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Post by Jisui on May 31, 2020 14:21:07 GMT -5
It all went by in a flash of blurred movement, almost too quick for him to even react. Garrett's eyes wildly flashed between the spot where The Servant had been, to Sophia, to Blayz, then back to the piece of broken cliff where their opponent had stood.
It had been too long, since he had experienced combat. There were too many emotions running through his mind. Too many stray thoughts that served little purpose in a battlefield. Focus on only what was necessary. Only the facts.
The creature was gone. That red mist was receding, bringing an almost overwhelming surge of color into his vision.
"Garrett! Sophia! Thank the gods you two are okay!"
They were alive.
They... were alive.
As if he had been holding it all in, a huge sigh of relief passed from Garrett's lips. The doctor's form seemed to deflate somewhat, wild adrenaline fading from his eyes as his pulse slowed down its racing. For a split second, he returned Blayz' smile, the corners of his mouth tilting upwards as if sharing the other man's joy in their survival. It only lasted a second before they all heard the hard thud of a body hitting cold dirt.
Turning his head and seeing the sight of the akma woman planted into the ground, Garrett ignored his own painfully creaking ribs, and sprinted towards her. Carefully and professionally, the doctor knelt by her side, and moved her body to an upright position. With a gentleness that neither of them had seen on the brusque young man, he tilted her head upwards and began assessing her injuries.
"Numerous lacerations and open wounds, probably some broken bones, and definitely a concussion." Garrett muttered out, grimacing at the state of the woman. The fact that he had been able to immediately diagnose all of that from just a glance, with no tools, was impressive in itself. He seemed to take no pride in it however, his mind focused like a keen edge on Sophia's state.
The open wound on her head would need to be taken care of immediately, or she could bleed out. Quickly, Garrett removed some gauze, medical tape, and isopropyl alcohol from a satchel at his waist, and began to clean the wound as carefully as he could. While doing so, his gaze occasionally flickered to Blayz, taking in the man's condition as well as he could.
"How are you feeling?"
Awkward.
It was painfully awkward, and the two men immediately knew it. They were sitting face-to-face in the living room, a steaming pot of fragrant tea in front of them. Leaning into his plush armchair, Rino's father gave a content sigh as he sipped his cup, then brought it down to its saucer.
Admittedly, there was probably quite a bit to talk about, if the circumstances had been different. Where B.Jay had come from, how he knew Rino, what he did for a living... the small talk and pleasantries most likely could have carried the conversation just fine.
With the tension of the red moon, combined with the previous events, neither of them felt comfortable bringing it up. Thus, inevitably, the topic came to the only common ground between the two.
"...Rino thinks a lot about that boy." Ben finally broke the silence, his eyes locked on a particular photograph in the room. It was a framed picture of Rino and Garrett when they were children, the young boy grinning as if he had just won a great prize.
"Always has, even when he left." He grunted at the thought, grabbing his cup of tea once again and bringing it to his lips. He froze beforehand though, as the red light illuminating the living room began to recede. Glancing out the window, the pair watched as the red mist began to rapidly recede from the village.
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Blayz
Initiate
Lets hit 'em with that woah.
Posts: 36
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Post by Blayz on Jun 4, 2020 13:06:34 GMT -5
For the tiniest of moments, Blayz saw something he'd never thought he'd see while he was with this party. Garrett smiled! He thought at best, Garrett wouldn't sigh loudly but no, an actual smile! Seconds later however, he heard a very loud thud but, he didn't see that monstrosity come back so where did it come from-- "Sophia!!!" Blayz cried out as he got up to sprint towards the woman only to fall back down to his knees writhing in pain. "Sssss...!!! Owowowowow....." he began panting as the pain to his rib-cage area was really starting to set in. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to land so gracefully after recovering from the cliff-side. "How are you feeling?"
Hearing the doctor's question, he sat down on the ground and steadied his breathing. As much as he'd like to pretend he wasn't in serious pain, doing that could be extremely dangerous.
"My chest and abs hurt a lot, Dr. Garrett..." he answered taking another deep breath.
"I-I can help you take Sophia somewhere safe if you allow me to pace myself" he reassured trying his best to keep his face neutral and not contort it into one that's full of pain. "This is... so awkward" the dancer thought to himself.
"I bet we'd have so much fun just chatting the night away about random topics and life and fatherhood even! I mean, I have a young son but Angel is an adult! That'd be so interesting to hear stories of when she was young!" he sighed to himself before taking a sip of the tea which made his eyes open wide as he licked the remaining tea from his lips.
"This tea is absolutely delicious though! Yet another thing I wanna ask about..." before he got carried away in his thoughts again, he heard the rotund gentleman speak.
