Amy: Okay, I think I got it!
Erin: Really?
Amy: No, but building up your hopes and breaking them back down was too much fun to ignore.
Erin: I hope that, when Lilith gets back, she breaks your spine first.
Amy: That's assuming I don't use you as a shield.
Erin: If we're lucky, she'll take pity on us.
Azazel: Are you sure you're talking about the same Lilith here, Erin?
Erin: Shut up, you're just a filler character for when one of us is talking too much.
Miu:...
Amy: ANYWAY everyone's gonna have to take a step back here, Glitchz is in the system and, if what she says is true, she'll figure this out.
Erin: You still haven't really told us much about your friend.
Amy: Yeah, well, maybe you guys would get a chance to meet her properly if I EVER GET THAT FUCKING SEQUEL THAT I'VE BEEN WAITING ON FOR LITERAL YEARS.
Erin:...
Miu:...
Azazel:...If it makes you feel any better, I don't have a sequel.
Amy: Yeah, well, that's because yours was going to be a part of a totally new story, with a new character and whatnot.
Azazel: You make it sound like sequels like that don't happen.
Amy: They don't.
Azazel: (*Eyes Remember Me from the desktop*) Riiiiiiiiiiight.
Amy: Anyway, if this works out well, Lilith should be back any moment now-
Lilith: *Pops into existence*
Amy:...
Miu:...
Azazel:...
Erin: Holy SHIT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE-
Hope found Jade a lot sooner than she thought she would.
Granted, Jade had gone to the same place she'd run away to last time, but Hope didn't really think about that for too long, taking a deep breath in before taking a step forward, "Sorry, but I didn't bring any alcohol with me this time."
Hope had hoped that, with an entrance like, she would have at least gotten some kind of chortle.
Instead, she was forced to duck down, just barely dodging the rock thrown in her direction.
Other than that, Jade didn't acknowledge Hope's presence. Hope took a step forward, ready to do her best and project as many Kuro-like vibes as possible, only to have Jade cut her off with a sharp look. Hope never once thought that Jade was scary, if anything she had her disturbing moments, but not once did Jade induce pure fear in her.
The look in Jade's eyes were more than enough to make Hope gulp down her apprehension, hands already up as she took a small step backwards, "...If you want, I can go back and grab a bottle or-"
"Don't act all buddy buddy with me, Cenhelm." Hope could feel the anger and resentment Jade put into her "last name", eyes having yet to give up their smoldering heat, "You might be able to read minds, but I can see right through you."
"...What?"
Jade scowled, throwing her hands up as she kicked about in the field, muttering lowly to herself, "You'd think that some people would take a hint. I don't know if you know this or not, but normally, when someone walks off on their own in a rather angry manner, that means that they want to be left alone."
"However, for SOME REASON," Hope took another step back as Jade's form shifted, her outline looking like a blur as she shifted from person to person. Hope wasn't sure if Jade knew she was doing that, so caught up in her own rage, "You seem to think that it means I WANT someone to follow after me. In case you can't put it together on your own, Cenhelm, me walking off does NOT mean that I want YOU OF ALL PEOPLE to come out and FOLLOW ME."
At first, Hope thought that some of the light had been flickering from behind Jade's eyes, as if there were an actual fire burning from within her. But, looking closely, it was light reflection off of her watery eyes, tears threatening to spill over at any moment, "I DON'T want to fucking hear it, okay!? I don't need your whole friendly schtick, I don't need you to pretend you care, and I REALLY don't need someone else to worm their way into my head and FUCKING DISSECT ME."
Hope winced at the raw emotion in Jade's voice, as if she were yelling at herself, "I don't want any of your 'friendship is magic' bullshit! I don't want to hear about all of your stupid escapades with your stupid role model god cause, guess what, I don't think that she was all that amazing if she ended up dead!"
Hope felt like someone had blown a hole through her chest, all the air leaving her body is an instant. A part of her wanted to be mad, wanted to force Jade to relive her own darkest moments as some form of retaliation. How DARE Jade speak about Kuro like that, like she was just… Was just…
"Oh, it's about time I hit SOMETHING." Jade laughed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she cackled, pointing at Hope's face like a child, "Aww, are you alright? Do you need me to get you a tissue? Maybe I could turn into your beloved Kuro and give you a pity hug?"
