open Casual stroll

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@@EQ_Theta,

 

"Sometimes it's better to be wrong."

 

Omen didn't say more, and instead turned her head to the sky to look at the starry night that was visible between the tree crowns. It helped her think, though there were far too much to think about in the little time they now had before the others would wake up, so some had to be taken another day. It were not something she had gotten used to yet, and something told her that it would be a long, long time before she would, but much happened with Sen and Lin that took much of the time she used to have to stand alone and let her thoughts fester.

 

It was something that she didn't know if she missed, or would think better to keep in the past and move on. There had been a certain comfort in the known and calm, but at the same time, it had also been mostly the same, repedetive things that she had to think over. With Sen and Lin, it had hardly been the same several days in a row, just as it wasn't this night, where her thoughts were on Lin.

 

It had been before, when she had gone to the well for example, but back then the thoughts had been about other things, such as if she would survive the coming days, Now, it revolved mostly around how the day would go when they reached the village she had grown up in, and how she might handle her new form's advantages and disadvantages.

 

The lack of sleep were one that she assumed Lin would need time to get used to. She might have said that there was a chance that it would not be like this for Lin, as she had already shown to not work exactly like Omen and her other siblings, but odds were that yes, the realm of dreams were now closed for her.

 

Beyond that, there were of course how she looked. More than Omen, Lin were now a unique creature to gaze upon, and being a unique snowflake in many ways wasn't something that many were used to. Not in this way at least.

 

There were several more, but most things would show with time. For example, whatever or not her life span had been increased. Far as Omen knew, it depended on the magic that was added how that went, but again, with Lin it were hard to say for sure, and she wasn't even entirely certain about herself. She just believed Mother when she had said that it was because of her master's energy that she kept living for as long as she had thus far, and best she could guess, if this were a truth... Lin might live milenia too? Her extra energy had mostly come from a pool of pure magic after all, yes? Didn't it then stand to reason that that affected things somewhat?

 

She were thinking on this, and forgetting most on what she were supposed to in regards to how the meeting with the longma clan would go when Sen and Xin woke up as a result, and when the light broke the night sky, she still hadn't even thought the small, few things about Lin through. Some of them yes, but she were not much closer to understanding things yet, nor know what to say to her if she had questions.

 

Unprepared or not though, day had broken and most beings she knew woke up when that happened, so she stopped her impression of a statue and directed her gaze away from the sky and towards Lin, wherever she might be stationed at this point - unless she had gone to try and rest again, in which case she'd walk over to where they all were before talking - though she lingered on the sun for a little before doing anything else. She liked the light.

 

"The night's gone. What shall we do now?"

[Krystalalchemist 5]

@Blitz boom

 

Krystal was walking through the everfree forest, his gooey body dripping and reforming with every step. This was the first time he had ever been in these parts and still hadn't seen anyone else like him. That wasn't strange tho, after all he was goo creature. He looked like a normal pony, save the clear see through purple body that constantly left a puddle of slime wherever he stood or walked.

 

As he continued to walk he noticed another pony out of the corner of his eye. She looked a little weird, tho no m or then himself he supposed. She had landed on the ground with a big red... cloud? His interest had become peeked at this.

 

Krystal slowly walked forward, making sure to keep as quiet as possible to get a better look. When he was about 3 feet away his hoof came down on a small twig making a loud crack. He jumped and screamed loudly before falling back and rolling out into the open.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Krystalalchemist

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Xin and Sen arose from their makeshift bedrolls and joined Lin and Omen, the two now more recharged and ready to move out. Lin turned to Omen and replied just lout enough for the others to hear from a fair distance away. 

"We move out and into the woods. If we go with what Xin mentioned last night, we should be on the lookout for a river. We follow it upstream and hopefully we run into the clan. Either that or we-"

 

"Find the watch towers." Xin nonchalantly added as he walked towards Lin and Omen while carrying another pouch of dried berries, offering them to the two. "Whoever is manning them would be able to see us and they are expecting me. Just watch out for traps; the hunters leave them everywhere when they are out looking for food."

 

Sen finally joins the rest of the group having downed his fill of the dried berries. He looked to his sister and noticed her face, a look he knows all too well. He knows when Lin's got a lot on her mind, thoughts that would normally keep anyone up all night and have them second guessing everything they do while leaving them anxious. Whatever the day brought for them and whatever was in store will come sooner or later, and he fears the worst. Still, there is much to do and places to be. 

"Shall we proceed then?" Xin asked as he gestured the way forward. "If I recall correctly, the way to the clan is marked with a very specific symbol carved into the wood of the trees." Sure enough, not too far away was one of the marks: two diamonds, a small one inside a much larger diamond with four lightning bolt shapes on the four sides. Marks like these act like trail markers and usually, larger lightning bolts would show the general direction where the clan is settling. 

 

Lin accepted this and followed Xin. Sen on the other hand was slightly worried but opted to stay silent for the mean time and moved along.

[Holiday Agnaktor 1,436]

@Blitz Boom

 

 

Frosty looked at the sandpile he'd made. It was a good piece of game-balancing, if he did say so himself. Summer couldn't move now, and to make up for it Blitz couldn't see, or move properly either.This made the game totally fair again! 

 

Then he remembered that ponies generally need air to survive.

 

"Aaaah! DIG!"

 

Frosty tried to get the sand of Blitz as fast as possible. This resulted in the sandpile practically exploding, sending sand flying everywhere.

 

"Blitz?! Are you ok?! Aaaaah!"

 

He frantically tried to look through the cloud of sand trying to find Blitz. He wasn't very successful because of all the sand getting in his eyes. So then he started running through the cloud at random with his eyes closed, hoping to run into Blitz. It didn't look as if he was using a methodical way of finding Blitz, but it rather looked like he was just panicking and running around at random.

 

 

At the edge of the woods silently stood a light-blue female pegasus with long, curly, dark-blue manes. She just stood there, looking nervously at the scene happening before her. Well this certainly wasn't what she had expected. It didn't seem like she'd arrived at the right time, so she just waited silently for things to calm down.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Frosty Frost

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@@Krystalalchemist,

 

"Meep!"

 

The word burst out of her muzzle before she could think about it when the pile of goo suddenly went splat next to her. Seriously, who were playing with goo out here? Daddy had told her the forest was dangerous if you weren't prepared, and goo was really something for foals her age or less, so either the locals raised the foals to be ready to run fast if it came to it, or somepony had disregarded a warning from their parents.