"...Rino thinks a lot about that boy."
Hearing a little about Rino and Garrett's history, it made B.Jay chuckle a little.
"Ya know? Its funny because she asked me how obvious it was earlier, and I had to hold myself back from telling her that she's basically shouting it to the heavens! Though... I have to wonder if Garrett has noticed himself." he said taking another sip of tea. Good Gods, what is this blend? At this point B.Jay could drink a gallon of this stuff!
As he noticed Mr. Hallia froze up a little, he raised an eyebrow and followed his eye-sight to see the miserable mist fading away.
"D-Does this mean... they did it?" B.Jay quietly asked as he stood up.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 5, 2020 10:46:41 GMT -5
All that could be heard from the akma woman were some quiet mumbles of various versions of the phrase "I'm fine" or "Don't worry about me". As well as some weak attempts at movement, but it was clear she was in no condition to even attempt to stand on her own.
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Post by Jisui on Jun 8, 2020 19:48:46 GMT -5
"I-I can help you take Sophia somewhere safe if you allow me to pace myself."
"With broken ribs? Don't think so." Despite Garrett's words, the doctor's tone was surprisingly light, almost gentle. The tension of combat beginning to fade, a certain calm had begun to settle over the man. At least, from a glance, that was what it appeared like.
Garrett hid it well. Yet, if one were to look closely, the hand that was beginning to bandage Sophia's head, was lightly trembling like a stray leaf in the wind. His green eyes, appearing to be locked and focused on treating Sophia, were quickly darkening like a shaded forest.
It was the look of a man who detested himself.
At the single drop of scarlet, his hand became this. The mind was sharp. He knew exactly what to do. But the body...
Forcing out any unnecessary thoughts, Garrett continued to slowly wrap some gauze and medical tape around Sophia's head. Finishing the wrap, he took a second to double check his work, before giving a quiet sigh of relief. Aside from the head wound, the rest of her wounds didn't cause any immediately concern. He could treat the rest later.
Giving a small grunt of effort, and ignoring the searing pain that was lancing through his abdomen, Garrett gingerly laid Sophia back onto the ground. Taking slow, deliberate steps, he moved over to Blayz and gave the man a quick once-over in further detail. In all honesty, Blayz was barely in better condition than Sophia. He was in no shape to go anywhere, much less help him move Sophia. Meaning...
"...I'll go get help. Stay here with Sophia, and don't make things worse on yourself." Garrett instructed sternly, giving a wary glance over to the ocean where The Servant had fell. He was reluctant to leave the two alone, but there was little chance he would let him walk around in that condition.
"D-Does this mean... they did it?"
"..." Rino's father was reluctant to answer, for a variety of reasons. Disbelief was chief among those. The red mist had set into their village, creating a vyce like grip of fear onto them all. It was hard to believe in salvation at this point.
It wasn't as if the mist hadn't disappeared before. It was just that it had always, without fail, taken someone with it.
That was why he didn't answer, and couldn't react, even as Rino bolted straight through the front door with no warning.
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 9, 2020 19:09:55 GMT -5
As the last of the red mist dissipated, revealing the night sky, the people of Orlon Village began to emerge from their homes. Some wore confused expressions, others looked around in fear, while a few looked around with concern on their faces as they looked for their village doctor and the akma woman who came to help them.
As Garrett turned to get help he could see a small group of people approaching, consisting of one of the village elders and several human and akma villagers. "You actually did it…" the elder said as he approached. He was an older gentleman, with stone-like skin and two horns protruding from his head, one of which was cracked and the other adorned with silver metal rings. This elder, Diomozas, was one that the doctor was likely familiar with, as he had been the one to welcome him to Orlun upon his arrival back in the day.
Diomozas’s blue robe flowed in the wind as he moved closer, the golden eyes behind his spectacles widening at the condition of the group. Without missing a beat he looked towards the villagers with him, all who nodded and moved ahead. Two, an older human male and a female beastkin, gingerly picked up Sophia while two more approached Blayz, a male akma with deep blue skin and white tentacle-like hair, and a female human in her early twenties. The akma picked up the still-conscious Blayz while the human followed.
“We’ll take them both to the clinic.” The elder quietly said to Garrett as he studied the doctor while stroking his long crimson beard.
“You don’t look much better than either of them, child.” Diomozas’s tone was gentle and held obvious concern. “You should come as well. Are you capable of making the walk?”
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Blayz
Initiate
Lets hit 'em with that woah.
Posts: 36
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Post by Blayz on Jun 10, 2020 22:37:53 GMT -5
"...I'll go get help. Stay here with Sophia, and don't make things worse on yourself."