Jade cackled as she rose back up, her form shifting with a snap of her fingers. Hope blinked and, just like that, Violet stood before her, "Or maybe this is close enough?" Jade's smile grew across Violet's face, the tears having yet to cease, "No, it isn't, and you know it can't be. You might be the one that can get into someone's head, but you're not the only one who can break someone mentally."
And just like that, it all clicked. Hope felt as if someone had finally put glasses on her, only now noticing how blurry everything around her had looked up until now. She didn't see a raging, emotional demon in front of her, one that was trying to use everything she knew in order to drag Hope down to her own level.
No, she saw a scared child trying to defend herself from more harm.
"I get it now."
That got Jade to stop. Her expression fell with her tears, eyes full of confusion, "What?"
"I understand." A sad sort of smile spread across Hope's face, "You've been hurting for a long time, haven't you?"
"What the…" Jade took another step back, her expression an odd one on Violet's face. Hope couldn't help but feel guilty, seeing such a broken look on her face, "No, stop that. What the fuck, Hope!? You're supposed to be mad at me!"
"But you don't really want me to be, do you?" Hope kept her voice soft and low, hands having yet to rest at her sides, "You don't want anyone to hate you. In fact, you want to prove yourself to everyone, don't you?"
"No, no!" Jade slapped Hope's hands away, frustrated tears falling to the ground when she shook her head furiously, "I don't want your fucking pity! I'm not a fucking puzzle to solve! Don't pretend that, all of a sudden, I make sense!"
Hope stopped when Jade's fingers began to dig into her arms, breathing growing ragged as her eyes glued themselves to the ground, "Fuck, no… No no no no, not again… Fucking god damnit…"
Hope stood there, unable to do much more than watch as Jade whipped her head back up, a force smile plastered to her face as tears poured down her cheeks, "Don't look at me like that! I'm fine, it's all fine, everything is fine!"
Her words came out stinted and forced, Hope taking a careful step forward as red began to bead and drip from her arms, "I'm okay, I'm fine, I'm FUCKING perfect." She repeated those words like they were a lifeline, as if they might come true if she said them enough.
Hope couldn't help but curse herself slightly, hand rubbing her arm as she looked around, as if the trees around them would give her some sort of answer to her unasked question. In moments like these, she couldn't help but wonder how Kuro managed it, and if she was ever as stumped as she was right now.
"...Do you want a hug?"
"What do you think?" Jade's laugh sounded more like crying than actual laughter, "You're part of the reason I'm like this, do you REALLY think that you'd be able to help with a hug?"
"Yes."
That only got her more hollow laughter.
Hope found herself speaking before she knew the words she needed, her mouth just running on its own almost, "Did I ever tell you how my life was before I met Kuro?"
"Oh great, now you're going to tell me a fucking bedtime story." Jade sniffled, eyes trained on the grass under her feet, hands having yet to release their iron grip on herself, "Next you're gonna start singing my lullabies and brushing my hair."
"I used to live in the Rift with others, similar to you." Hope found herself sitting down in front of the kneeling Jade, tilting her head ever so slightly in order to try and get some form of eye contact. She didn't miss how Jade flinched ever so slightly, "But, we got caught."
"I don't know what happened to the others, I never did see them again after that day." Hope pulled her hair to rest on her shoulder, one hand stroking it while another rested on the back of her neck, flinching ever so slightly at the forced imperfections that had been forced on that area of her body, "They brought me into the castle."
"S-stop…"
"They put me before Sarai." Hope traced the sigil that had been burned into the back of her neck, skin feeling warmer than it should have as she ran the memory through her head, "And I'm sure that you know what happened after that."
Hope had wanted the story to come off as a sign of trust. She wanted to be there for Jade, and while she didn't understand it all, she wanted to show that she would put the time and effort into it. She didn't expect Jade's hands to let go of her arms and find themselves in Hope's shirt instead.