 

Or... Could it be that somepony had made this? Ooooh, that'd be so cool! Ponies had all sorts of magic bumbling around, but being able to make goo, or jelly like her, wasn't something she had seen since... Well, last time she looked in a mirror really. It was a rather weird thing to be able to do.

 

Considering the scream though, would it really be good if somepony had made this? Might mean that whoever it were had gotten hurt.

 

She checked her belt to make sure she still had the small package of bandages her mum insisted she kept on her, just in case. Perhaps she'd end up needing thi-

 

The line of thought melted as she got a better look at the so-called pile of goo in front of her and saw that actually, it seemed to move, And had a shape of a pony! Well, somewhat. It looked a little strange right now, but it might be the fall that had made things a little wonky. Or she just looked at a wrong angle, might be it.

 

Still, the more important part really were that if this ws a living creature, and it thus far hadn't tried to eat her, she had something she had to do first. Just like daddy had taught her, she gave a small salute to the stranger before her, and grinned at it with a happy smile.

 

"Hello."

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

Omen hadn't said much when the others awakened. Mostly just a questioning goodmorning, before they began to go through what they were to do today and they got on their way.

 

From the sound of things, it were going to be a bit of a hunt to find some tracks, guards and watch out for traps for a while now, as they got closer to the elusive longma clan, though they didn't have to walk long for the first clue at least. A symbol that seemed strange though, as from what she had seen with the three longma in her company, gems and thunder wasn't things that seemed to have much, if anything, to do with them.

 

Perhaps it was a symbolism thing instead, but it was probably better to just store this for the time being and see if it meant something when they eventually would come to the longma village. Unless they got stopped or something first, but one thing to consider at a time.

 

There wasn't too much time to linger here, as they had to keep on, but it was something of interest at least. Such as Lin's current mood would be to her if she knew her like Sen did and realized that something might be weighing her down. Currently she didn't, and only thought it slightly weird that she were pretty quiet in it right now, but she just figured that perhaps she were looking for more clues. Might be Xin led them onward right now, but who were to say that he had all the way mapped out already?

 

"You say there are traps, yes? What kind of traps?"

 

Answered or not, within the next few seconds the question would be answered one way or another. Either through this inquiry she slung out currently, or in case the slight noise that came after she stepped on a pile small pile of leaves, as that might be one of the traps. Hopefully not a bear one, but they'd see what would happen, if anything. Might have just been a pile of twigs after all.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral looked towards the tree. "I have some bits on my already, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to have some extra." She looked to Chow as he spoke of transmuting gold. "Huh, so that's how ponies think it works." She mumbled with a bit of a chuckle. "You could use metals sure, but it's not quite like that. You can use almost anything, as long as you use the right quantity."

 

"Yeah, she once made gold out of dirt."

 

"I had to use quite a lot of dirt though, we had ran out of bits at the time. Otherwise I don't usually have much of a reason to make more." She stepped back slightly to walk next to the wagon. "Can you stop for a moment? I need to get out my chalk. I'll need it to draw the transmutation circle."

[~Phoenix~ 196]

Phoenix stands up from where she was sitting on a knocked over log. her horn glows and a small force field appears around her camp fire, and eventually the fire runs out of oxygen, extinguishing itself. she gathers up her things and places them in her saddle bags, the leaves rustling as she moves around. rays of light beaming down through the trees illuminated the area. 

 

as she finishes packing up her things, she hears some rustling off in the distance. and she crouches down behind the large log she was previously sitting on. she peers over it, trying to catch a glimpse of who, or what it may be. 

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

"Plenty of types." Xin looked around the forest floor and caught a conspicuous pile of leaves out in the open. He picked up a stone and tossed it in the general direction of the pile, revealing a pit. "That is one of the safer ones. There are traps made for different purposes. Some are used to alert the hunters for potential intruders, others are used for capturing or ensnaring game. And then there are the more lethal traps, the kind rarely used and only under the most dire of circumstances."

 

Sen added as he navigated his way around other visible traps in his area while observing Xin. He found it peculiar that he was demonstrating a trap by activating it instead of leaving it be. The hunters of the clan were trained together with the scouts when it came to traps; each trainee was taught how to spot one without setting it off. Even the most novice of hunters would know never to hide a trap under the most conspicuous guises, and there was the matter of Xin himself. He was no hunter or scout and yet knows about how traps work... 

 

Lin felt her stomach growling, but not out of hunger. She already downed her breakfast earlier; that was her breakfast running back up her throat. Not the best way to start the morning search but she kept her eyes open for more traps. After some time searching and leading the group around, she came across another of the symbols with the lightning bolt pointing west along with the sound of crackling leaves.

"This way," Lin quietly said. "Sounds like something's ahead."

[P-Jay 1,987]

@@P-Jay,

 

Vivid had seen many things in her long years. Some were horrid things that most wouldn't be able to get out of their heads again if they ever had to witness it, and others strange happenings which most in even the magical kingdom of Equestria would consider more than fantasy tales. And yet, she could safely say when she laid her eyes upon the weird, clearly outside influence in her dream, that this was pretty out there.

 

"...My childhood? I suppose you could call it that."

 

She weren't sure how to approach this floating, singing pony honestly, so she went with talking for now, though being prepared to go hostile if it was needed. Usually the only ones she found in her dreams that wasn't meant to be here were Princess Luna and the one time with Briar and Charlie not too long ago, but those two were with purpose. This however, she couldn't see the purpose in. Not unless he were another everfree spirit, in which case she frankly didn't know either. What a tree could want were a question that were as strange to answer as it were to ask.

 

"Now then, my name is Vivid Loss, and know that this have not been a good day thus far, which have left me somewhat on edge. So how about we skip to the point where you tell me who you are, and why you invade my dreams? I hope it is not to spread a nightmare. I do not take lightly to those that tries to taint some of the few good memories I have."

 

Her eyes narrows further at the outsider as she waited for his response. From the looks of how her body posture were, she would be ready to strike at him if he refused, or actually tried to turn her dream into a nightmare, which would be a grave mistake by him. Even if she were dead and drained in reality, in the dream her powers weren't as limited as that, and she would use it, along with her demonic forms greater physique than what she could normally boast, to make him regret it if he were there for trouble.

