Fie had always been one to pride herself on her agility. In a world filled with people possessing supernatural powers and crazy technology it was the only thing that let her keep up. Despite being a name she earned fighting as a jaeger with Zephyr she still wore the title of 'Sylphid' with pride.
That was until about two minutes ago. Now she cursed her agility. It was, after all, the reason they were doing this completely insane plan of theirs. She couldn't see anyone doing this with Laura or Emma, after all.
Rean's plan had sounded fine on paper, but what she didn't expect was for him to come up with the completely insane idea of giving her a better firing position on top of the horse by having her ride on him. And it wasn't the fun kind, either. This was her practically standing on his legs so she could fire with both gunblades unimpeded. Rean, for his part, was doing his best to hold her close so she didn't fall off, but at the same time he was still controlling the demon horse from hell, so he could only do so much to assist her balance.
At least Gaius appeared to be having fun. He rode in front of them, spear held at the ready to lance down any birds who tried to intercept them. She had never really envied Gaius for much before, but seeing him control his own mount with almost no effort was something she would readily admit to being jealous of. Or maybe his horse just sucked a lot less, who knows?
Unsurprisingly, they were spotted almost instantly as they began their charge across the great land bridge. Indignant squawking filled the air as the Hippogriffs were not pleased by these intruders on their territory. Such noise naturally attracted the attention of others, and soon more and more birds began to appear from out of sight to hunt them down.
As Gaius had said, their horses were fortunately faster than the dive-bombing birds, so once they got past them they should be relatively safe. That being said, there were plenty ahead of them still and some of them seemed to be coming down at angles that would perfectly intercept them. Those were the ones to be wary of.
The birds directly in front of them scattered as Gaius's mount approached, survival instincts correctly identifying that big sharp object at high speeds equaled a very bad time for them. This left the myriad of feathered fiends who were angling down on them from above, and it was her job to scare them away. Monsters were too dumb to identify the threat of her guns, so she had to let her bullets explain it for her.
Accurate aiming while in her insane position at full gallop was completely impossible, but her targets were large enough that she had no problems hitting them once they got close. And fortunately for her she didn't need to hit them with that much power to deter them. A simple shot to one of their wings, while doing little real damage, was usually sufficient to get a bird to abort it's dive, or at least slow it to the point where it wouldn't reach them in time.
Still, that didn't mean it was simple. There were a lot of very angry Hippogriffs coming from multiple directions and only one of her. It didn't help that her instincts were working against her in this case. One bird got dangerously close to raking her face with it's massive talons and instinctively she tried to duck away, something which almost caused her to fall given the terrible position she was in. It was only thanks to Rean keeping a firm grip on her that she didn't suffer a fatal tumble. At least the horse seemed to realize the peril it was in and kept galloping at full speed even without the swordsman to guide it's actions. Still an evil creature, but at least one smart enough to prioritize it's own survival over her death.
While most of her sight was filled with angry birds and falling feathers from sniped foes, she did try and keep an eye out for any possible sightings of her target. She really wasn't sure what to look for beyond a really big Hippogriff, but none of the ones she saw seemed to fit that description. That meant it was probably further ahead, somewhere near where the shrine used to be.
After a few seconds that felt a lot longer the two horses and three riders burst through the feathery horde to relative freedom. While the two males could finally relax a bit, her job wasn't finished. There were still a lot of enraged birdies chasing after them. Some of them seemed to realize the futility of the pursuit and gave up the chase, but many of them seemed determined to keep chasing them down, despite their speed disadvantage.
Or at least that was their original intention, but such things tend to change when subjected to a barrage of bullets. One after another the birds flew away as she turned her gunblades upon them. By the time they reached the other side of the bridge there were only a half-dozen of the most aggressive Hippogriffs still in pursuit.
With solid ground under their feet and most of the flock having given up they could finally take a stand to clear out the rest of the group. With Gaius guiding them the three found a spot next to the rock wall where they could dismount and engage the enemy. Fighting with their backs against the wall normally was a bad idea, but against the avians it gave them the best chance of protecting their horses by preventing them from circling around behind the group.