Hope looked down at the trembling hands holding her shirt hostage, Jade having yet to look Hope in the eye. Jade mumbled something under her breath, something Hope couldn't hear, "I'm sorry, what?"
"Are you an idiot?"
That got a small laugh out of Hope. Maybe it was the absurdity of the moment, or maybe it was the feeling of finally being able to talk about the one thing that scarred her the most (literally), something that she never brought up with Kuro. Regardless, Hope shook her head, "No, I don't think I am."
"Then why would you tell me this?" Jade murmured, voice soft as she fell deeper into her own mind, "I could destroy you with this, I could hurt you, and you know I would. And yet, you offer it all up willingly."
Finally, Jade looked up, fresh tears lining her eyes, "What kind of mental game are you playing here?"
Hope's mind was at a loss of words. It felt like her brain wasn't willing to feed her mouth any words, more preoccupied with Jade's sorrowful eyes and slightly quivering lip.
"No, no mental games." Hope couldn't stop herself even if she tried. She pulled Jade in, holding the shivering demon as tightly as possible, "No more mental games, I promise."
Jade huffed something about how easily promises were broken, which in turn elicited another laugh from Hope. Finally, Jade's hands let go of Hope's shirt, instead trailing themselves around Hope's waist.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Jade whispered into Hope's shirt, just barely audible over the winds around them, "I'm sorry, please don't leave me behind… I can be strong, I promise, just don't leave me behind."
"I won't." Hope murmured into Jade's hair, doing her best to be as calming as possible, "I promise, I won't."
"This is bullshit." Blythe grumbled under her breath, tugging at her armor straps as the three walked on, "Absolute. Complete. Bullshit."
Each step ached, adding to the dull pounding in the back of her head. On top of that, the scabbard for the most basic of swords kept slapping against her leg, which only made walking around in the stupid armor all the more difficult. Blythe didn't know why the twins had insisted that she specifically should go out in armor, only to be given a set that was at least two sizes too big.
She didn't care if she sounded whiney, this situation was all kinds of stupid, and she'd be damned if the other two didn't understand that.
"Ah, yes, you've made that clear multiple times now." Claude mumbled lowly behind her, "But by all means, repeat yourself. I do appreciate a reminder every ten seconds."
The only thing that kept going was the fact that Claude's current condition wasn't any better than her own. With one gloved hand glued to his forehead, and the other resting on the hilt of his stupid looking licorice sword, he looked like the personification of a hangover. Of course, his tone was enough to sour her mood back to square one, but it was the little things at the moment.
"Now now, there's no need for you to be at each other's throats already!" If Blythe hated the current situation, she absolutely DESPISED Cynthia's light and bubbly tone, skipping around in the dirt and gravel without a care in the world. She could tell Claude was irritated by it too, if his tightened grip on his hilt was anything to go off of, "If you two can keep that energy up for when we arrive, maybe we'll be able to return sooner"
"How far are we?" Blythe couldn't help the slight snicker caught in her throat, grinning all but evilly at the back of Claude's head as he walked past her, keeping pace with Cynthia. There was a big difference in his sarcastic irritance and his real one, and now that she knew the difference, Blythe found the latter oh so entertaining, "Being how we just left, I'd like to when we'll be arriving."
Cynthia looked off into the distance, fingers tapping her side in what Blythe could only assume was some sort of secret code, before whipping around to grin at Claude, "I'd assume that, at this pace, we should be there by tomorrow morning! We do need to be done and back within 36 hours, and I know you two don't want to be stuck lugging dead weight!"
"I assume that we have to make our way through this wasteland first?" Claude said, gesturing to the ruins laid out before him.
"You know it!"
"Lovely." Blythe's snort was just a little too loud this time around, Claude's head whipping around to glare at her from over his shoulder, "I do apologize if we made you feel left out, Blythe. But, by all means, do speak up and tell us what's so funny. I'm sure we'd both like to know."
"I can't help it, it's great to see you irritated for once." Blythe said, Cynthia joining in on her light chuckle, "Proves that you're just a little more human than you're letting on there, demon boy."
Claude's nose scrunched up ever so slightly, "I do take offense to that."
