Night 66: West Wing, North Hall 1-A

[dualistic]

[From here.]

Harvey stepped out of the block and then took the usual right down the hall, pondering over the coming challenge as he went. While he, Sangamon, and Scott had successfully passed that trial last night, it hadn't led to anything. Had they made a misstep somewhere? Or was there more that they had to do? They were going to have to try and get answers out of that damn skeleton again.

Speaking of which, the toll would be going to Sangamon tonight. Harvey wondered what he'd end up choosing. He figured it was between touch and voice, but it wasn't really his problem.

On one hand, Harvey was getting sick of going down into that dank cavern every night. On the other, it was good to always know what he was doing when the doors unlocked. He just hoped that all of this effort actually led somewhere.

[To here.]

Comments

[girlsandgadgets]

Though behind the coeurl, Edgar's first-hand experience with the creatures paid off as he realized what was happening, the beast's whiskers whipping audibly as his eyes began to glow with an unearthly light. If there was one thing coeurls were known for in his world, it was their affinity for magic. They were dangerous beasts with their claws alone, but magic in such a tight area as a hallway, especially one where patients often trekked, brought the potential for mayhem through the roof.

He called to Tolten to warn him to move, his own feet skidding across the smooth floor as he broke into a quick dash. His stitches pulled painfully against his skin as he swung his shovel from the side, aiming to land the flat head of the tool against the bulk of the coeurl's body. He could apologize to Locke for injuries later; he'd be in far more trouble in every conceivable way if he let one of the few allies they had in the institute perish. They'd be even shorter-handed than before, and neither Locke nor Edgar would never forget himself.

Unfortunately, Edgar's reaction came a second too late, the coeurl's eyes firing a beam of energy just as he got within striking distance.

[age_of_kings]

Oh gods that made it worse! Tolten struggled for breath, his sword threatening to slip from his fingers as he tried to roll out of the way. But he was so weak and so tired, and the initial defense had taken s much out of him already.

The young king felt an indescribable line of pain along his leg, as though someone had drawn a hot iron over his skin. His sword came up automatically, blade flailing as his vision blurred. He felt like he was on the plains, the plains full of those monsters and not enough allies and he'd nearly died there so many times...

This wasn't really any different. His chest was too tight. He was so tired. And now he wondered if he'd be able to get up, walk, do anything more than lash out desperately with his sword.

[kings_thief]

The shovel connected solidly with the cat's side and sent it sliding across the floor. When it regained it's bearings, it stood, though, favoring the side of it's body that had been hit.

Clearly, it had been wrong about the injured one.

The cat glanced to it's former prey, deciding it was in bad enough shape -certainly worse than the other intruder had been- to refocus it's attacks. Red eyes turned to the one with the weapon and it growled and hissed. If the human wanted a fight, it could have one.

Again, the cat gathered energy, whiskers whipping in a non-existent breeze, as it prepared to use the energy beam again; it didn't want to risk getting too close and being hit again.

[girlsandgadgets]

As the cat prepared for another attack, Edgar braced for it, readying himself to move the moment it occurred. Adrenaline made his heart pound, his muscles tense from the fight, his brow flecked with sweat. He felt worn, out of practice- it had been some time since he'd been in a proper battle rather than a wild brawl against a creature with more physical and magical strength than he had in his entire body. Worse was that he knew how to use both effectively.

The stakes were much higher now as well, given both his and Tolten's conditions from their efforts the night before. Still, he refused to back down- not until they'd gotten Locke into a room and were working on that cure. Options slipped away with their good health, and they were running out of time. There was always deadly force as a last resort, but that was something Edgar was hoping to avoid until it looked like it was either the coeurl or them. If an ultimatum appeared, he already knew his choice.

Gripping his shovel tightly, his gaze moved to Tolten for only a moment. He gave his companion a nod, trying to tell him that this was his chance to attack and hopefully drive the creature into the side hallway.

[age_of_kings]

Tolten lurched to his feet, wobbling some but keeping his balance. His sword felt loose in his hand, but he supposed it didn't matter. He didn't intend to use it properly, only to help in herding Locke to the other hallway. The fact that this was Locke was truly the only thing keeping the young king on his feet at this point.

Hoping to catch the creature - oh gods, he hated to think that way! - by surprise, Tolten staggered up behind him while he was focused on Edgar and lashed out to catch him on the flank with the flat of his sword.

[kings_thief]

The cat fired the energy at its prey. The sudden strike to its flank startled it and it jumped to the side, hissing and growling. But that's what they wanted, they were trying to team up on it and defeat it! Well, they couldn't.