 

But, there wasn't a reason to get hasty yet. Even if she were a little testy, her rational side hadn't decided to take a hike, and as long as this one wasn't here to make trouble, she'd be civil, even if she might not look all that civil in her current state, and more like something that would raze Equestria.

 

"Oh, uh..." He shrugged, still floating about peacefully. "I wouldn't know where to start about about spreading a nightmare. Nasty little buggers, those are--no, I just wandered into a dream, and that dream happened to be yours. And honestly, even if I wished you ill-harm...I'd be breaking one of Luna's rules." He pat himself resurringly. "And I dunno about you, but I like life."

 

He exhaled, having bumped against a wall lazily from his floating by now. "Nothing to see here, I'm just a spectator in your dream...Dream away. Or we can talk, that's good, too." He beamed. "The stock market is booming, that's a conversation topic."

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@@P-Jay,

 

Vivid's stance relaxed a good deal after the entity had said that he wasn't here to break things. and if he referenced Luna she'd be tempted to think that they had met, and the princess of the night wasn't likely to let a nightmare sower just wander off. There were still some concerns of course, but she could be a little more at ease she supposed.

 

"Good to hear that we are on the same page. Usually I try to refrain from starting with hostility like this, but it have really not been a good day, and seeing you made me think the worst. You know how bad things tends to come one after another, yes?"

 

With a thought, Vivid summoned a bench to the side of the town road they were on and sat down upon that. It was of course not something she could do in the waking world, but this was a dream, and more specifically, Her dream, so she could form things if she were aware of it. Something which she would be disappointed about not being if it were, considering most of her dreams tended to be the same, and having nearly four millennia worth of time to analyze it would have left her with ample opportunity to learn a few things about her surroundings.

 

"As for the stock market, it is not my field. My focus on money have always simply been to have enough for the days on the road, and even that have not been much of a concern lately. Being in the employ of a princess have handled that well enough, though not the one you speak of.

 

I am curious about that though. Princess Luna. I have only met her in here twice, and in reality once, and all of those times she have either been polite and a little bit shy, or questioning and concerned what to make of my dreams. Yet, it sounds as if you have met a side of her that I have not? A darker, more unpleasant side perhaps? Something must have made you want to steer clear of her bad side at least.

 

Indulge an old mare if you would please? And if not that, perhaps on how hard it were for you to gain access to this dream? I am curious as to how different it must be from both the inside and outside considering that I'm currently dead. More interesting topics than finances I would think at least."

 

A sly smile went over her face, and the long, spiked tail wrapped closer to her on the bench as she got seated better. She really should have gone with a couch here on second thought, but she knew herself enough to know that she'd have a trouble getting up from it again if it were, and she still didn't know exactly how relaxed she could be right now. Perhaps later, when she knew this one a little better, but they'd see.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

"A hole under a blanket of leaves. Clever."

 

There wasn't an ounce of sarcasm in Omen's voice when she said this. To her, the thought about putting leaves over a hole like this wasn't blatantly obvious, but sneaky and likely effective. Sure, it might not work on those like her and Lin that could get out of there through other means, but they were not exactly what would normally wander around here - at least she found the odds pretty low - and if the hole was small enough in width even pegasi could likely get trapped down there until somepony came around to get them out.

 

She went over and looked down into the pit to see if there wasn't anything of interest down there, but the shadows still ran long here and there, and in this place were one of those. She had no idea what were down there except for darkness, and not the nuanced kind that she were used to, so after a few seconds she returned to the others instead as they moved on, looking for the next clue of where they were going.

 

It wasn't all that they found when it were though, as a sound made it somewhat evident that somepony, or something, was ahead. Perhaps it was one of the longma? Could also be some of this *game* that Xin spoke about earlier, but if that were interesting depended on what roamed these woods. Since she were somewhat sure that she hadn't been here before, Omen couldn't tell for sure, though now that she thought about it, it did seem odd that they hadn't run into any yet. Not even when they had a camp set up.

 

Even when Sen had slept in a somewhat isolated place the first night she had met him, a few creatures like a curious squirrel or such would come closer, yet there hadn't been anything she had heard as the night had gone by, or int he time since everypony woke up.

 

It was peculiar, but who knew, perhaps the animals were just hunted enough to make them stay away from the smell of longma? They'd see perhaps, though for now she were more curious as to the originator of the noise up ahead.

 

_________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@~Phoenix~,

 

"Got lost again. one should think I would know better."

 

The voice was low, but as the being wandered closer the words became clearer, ending just before its originator wandered out between two bushes and stopped up.

 

He looked like a regular pony from a bit of a distance, though Briar were not as simple as that to determine. Sure, he might look the part as long as he kept his mouth closed and the simple cape on his back sitting where it were, but it wouldn't take long for somepony that got closer or touched him to find some inconsistencies that he could not touch. Like how his coat felt like soft grass, or his mane akin to healthy straw. The feeling of his skin having the texture of rubbery bark did not help it either if you got that far, and if a hoof went to his back and found one of the two budding flowers there, that each hid a vine that curled inside his body, it just got more obvious.

 

Or well, there used to be a flower bud and vine on each side. After his... Unfortunate experiences recently, one of the openings were for the time being instead covered in dirt and had a small sprout that poked slightly through the earth. It were connected to the remnants of his vine beneath, but it needed time to grow into a new bud, so for all intents and purposes, he were down a vine on his right side. Something which were highly annoying, but it could be worse all things considered. At least he still had the other.

 

He sniffed the air around where he were, and got the faint smell of something burnt that wafted through the air. It was subtle, but  at some point it seemed that sompony had been here, and had... Potentially made a camp fire? It were possible, though usually one could smell that for a while, with the lingering, smouldering wood and all that. Could be one that just cleaned up well he supposed.

 

He let out a small sneeze from the smell, and as a yawn escaped him afterwards as well, the row of big, razor-sharp teeth got rather visible too, though not for long as he closed his mouth again.

 

one last thing were of note with him though, and one that might make Phoenix a little less worried about him if it were, and that were the thick bandages that were rolled in several layers around his head and eyes, covering his sockets completely, but leaving some room for his ears to be free at least. They weren't the usual white bandages, and instead for some reason were a deep purple, but the way it looked were still unmistakable if you knew a little about those sort of things.

 

"How peculiar. I wonder if perhaps I have wandered into an encampment of sorts?"