"Good." Blythe snickered at Claude's flushed face, "You should be human more often, that expression will get you a lot farther in life."
"What are you trying to imply here?"
Oh, Blythe grinned to herself, watching as Claude stepped right into her trap. Revenge was sweet, and she was planning to savor this, "I'm saying that you're easier to look at when you've got the expression of a schoolboy caught with his hand down his pants."
As if Claude's reddened face wasn't already a rare grift in its own, Cynthia tripping over her own two feet was a very close second, her jaw clenched as she shot a murderous smile over her shoulder, "Now Blythe, is that really necessary?"
Blythe wasn't thinking about why the comment would bother Cynthia, rather, she wanted to know how she could get more of that reaction. In the back of her head, Blythe knew better than to provoke Cynthia Saclut, especially directly. She knew better than to push the buttons of someone who had knocked Claude out of commission. But, at the same time, Cynthia's nervous fidget was just too good to pass up, "You don't seem to mind when Claude teases me. I only suggested that he has the same face as a teenager being caught wanking it."
That got another round of uncomfortable squirm out of the two of them, much to Blythe's delight. Cynthia opted out entirely, moving to press on while Claude stood there, dumbstruck, "That… is quite a juvenile way of phrasing it, wouldn't you think?"
"What would you prefer?" Blythe watched Cynthia out of the corner of her eye, hoping that she'd have at least a five second head start should the other woman try to rush her, "You look like your crush just bent you over his desk."
Cynthia twitched from where she was, taking a moment to stop and brace herself against a wall. At first, Blythe wasn't sure if she was laughing or crying, even with her body language screaming discomfort, "You look like you're pointing, but it isn't with your finger."
God, if Claude wasn't such a complete and utter asshole, Blythe would have thought it was cute how the red managed to reach the tips of his ears.
"You look like someone just reached down and grabbed your-"
"I think we both get it." Claude snapped, fury evident in his eyes as they flashed that odd demon fuschia color. Blythe just barely stifled a snicker as Claude pressed his eyes shut, taking a moment to recompose himself, "The first description wasn't necessary, what made you think that additional ones would be well received?"
"I was just trying to paint a vivid picture." Blythe could see why Claude did this often now, and Cynthia as well to a lesser degree. Having this sort of power at her fingertips was exhilarating, euphoric almost, "Help you see what I'm seeing and all that."
Claude's expression hardened, "Is that so?"
"Yeah," Blythe grinned, a sort of childish energy rushing through her as she leaned forward ever so slightly, daring Claude to do something impulsive, "I mean, if you want, I can do my best to go into more detail."
"I'm sure you can."
Blythe took that sarcasm as a challenge, ready to unload with every foul, disgusting, shiver-inducing word her vocabulary had to offer, "You're-"
"It's quite rude to eavesdrop on other conversations, don't you agree?"
Both Claude and Blythe turned to give Cynthia an odd look, watching as she continued to shout at a rubble pile, "...I think we broke her."
"Now now, there's no need to act all astonished over there!" Cynthia continued to jeer, "You're making me look bad in front of my subordinates, both of you!"
"Did she just call us subordinates?" Blythe scowled, barely noticing as Claude took a step over, hand hovering over the sheathe to his side.
Blythe felt the moment that all hell broke loose. Not only did this tension come out of nowhere, but when it snapped, it gave an almost shockwave-like feel. Blythe felt the air rush past her and, all of a sudden, Claude throwing himself over the low wall Cynthia had been talking to, sword drawn and brought straight down onto… a gloved hand?
It only dawned on her what was going on when a familiar girl's head popped up from behind the wall.
That stupid De Angelus kid.
She just barely had time to comprehend that she was being pulled away, only to have Cynthia push her up against a wall, hands fumbling through her belt, "Well, this has gone off the rails quite quicker than my medical acupuncture career." She murmured, eyes locked on whatever was going on behind the wall.
If the sounds were anything to go off of, Blythe was pretty sure that it was worth staying out of it, "What's the plan now?"