The cat turned it's attention back on it's pray, ignoring the weak one, and launched itself, planning to pounce and rip its target to shreds.

As soon as this stronger one was out of the way, the other intruder would be easy.

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar dodged the beam of energy, watching as the coeurl hissed at Tolten, taking the brief pause to glance over his shoulder as he thought he heard a commotion from down the hallway. They needed to get out of the corridor before someone else joined the fray, not realizing they had it under control.

Or so they thought they did, rather. In the moment he'd taken to survey their surroundings, the coeurl had turned its attention on him once more- it was a mistake to take his eyes off such a dangerous beast, a poor decision Edgar realized only a half a second too late. The creature's pounce hit its mark, paws landing hard against his chest and taking them both to the ground. The pain that shot through him from the impact caused him to let out a sharp cry, one cut off by a gasp as coeurl's teeth bore into his stitches, the threads holding together wounds the same coeurl had caused only the night before.

Far worse some something else he noticed, a sensation emanating through him so strongly that he forgot his mortal peril almost immediately: he could literally feel the feline's magic coursing through him, as though his claws and teeth were imbued blades. It was enough to reignite that fire that nested in his chest, a remnant of his infusion at the hands of the institute coming to life in an instant- it got hotter and hotter, becoming an uncontrollable blaze in only seconds. As it scorched him on the inside, it fought its way outside his body as well, manifesting in his hands as a lively set of flames.

He struggled to swallow it down, the stress on his already wounded body making it impossible. While his threshold for pain was fairly high, there was no way to prepare himself for an attack from a beast with similar abilities to his own. Simply being near Terra had stoked the fire in his chest, presumably due to her nature as a half-Esper; the attack from another magical beast had made it all too clear he still couldn't control his infusion-granted magic.

And unfortunately, he realized he might never have the chance to gain such control as fire exploded all around them, lighting every inch of hall as the corridor became home to an inferno.

[age_of_kings]

It happened so fast. Before the young king could react properly and give aid, Edgar had unleashed fire magic. There was no warning and nothing he could do as his horror mounted.

All Tolten could do was fling up his arms to cover his face when flames filled the corridor, trying to protect himself in the confusion. He wished he had his armor, or anything more substantial than the flimsy sleep clothes he was wearing...

And also he prayed that the fire drove Locke back without doing too much damage to him. None of this was his fault, it was those bastards who taunted them over the intercom! Locke shouldn't have to pay for the evil they did, the evil they heaped upon dozens of innocents!

Oh gods above and holy ancestor, the Uhran prayed, let us all come through this. Please.

[kings_thief]

The cat was certain it had this fight, the taste of the intruder's blood was gratifying and it fully intended to go for the throat. It felt the energy around the human building, but before it could react heat and flames and pain erupted all around it. Every part of it was in agony as the fire engulfed the Coeurl Cat and fur and skin burnt leaving a horrendous smell in the hall.

It leapt away, yowling, and tried to run as if it could escape the pain, but it barely took a few steps before collapsing. The fire melted away leaving a heavily burnt and smoking body. All was still...and then, as though flaking away, the skin and what fur was left pulled away, bones snapped once more and reformed to that of a more human nature. Parts of the man laying in the hall were still heavily burned, if not as badly as the cat, but one certain similarity their lifeless state.

[girlsandgadgets]

Though Edgar could feel the fire all over him, he knew that most of it was coming from within, the flame that welled in his chest from his infusion scorching his veins as it fought to escape. He heard the yowling of the cat, the rank smell of burnt flesh flooding his nostrils; it took him several moments to recover once the cat leapt off him, the magical flames dying around him in tandem with the beast that had once been his closest friend.

He'd been injured plenty of times, but burns were horrific in their own right; with no healing magic or potions to deal with them, Edgar was in a world of pain at that moment. He made it worse as he pushed himself to check on Locke's condition, using his hands to ease himself off the ground- he was back down in an instant with a stifled scream, his hands shaking, muscles twitching as he could hardly manage the agony he was in. His palms were badly burned, flesh peeling away from just past his wrists and along his forearms. The fabric of his shirt stuck to him in places, threads melding with scorched strips of skin on his chest. The coeurl had taken the majority of the flame himself, preventing it from reaching Edgar; that only made the situation more grim in Edgar's mind, as he was sure Locke couldn't have survived an attack of that severity.

He gasped for air, struggling to breathe and stay conscious as he looked around from his vantage on the floor, trying to see the aftermath.