Hippogriffs were considered one of the apex predators of the Nord Highlands and one was considered to be a threat to all but the most hardy of Nord warriors. From what Fie had heard, Group A fought a couple on their field studies and they had been challenging battles. So for three of them to be fighting six of the massive birds at once all while trying to protect their rides...
It was a massacre. The feathery fiends didn't know what they were getting into when they attacked the trio of elites. What followed couldn't even be considered a battle and within the span of thirty seconds the three surviving birds turned and frantically scurried away, squawking indignantly the entire time.
With this annoying barrier overcome, the three relaxed as they planned their next move. There were still dozens of eyes upon them, but the flock of monsters were clearly wary and willing to give them space... for now, at least. Better not stick around for too long lest they get any funny ideas.
"Don't make me do that ever again." She growled to her companions as they continued deeper into the highlands on foot, horses trotting along beside them.
Gaius hummed thoughtfully. "Well we do still need to return that way after we finish.." Her glare could have melted steel. The tall Nord was unfazed. "They might not attack us next time, especially if we're successful in taking out this mysterious boss bird." That mollified her... somewhat.
"That's even if it's around here. For all we know we're in the wrong spot and just wasted our time." Although his words were serious, she knew Rean enough to tell that he was saying that just to get on her nerves. And damnit it was working! If they weren't in the middle of a mission behind enemy lines she would give him a piece of her mind. Instead she made a mental note to give him a swift kick to the shin once they were back to civilization.
"It's always possible." Gaius admitted with a smile, clearly understanding the hero's intention of antagonizing her. Just because he was now a Father of the Church didn't make him immune to being assaulted! "Still, can't you sense it?"
Right, Gaius was also one of their group who had exceptional sensory abilities. While they were still a fair distance away from where the shrine used to be and she couldn't see around the rock wall, that same rock wall also made things echo a lot further then they would normally carry. So while sight was useless, she could rely on her hearing. And as for what she heard...
Of course. More squawking. Honestly she was starting to get sick of these damnable birds and their incessant squawking. It didn't sound like nearly as many as they had just faced, but it was still a sizable number. And one of the birds sounded vastly different from the rest. This was probably the one they were seeking.
They weren't accosted at all as they made the rest of the trek and soon the clearing that was their destination soon came into view. They found a hidden little alcove behind some rocks to leave the horses, who seemed more than content to not leave the hiding spot until the predators were gone. A little further and soon they reached their destination.
Sure enough, it was filled with angry Hippogriffs. Maybe a dozen of them. They weren't the true threat however. That would belong to the biggest and meanest looking bird that any of them had ever seen as it circled about. Fie didn't think any creature could naturally grow to be the size of a cryptid, but this one somehow had.
"I heard that they keep growing until they die, but this one... is unnatural. It must be hundreds of years old to reach this point." Not even Gaius could manage to hide his awe as he looked upon the terrifyingly large creature who was gazing back at them with sharp eyes.
"Be that as it may, it's clearly a threat to this land. Our objective is to take out that bird so the people and animals of the Nord Highlands can be at peace again. It's powerful, so make sure you give it everything you've got!"
Either the creature realized their hostile intentions, or it simply wasn't in the mood to listen to one of Rean's speeches, but either way it chose that moment to take flight and charge at them, with the other lesser birds following in close pursuit. How nice. Saved them the effort of going to them.
The three former members of Class VII prepared for battle. Fighting a big scary monster alongside a bunch of lesser, but still scary monsters was nothing new for them, so they didn't need an ARCUS link to know what the others were planning. That being said, she still made sure to beat Rean to the punch and form one with Gaius anyways. Didn't really need one with Rean, after all.
The first order of business was to reduce the number of opponents facing them. While they only really needed to deal with the head honcho bird, that would be next to impossible with the lesser enemies attacking them from all sides, so unfortunately they had to go first. Given their previous experiences they knew that one person would usually find themselves stuck playing around with the main opponent while the others would support when needed, but would focus most of their efforts on clearing out the chaff first.
As for the one stuck dealing with the boss? It apparently chose her. Figures. She wasn't sure if it just picked her at random or if it decided that she was less of a threat compared to the two large males beside her, but either way? She was offended and ready to make it pay for its decision.