 

Briar walked a few steppes further, sniffing the air with every step and keeping his ears perked. if there were any sound, he'd find it, and if some kind of smell his nearby that wasn't obstructed by the vague smell of smoke, that would be something he could find the origins of as well, given a little time.

 

"Hello? Is somepony here perhaps? You need not to be alarmed if it is. I can assure you, I do not come with harm in mind."

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

 

@,

 

"I grew up with the classic stories. The whole lead into gold, alchemist fable and the idea of a philosophers stone and all that stuff. Funny reading, but i could never find any proof that it had ever really led anywhere unfortunately. Well, except for being the basic for our modern medical field, but you know what I mean.

 

Honestly never figured it'd end up being less impressive with the stories. I mean, one metal into another makes sorta sense, but dirt into gold? That's a kicker."

 

Chow stopped up, just like he had been asked, though this time he didn't stay ready to pick it up again in a jiffy, and instead got the load off his shoulders for a bit. He didn't want a bad angle to whatever were gonna happen now. It'd end up being much too interesting of a thing to miss he'd bet.

 

"Lemme help you clear a bit of space for the drawing, aye?"

 

Without waiting for answers, Chow started to kick away rocks around an area in front of them. It was reasonably flat and didn't have too much grass that'd be in the way, but he figured these things were better to be removed. He'd stop doing it if he were asked though.

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Frosty Frost,

@,

 

Lyriel couldn't hold in a laughter when Summer called her out on her little pranks. Yes, it was a bit childish of her and Frosty to muddle with things like this, but why did Summer and Blitz get to have all the fun on the beach to themselves?

 

Her smile faltered slightly as the later was suddenly dug for by Frosty, who seemingly had forgotten something regarding her. Perhaps he had covered her with too much sand and she could have trouble breathing? Oh dear mother Gaia, she hoped it was not something like that.

 

Her mood got better though, when in the cloud of sand that were splashed around she saw the smaller outline of Blitz sneak around and then jump towards Frosty, hooves first, aiming for getting a grip around his neck and likely give him a bit of a scare. Or to play catch perhaps? It were hard to tell with this one. A very... Random little creature.

 

Still, it seemed the game had changed a bit in any way, so to make things fair, she released Summer from the vine she had caught her with and sent it back into the ground. Perhaps she'd play some more games like this later, but for the time, she'd just sit back, relax, and watch the chaos unfold a little by little.

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@@Blitz Boom,

 

Phoenix watched as the strange plant-like pony wandered out into the open. he had walked up and stopped only a mere 4 feet away from where she was crouched behind the log. the appearence of the pony was very perplexing to her, and although he clearly said he was no harm, phoenix wasn't one to give her trust so lightly. she remained as silent as she could as she started to take a couple steps backwards, away from the Plant Pony. However, while staring at him, she failed to see the twig just behind her, and her hind hoof came down right on top of it, letting out a loud *SNAP* 

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@GingerLightning

@@Blitz Boom

@@Denim&Venom

 

As the clock hand was plunged into the demon's heart a stream of blood sprung forth into the air, but by the time it would land it was but ash. Slowly, starting at the heart, the beast burned away and became ash as well, its mirror nemesis fading away. Soon, all that was left of the beast were its bones. A cloaked figure quickly scooped up some of the tail bones and ran off as one by one, ponies dressed in old garb appeared around them. Some had blades drawn, others were injured, and some were not ponies at all. Ananasi, Kitsune, and even a changeling or two were present. A few of the ones that appeared immediately got to work carrying the injured. "We need a healer!" one yelled while carrying an injured knight. "Bring the injured over here!" another yelled as he was tending to the wounded Sylar. Memories came rushing back, and Miststalker and Carl moved over to him, taking over with only a nod as the healer moved on to a pony with claw marks on his side. There were civilians as well as soldiers and heroes in this crowd. All seemed at least a little confused as to what was happening, but the injured needed to be cared for. At least for one, this moment should bring about a small amount of clarity. The scene would appear similar to the vision Zhu saw earlier, just with beings in places that were eerily empty in the vision.

 

Penny got up after wrestling the vine off of herself. She looked over at Briar and immediately realized what she had done. "We need a medic! Wait, what are you?" she said, confused at what she saw.

 

Sisilia had been running alongside Ginger, but when Ginger hit the wall, she hadn't even noticed. She had assumed that Ginger knew the wall was there, so she jumped and climbed up the wall onto the roof. When she realized that Ginger was no longer next to her, she turned around and looked over the edge of the roof, gazing down at her.

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

@@Mentis Soliloquy

@@Denim&Venom

 

"Actually, it seems he's gotten himself stuck," Seamore said while gently trying to push the doctor's head away from the tree his horn was imbedded in. "I'm going to need my tools. I left them back at the castle. Someone should wait here while I head back to the castle, unless someone has a couple strong, durable knives I can use, though I can't guarantee they won't be ruined in the process."

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

@@Moonlit

@@Hazard Time

 

"Now that arrangements for the meeting are out of the way, what of your necklace? Have there been any issues with the enchantment? Has the necklace been given plenty of sunlight?" Luna asked Serenade.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Seamore Sandwich

[Moonlit 593]

@@Seamore Sandwich,  ​"No issues, and yes it has. I've been leaving it in direct sunlight after my night shifts. " Serenade shuffles her hing legs and wings, "Actually there is one last thing regarding our meeting with Princess Sparkle. Is there any spell that could translate what I say in my Siren form into understandable Equestrian. I'd like to be able to speak without having a translator."

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@Blitz Boom

@@Moonlit

@@Hazard Time

 

"If anypony knew of such a spell, it would likely be Twilight Sparkle herself. We will look into it. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing your next report. I must however go, there is much to do," Luna said before turning toward the door. Hopefully she could find out if Twilight knew a spell that would do the job without having to specify that it was a siren. Otherwise, she would have to do much research and perform the spell herself.

[Moonlit 593]

@@Seamore Sandwich,  "Of course, I'll walk you out, my next report might be a bit delayed, my parents want me to visit" Serenade rolls her eyes "I'll make sure I get more of those cookies I know you and Tiberius like" Serenade gives the Princess of the Night her best smirk,"or are you still going to contend that those sugar moon cookies just walked off on their own."

Edited November 2, 2016 by Moonlit

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@@~Phoenix~,

 

"Ah, so I do have some company. Splendid."

 

Briar began to calmly walk towards where he had heard the branch snap just before, smiling, and trying his best to seem friendly to whomever it may be that had accidentally revealed their presence.

