"He seems very relaxed," Reno noted, "I would suppose that his prowess in battle would have to outweigh his laziness if Crimtane of all people trusts him," He added.
"Would you like me to take care of it?" Jade asked her quietly. Face the enemy now and either kill them or debunk them as some sad forest creature or wait for an ambush? Being part of a very forward-facing army Jade tended to like getting confrontation over with. He usually preferred to find them before the reverse happened.
"Ah, yes. He's always been very skilled, albeit a bit lazy. Though, lately he's been at odds with September. I don't know what over, but he's taken a significantly longer break. He's been gone for almost a year, actually. September refuses to talk about what happened though." The princess sighed "September has been adamant that he'll return, though Crim is... more than skeptic."
"Ack, fine" the Red knight sighed "I'll relax tonight. Will that put you at ease?"
"Yes. It would." The general said, satisfied.
"But after that, I'm getting back to work."
"Deal." The general agreed, then looked over at the three. "But for now, how are you three enjoying dinner?"
"If you go to take care of it, I'd rather be there to help in case things go south, Jade." The woman said, looking at him. "If you're fine with that, I'd rather take care of it sooner rather than later."
Reno tensed and sat up quickly as if he had been doing something wrong. He hadn't, it was just a bad nervous habit, "dinner is wonderful," He smiled. Reno was trying to relax, he truly was, though his capability to truly relax was nearly none. His wasn't nearly on Crimtane's scale, but if he didn't have people to force him to sleep he most likely wouldn't.
"A woman after my own heart," Jade smiled gently at her, "but having a decoy would be something to split their forces," He whispered. Glancing over his shoulder at Luke, a look that even in the dark the frightened red-head could see. Luke was more than happy to prop up the half-asleep princess on the horse and triple checking that she'd stay on before he jumped off the horse to jog up to Jade and Cobalt's side, "y-yes?" Luke asked with a crack in his voice, "we're going to deal with a problem, you're going to make sure to keep going regardless of whether we come back or not. If you hear screaming, wake up Tear," Jade said quietly to Jade.
"I-Is it human...?" He asked carefully.
"You paranoid boy... Of course it isn't," Jade couldn't help but smile devilishly and say it, "why do you think I said to wake up Mysterica?"
Jade really couldn't help but try and lighten the dark mood by frightening the red-head. It also had a double intent, people in a heightened state of fear tended to be more observant than those in a more casual setting.
(Awww poor Luke, lol)
"Hm, you seem tense." The General observed "Seems that Crimtane isn't the only one who needs to relax. I'm glad dinner is wonderful though. I'll be available ant hour of the night if you have any questions, it's just a matter of finding me, really."
The general had actually eaten quite quickly, it was almost as if she hadn't eaten, despite having food a few moments ago. She looked back at the red knight.
"Crimtane, do you remember that time you tried to use healing magic on me?"
"What brought that up?"
"Oh, nothing~ Just thinking back fondly."
"Ah, well for those who don't know, I uh... didn't know September was basically allergic to all healing besides her own. And uh... neither did she."
"Yep! The look on Crimtane's adorable face was one of pure horror when she tried healing a wound on me when suddenly I just collapsed, in terrible pain as the wound got worse. Crimtane thought she messed up the spell, but it turns out that I was the problem!"
"As you are normally." Crimtane teased
"Hey!" September laughed
Cobalt was amused by the situation despite feeling slightly bad for Luke. Her hand instinctively went to the hilt of her sword as she internally prepared to face whatever it was that she was seeing and hearing.
OOC: I couldn't help it X3 It was just the perfect set up, but I do agree, he's so tolerant. He could quit any time lol
IC: "So..." Reno couldn't quite help it, "how did... Your wounds heal if magic made them worse?" He asked. Reno had never met anyone who was allergic to healing magic, only the kind of healing magic that just hurt. It was a bit of a curiosity.
Jade nodded and removed his arms from around Cobalt as he got off the moving horse. Luke took the reigns and looked back to make sure Tear was still on the horse. She was, but her head was hanging off one side while her legs were off the other... Oooh, Luke was going to hear about that later. Anyway!
Jade smiled at Cobalt as he casually moved off into the Shadows as if this wasn't a hunt for enemies. No human can survive such a long trip without a restroom break? Surely this wasn't that unnatural? Regardless, he smiled over his shoulder at Cobalt as he disappeared into the forest.
(Luke doesn't get paid enough for this. Lol.
Happy new year, by the way!)
