World Tree MUSH

    It was windy and chilly, the ground wet and hilly after long rains. The shadows of the clouds have passed away to the west, revealing a brilliant orange sunset. A faint rainbow arcs between the light-rimmed, rounded hills to the east, fading slowly away as one by one the stars begin twinkling in the dark blue sky above. 
    A wagon, its iron-shod wheels caked with mud, rumbles its way along the lightly-rutted pathway. The two thicky brown-furred yak at the head and the multicolored costume of the driver show it to be from the northern steppes, probably come down with a load of pelts in search of a big city market. As it exits the darkening woods, the driver stops the wagon and reaches to light the lantern hanging from the front. A flare of light reveals a young, yet sun-scarred and creased face underneath the rough leather hat. Two bright eyes look on ahead to the dim firelight ahead, by the river crossing the meadows. 
    The five or six buildings of Clerk's Ferry lies ahead, already bright with flickering firelight and wreathed by cooking-smoke. The ferry-raft is being cranked back to this side, as another wagon arrives from the south bank.

    Most importantly, the smell of roasts and stews drift in with the smoke. It is almost suppertime.

    Ah, the quiet rural clime of a tiny trading hamlet... barely a footnote in the tales of most adventurers' journeys, places like these offer a virtual paradise for those with a more scholarly bent: a place where stories and information can be as good as gold.

    For adventurer/scholar/wanderer Oberyn, presently meandering through the hamlet carrying a stack of books, this is a very good thing - at the moment, gold is something he could use quite a deal more of, but stories and information are a treasure he'll never run out of. Sure, this place is a bit dull and the rumors of some dreadful lair of warrior goblins turned out to be a little exaggerated, but the stews alone were worth dallying a day or two!

Anna Freeman is not happy today. She's wandering through the area, dressed in a pale blue T-shirt and a black skort with pockets, munching on a Green and Blacks chocolate bar and looking very dejected. She's accompanied by the golden-furred catlike Spiral riding on her shoulder, and the younger Luke Gray.

"I mean, intellectually I understand that there wasn't anything I could've reasonably done," she's saying. "But that's the problem right there, y'know?" She's gangly, and has a somewhat androgynous voice.

Spiral nods. "Yeah," she says, sympathetically. "I was trained more for ... 'oh, you were too late on a threat level four Curse Phantom', not ..." She shakes her head. "Whatever the heck the Grendel was." She's golden-furred, catlike but with vaguely squirrel-like features as well.

Anna nods, and sniffs the air. "... Well, that smells nice, at least," she says. "How about we go check it out, Luke?"

     Along the town's edge, resting near the river, sits a rather large figure cross-legged and with eyes closed. From behind, one would notice the broad shoulders and large frame crested with white hair. A large coat is draped over the individual's shoulders obscuring much more detail, although one might see a blade of grass sticking from the side of the figure's face. Examination of the person from profile or the front would reveal much more potentially surprising detail. 

     Arms relaxedly crossed much as the legs are, they are well-built. They are also tawny-yellow and fuzzy. The person also sports a leonine face and the exposed claws on bare feet are huge, black, and sharp. This beast-man's presence is not a matter of threat, however. On the contrary, the lion man wandered into the village one day tempted by the smell of signature roasts and stews and fell into the position of helping to maintain the livelihood of the village's namesake by filling in for a sick donkey until she gets better. The job may be seemingly trivial, but the repetition is taken as training and the reward of any payment is more than welcome. 

     The lion, introduced to the townfolk simply as 'Rez', opens a single eye as the smells of dinner pull him from his deep meditation. Only now does he notice the time as told by the colors of the sky. As such, there may not need to be much more river-crossing today. Uncrossing his arms and placing a palm against the ground, the large figure pushes up to his feet and stretches. His mind is clear and his wits are sharp now, but his belly is ever so empty. The noise of tummy protesting brings about a light frown and the breeze over the water ruffles his draped coat as he turns to look toward the village proper.

    The young teen trainer had his own companion, and it was a cat as well!. A small 'panda' sitting on Luke's shoulder opposite of where Spiral was standing, somehow keeping its balance while the two humans speak, reaching one paw to pet the magical golden cat and vocalizing something at Anna, but, unless anyone speaks pokemon, those 'words' are mostly lost.

