the war still rages on -- raid boss 2: the Captain

[VALE]

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Starting, Vale twisted in the air. Usually water fell from the sky, not up from the ground! The crow dipped down before righting in the air, wings loudly beating the air. At least the albatross hadn’t bothered to aim properly; Vale supposed all the attack angles confounded him. Which meant she better continue to add her fire into the mix, least they give him an opening to do real damage to anyone, especially Nemhain.

It took a moment before her breathing stabilized enough to attempt a second pass at throwing her power around – fire, after all, came from the breath.

Embers crackled from her beak before she opened her maw, unleashing another stream of fire. This time, she aimed at the fleshy ridge of the captain’s right wing; she hoped that was wide enough to keep from accidentally hitting Nemhain if he moved, but she was willing to gamble.

health: 100%
power reserves: 80%
attacking: the captain

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© LEXASPERATED

[Tena M.]

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Tena Moonspinner —
"Karabast," the Demdji muttered furiously.  Without hesitation, she slipped into a defensive stance, eyes wide in searching for Ebra and Lavi through the sudden torrent of water.  They had to be fine.  They had- Get your head in the kriffing game and end this stupid charade.

Tena growled low, a warning for Rin to stay back building in her throat.  Too slow.  Well, at least she wasn't moving too recklessly.  We need to get him in here.  The sand cat stayed in the shelter of the overhang, a sudden wind raising her fur.  With a furious glare, she attempted to turn the breeze against the Captain and towards the floor of the overhang, only harsh enough to disorient him without direct damage.  Like everyone else she didn't want to harm Mistrim accidentally.

[align=right]Attacking: The Captain

Stamina: 95%
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free

[Verdigris]

[font=trebuchet ms]As the target came tantalizingly close, the Captain met her gaze evenly. The lass was firmly in check, and she knew it, even as she lifted an arrow against him. She'd fallen into his trap hook, line- but apparently not sinker, as she flung the arrow at him anyway. Blinking, he ducked his head, allowing the arrow to pass harmlessly by. He'd have allowed Mistrim to fall for such insolence, but letting go of his only hostage had fewer benefits than costs.

A screech echoed through his brain, startling him, but still he maintained his grip on Mistrim. Lowering his head, he stared down at Nemhain- he really didn't want her down below, not when she could catch his hostage and shank him with ice in the same moment. He didn't have much time to think about it before he saw a growing light out of the corner of his eye, and abruptly banked left, the fire blasting against the end of his wing and eliciting a screech from him.

A sudden gale blew him off balance, and he lost his grip on Mistrim, releasing the fox from his claws. Barnacles. With a loud squawk, he commanded the water on the cave floor to flow towards the overhang, hopefully pulling all the creatures inside with it. Nemhain would catch his hostage for sure, but on the off chance she didn't... well, Warringkingdoms would have that on her conscience.

Twisting in midair, he flew towards Vale as quickly as he could with his injured wing, aiming to snatch her in his beak and fly down towards the lake. His albatross form wouldn't hold out much longer- he needed to take the battle to his home territory as fast as possible, and he wasn't willing to rely on the target pursuing him without another Elysite being in danger.

The Captain
Health: 65%
Current form: wandering albatross with blue eyes
Powers: water elementals, shapeshifting
Attacking: [member=3123]vale[/member] (directly), [member=649]Warringkingdoms[/member] [member=299]Ebra M.[/member] [member=869]lavi s.[/member] @quennel ! [member=2129]HALO MERCER[/member] (splash zone)

[candorosa]

[align=center][div style="width:70%; text-align: justify; padding: 1px; font-family: helvetica;"]Lemy was late. He had been willing to sit the battle out, not keen on repeating the events of the fight with Pluto, but if he sat on his ass any longer he'd probably end up drowning or getting bashed against a rock. He bit back a frustrated scream upon seeing the god's form. What was with these gods and their stupid bird forms? How was he supposed to fight this guy with no ranged attacks and his useless handicapped magic.

Lemy couldn't do anything about Mistrim falling and as much as he disliked Nemhain, he doubted she would let her just splatter on the ground. So, he barrelled onward to the mouth of the cavern, trying to stay away from the water. An occasional flow of water would trip him up and shatter his momentum, but he simply picked himself back up and continued. The scars on his ached with every jolt but he pushed through the pain. Finally, he deemed himself close enough and unsheathed his blade. Calculating the distance, he aimed to throw his dagger at the Captain, trying to strike his center.

health: 70%
attacking: the captain

[Mistrim]

Mistrim. Was. Terrified. Everything seemed to be happening at once, people were attacking, and she felt like she couldn’t do anything to help. It was an awful feeling, knowing that you were being used as bait against your friends. She could feel attacks directed towards the Captain and even though they were close calls, Mistrim could tell that there was a lack of true power as they tried to curb their hits around the fox.

All of it made Mistrim feel absolutely useless. Not just useless but a liability. Tears pricked at the edges of the fox’s eyes as she watched some of her friends get washed away while they tried to help her, the one who could barely help out even when she wanted to.

Then, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The Captain was avoiding attacks and all Mistrim felt was weightlessness. She was plummeting, eyes gazing up at the open sky and wing tips pointed to the clouds. It was times like these were she cursed her inability to fly. Her inability to do anything really.