Blayz sighed heavily as he scooched closer to Sophia to keep an eye on her. Hopefully he wouldn't have to fight off anyone or anything strange as Garrett had diagnosed him with broken ribs and ordered him to not make things worse for himself. Since the red-haired archer was... there but not fully there, Blayz took another sigh as he let his shoulders slump.
"Man... this is actually the fuckin' worst!" Blayz exclaimed, his emotions finally spilling over from the battle.
"I'm really glad we got rid of whatever the shit that thing was but, Garrett's house is a complete fuckin' mess, my ribs are broken, Sophia's almost dead, Garrett's surely hurt and the gods only know where the hell B.Jay is!" his voice raising as he vented.
"If anything? After all of this? I just hope I've earned their trust, I just wanted to make a few friends. Not be interrogated then thrown right into a gods damn Death Match- Ow! Ow ow ow..." He winced in pain before steadying his breath. As he just calmly breathed, he looked over at Sophia's unconscious body and sighed.
"Sophia probably has some really cool adventures she could tell us. Garrett is finally letting his guard down too! I bet he's a lot of fun to be around once you get to know him. I mean, why else would someone like Rino be with--" Blayz caught himself before he chuckled slightly.
"Don't wanna open that can of worms again!" he said taking another sigh as he heard noise coming from the village where the party was taken to. It seemed like everyone was coming out of their houses, celebrating even. Blayz smiled warmly.
"Sophia, look! We're gonna be heroes! Like you said!" he exclaimed still with a wide grin on his face.
Soon enough however, some villagers had come to pay Blayz and Sophia a visit. He saw a Man who looked to be in his 40s and what seemed to be a beast-person? They were like a Humanized Wolf! His eyes opened wide as he had only heard about those type of beings but never actually saw one. His fascination would have to wait for another time as they carefully picked up Sophia and carried her away.
Next, A very tall and muscular male who blue-skin and hair that looks like it could cause some pretty nasty gnashes if used properly and a young woman who looked to be slightly older than Blayz came up to him
"U-Uhhhh. Hello!" he said smiling at them as the white-haired man picked him up and carried him over his shoulder. Blayz was slightly embarrassed to be in such a position but, be had no room to complain when him moving his body could be fatal.
"Well... No matter what happens next? I'm glad we were able to keep this town safe tonight" he thought as his body relaxed, still smiling.
The next thing B.Jay heard was quick foot-steps as he saw a blue blur rush out the door.
"Angel! Wait up!" he yelled as he dashed out the door after her to make sure she wouldn't get into any trouble. What he saw next astounded him however. The Town was out and about, everyone safe, smiles all around. B.Jay could feel the relief that over-took this town as opposed to the somber dreariness that he felt early. This mood shift was almost enough to get him to start dancing, but first...
"Oh! Angel!" he called out as he finally caught up to her.
"I... I think they did it!" he exclaimed with an excited grin on his face.
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Post by Jisui on Jun 11, 2020 21:28:39 GMT -5
Garrett's eyes widened as familiar faces began walking towards him and the others. Letting out a deep sigh that he didn't know that he had been holding, Garrett felt tension leave his shoulders upon seeing Blayz and Sophia being taken by the villagers. Glancing back, he locked eyes with the familiar golden eyes of Diomozas.
Funny. This was one of the few times in his life that he was glad to see the old man. As kind as the elder was, Garrett remembered far too many childhood afternoons under his scolding gaze. Still, fixed under the elder's kind and concerned expression, he somehow couldn't help but feel like he was a child again.
"I'm fine, compared to them." Garrett answered curtly with a faint tinge of guilt in his tone, before wincing at a now familiar sharp pain in his side. Just some bruising that would fade with the right ointment. Compared to the other two, he had gotten off relatively scot-free.
"...Pops is really going to let me have it though." The doctor grumbled under his breath, grimacing at the thought of his parent's reactions. Tilting his head respectfully at Diomozas, he began gingerly moving with the other villagers in the familiar direction of the village clinic.
Rino seemed like she was barely registering both B.Jay's words, and the reemergence of her fellow villagers. Eyes frantically darting around, the young woman desperately tried to find a glimpse of a familiar doctor's smock.
It wasn't as though she wasn't overjoyed at the fact that they had succeeded, as B.Jay had said.
It was the cost of it, that she was terrified of.
"B.Jay." Rino started, glancing at her nearby friend with a frown. "Where was the last place you saw them? Do you think they're still at Garrett's?"