"While I do enjoy a surprise, this one isn't helping with the twins' time crunch." Cynthia sighed, hands furiously going through the many pouches around her waist, "As much fun as it looks, we don't have time for any of this. Which is why I'm going to give this to you."
Blythe jumped when Cynthia shoved a small glass jar into her hands, forcing Blythe's fingers to close around it, "Dude, what the hell is this? Are these drugs?"
"Yep!" Cynthia grinned, patting Blythe's back like a mother comforting a child, "You remember the map, yes?"
"Of course I do, you-"
"And you know where to go from here, right?"
"Yeah, I mean, ideally-wait." Blythe shook her head, levelling a disbelieving look at Cynthia, "Wait, you're sending me to Swinford? By myself?"
"You know where to go and what to do." Blythe hated how aloof Cynthia sounded, literally waving her away as if her plan was the only logical step here, "Besides, once I get in there to help Claude out,
"You are sending me, by myself, to a town of demons." Blythe deadpanned, jumping ever so slightly as the fragment of wall behind them shook ever so slightly, "I have to go in and take down a town of demons, not kill."
"Now now, there's no need to put it like that!" Cynthia said, laughing as if Blythe had told a very unfunny joke, "Don't think of it as me sending you to what could be your possible death. It's more like we're multitasking here!"
"Why don't you go instead? Or, better let, we just leave Claude to figure this mess out?"
Blythe's answer came in the form of Claude being thrown against the wall the two were hiding behind, Blythe peeking around the side just to make sure that it was, in fact, their demon boy, "I see your point."
"Good." Cynthia grinned, jerking her head from side to side in order to crack her neck before throwing her head back in monotone laughter, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make sure that Claude cleans up this mess he decided to jump right into. Do have fun!"
And with that, Cynthia leapt up and out from behind their shield, giggling as she ran into the fight. Blythe wanted to object, wanted to insist that this was a bad idea, but it would be hard to do that when Cynthia was already leaping and flipping into the fight.
So, with a heavy head, Blythe turned around and bolted. This was the direction that they were heading in, so as long as she went… straight…
The moment she broke the treeline, she realized how utterly and completely fucked she was. Blythe threw her head back, groaning before running forward, the scabbard still beating against the side of her leg.
"Fucking bullshit."
"...So, when are you going back?"
Hope really didn't care for whiplash, especially when it came to conversations. So, after spending at least half an hour in comfortable silence, it threw Hope through a loop when Jade decided to ask that question.
"W-what?"
"I know that you were just trying to calm me down," Jade said quietly, having yet to move from Hope's comfortable hold, "And really, who could blame you? I'm a downright nightmare when it comes to all that emotional shit."
"You're right." Hope shrugged when Jade glared at her, "What? You can't be mad at me for agreeing with you."
"That's not what I'm irritated with. But still, fuck you." Despite her words, there was no bite in Jade's tone, "Also, you haven't answered my question."
Damn, she caught on, Time to switch tactics here, "Which was?"
Hope stifled a laugh at that, the mental image a good balance between funny and absolutely disgusted, "When are you going back to your kid and divorced husband?"
"Why, are you trying to get rid of me?"
Jade rolled her eyes, "Wow, good on you for being that person, answering questions with more questions." Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, only then moving out of Hope's hold, levelling her face with Hope's, "You're trying to hide something."
"Am I?"
Hope jumped when Jade flicked her forehead, "Quit it and answer my question."
Hope shrugged, fingers drumming against the ground under her as she tried to get her mind on track, "I don't know."
Jade's eyebrow rose, the other girl leaning back as she sized Hope up, "...you don't know?"
"Not right now, no."
"You're pulling my leg here, right?" Jade said, before huffing, shaking her head, "You can't just expect me to think that you're going to leave the Crow Prince to take care of a kid? Dude looks like he can't figure out velcro shoes."
Hope struggled to find the right words, her mind and mouth already at war, Jade's input really wasn't helping much, "She did summon him, so-"
"Anyone can summon a demon and you know it!" Jade pressed, "You don't need a demonic tome and a cult following."
Hope felt like she was trying to suppress herself while also squeezing out whatever she could, trying to filter out what her mind wanted to say and how to say it.