One advantage of their earlier skirmish was that she had a greater understanding of what these monsters could do, and while this one might be an abnormally large Hippogriff, it was still a Hippogriff. Just need to stay wary of it's breath, it's beak, and especially it's poisonous talons.
Talons which were the size of her arm, she noted as she frantically dove out of the way. Any chance to follow up with a counter was dashed as she felt a warning through her combat link, causing her to evade just as one of the smaller birds thought to use the opportunity to attack from behind while she was distracted. The jaeger in her respected the opportunism, but at the same time she couldn't let such a brazen attack go unpunished. This time she did counter, and the smaller enemy retreated in agony after her well-crafted blades cut through one of it's legs like it wasn't there, which it certainly wasn't once she was finished.
That was as much fun as she got before the real threat came back. Although she had expected it to be a lot faster and stronger than it's lesser brethren, she was unpleasantly surprised to discover that it's fire breath was far worse too. It was only her quick reflexes that caused her to avoid the fiery hot death that the bird spewed forth, but it was a close thing. It's a good thing that most warriors worth their mira wore fire-resistant clothing or else she would probably be tearing off a blazing coat right about now.
Her bullets did little to it and it didn't seem to be inclined to let her close enough to stab it in the face, so she was at an impasse. A quick glance through all the feathers and oversized fowl revealed that Rean and Gaius were faring a lot better, but still struggling to make much headway against the relentless assault from the group attacking them. She knew they couldn't afford to delay for too long, as other Hippogriffs might end up spotting the confrontation and decide to join in, turning the battle into one of attrition that would suck for all.
Something which the others seemed to realize as they were almost in sync as they activated their own unique abilities. She had almost forgot that Gaius had a powerful stigma to draw upon. How come all of her friends have cool power-ups? Talk about unfair. All she had was her impressive speed... And her stealth.
Something which seemed quite attractive in that instant as the big bird was momentarily distracted by the sheer power emanating from her unfairly advantaged companions. She hadn't considered it earlier as she didn't want Rean or Gaius to get overwhelmed if the boss gave up on looking for her and decided to seek out easier targets, but now it seemed quite appropriate as she knew the others were now strong enough to handle any potential ambush.
An unfounded fear, as once it realized it lost it's target it instead decided that discretion was the better part of valor and began to take to the skies, clearly intending to preserve its own feathers even if it came at the expense of all of it's followers. Something which she had no intention of allowing, as that would mean they would have to pursue it later. And it just so happened that she had one tool that was perfect for this job, a tool which she hadn't gotten the chance to use since the Civil War...
Her trusty grappling hook.
It roared in pain as the claws of the hook latched onto it, but she had aimed for a spot near it's tail feathers behind it's talons so it was unable to dislodge the offending object. As soon as it understood that there was a girl attached to the offending object the boss began it's earnest and somewhat frantic efforts of dislodging her. To do so it began a frenzied flight path, ascending higher and higher as it began to fly close to the rocky walls that made up this section of the highlands. The combat link she had formed with Gaius broke as the bird forced the two ARCUS units apart.
Not wanting to to be splattered against a wall or fall from a height that even she couldn't handle, she once again activated her grappling hook, causing her to ascend upwards to where it had latched on. Once there she dexterously climbed up the bird using her gunblades to latch on whenever it came close to knocking her off. Eventually she settled onto it's back.
How come humans decided to domesticate horses and not super large predatorial birds that spat fire at things? Riding on this bird was far cooler than one of those smelly obnoxious creatures could ever be. Perhaps she could steal a few of their eggs and train the babies into cool flying bird mounts?
Thoughts for a later time as right now she had a giant Hippogriff to murder. With her thoroughly attached to the creature she knew she had won, but figuring out exactly how she wanted to win was a different matter entirely. Being so high in the sky that Rean was just a little speck on the ground meant she needed to approach these next few seconds delicately.
The solution she came up with... was not very delicate at all. Instead it involved a lot of explosives placed onto the left wing of her flying mount. Gravity was a thing, but as long as she kept her new feathery friend between her and the ground it should be fine, right? One explosion and cry of pain later and the two were descending from the heavens towards the ground far below.