 

"Whomever you are, you have my sincerest apologies for stumbling across you as I have done here. I am dealing with some damages that have unfortunately left my sense of direction dreadfully lacking for the time being, though I hope that you can forgive this minor misstep.

 

But where are my manners? My name is Briar Trapjaw my good sir or madam, and it is an utmost pleasure to make your acquaintance."

 

With that, Briar stopped up, and in a very respectful and elegant manner rose his right hoof to his chest before making a bow towards Phoenix. Much as he might look like a threat, Briar was a rather civilized being that preferred to meet others on good terms, which could at times be hard considering his predatorial sides, yet he still tried at the very least.

 

Hopefully, Phoenix would give him a bit of rope to hang on to, so to speak, instead of going on the offense or run away, but it were hard to tell which one would end up being the case before it happened. With some luck, it would be somewhat peacefully at least. He would much prefer not having to defend himself against a stranger, and especially when he actually did need a bit of help as it were.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@GingerLightning,

@@Quinch,

@@Denim&Venom,

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

 

"He is of the land, and like the blossoming oak, time will correct his broken strands. You needn't worry for him."

 

Zhu had wandered up behind Penny on his way towards Briar, that at this point had stopped screaming some time ago, but still clutched the scorched end of his demolished vine, whimpering ever so slightly.

 

"Leave his pain in my care, and instead give the medic you call for to the mare who aims for my neck."

 

He knew she were coming before she had gotten anywhere near close enough to swing her sword at him, and therefor were prepared when it were to simply turn, dodge her unfocused attack, and hammer his paw into her forehead. Doing this, along with a low mumble of words, the mark he had placed on her disappeared, and Last fell down like a puppet whose strings had been severed.

 

She did not look good currently, as she were starting to bleed from several places, though the main area were the wound across her stomach that were almost bursting open by now. The stitches still held somewhat, but the strings were strained and some of them looking as if they were ready to snap. A problematic situation that he had brought her into, but what was done was done, and all that were left now where damage control.

 

"We will meet again young one, but for now, you have a life in your hooves"

 

With that, a wind blew past him and around Briar for a spell that took the air around him away, and made the snaproot fall unconscious. Zhu had a need for him later moe than likely, but it wasn't time, and he had other things to attend to than having him ask questions or whimper on about his vine. It were a painful injury, certainly, but for his kind it wasn't something that couldn't be fixed, which were something to start on when he would eventually wake up again. For now, Zhu simply blew him over to the side of the road and took the cut of piece of vine, and slung it over his own shoulder before turning and heading towards the barrel containing what was left of Vivid.

 

The vine contained some things that he could draw usage of in the longer run likely, though with the fogs ahead first clearing now, he wouldn't know for what yet. That would require time, to sort through the futures that could now suddenly be viewed. Depending on if he would have the time.

 

He let out a sigh as he opened the top of the barrel, ignoring everything around him that were not headed towards his being to cause harm, and thought on what might come out of this.

 

His presence here were undeniable. Even if he were cloaked, and yet again had the hood cover his face and obscure his vision of those not in his immediate area, his face had been seen, and his involvement were clear. In what aspect was unlikely to be clear by most, if not all present, but at the bare minimum he had been shown to be part of this fight. An event that would spread around Equestria, and ultimately, to the ears of Celestia.

 

There had to be a time when he had to let himself be known one way or another, and he knew that, yet it still didn't make it easier to try and think on the ways it could go. How did he even approach her after all of this time? With shame? A smile? Or perhaps one of several dozens of other options? He hadn't a clue yet, nor how she would react to know that he had been here, but as his paw reached inside his robe and pulled out a gem in a old necklace, he could feel doubts about it ending well.

 

Not the crystal though, he knew how to handle this. A piece of corrupted energy harvested centuries ago, charged with life and power of a being that had been caught in stasis and prepared for a long time to the day when it could be used to reignite the spark of life. This piece of Vivid that he had taken when he first fell upon her all those years ago, this he trusted, because he had seen how it would work if the day would come that she would fall. It made him sure of what to do, as compared to the situation with Celestia, but perhaps he would know what to do when he were once again face to face with the princess.

 

Dark words crossed his scaly lips and the crystal started to ooze the deep purple it were made of, which meant that it were time to put it in the barrel and close the top again. It would need time to work, but eventually this energy should stitch her back together, and leave her with enough power to be able to reunite with her body, though she'd feel rather weak. An hour or two at worst should be able to do it, though perhaps he should think of another location for it. It were not a safe here for her currently.

 

He raised his head some though and let his eyes wander over the beings that had suddenly gotten in their midst after the Forgotten One had fallen. Victims of his more than likely, but not from this time by the looks of things. And, as he selected a few of them at random and saw what potentially laid before them, he couldn't help but think that perhaps they would fare well so far away from where they had been. The potential were there, certainly, but there'd be after effects of them trying to acclimate that had to be handled carefully to end with a full integration, and then there was this little one... A Kitsune, though if small by stature or by age he couldn't tell from the brief glance he gave the creature. He could just see what could lay ahead for this one and internally grimace a little at the images. It would seem that he had found one of the next ones he had to steer in the right direction past the fog that had mostly limited him to this day.

 

Meanwhile, Ashta and Ko had each their approach to handling things after the monster had fallen to ash.

 

Ko assisted Mistweaver and Carl in helping Sylar, and who else he could that he could nearby that wasn't a pony. They had their own helpers, whereas they, and those from Subterenea, were there on their own. Also, considering the diplomatic ties, it were for the better that they of the Beast Court wdid not seem unwilling to help if the situation required it.

 

If none of them needed help, he'd try his claws at pulling out some ponies from the nearby buildings intot he street where the locals could handle them instead. Whatever it took to get him to find himself less useless. Sure, he had been part of the killing blow to this horrendous old figure, but there were still things to handle here and sitting idly by in that situation wasn't an option in his mind.

 

As for Ashta, he had gotten seated inside the house had had been smashed into by the now-gone ancient one. He felt like a truck had fallen on him, but he were alive, and by some miracle didn't appear to have broken anything, so that was good at least. Better than having to explain his actions to Sylar at least.