Mistrim shut her eyes. Her thoughts of being useless and dependent were sad if they truly would be the last ones. It was only until she felt a force cradle her that she realized she wasn’t dead. She opened her eyes and glanced over at the people on the ground. She knew the aura attached to the power that gently moved her.

It allowed Mistrim to let out a sigh before she let tears fall. Why did she have to be so stupid and so weak. It hurt her to know what she wasn’t and what she thought she should be.

[nemhain.]

Seeing Mistrim plummeting down from the sky, growing ever closer to the head ground below... it was enough to strike true fear into Nemhain's heart. While the combat oriented persona was hardly ever fearful about the heat of battle being directed in her direction, she did become irritated when others were caught in the line of fire. Mistrim, above all of the innocent people in Elysium, definitely didn't deserve to become nothing more than a vague splatter on the ground. The fenghuang felt herself beginning to dive down, intent on grabbing the other before she could meet her untimely demise, when all of a sudden the female stopped midair, floating up to the overhang. Immediately, the persona felt relief flood through her limbs, a grateful sigh leaving her. She wouldn't have minded grabbing Mistrim, but if she somehow hadn't gotten there in time... just the thought was enough to make her shudder. She didn't want an innocent girl's death on her conscious. Neither did she want Misteim's near catastrophe to be on Rin's conscious, but she doubted that she would get what she wanted in that area anytime soon.

Now that she knew that Mistrim was safe for the moment, Nem chose to focus her attention solely on the Captain, eager to rip into him for putting a kind soul in danger. Not only that, but he seemed to be trying to put another one on the chopping block as well. She didn't know much about Vale yet, but as long as the other was am Elysite, she was under Nemhain's protection, and there was no way that Nem was going to allow for her to just be snatched. Knowing that she couldn't use her ice elementals for fear of hitting Vale, Nemhain went invisible, taking a deep breath inwards before she dove down at the Captain, attempting to catch him off guard dig her claws viciously into him. If she was successful, she would try to shove the other downwards, trying to send them spiralling towards the ground. Hopefully she could control the descent, and then she would have the upper hand. They would all have the upper hand.

Health: 80%
Power Reserves; 80%
Attacking: The Captain

[Cosmic]

He was not about to get drowned by this asshole, that’s for sure. Mercer made it through past the rushing waters just in time to see the albatross take off, intent on taking another hostage. Fuck this- he was going all out.

He aimed a psychic attack on The Captain in the form of a pack of whispers, sounding as if they were gaining on him. As soon as they were close, the whispers would turn into screams and an angry chorus of roars that threatened harm. Once that attack was through, he was smart to follow in behind as he channeled that energy as to not lose his target, yet remained just out of sight.

When the time was right, should The Captain have tried picking up Vale anyways, Mercer would jump into the air, shifting his form into one that had the dragon’s claws, and aimed to latch onto the bird. He was intent on killing the bastard where he stood.

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]As the water surged towards them, Rin stood her ground against the wave. She wasn't sure she could muster the energy to levitate both herself and Mistrim, so she would just have to resist the water's pull. The water tugged her along, forcing her to take steps towards the cliff to avoid being knocked over and swept away- she felt the salt sting at her paws, the sudden strain having reopened a few cuts- but eventually the wave receded.

  As the Captain released Mistrim, Rin levitated her towards solid ground, and set her down next to herself. Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, she looked over Mistrim briefly, searching for any injuries that needed immediate attention- it didn't look like there were any. Further medical examination could happen after the Captain was dead. "Stay here, I don't want you going into shock," she said lowly, tapping Mistrim's shoulder with the tip of her tail.

  Turning her attention back to the Captain as he dove after Vale, she gritted her teeth. Nemhain and Valerian were already moving to intercept him, and she could see Lemy's dagger flying towards him, so odds were good that if she went in for the attack she could end up injuring an ally or herself. Though maybe, if she could shapeshift... a hawk would be useful here.

  Taking a deep breath, she focused- and in moments, her form shrunk, smaller than she'd intended. Feeling an abrupt burst of energy through her limbs, she couldn't stop herself from flapping her wings rapidly, far more rapidly than she would ever have thought possible. Glancing down at her feet, then over at Mistrim- who was now several times her height- she ran a quick series of mental calculations. High rate of wing beats per minute + tiny + absurd metabolism = hummingbird.

  A hummingbird? Seriously?

  Well, maybe she could use this anyway. Ascending rapidly into the air, using her telekinesis to stabilize her flight path, she stopped within a few feet of where the others were converging on the Captain. Assuming he survived, she could redirect his attention- yeah, that would do. "Hey, fishbreath!" Rin whistled as loudly as she could. "I'm right here!"

  If he made any effort to pursue her, she'd turn and dart back towards the overhang, again using her telekinesis for propulsion purposes- she wasn't about to gamble her life on her actual ability to handle a bird's body. If she could get him to follow her in hopes of an easy kill, he'd be out of his domain once again. They could win this easily so long as he stayed away from the water.

  Warringkingdoms
  health: 85%
  power reserves: 45%
  current form: black-and-white Costa's hummingbird
  attacking: none
  attempting to get the attention of: The Captain