    Luke smiles and offers one pat to Anna's side, "Trust me, I am not feeling much better... I usually end up in fights to... knockout, or run away from things... not ending up fighting actual human spirits being tortured or... undeath... except that one time." he mumbles softly. "I mean... I don't think we would help... if anything I feel... we did that... person... a favor.. it's not like we caused that.". He rubs the back of his head, letting out a sigh.

    The sudden distraction about food causes the bear's belly to grumble noisily, looking to the source of the smell, and the boy smiles a bit. "I think that sounds like a good idea, Pangshi agrees.". The 'bear' seems to try to jump out of his shoulder and move towards the food, only to be snagged by one hand, "Wait for us."

    The last of the sun fades behind a hill valley, leaving the horizon orange in that direction for a few minutes longer. The rainbow disappears. The twin moons of this world peek up from the east, their full discs verdant-and-white-and-blue. Both wagons creak into the clearing at the center of town, parking in front of the trading post-slash-warehouse that occupies the bottom floor of the Clerks' family home. 
    A young boy and young girl run out of the warehouse past the wagon, giggling as they each touch a tired yak before running off towards the twig-covered excuse of a fence. Maris and Georg Clerk had been sent out to close the gate for the night, but they weren't about to let chores get in the way of fun.
    Across the not-square-shaped square, opposite the sign for "Clerk's Ferry" written in /inordinately/ beautiful calligraphy, the stew was just being moved from the "simmer" part of the hearth to the "warm" part. The massive brass pot and the almost-as-massive iron griddle are the centerpieces of the eating-house-slash-tavern wing of the Lolfsons' first house. Anafka Lolfson is busy at the griddle, banging a drumline beat with her spatulas against the edge in-between stirring and flipping the rabbit-and-onion mix sizzling on the hot iron. 
    There is a rather poorly-done, alcohol-inspired verse-off between a pair of poet musicians sitting at the one long table that comprises the entire table area of the tavern. The worst part is that both of them were reciting from their own journals, rather than improvising, and they can't get even /that/ part right.
    Georg was already pushing the gate closed when Maris stops him with a hushed wave, then peers around the lashed-together wood at the incoming Anna and Luke. 

    "Are you coming in? It's late."

    Rez always has a spot at the table, as official village donkey-substitute, and he's been traded up through successively larger bowls until he also has the single largest bowl in town sat at his seat. Watching him eat hasn't ceased being a source of amusement for the five children of the village, and three of them are already racing up the hill towards Rez, because they're to fetch him for supper. And also racing. And also apparently have made themselves new reed hats to show off.

Anna nods to Luke. "Yeah," she says softly. "But, like ... just the fact that they were in that position at all in the first place ..." She shakes her head. "I'm ... trying not to blame myself, I know it was the mysterious sorcerer, but ... ugh."

"Right," murmurs Spiral, leaning into Pangshi's touch.

Anna actually smiles at Pangshi's antics as they approach Georg and Maris. "Hi!" she says, managing to perk herself up a bit; her raised voice adds a different texture to the androgyny. "Sorry for the lateness, we're just traveling around at the moment. Just got a lot of stuff on our mind after ... a bad incident the other night. But that smells good!"

    Luke nods to Anna, "I understand... it really freaks me out a lot... I just try to... focus on the idea that at least we were able to help that... person.". The small Panda wriggles in Luke's grasp, suddenly 'phasing' through the grip of that hand, letting out a triumphant 'Pang!' before Luke's other hand reaches and pull him back, "Hey, behave." he says, the bear pouting and protesting, sneaking a glance at the smile from Anna and wagging what passes as his tail.

    Luke grins to the pair keeping the gate open, "Thank you!, I really appreciate letting us get in here, we got distracted." he says softly, "I hope it's not a problem.". He pauses as he reaches and pets Spiral, "Do you eat?" he asks curiously, hoping it wasn't a rude question, before smiling, "It's nice to have a meal in a quiet place like this after that."