 

The memories had come back to him about their direct superior now that he were no longer amongst the forgotten, and crossing over his preferences to how a job were done contra how Ashta had done it, were likely going to get him some degree of reprimand or something later on. It could be worse though, at least he hadn't killed Carl and Mistweaver earlier as he had threatened if the priestess had been dead. That one would have come around and bit his egg sack.

 

At the same time, quite the earful were heard some way away from the wandering Zhu, the forgotten people, or the outsiders that had arrived and helped in the fight against the defeated monstrosity, as Meeko started to bark towards the large bones. Even he wasn't going to actually go over and touch them, still afraid of what had been there before, but it helped a little with his confidence to bark with the weak puppy-voice towards it for a little before turning around and run straight towards Ginger, aiming to hide at her hooves.

 

The monster might be gone after all, but there were suddenly gathering ponies that had been hiding, or had gotten trapped before they had the chance to run away - and a few who had come back to town - and he didn't know enough good about ponies to feel safe around them on his own. He wanted to wander along the hooves of somepony like them that he did trust, and then just look at the others instead from there. Ponies like for example the weird pair that suddenly emerged from a building, carrying a pony each that had seemingly passed out and put them down on the street.

 

The two of them smelled weird, and looked strange too. They were both a deep, onyx color with a swirling dark hole as a cutie mark, just with one swirling with the clock and the other against it. Both too had the same dark, somewhat wavy mains and tails in a silvery scheme and silvery eyes, but the differences started to really show there as one of them were a little-above-average size earth pony whose one eye seemed a bit reflective and glassy from here, and had a prosthetic hind leg of intricate parts of dark wood. Whilst the other one were a smaller than normal pegasi, about half the size of the other, and were lacking a wing.

 

A strange smell came from the saddlebags that the larger of them had with her, as well as the spear that she carried and the blow-darts and blowgun the smaller one had, but Meeko didn't know it. It just seemed wrong to him somehow when the weak smell wafted near him briefly.

 

"They seem fine, just got knocked out from what we can tell."

 

The smaller one of the two glanced to the side after helping down the ponies they had gotten out. It had looked close in the fight to them not even getting out themselves for a bit near the end there, when they had almost been scooped up, but the actual attackers and the airship looming over them had taken the attention and strength away from the monster before it had gotten hold of them, and had given them enough time to hide in one of the half-ruined buildings. Which were also where they had found these two.

 

For the time being though, jumped on adrenaline and suddenly finding herself faced with a group of mixed creatures that looked like they were in some sort of theater play, she didn't think so much on the past as the present and started to reach back towards the blowgun set that she had stashed into the large saddlebag that her sister carried, though the later moved away when she tried to.

 

"Wha-"

 

"Please, no m-more fighting. The monster is gone, and these haven't done anything. They're just here, and t-they got wounded. Just like us."

 

Null let out a sigh and pulled back again, facing towards the mixed bag of beings that had seemingly popped out from nowhere, and tried to let the feelings of wanting to hurt somepony flow out of her system. She didn't overly trust these ones right now though, but Void was right, they had other things to do right now than her wanting to know where in the name of Tartarus these had even come from! It'd come though, mark her words, she would get answers sooner or later.

 

"...Fine, but I'm not staying here. Anypony going with me to get the doctors down here or something?"

 

She turned away from the and looked around at the few locals that were currently here, and saw a pegasi lift his hoof a little away from her. Like most others of the onlookers, the combination of the bones and the troupe of forgotten beings - and what race some of them were - had them stumped, and unsure what to do. Some even actively made sure not to go close to them or start to gossip like when Zecora had first come to town, whilst others, like this one, had just stood dumbfounded until the need for volunteers to handle things now came up.

 

"Fine, then we're going. Now."

 

She began to head towards the hospital whilst the other pegasi took to the skies and started flying there - oh how she missed being able to fly like that - but stopped briefly to look back on her sister with worry in her eyes, though she didn't say anything. She didn't need to either, Void knew what she would have asked her to do anyway, which were one of the reasons she did not start packing her naginata away right now. She needed it in case something happened, though hopefully it wouldn't. There had been enough fighting already.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Blitz Boom

[P-Jay 1,987]

Vivid's stance relaxed a good deal after the entity had said that he wasn't here to break things. and if he referenced Luna she'd be tempted to think that they had met, and the princess of the night wasn't likely to let a nightmare sower just wander off. There were still some concerns of course, but she could be a little more at ease she supposed.

 

"Good to hear that we are on the same page. Usually I try to refrain from starting with hostility like this, but it have really not been a good day, and seeing you made me think the worst. You know how bad things tends to come one after another, yes?"

 

With a thought, Vivid summoned a bench to the side of the town road they were on and sat down upon that. It was of course not something she could do in the waking world, but this was a dream, and more specifically, Her dream, so she could form things if she were aware of it. Something which she would be disappointed about not being if it were, considering most of her dreams tended to be the same, and having nearly four millennia worth of time to analyze it would have left her with ample opportunity to learn a few things about her surroundings.

 

"As for the stock market, it is not my field. My focus on money have always simply been to have enough for the days on the road, and even that have not been much of a concern lately. Being in the employ of a princess have handled that well enough, though not the one you speak of.

 

I am curious about that though. Princess Luna. I have only met her in here twice, and in reality once, and all of those times she have either been polite and a little bit shy, or questioning and concerned what to make of my dreams. Yet, it sounds as if you have met a side of her that I have not? A darker, more unpleasant side perhaps? Something must have made you want to steer clear of her bad side at least.

 

Indulge an old mare if you would please? And if not that, perhaps on how hard it were for you to gain access to this dream? I am curious as to how different it must be from both the inside and outside considering that I'm currently dead. More interesting topics than finances I would think at least."

 

A sly smile went over her face, and the long, spiked tail wrapped closer to her on the bench as she got seated better. She really should have gone with a acouch here on second thought, but she knew herself enough to know that she'd have a trouble getting up from it again if it were, and she still didn't know exactly how relaxed she could be right now. Perhaps later, when she knew this one a little better, but they'd see.

 

"Aw...C'mon. I'm not a bad guy, and I doubt I'd even know where to start." He shrugged, still fruitlessly bumping against a wall as he floated. "And...I'm not sure if I'm allowed to give out info about Luna to random sketchy demonic possibly-Tartarus-bound ponies. Sorry if I'm being assumptious, but you kinda have that bad guy vibe goin' on..."

 

He snickered. "It's all good, though--I just don't wanna tick off someone who has complete control over everything in the dreamscape."