"I don't know why you're trying to play it off, but you can't honestly expect me to believe that you don't care enough for the kid to let Corvus look after her as you jump ship." Jade said, unknowingly picking apart Hope's mental state as she rambled on, "After seeing you two interact, I am at least 100% sure that you would lay down your life for, fucking, Viola Von Angelfish-"
"Wait, who?"
"You heard me." Jade grinned, almost trying to coax one out of Hope, only to have the expression fall, "Look, I don't know a lot, but I can read clues. That kid, she's someone important to you or something, right?"
Hope couldn't help but fidget, fingers digging into the dirt as if to keep herself literally grounded, "That's not-"
"She's not your literal kid, I can definitely rule that out just looking at the two of you. It doesn't look like you're doing it as some sort of debt to the Crow, so I can ignore that as well." Jade went down her own mental checklist, batting away any sort of excuse Hope could have used as a defense.
"'Hey, could you just-"
"You and the Crow act like you know more than you're letting on, like you're both in on some sort of inside joke and the kid's the punchline." Jade was too lost in her own verbal deduction to notice how badly Hope was shaking, instead pacing about as she continued on, "And don't act like I'm wrong, I see the way you look at the runt. Like you're seeing a dead person after years of being tormented by the idea of a ghost, right? You look at her like she's some sort of second coming, almost like… Almost like she's died before."
"Can you stop-"
"That's what she is, isn't she? Shit, that makes a lot of sense. She was a demon that died in hell, that's why her stupid book was filled with all of that shit, she KNEW them!" A bewildered expression crossed Jade's face, the sudden realization hitting her like a meteor, "It all adds up. Of course you'd gravitate to someone important to you like that, especially if that person came back as a child-"
"But she isn't!" Hope felt like her mind finally snapped. She didn't realize how loud she was, nor did she really notice Jade jump at her sudden demeanor change, "No matter how much I wish she was, how unfair it all is, Violet isn't Kuro, and nothing I do or say will change that!"
Hope felt like her lungs were about to implode, chest heaving as Hope tried to find her way back into her skin. She barely noticed it when Jade reached a hand out to help steady her, a single finger coming up to help brush away the tear trailing down her face, "...Do you need a hug?"
Hope huffed out a laugh, slapping Jade's hand away as she fought to keep a grin on her face, "You suck, you know that?"
"Does it matter? You're laughing."
In the back of her head, Hope wanted to continue the charade. She knew that, if she answered the way that she really wanted to, they could both ignore the emotional wound here. She knew that Kuro would do it, choose to ignore the problem rather than face it head on now, if ever.
But no, she couldn't, and Hope knew that. Sighing, she breathed out a shaky breath, "It's been in the back of my head for a while, and for the longest time I figured that I'd just ignore it."
"But now?" Jade asked softly, taking a seat in front of Hope, looking like she wanted to help but didn't quite know how.
"But now it just doesn't feel right." Hope's hands shook as she tried to put her thoughts into words, "It isn't… Violet is a reincarnation of Kuro. I know that, I can feel it. But she isn't Kuro. God, this is just giving me more of a headache."
Jade looked like she wanted to speak, only to keep her mouth shut. Honestly, Hope was thankful for that; while Jade would have meant well, if she added to the thoughts in her head, she was sure she'd go insane, "Violet and Kuro are similar, sure, but… They aren't the same person. Violet isn't Kuro, and it… I can't… I shouldn't treat Violet like she is. Like she's someone that she isn't, even if she is."
Hope couldn't help but feel like she was only digging herself deeper into her own confusion. Her thoughts made sense, but her words didn't. No matter how she tried to put it, it all just sounded more and more contradicting, which did nothing to help with all of her stupid twisting and turning thoughts-
Hope jumped when arms pulled her in for a hug, Jade tucking Hope's head under her chin while she did her best to come off as comforting. Granted, Jade's grip was just a bit too tight, but regardless, she was trying.
"I get it, really, I do." Jade murmured, her voice sounding just a little off. It was almost too soft and sweet, but again, Hope could tell she was trying her best, "And as fun as it is to watch you ramble, you're going to need to take a moment and breathe, yes?"