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 14, 2020 17:22:06 GMT -5
The older akma couldn't help but lightly chuckle at the doctor's words. He was right after all; his father would very likely not be pleased with this. Of course it was better than having to give him news of Garrett's death at the very least.
"You're likely right about that. Ah well, we should get going. The sooner we do, the sooner it's over with, eh?"
With that, Diomozas moved forward, keeping an eye on Garrett to ensure he made the walk.
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The sky began to grow brighter, signaling that dawn was a mere few hours away.
The group, with Diomozas in front, soon arrived at the home of the Ellis family. He loudly cleared his throat before knocking on the door.
"Doctor Ellis, pardon the intrusion, I know you and your wife are likely in hiding from the blood moon. Thankfully that whole ordeal seems to have been settled but we have some wounded people here that are in urgent need of medical care."
He originally planned to let Garrett talk to get his father's attention but figured the man would have enough to deal with as-is. Besides that, it wasn't often that one of the elders visited a citizen's home, even less so the clinic. Diomozas's presence alone would hopefully give a clue as to how serious it was. Although the akma couldn't help a smile tugging at his lips. After all, the blood moon that had been plaguing the village was now dealt with. There as a small part of him that was afraid it wasn't truly over, but he would alleviate those worries whenever he got around to discussing what happened with Garrett.
His eyes traveled from Garrett, to Sophia, to Blayz. It truly did look like they had a rough time dealing with whatever was taking people during those crimson nights. Diomozas truly was thankful for their aid, as he doubted they had had enough able-bodied people remaining to deal with whatever they fought and it would have been impossible to rely on Garrett alone, regardless of his background and skills.
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Blayz
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Lets hit 'em with that woah.
Posts: 36
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Post by Blayz on Jun 17, 2020 16:33:57 GMT -5
"B.Jay."
"Hm? Whats up Ange--" B.Jay answered as turned his head to look at Rino, her face had morphed into one that was clearly upset, like she was about to burst into tears of rage.
"Where was the last place you saw them? Do you think they're still at Garrett's?"
"Uh--" the dancer stopped his words and thought how he should exactly respond. Technically, the last place he saw them was in Garrett's house but... it was completely destroyed no doubt. If he told her that though, she'd run off again. Mr. Hallia would probably want to slug B.Jay if that happened so he closed his eyes and thought of the words to say to his friend while she was obviously in pain. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Well..." he started
"The truth is--" just then he had saw a very buff and tall blue-skinned guy carrying Blayz over his shoulder.
"Kitten!" B.Jay shouted before grabbing Rino's wrist and dragging her to follow him along
"Lets go, Angel!
As Blayz was being carried over the statuesque cerulean person's shoulder, he heard what sounded like B.Jay's voice. He lifted his head however and saw... nothing?
"B.Jay's is one of the craftiest people I know, there's no way he didn't make it to Rino's house!" He thought to himself. If him, Garret and Sophia could out-wit whatever that creature was, B.Jay could have easily tricked a few smaller monsters into not attacking him. As much of a wild-card as he may be, B.Jay is anything but dumb.
Losing himself in his thoughts, it seemed that they had finally made it to the destination. Garrett was there and Sophia was still being treated as carefully as possible. However, there was a new person that traveled with the party. His skin was smooth and gray, like a stone but his eyes shined of gold.
"Hmmmm... I wonder if the person carrying me and the Mister here are related?" Blayz wondered.
"Doctor Ellis, pardon the intrusion"
Wait... Doctor Ellis? Is that who I think it is?
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Post by Jisui on Jun 17, 2020 19:57:24 GMT -5
Rino's eyes followed B.Jay's gaze, which was more than enough to get the woman to follow her friend without question.
Was that Blayz? Why did he look like he fell off of a cliff? Was that Cade carrying him?
Ignoring the flood of questions that were racing through her mind (and her burning legs), Rino tried her best to just focus on keeping up with B.Jay. It became increasingly difficult however as another question surfaced to her mind, recognition creeping up on her as she looked at their surroundings.
This path... were they headed for...?
Orlon Village Ellis Clinic
There was a few moments of silence after Diomozas knocked the door, and for a terrible moment, a wave of fear washed over Garrett. Fortunately, after a moment, the lights of the household flickered on, causing him to release a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. The front door slowly creaked open, revealing an imposing figure.
An older man at just over six foot was standing in the doorway, well-built with broad, developed shoulders. He was wearing a simple white, sleeveless shirt and black pants, showing that he had probably been in bed before the group had awoken him. Although currently wearing a wary expression, there were smile wrinkles around the man's eyes that told the group a different story.