"They ended up just letting them heal naturally! It hurt, for a long time. It was horrible. But now I can just heal them myself now that I know how. It's a bit gruesome and painful, but" The general replied with a smile "before I joined Crysta's forces, my mother was also extremely against using magic to heal wounds quickly. So before that I was never exposed to it to find out the allergy. Strange, huh?"
"I'll say. I had assumed everyone used healing magic. But, as usual, September just has to be the exception." Crimtane teased the general again
"Well, you know me! I'm just exceptional" the general teased
Cobalt was immediately focused, and on the hunt. She grabbed something from her bag quickly and leapt up into a tree, hardly making a sound as she vanished into the shadowy depths of the branches and slipped her way closer to the source of the sounds. They were indeed getting louder the further right she traveled. She quietly tugged a dark green blanket over her head and pinned it in place to make cloak-like disguise as she hid in the trees. Once she was close enough to the sounds she crouched and spied on a group of people in heavy armor riding horses. They didn't seem to notice her, yet. She looked them over tediously for some sort of royal sigil to prove whether they were searching for the killer of the now dead prince. She didn't find one, but rather, their conversation had given it away as the man in lead said he had noticed the blue assassin in town earlier and that if they were to catch her, they'd be cutting off the other path further up the road.
OOC: He really doesn't XD as is the fate of all civil workers lol Happy New Years Mew!
IC: "I know someone who would be absolutely fascinated with your illness," Reno nodded, "but I'm glad you, and are, alright in the end," He smiled at her. It was hilarious to see Crimtane's reactions to the general. He had no idea that the menacing Scarlet Knight could blush so deeply.
Jade was not privy to this information as he didn't have quite the easy path that Cobalt did. Once he hit the Shadows he had sunk low to the ground and used the bushes and trees as cover as he headed towards what he thought was the noise. Luckily as he moved along the underbrush the sound of chain mail got louder. Not that he would have, but Jade was very grateful that he listened to Cobalt when she had said there were enemies hiding here.
(September is like a sim with the romantic trait except she's just in a constant state of flirt around Crim.
Feel free to play any of the people! I'm imagining around 3-4 of them.)
"ah, Crimtane! The blush is back, how cute~"
"Watch your mouth, general." The warrior jokingly threatened as she immediately turned to hide her face
"Oh? But you know I'd rather watch you instead."
Crysta snuck a glance at Star who seemed to be about ready to burst with joy. Crysta found this interaction to be incredibly amusing.
"Oh, that's it. Shoo, you've finished eating. Go bother one of the maids or something."
"No can do Crimtane, I'm doing my job!" The general teased cheerfully
Cobalt grabbed a stone and threw it as hard as she could against a tree on the other side of the people. The stone flew behind them so they didn't see it, and the sound immediately alerted them. They immediately turned to face it as Cobalt jumped down and kicked the heavily armored one off his horse.
OOC: Otay! I'll play the minions 1 and 2 X3 Captain Mew, awaiting orders! lol
IC: "Should we...?" Reno trailed as he felt as if they were intruding. He felt a bit awkward sitting there listening in on Crimtane and September. While he didn't mind if they were a couple, he felt a bit odd sitting here watching them. He wasn't going to say anything as Star looked so happy and the small princess smiling brought a small smile to his face.
The first grunt made an odd noise as he fell off his horse and landed on the ground. To think that seconds before it was a stone against the tree before he had been pushed off his horse. The chain mail grunt landed on the ground side ways and there was a bit of a pop from his shoulder. His partner looked frightened as well, though his ability to react was much slower than that of Cobalt's. Jade watched from the edge of the bushes with a bit of a stunned/amused expression on his face. Cobalt was truly impressive.
Crim was about to saw something when she was interrupted by a loud crash and immediately both of them were to their feet.
"You three, be on guard, be careful to check your surroundings thoroughly. Crim, get your armor. I'm checking it out. You three, stay close by. First sign of danger, run." At that, the general quickly made her way towards the sound, hand on her sword already as she was expecting combat.
Star seemed scared and mildly upset
"Darn, they were making progress!" She said quietly as she followed September close by.
Cobalt punched at the chainmail grunt's partner while the third one leapt off her horse
"Not today, wench!" They yelled as they attempted to tackle the blue assassin. Cobalt was hit and knocked back from the group by the impact. She grabbed her sword and aimed to slash the woman in front of her. The woman had on no armor, and didn't even seem to have a weapon. But man, she was fast. Before Cobalt had a chance to get a slash in, the grunt managed to deck the assassin fairly hard in the shoulder.
Cobalt responded by flipping down a dagger she had hidden away in her sleeve and stabbing the woman.