What she didn't expect was for the Hippogriff to be a spiteful creature. It almost immediately understood that with one of it's wings an unusable mess of gore and bone that it was inevitably about to die and instead focused it's efforts on making sure to take Fie with it, either by dislodging her or by making sure she would be the first to impact the ground.
Obviously she had no intention of becoming a pancake on the ground so she did her best to resist it's efforts. This culminated with the bracer and bird grappling for supremacy as they continued their rapid descent to the ground below. Below she could now clearly see that they were going to crash somewhere near where the fight began and both Rean and Gaius were rushing in her direction.
While she was able to successfully resist it's efforts in dislodging her, their struggle had resulted in their fall becoming a rather uncontrolled spin, which was rather unfortunate for her plans of continued survival. Not wanting to risk the gamble of her feathery pillow becoming her feathery grave she scrapped her original plan and decided upon something new. Jumping off when it neared the ground should work, right?
Come to find out, it did... Somewhat. Leaping off the dying Hippogriff with as much force as she could muster did slow her descent, but not so much that she wasn't dreading the final 20 arge or so she had to fall. At least She got a nice view of her nemesis cratering into the ground and all but exploding in a storm of feathers and bone. After that it was her own turn to fall.
Or at least it would have if Gaius wasn't there to do that cool trick where he spins his spear really fast to generate a big gust of wind. It wasn't exactly the most gentle sensation as it was meant to be an attack, but it did slow her fall significantly. Instead of crashing into the ground she instead softly landed in the arms of her lover.
"That was fun!" She cheered with a grin.
Rean did not look nearly as impressed. "Are you insane!? That was completely reckless!"
"It's something you would have done."
"Ugh..." Rean wasn't sure how to look after that retort. "That should be enough for you to know it was a terrible idea."
Gaius at least merely looked relieved that she was mostly unharmed. "Thanks the winds that you're alright."
"Literally, in this case. Thanks for that, by the way." Turning her attention back to Rean, which was easy as she was still in his arms. "I know it was risky, but I wanted to help out. You two have your fancy power-ups. I just didn't want to be a burden..."
"Dummy." Her Chevalier muttered as he poked her on the forehead. Rude. "This isn't a competition, you know? Just because I have my Spirit Unification and Gaius has his stigma - which both have significant drawbacks, by the way - doesn't mean you're falling behind. You have your own skills, after all."
The Nord nodded in agreement. "None of us could have done what you did to infiltrate that base and save Rean." He supplied helpfully.
"I know that, it's just-" She paused, before shaking her head in concession. "Nah, you're right. It was a stupid gamble on my part." All she needed to do was keep it's attention on her and do what was possible to keep it grounded until the others finished their fights and victory would have been assured. Even if the Hippogriff had retreated and escaped they still could have tracked it down while it was isolated and taken it out simply enough.
She thought Rean might have been mad, but he surprised her by laughing in amusement. "It's fine. I won't deny it was terrifying to watch, but it all worked out in the end. And it's like you said: It was something I probably would have done in your place. Now I see why you guys were always getting so mad at me for doing reckless things all the time..."
"Haha, that's true. The old Fie would never have done something so reckless. You really must be rubbing off on her."
"Very funny." She supposed that there were worse things in life than turning into Rean, Sara being one obvious example, but that didn't mean she had to appreciate the comparison. "Can we just head back? I'm tired." Riding a horse was far more exhausting than she would care to admit and they still had the return trip to do.
Since the mission was accomplished neither of the men disagreed with her suggestion and together they sought out their horses which were waiting patiently for them. She no longer had the energy to argue with the creature and instead quietly mounted up behind Rean. At least it was nice enough to not mess with her this time. Perhaps it actually appreciated the work she did?
As Gaius had predicted, none of the other Hippogriffs chose to harass them as they egressed from that part of the highlands. A few were still around and watched them warily, but most had already begun to disperse back to their old hunting grounds. Still a threat to the other creatures of Nord, but one that was part of the natural order of things and thus would be allowed to continue.
It only took a couple hours to make the return trip to the encampment thanks to their mounts, but with summer over and autumn in full swing they found themselves racing to beat the descending sun to their destination, a race they won, but only just.
