention when she used it. Leona watched it closely and thought the threat was all but over when the dazed creature released its head and looked at the Silver Wolf mage. The Wizard Saint was surprised when it opened its mouth and emitted a woman's shriek that manifested in a visible cone of compressed sound that hit Leona in the face and caused her to wobble.

Leona felt disoriented and tried to back away when she spun around and fell onto her chest. She raised herself on all fours and vomited from the combination of disorientation and the sudden fall. She had underestimated the human/wolf hybrid and was paying the penalty for her lack of focus. Thankfully the enemy was in nearly as bad a shape as the Wizard Saint was... that should give Eilidh time to finish the job before anyone else got hurt.

[Post Count: 431]
[Leona's Word Count: 5,229/3,500]

Data:

Eilidh mentally cheered as Leona hit the werewolf, knocking it back and disorienting it, leaving it unable to retailiate, or at least it had looked that way. Even in it's disoriented state it seemed the beast was still a threat as it let off a hideous scream, launching some kind sonic attack back at Leona in retaliation as Eilidhs mental cheers turned into screams. Images of her friends being cut down by the uncaring forces of that horrible man while she was barely able to hold those same forces back from killing her flashed through her mind as her instincts took over.

"Nebula Dragon's Bellow!" An orb of swirling light and shadow formed in front of Eilidh's mouth as she screamed, a piercing beam of power erupting from it to slam into, and drill into, the werewolf's neck. The wound was instantly cauterized, but the beast was still staggerd by the sudden cut off of bloodflow and air, making it's disorientation signifigantly worse. Eilidh didn't give the beast a chance to recover, her hands surrounding themselves with more mistures of light and dark energy as she rocketed down to slam into the monster, the energey erupting as she made impact, "Chaos Blast!" The resulting explosion further damaged the werewolf, and to follow up Eilidh latched onto it with her wings, legs and one hand as she began to physically beat at it, slamming her free fist into any spot that looked suffeciently vunerable as the werewolf, already flagging and confused, staggerd backwards from the assault and the unexpected weight.

By the time Eilidh was able to shake herself from her berserk state and return from her memories to see the still, battered, and bloody form of the werewolf under her body. Eilidh's breath came in heavy gasps as her arms fell limply to her side before turning her head to look at Leona, "I think... I think we should go back now."

wc:329 twc: 5030/3500

Data:

Leona was badly disoriented by the sound-based surprised attack. She was so disoriented that she could not even turn around and sit up to watch the fight, but she could hear the sounds of battle only a short distance away from her. She could hear Eilidh casting spells and the creature being buffeted by the pink-haired mage's magic... she even caught a brief glimpse of the light show out of the corner of her eye when her head was not swimming. After the light show had stopped the din of battle gradually stopped, something that made Leona worry about her guildmate.

Had Eilidh gotten hurt or killed while Leona was trying to recover?

Leona felt the disorientation subside enough for her to turn around and try to locate Eilidh. She slowly struggled to stand up and heard a metallic CLANK as Tempest Avian landed beside her and turned to face the Wizard Saint before extending a hand. Leona grabbed it and the owl offered a sturdy steel shoulder for her to lean on. The blonde obliged and began to look for Eilidh once she could focus again.

"Look towards the wolf creature. Don't worry. Your guildmate more than held her own." Tempest Avian informed Leona, pointing towards the pink-haired mage. Leona looked in that direction and saw that Eilidh was standing over the fallen wolf, which was not moving. It had been battered to death by Eilidh, who was showing the strain from the physical exertion required to defeat the beast in hand-to-hand combat.

"Well done, Eilidh. You did well on this job." Leona praised her guildmate for her good work throughout the job. Not only did Eilidh find and help defeat the first batch of wolves, but she also found their den and the deceased hunters who had been sent to kill the wolves. The pink-haired mage also defeated the wolf-creature which managed to incapacitate Leona with a surprise attack, proving that she could hold her own in a fight.

"We've done our job for tonight. Let's get the evidence, then go back and report our findings." Leona suggested to the exhausted Eilidh. They had done most of the hard work already by getting rid of the wolves. Now all that remained to be done was to carry back the effects of both the hunters and the mother as proof that they were deceased. That would be a lot easier now that the wolves were no longer a threat.

[Post Count: 423]
[Leona's Word Count: 5,952/3,500]