Reno's body tensed up and he looked ready to stand up at a moment's notice. His first thought was about the situation, but General September and Crimtane looked just as confused as he felt. His next thought was the two princesses, "C-Crysta?" Reno asked her, "if we do need to run, would you... Be at all offended if I carried you? I'm worried about your back," He said to her. He didn't want to have her feel helpless, but he didn't want her to become injured beyond repair.
Jade was then out of the bushes to knock the second grunt to the ground just as they managed to get off their horse. His next aim with his spear that had produced a brief flash of light when summoned was the grunt who had managed to land a hit on Cobalt. While his spear might not pierce the chain mail, he was sure that he was much faster and could land a good blow or two... Maybe. Fights were unpredictable like that.
"I wouldn't be offended at all, Reno." Crysta said as she cautiously followed the general. She was glad for the offer, but she hoped he wouldn't have to carry her, because that meant there was a high chance the general would be seriously hurt.
"G-get back!" The general suddenly yelled to them, looking down the hall, her eyes suddenly wide with surprise-- the other red knight was back, and so soon. She had to have been healed by someone.
They didn't get to see much of the general after as with lightning-quick speed, the red knight shoved her into the wall, which gave way and left a crater.
Two dark red hands came out of the ground and threw the knight back as September fell out of the crater and drew her sword. She had quite a few scrapes already from sharp rocks and that was exactly what she'd needed.
The unarmored woman let out a yelp of surprise as Jade got her with his spear from behind. She kicked her leg up and whirled around in an attempt to either kick him or his weapon.
Cobalt leapt back a bit from the woman Jade struck and slashed her across the back with her sword, but in response Cobalt suddenly yelped and fell forward as an arrow flew out of the trees and hit her between the shoulders.
A man with a bow gracefully leapt out of the trees and snatched the woman by the collar, dragging her up to her feet and snatching both of her arms
"Get him!" The man yelled at the other three, commanding them to seize Jade
Reno was the first to step in front of Crysta to protect her. He glared bravely at the second Crimtane as he used one hand to keep Crysta behind him while the other rested on the sword he needed to return to the suit of armor near the library. Taking a deep breath he looked back at Star, "take your sister and get as far as you can," He told the younger girl. He wanted to carry Crysta to safety, but there was no way he could out run the Scarlet Knight. Being brave was very conflicting in situations like these.
Jade's eyes widened momentarily as his weapon was moved off it's course. He then saw as the arrow hit Cobalt and his focus wavered, "Cobalt!" He yelled in shock just before he was tackled to the ground by he chain mail grunt that the assassin first knocked off his horse.He wheezed as he hit the ground with the sheer meta weight on top of him before the second one with multiple bruises from Jade's weapon came to help the other chain mail minion.
The Crimtane advances towards September, when suddenly a dark shield appeared last moment and caught the sword in it's formation. The general turned suddenly and ripped the sword out of the clone's hands, flinging it backwards. It clattered onto the ground loudly. September, after disarming the knight, shot her with a magic blast to knock her away before moving in to slice her with the sword.
While this was happening, Star immediately grabbed her sister's arm and started to lead her away.
Cobalt had an immediate reaction upon seeing Jade tackled. She suddenly bent forward and flung the man holding her into the unarmored woman in front of her sending them both to the ground. In pain, she held up her sword in defense. She didn't think Jade would have much luck getting out from underneath the unarmored person, they looked to be incredibly heavy with it on.
"S-stop!" She said "Let him go."
"What? Of course not! He's with you!"
"He's an innocent civilian who I tricked into believing that I was being mercilessly hunted by bandits. When I heard you guys in the forest, I decided to see if you were hunting me. When I did, I attacked and he helped.... If you release him, I'll go with you willingly."
"And if we don't?"
"Then I'll run off into the forest and you'll never find me. I've been on the run for years from Mercury, this is my only slip-up. And look at what happened to him, he's dead. By my hand. So, let him go."
Unsure of how to help, Reno thought it best to chase after Star and Crysta. He was no use in a fight and would only get in September's way. The only thing he could do was pray, so pray he did. He followed after Star and Crysta with guilt in his chest at how useless he was in this situation.
Jade struggled to say something, but the air from his lungs had been long crushed from his body. He knew exactly what Cobalt was doing and he didn't approve in the slightest as he still tried to get up. He didn't want her to try and fix her mistakes, he didn't want her to save him, he just... Didn't want her to leave. Jade knew the exact consequences of her admission of guilt and the thought made his blood run cold. They would kill her. They would kill her and throw her away as if her life hadn't mattered and by the gods Jade refused to let them do that.