 

"And hey."

 

"That kinda means me, too." He shrugged again, upside down in the dream by now, still bumping the wall as if it would move if he did it enough. "Being made in a dream, and all."

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@@Blitz Boom,

 

Phoenix falls backwards, landing on her rump, and  she looks up at briar. "my name is Phoenix..." she responds cautiously, and at this point briar could tell she was female, by the pitch of her voice. she uses her hind legs to push herself back a bit, to get a few feet of distance from the stranger "what are you?" she asks, a bit bluntly, as she stares up at the strange plant pony 

[Denim&Venöm 18,779]

@GingerLightning @Blitz Boom @Quinch,

 

"Welp. That worked out better than anticipated." Priestess said as the enormous bane began to burn to ash. "Now for the next phase of the plan." she said as she turned tail and began walking away.  

 

"Wait. You're leaving?" 

 

"Maybe? I dunno.  I don't need Celestia's toy horses trying to lock me up for interrogation nor do I need my cover blown. And speaking of-"

 

In a flash, Allure was already gone, seemingly cloaked. 

 

"Probably calling all her nearby forces away back to the castle. Changelings will probably be blamed if any are seen. Conspiracy theroy a plenty will be formed this day.  But tell our forces to stay. We won't be able to get the Revocation out of here fast enough and there are too many witnesses. So you'll take the credit. Say you received civil distress call from Ponyville en route to a diplomatic escort.  If they ask who-"

 

"Classified, I know. So where will you go?

 

"Probably stay. I live here. Well, more like work here.  Anyways, you and your squad- best call in a few more, especially to replace the changelings- will provide equinitarian aid and search & rescue." 

 

"Understood. I'll call over the Revocation to make use of the med bays and set up triage. Should I call mom over?"

 

"Nah. The countess in Ponyville? That'll raise too many suspicions from the princesses. No, tell her to stay in the castle. Officially, this op is under your command."

 

Reverie nodded, as her mom pulled out another talisman, stuck it to her head and in and orange flash, shrank down to a black stockinged, red maned, orange earth mare w/ a white ' 狐 ' for a cutie mark. 

 

"Now if you'll excuse me Major, I've got a ruined town to rummage through....again. Seriously what the buck is up with this place courting disaster every 22 minnutes?" 

Edited November 2, 2016 by Denim&Venom

[GingerLightning 258]

@@Seamore Sandwich, @@Blitz Boom,

Ginger Lightning shook her head and fluffed her mane. she looked at Sislia and said "You could have warned me that was there." She looked around and was pretty sure she missed something...that's when she remembered the fight...She felt kind of stupid because of the fact she forgot so easily.

[Krystalalchemist 5]

@Blitz_Boom

After fully reforming krystal saw the other pony and watched her blinking softly his pink eyes still rolling. "H... hello." He managed to mutter out a soft greeting before shaking his head fast, flinging goo all over the place. After finally re-centering and reforming himself completly he stood and looked at the other pony again. "Oh... My names Krystal, i... i was just interested in your..." He looked to the big red cloud. "Your funny cloud."

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Lin snooped around the general direction of the noise and followed it forward, very much ignoring the very serious possibility of ensnaring herself in the hunters' traps. Xin casually followed as opposed to Sen running after her, fearing for her safety. The path led to an open clearing surrounded on all sides by deciduous trees, the ground littered with dried up leaves. The air lay still as Lin slowed down, hoping to see some semblance of the clan waiting to greet her. Or she might have been chasing wild forest wolves who know to stay away from her if they aren't hunting in packs. 

 

Xin looked to one of the treetops thinking there might be something climbing around or looking for another of the trail signs. He was fixated on one tree with fully covered with leaves just about to fall off. Sen, meanwhile rushed to his sister's aid, aware of what she just walked into. He quickly ran in and pushed her aside just as Xin raised one claw and a net hidden under the dirt and leaves sprang up and caught him, leaving him hanging above the forest floor.

"What's going on here?!" Lin exclaimed. "Xin, do something!"

Xin walked away from the shade of the nearby tree with a face of regret, refusing to look at Lin. His emergence was followed by the painted hunters and personal guard of the elders coming into view with spear tips pointed straight at their quarry. Another group of painted hunters arrived shorty after and focused all attention on Omen, spears at the ready and attempted to corral her to Lin's position. 

Edited November 3, 2016 by EQ_Theta

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@@Krystalalchemist,

 

Behind her shades, Krystal would be able to see big, gleeful eyes starring back at him as he reformed, shook goo around him, and reformed again. And how would it be any wonder? To her, he looked fascinating and frankly rather cool. She had never even heard of a goo pony before, but here were one now all of a sudden, and she couldn't imagine any picture she could potentially have made of him in her head could have come close to the reality.

 

She took a step further and raised her hoof, about to poke at him to see how he'd feel to touch, when he mentioned the red cloud behind her and she put her hoof down instead, looking with a glimmer in her eyes at Krystal.

 

"Oh oh, the cloud, right! Wanna see what I did to it?"

 

Jelly didn't wait for an answer before she turned around to the cloud again and went over, next to it. At which point she poked at it with a hoof, which blubbered a little in place from it, but stayed in place and didn't burst.

 

"Daddy says it's my special talent. I can find some clouds that are juuuuust right, and then I can bite them, and they start to turn into delicious jelly! I think this strawberry, but I haven't checked yet. Wanna find out? I can pop the top of it no problem if it is and we can check. Usually it's yummy."

 

She took her hoof to her belt and pulled forth a small, fold-able knife that she had earned at scouts a year ago or so. The blade was small and couldn't do much in attacks, but it wasn't meant to either. It was supposed to help you when you were out and about and needed it for survival. Or in her case, to cut a hole in the top of the cloud, though she'd wait until Krystal said something first.

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@~Phoenix~,

 

"Phoenix you say? A noble name, with a rich history to its origins. I do hope though that you do not share the tendency of it's originator and burst into flames."

 

Briar let out a small chuckle before going on speaking with the mare. The voice had betrayed what gender she were quite effectively, so he at least knew this about her, though what else he could glance from the small bit of information he had currently were not all that comforting. Ponies tended to have names that associated with their skills quite well, and if this were one named after the olden bird of legend, then it might spell a problem for little old, flammable him.

 

"In all seriousness though, if you do have such capabilities, would you be so kind as to not set me on fire? I am regrettably flammable you see, and I would like to think of many a sunset more where I can enjoy the slow warmth of the sun wash over me rather than the hungry maws of fire.