Scanning the group at his front door with a pair of familiar green eyes, the man's gaze ended at an uncharacteristically nervous looking Garrett. With a deep sigh that sounded like rumbling thunder, the man ran a hand through his short black hair that was streaked with grey. Slowly but deliberately, he walked forward towards the young doctor, before unceremoniously smacking the back of his head with healthy force.
"Ow! What the hell old man?! I'm injured!"
"Ah, you're complaining back. That means you're fine." Nodding as if he had just completed a patient checkup, the man turned to look at the wounded Sophia and Blayz with serious eyes.
"You sure know how to bring them, Diomozas..." Alban Ellis muttered, glancing at the elder with a raised eyebrow. "Cade, Aldor, Kel, follow me to the clinic. Garrett and I can take it from here."
Before the group managed two steps forward, a familiar voice called out.
"Garrett!"
Freezing at the familiar voice, Garrett's head snapped around to find an out of breath Rino and B.Jay staring at him. The young woman's face was bright red with the physical exertion of a 15 minute run, hair frizzled and face contorted with uncharacteristic emotion. She looked ridiculous, Garrett thought absent-mindedly, even as a familiar wave of relief ran through his body for what seemed to be the 100th time that night. Locking eyes with B.Jay near her, Garrett gave him an inconspicuous nod of appreciation that seemed to convey a million words.
Smirking at the sight, Garrett's father gestured for the people holding Blayz and Sophia to follow him into a door on the side of building, and disappeared into the house.
"..." Rino was quiet, staring at her childhood friend with a difficult expression. There was a heavy, tense few seconds of silence, Garrett scratching his head awkwardly as he glanced over at his old friend.
"...Surprised you made it here without keeling over."
Despite the caustic words, Rino's countenance immediately brightened at the half-hearted jab. She gave a quiet, brilliant smile back that seemed to banish the heavy atmosphere of the night.
"How mean."
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Blayz
Initiate
Lets hit 'em with that woah.
Posts: 36
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Post by Blayz on Jun 17, 2020 22:33:07 GMT -5
As Blayz was taken inside the clinic, he was carefully set down by the blue statuesque man with whipping silver hair. "Thank you so much... Cade, was it?" he said with a smile before the man nodded back in response before leaving him on a bed as he awaited for Dr. Ellis Sr.
"He... doesn't seem like a bad person, right? Though... that smack to the head? ...Cant say I've probably haven't been through worse from my Master" he chuckled to himself as he surveyed his surroundings.
Dr. Ellis Sr's clinic was quaint but not unpleasant. Since it wasn't a large hospital, it felt a lot less "gloomy" than a normal medical facility. Which made Blayz feel at ease. His cracked ribs aside, he's really hoping that Sophia would be able to recover from the damage she took.
Also... just where the hell is B.Jay? Hopefully he's on his way here soon.
Feeling relieved and refreshed from the light jog, B.Jay finally caught up with the rest of the party. Blayz and Sophia who looked absolutely horrible had already been carried inside. Rino however, cried out to Garret bring a smile to B.Jay's face as he looked back to see his friend... Oh.
"D-Did I run too fast for her? Surely not right? Blayz has called me slow running at this speed. Ah, whatever!" he thought to himself as he walked her over to Garrett still grinning.
Now it was B.Jay's turn to be amazed on this trip, even though it was hidden, the young doctor gave him a slight nod which seemed to convey hours of conversation. If B.Jay hugged that dude, he'd probably break down into tears. Which made B.Jay feel all warm inside, thankful that he was able to do something during this whole ordeal.
But it wasn't long before Garrett and Rino's usual banter started back up.
"...Surprised you made it here without keeling over."
Which prompted some stifled laughter from B.Jay as he started to fix Rino's disheveled appearance.
"Now now you two, lets play nice." the dancer said in almost a sing-songy tone.
"Lets all go check in on Blayz and Sophia. Also, Garrett. Who was that tall man that smacked you upside the head? Older Brother?" he inquired as they headed inside
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Post by SlvrNight on Jun 19, 2020 13:52:02 GMT -5
Diomozas responded with a light chuckle at Alban’s words.
“Well to be fair,” the elder started, “If you were hearing the crashes and explosions during the middle of the night you probably should’ve figured I’d be bringing some people here.”
The three villagers Alban indicated followed him into the clinic. Both Blayz and Sophia were placed on their own beds, with the akma woman lightly cursing when Kel and Aldor bumped her foot against the bed. Kel looked at her apologetically and mouthed a sorry.
Diomozas stood at the entrance for a minute before nodding and turning around. “I think you have it from here, Alban. And Garrett, let both your friends know that I’m personally very grateful for what they did.”
“We’ll figure out some way to reward you three.” The elder said as he walked away.
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