Behind them, they'd be able to hear a yelp come from September. Though the battle seemed to be far from over.
Star was getting nervous and sped up her pace. They were walking very speedily, ant faster and the two would probably be running. Star was instinctively retreating back to where their rooms were whenever she was scared that was where she liked to hide.
Crysta looked back behind at Reno and was immediately relieved to see him there, following them.
Cobalt bit her tongue as the ranger considered his options before looking at the woman without armor. They both nodded and stood.
"We'll take you up on your offer. Afterall, you've only made our job easier" the man said cheerfully, a smirk on his face as the unarmored girl came around to grab Cobalt. The man with the bow looked at his armored comrade "Okay, get up and let the guy go. Be careful, though. Her might still be looking for a fight."
Cobalt silently hoped that Jade would just let them take her for now. She did plan to go with them without a fight, that was true. But that didn't mean she wouldn't be doing her best to escape. She'd be trying constantly. Having Jade outside made that possibility that much more likely. But that was a lot to expect, and she wouldn't be shocked if he was mad at her after... she just couldn't risk the possibility of them trying to kill Jade.
"I hope that September is okay..." Reno frowned as he remained behind Crysta and Star. He followed them towards the rooms as he couldn't help but glance back at the fighting behind them. He was worried about September and he wondered where it was that Crimtane went during the fight when the clone showed up? While she wasn't in the fittest condition he believed that if the Scarlet Knight and September teamed up... Unless. There was another... September.
Jade was... Angry. The two minions holding him down dragged him to his feet and he watched with eyes conflicted with emotions as they were going to take Cobalt away. He didn't want to let it happen, he wanted to keep her here... But he couldn't deny her plan. Jade didn't want to promise her again he would rescue her, now it was a vow and one he hoped she knew as he remained still. How this would work, he didn't really care, only that many people were going to die if a hair on Cobalt's head was harmed.
"Cobalt... I'm so sorry," He said as his parting words to her. He had promised to protect her, and an arrow was protruding from her back as well as people to take her to her death, and he was helpless.
The red knight rushed past them to join the fight, now fully armored and ready for combat. This was going to be a difficult battle even with September's help.
Star made a sudden turn into her room, Crysta following close behind as Star waved frantically for Reno to come in. Once the prince was in, she hurriedly shut the door and locked it, so whoever tried to get in would have a difficult time.
"It's okay, Jade." Cobalt did her best to reassure him as the woman grabbed her and started to tie her hands together. The woman wasn't exactly rough with Cobalt either, she just seemed glad that nobody on her team seemed to be seriously hurt. Cobalt stiffened in pain and surprise as the woman swiftly removed the arrow without warning and healed the wound. She guided Cobalt over to a horse and assisted her in getting on. It was particularly difficult with her arms bound, but the two of them managed. The man with the bow looked over at the other two
"Okay, let him go." The man said, he was prepared to fight, just in case Jade attempted something
Once they were safe Reno took in a sigh of relief and his eyes then went to Crysta, "is your back alright?" He asked. They had been going quite fast on the way here. Not running just yet, but close and he wanted to make sure she was alright.
The two minions looked between each other before they let go of Jade. It took all his will power not to chase them, but instead he watched them them leave with such a fire in his soul that he was ready to begin the fight to get her back now. He didn't want her to go, but fighting them alone now, in the dark, was not optimal. It would be better to wait for reinforcements... Not that he would enjoy the wait, "it seems it's my turn..." He mumbled to himself.
"Pity... I'm no hero, yet my princess is in danger? Unacceptable."
(Hm. Do you think it'd be more interesting for jade to save her just before she's about to be executed. Aka they get close, it's day of and she's very close to being killed but they don't. Or would you prefer he breaks her out before there's a chance?
Also, would you like to skip ahead (if so, to where) or play out their time apart?)
Crysta nodded and smiled
"Yep! It still feels like it did when we left the infirmary." Crysta made herself comfortable on a chair in Star's room while Star dunk down against a wall and sat there. The young princess was honestly terrified. Is this what everyone was talking about with the two Crimtanes? Two Crimtanes and one trying to kill them? Faintly, the princess felt a small twinge of betrayal, despite the fact that their Crimtane would never do such a thing.
The ride back towards Mercury's castle was going to be about as torturous as running away from it the first time was. Back to the cells until they decided it was time to execute, and they'd get to decide how long to make her suffer with the anticipation of death... how cruel.