 

As to what I am, I am an Evergrown. It may carry little meaning for you, but my kind tend to isolate themselves more often than not, so I am not surprised you might not have heard of us. What we are can be a long and troublesome debate, though to simplify it somewhat, you can consider us a race of sentient plant creatures, yet not in the same way as for example your Titimberwolves. We are more biologically akin to that of ponies than that, even if our buildings bricks - so to speak - are made from the bounty of the great trees."

 

Briar sat down and rested where he had stood since Phoenix first spoke, not wanting to get closer to her. Not because of the fire entirely, but also because it were terribly rude to invade her personal space like that, and as it seemed like she were at least somewhat cautious about him. A wise choice really.

 

It was not that he wished her any harm, but beyond his words, what would she really have as assurances that this were the truth? He were an unknown entity of strange origins, and a clear meat eater at that, so he did not judge her for not thinking to trust him outright. Frankly, in her place, he wouldn't have either.

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@P-Jay,

 

The look on Vivid's demeanor soured as the name of Tartarus were mentioned.

 

"I am not bound in your Tartarus, and I don't appreciate being told I belong amongst those prisoners. I might a demonicly infused soul to the point where there is little that separates me from my former masters anymore, but I pride myself in knowing that I'm better than them and their constant, violent schemes. I don't want to see Equestria, my home of several millennia, burn anymore than you, or the princess of dreams would."

 

There were things that Vivid had done in her time that were horrendous, and yes, though her masters had controlled most of her actions, knowing how easily it had come to her to do such things even then made her know well that the depravity had seeped deep into her being too. Yet through it all, she would never willingly hurt the equine world, or the beings within it, and as such resented being called out as some kind of monster that needed to be locked up, even if it wasn't specifically said that she should be by this entity.

 

She let out a sigh and relaxed herself again, trying to get this away from her mind. It wouldn't lead anywhere to let this fester in her mind, and especially not witht he unfortunate day she had had thus far. It would simply fuel the fire.

 

"I mean not to go up into hooves over this, and I know well what I look like these days, compared to what it was like so very long ago "

 

A glance were given to a nearby window, where her reflection showed the more non-descript, normal, somewhat happy mare that once were. Nothing special or evil looking there in the slightest.

 

"- but it does not mean that I am as horrible as I look. I am simply marked by a choice I should have never made. A horrible, stupid choice by a delusional and scared old mare...

 

I don't expect you to trust or believe me, and in here, I cannot show the seal I carry from the royals I serve to prove anything, but if it helps, I will direct my questions away from the princess at least. So let me try this instead: You say you were made in a dream? So I take it you're not one of the Everfree spirits that tends to linger here in this case, but a genuine dream apparition? How does that even work?"

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

Omen didn't have the time to react as Sen got wrapped in the net that then went high, away from the ground he had stood on before that now seemed as treacherous as Xin had turned out to be.

 

There were several questions that had to be asked and answered now, such as why they were trying to capture Sen and Lin, what they meant to do with her, if this was the elders work alone, how Xin could make himself do this, etc. Yet, she found that in the current situations there were really only one thing that needed to be said.

 

"Stay away from them."

 

Mother had been adamant in making sure that none of their kin were raised knowing how to fight, as she knew what their powers could do in case they began to go a route of aggression, so Omen hadn't the faintest clue on how she would attack these longma that now reached closer to them. What she did know however, were how to use what she had to defend others, which usually been something only reserved for her master, but were something she would do for her friends too without many questions. Or in this case, none.

 

Gates started opening here and there over at the approaching guards around them, not cutting them all of yet, but she could open several more of these with little more than a thought if it were, and absorb spears or whatever else they would think of flinging towards them, up to and including themselves. And up at Sen, she too opened a few on each side of him, not thinking the ones who had betrayed him would be above trying to harm him as he were essentialy leverage. Though unfortunately, she couldn't get him out on her own. She had nothing sharp with her, and needed to hold her focus on the longma for now anyway, so that were something that she had to leave to another. Specifically, Lin.

 

"Could you get him free, if I bring you to him?"

 

She considered openeing a gate beneath Xin right now, and let him fall into her home, cut off from here for a time, but it wasn't important to her right now, and she wasn't sure how the impact of this treachery would affect them either. Perhaps Sen had sort of expected it, or it didn't mean as much to them, so sending Xin away would be too much, but they'd see she supposed. For now, she could keep her focus on protecting her friends and then hear them out about this later, when they were gone from here. At least if they got Sen down she expected they would leave, since even she could see that there wasn't anything good in sight from the longma siblings here.

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@@Blitz Boom,

 

through the course of Briar's long speach, phoenix had picked herself up into a standing position. briar certainly didn't seem all that threatening, and he was correct about her abilites. at this point, Phoenix saw that she clearly had the upper hand IF he were to show any signs of being a threat, so she allowed herself to put her guard down
"That certainly is interesting" she responded in refference to his long explenation of what he was.

 

she wasn't quite sure what to do at this point. should she get out of here before anything bad happens? should she stay and find out more about him? one thing certainly stood out; the bandages over his eyes "what happened to your eyes?" she asks. 

Edited November 4, 2016 by ~Phoenix~

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

The scramble left Lin confused but she had to focus. There are too many hunters gathered around them and if she knew them from the stories her brother often told her, they were carrying more than just their spears. With Xin just out of sight, opted to try and escape from the ambush together with her brother; he was already trying to cut his way through the rope while she was distracted. 

"Looks like he's already on it," Lin replied. "The hunters are keeping their eyes on us. We can regroup at Sen's position then I can open a gate under us. We're getting out of here together, and the clan isn't going to stop us. I'll take us to him."

Lin readied herself to plough through a blockade set up by the painted hunters. She took a deep breath in and mustered her energy, increasing the size of her webbing and making herself look bigger. The hunters took a step back in fear but none broke their ranks and held on to their spears tighter in anticipation. Lin ran forward but a hunter positioned on the treetops threw his bolas right at her feet, tripping her and catching all of her legs in a knot. Her larger facade faded with her on the ground and out of the shadows came Xin running in. 

He looked at Omen as the hunters gathered around Lin and bound her with rope while a second group just arrived with Sen tied up as well. 

"If you know what is good for you, Omen, you will do the right thing and yield."