The plan was for the two bracers to either spend the night back at the gate, or Roer if they were feeling especially ambitious so that they would make it back at a reasonable time the next day, but Gaius insisted they stay overnight as he had a surprise for them in the morning. Curious, but something they could work with, so they agreed to his suggestion.
Dinner with the Worzel's that evening was eventful, as Gaius's brother Thoma was back and both he and Lacan were both very interested in their battle, which they saw no reason to refuse. Both Nord warriors were quite pleased with their report, but still vowed to keep an eye on the region for a few days just to make sure everything went back to normal although everyone expected as much. Their gratitude for the bracer's effort was genuine, but quite unnecessary as they were simply happy to help, both as friends of Gaius and of Nord as a whole.
Sensing that Gaius wanted to spend some time with his family, an old memory of Rean's first visit to Nord resurfaced and he decided to act on it. Silently he gestured for Fie to follow him, which she did without comment, and the two exited the Worzel's yurt. He quickly scanned the area for a nice spot somewhat distant from the nightly activity of the settlement and finding one, led her to it.
"What's up?" She asked once they were away from the others, curiosity finally getting the better of her.
"It's nothing major, I just remembered the first time I came to Nord with Group A. Thought we could look at the stars together."
Now let it be known that the former jaeger was never one to stop and admire the scenery, but even still... "Oh... Wow." It was impossible to not be impressed by the sky here. Unlike any place she knew in Erebonia or beyond there was nothing to hinder the view as far as the distant mountains, so it was a sight like nothing she had seen before.
He grinned at her impressed reaction as he took a seat on the grassy land,with Fie following suit just a second later. For a time they sat there, enjoying the night sky of Nord in silence. It must have truly gotten late as most of the activity in the encampment ceased after some time and the only sound they heard outside of their own breath and minute movements was the occasional bleating of a still awake sheep or neighing of a horse.
"This is nice." She murmured at last. "I can see why you like this place so much."
"Right?" He paused as he fully laid himself on the ground. "It's not like I want to give it all up and move here or anything, but occasionally it's nice to just get away from it all, you know?"
She mimicked his action, laying down right next to him. "Mmm... Still, I probably wouldn't like it nearly as much were it not for the right company."
Her words made him happy, but in a sign that she was influencing him as much as he was her, he couldn't help but tease. "You mean your new best friend the horse? If you really want I could bring him over here and-"
She none too gently cut him off by placing her head on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. "Jerk." She huffed, but there was a clear tint of amusement in her eyes.
"Haha..." He knew he deserved that. "But still, you're right, of course. Although I think I would be happy anywhere, as long as it's with the woman I love." He leaned down and she up, and their lips met in a gentle kiss.
"Better. You can be really romantic when you aren't saying stupid things, you know?"
Silence again descended upon the pair as they continued to relax under the starlit sky. Despite the lack of activity was a moment they both enjoyed quite a lot. Still, all good things had to come to an end eventually, and it was probably time to return to camp.
"Fie?" Or at least it would have been if his companion wasn't already sound asleep. The rational part of Rean's mind told him he should wake her up as the ground was no place for them to be sleeping. On the other hand, she looked completely at peace and he didn't want to disturb that. In the end he decided on nothing and relaxed, intending on trying again in a few minutes.
By the time those few minutes passed he too had joined her in the realm of unconsciousness.
An hour later Gaius exited his family home wondering where the two were. Eventually he discovered them curled up together sound asleep on the grass. With a quiet chuckle the Dominion returned to the encampment to find a heavy blanket to cover them with. It was autumn and he respected the winds well enough to know that it would soon be bringing a chill mountain breeze down upon them. Wouldn't want those sleepy lovebirds getting sick, after all.
Sleeping on the ground wasn't a new sensation for the two of them, as it was something that Fie often had to do while in Zephyr and Rean had his own experiences thanks to his training trips with Yun Ka-fai, but it had been a long while and thus they were reminded of one very important fact: It was an awful experience. It was hard, cold, and left them feeling achy and stiff all over.