Hope didn't even realize she'd been holding it in until Jade called her out on it, breathing out a light chuckle as well as the tension. Sure, she didn't feel all put together, god knew that there was a lot she still had to unpack, but honestly, this was a lot better than just outright ignoring it.
And, while it wasn't perfect, it was enough for now.
Blythe didn't mean to be the overdramatic teenager, but she was near certain that the universe hated her.
Whether it be in the situation itself or in the embodiment of Cynthia herself, the universe just did not like her in the slightest, and to an extent, she was okay with that. Life wasn't fair, and normally, there was a good reason for it to turn around and give Blythe the finger.
But, when it decided to add to the already shitty situation, that's where Blythe needed the void to take a step back.
So, when something rustled from behind her, Blythe couldn't help the disgrunted groan that tumbled out of her lips, "Come the fuck on, are you kidding me!?"
Blythe whipped around as the bushes continued to rustle, taking a step back before grabbing the hilt of her sword. Whatever it was, judging by the sound of the footsteps, it was big.
"Come on, be a deer or something." Blythe muttered, nearly tripping over her own two feet as she took another step back, "Please be a curious, fat deer."
Of course, that was when the giant black bear decided to rear back on it's two hind legs, pushing its way into the clearing as it's deafening roar pushed Blythe back a few feet. Now, normally, Blythe was used to fighting things much bigger than her. Blythe had faced off with other worldly creatures, slayed demons, dealt with Cynthia Saclut. A bear was something that, when put on that type of scale from 1 to 10, should have been placed on the lower side of a 3.
Not that the scale was standing next to her right now, shrinking with her under the sheer size of the bear slowly stalking over to her.
"Nice bear." Blythe muttered, her grip only growing tighter around her sword, silently cursing what could only be her complete and utter garbage luck. The bear seemed to growl in response, teeth bared as it took another step forward, which in turn caused her to take a step back.
Blythe's eyes darted around, looking for a way out here. The bear was in the direction of Swinford, which only made the situation that much worse. She had no doubt that she could get around it, the real issue would be staying ahead of it. One glance at it's claws and the surrounding trees ruled climbing up one out as an option, and she seriously doubted that she could hide from an animal with a superior sense of smell.
Not that the bear gave her much more time to think on it, leveling his maw with her head before charging forth. She barely had time to draw her sword, not that it mattered too much when the bear used its head as a sort of club, knocking her sword out of her hands.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Blythe just barely leapt out of the bear's reach, her mind racing to both complain about the situation and figure a way out of it. Blythe yelped as she tripped over her own two feet, her mind both chiding and screaming at her horrible luck as her back collided with the hard ground.
Blythe did her best to scoot herself back and out of the bear's reach, only to slip and crash back to the ground when her hand came down on something smooth, cold and cylindrical.
The moment she realized what it was, she didn't think. Her fingers clawing the cover off of the glass jar. She didn't have time to think about how many to take, instead tossing back the six blue pills as the bear charged her once more.
There was a split second where time seemed to slow down, the bear's maw inches away from her own face. Blythe could feel the bear's breath on her face, nose wrinkling at the smell and sight before her. She had a moment where she could have sworn that she saw the galaxy rushing at her from the corner of her vision before everything went black.
"Fucking god damnit." She just barely realized she'd said something, and even then she had no clue what kind of verbal vomit just escaped her mouth. She felt like her mind was having some sort of systematic shutdown, each part giving up control to… to something.
In the back of her head, she could only comprehend one thing: complete and utter rage.
Azazel:... How long has it been so far?
Miu: *glancing at clock on the wall* almost h-half an hour.
Azazel: How is this physically possible?
Amy: Are you really asking how it's physically possible for the bootleg Raven-wannabe to throttle the fake firebender?
Azazel: I don't see the issue here.
Amy: It's not the question itself, it's the fact that you haven't said anything before this.
Azazel: I get that.
Miu:... So... Should we just... l-let this happen?
Amy: As long as she isn't throttling me, I could not care less.
Azazel: It's not like Lilith can do this forever, right?
...Right?