They were fortunate that no monster decided to venture close enough to spot them. While they were both confident in their ability to sense and react to any such threat, doing so would have made their miserable rest even worse. The blanket was a surprise, but it was obviously Gaius's doing, and while they were a bit embarrassed at being caught like that at least it wasn't some of the other Class VII members like Crow or Ash who found them, as that would be sufficient teasing ammunition for quite some time.
Slowly and painfully the two got ready for the day. Their classmate and his family were kind enough to not say anything, but the knowing smiles on their faces spoke volumes. Breakfast was a quiet affair and soon the three Thor's graduates left with only Gaius knowing where they were headed.
Their curiosity was finally sated when they heard the familiar sound of a Merkabah class airship on approach. "Wait, seriously?" Fie asked the Church warrior. "You're giving us a ride?" Despite the question she was quite pleased as that would turn a full day's ride into one that would maybe take an hour.
"Indeed. It's the least I can offer to thank you two. That Hippogriff threat ended up being bigger than I had expected and I wouldn't have been able to deal with it without your help."
"Well, if you're sure." Despite his reservations it was clear that Rean was just as on board with the idea as Fie was. "But is it alright letting us on board your airship?"
"Normally no, but the two of you have already been on it before, so there should be no problems. Just make sure to follow the old rules and stay away from the engine room."
Were it not Gaius's airship and she didn't want to get him into trouble Fie might have been compelled to investigate the mysterious secret Merkabah engine room that they keep getting warned away from, but as it was she would grudgingly restrain her curiosity. Once it landed the three boarded, with Gaius headed directly to the bridge while the two bracers made their way to the lounge to keep out of the way of the busy squires.
"Why don't we get our own airship?" She asked as the craft took flight.
Rean couldn't help but shake his head, already worried about what crazy ideas were floating through her head in that moment. "They don't just sell airships to the average civilian, you know?"
"What about the Capuas?"
Oh no, he could already see where this was going. "Lest you forget, the Capua family started off as sky pirates." The expectant look on her face didn't fade, causing him to sigh. "We aren't stealing an airship, Fie."
"What if it was an Ouroboros airship? I should have stolen the Red Constellation's craft back when I had the chance, but I really don't want to touch anything that Shirley flew around in."
He opened his mouth to retort, but paused, and instead closed his mouth as he thought about it. "I... suppose it might be okay?" He honestly had no idea about the legality of stealing an airship from a group of criminals out to destroy the world, but he doubted anyone would mind too much. And it would be nice having a small patrol craft of their own...
"Great. I bet if we get the gang together we can seize the Glorious for ourselves."
...Wait, what?
He was interrupted from having to answer that as the Merkabah finally ascended to the skies. As it had been a while since either of them had flown in an airship, and a lot longer for a high-speed ship like this one, the two decided to go outside and enjoy the wind.
It never ceased to amaze them just how fast an airship really was. In just a few minutes they had passed the Eisengard mountain range and into the Empire proper. They were halfway through Nortia when Gaius joined them on deck.
"You want me to drop you guys off in Trista or Heimdallr?"
It was still early enough that they could put in a full day's effort at the guild, but... "Trista. They aren't expecting us back until tonight so let's enjoy the free day." Fie answered in his stead, clearly thinking the same thoughts he was.
"Haha. Sure thing."
With all the work out of the way the three were free to converse about less important topics. This gave Fie free reign to grill the spearman about his relationship with Linde. It was pretty fun watching the normally unflappable Gaius get flustered under her interrogation.
On the plus side it sounded like it was progressing quite well. They understood as well as any the difficulties of keeping a relationship working despite work keeping them apart often, so they could sympathize with his frustrations. That being said, both Gaius and Linde were patient people and were still committed to each other despite their irregular meeting schedules. If anyone could pull it off it was them.
Before long the speedy craft had arrived at it's destination and landed just outside of the town so as to not alarm the people living there. As much as they wanted to continue chatting with their friend they knew he was busy and probably needed to return to Arteria soon, so they quickly bid farewell and disembarked. Once they were off they watched as the Merkabah returned to the skies and quickly flew out of view before the two of them made the final trek home on foot.
Bit of a filler arc, but you can't put a massive character changing event in every chapter. Hope you all enjoyed regardless.
Next Chapter: A massive character changing event occurs!