     Such a simple lifestyle is almost a tempting thing for settling into, but, thankfully, the need to ever-challenge himself prevents Rez from giving in to such a thing. Rather, the beast man takes the stay and the experiences involved in stride. The general atmosphere, the families living there, the duties and chores delegated, and the personalities and personal tastes of each person there all adds to the unique experience -- for the lion fellow: the data gained. 

     Barely taking a few steps in that direction, the sound of running from smaller feet surely brings about a genuine smile on the lion's face. If it's one thing he and his kind seem to often do well with, it's children. Even more than that, this Rez guy very much enjoys physical fitness -- likely as no surprise given his appearance -- and so his direction in walking is one that brings him toward the oncoming path drawn by the rules of the race. 

     Surely the lessening of a finish line, even if just for a 'lap', is more of incentive to push harder. As if to make things a bit easier(?), he holds his arms out to each side, hands open for easy tagging, in case there needs to be an extra judge to this contest. Also, reed hats are just awesome and Rez is all too happy to examine them both with soft yet deep-voiced words of compliment. 

     However, that does not excuse the trip back and the hungry lionman whose belly reminds everybody present of his wondrous hunger offers to join the race on the way back...while offering a head start and the chance for the 'non-winner' in reaching him first to have a chance to tie it all up again!

    Struggling around his books, Oberyn stumbles on the threshold of the tavern-house, and narrowly avoids falling inside in a heap. Though he's been in Clerk's Ferry only a few days, this entrance has already become characteristic enough of him that it doesn't even draw a glance from the locals.

    "Naaah! ... oh. Whew. ... oh, um. Mistress Lolfson. I've brought another, oh, where is it... another book that..." Approaching a table, the scholar sets his stack of books down, and quickly looks through it. Finding the one he wants, he pulls it out - upsetting the rest in the process. "... oh. Well, um. I was saying... another book of stories for the children. And-- are those two at it AGAIN?"

    Looking over at the night's 'entertainers', Oberyn smiles and adjusts his glasses. "... and it sounds like perhaps I'll get a chance to read another chapter or two of that epic I'd been sharing, if those two keep into the ale."

    A vile force of darkness has arrived!

    Unknown to little Temme Phika, both of his parents are definitely in trouble. The two Phikas, whose arrows had felled the very rabbits now coming off of Anafka's griddle, had the great fortune of finding and felling two deer today. Normally one would have been plenty for the week, but they happened to have shot at different deer in the herd at the same moment. The subsequent heated argument about who never listens to who and how are we going to get all these back to the village drew... attention. 
    The good thing is: both deer are being are being carried back now - a feast! The bad thing is: both hunters are also being carried back now also. From the north of town and along the river, a succession of birds flee the trees, deeply terrified of some disturbance. The evening chorus of sexual and territorial proclaimations grows silent in that direction - excessively noticeable given the cacophony in all other directions. Nearly a dozen rabbits run out of the woods towards the town, think better of running at all the fire, and turn to run eastwards back into the woods.

    Maris beams up at Anna with a big, wide smile, "Yah! Ms. Lolfson is ... is the sixteenth anversry of her stew! You should have some!" She turns her head back towards Georg, who's just SO eager to get to push the gate closed that he's bouncing a little bit on his feet waiting for Anna and Luke to get the heck inside already. Maris shakes her head at her little brother, "There might be someone behind... uhhhhhh..." she turns back, "What's your names?"
    Long-legged Maris Lolfson, who never gets confused for the other Maris because she's six years older and blonde, even taunts her rivals a little by slowing down just before reaching out and putting both hands right on Rez's torso. She's still breathing hard, though, whereas Aarn Clerk seem more exhilirated than anything else. Temme Phika is STILL only two-thirds of the way up the hill, after having stumbled a few times on the wet grass. 
    "Hey!" Big Maris gets out to Rez, then has to puff again.
    "She means it's suppertime, Rez." Aarn finishes for her, which earns him a swat - very pointedly not dodged.
    Then Rez sets off, racing down towards Temme, and hearing the groan from Big Maris behind him mixed with Aaron's laughter.

    In the middle of filling over a dozen bowls full of stew (one bowl with more stew than the rest put together), Anafka Lolfson waggles the handle end of her ladle at Oberyn, "You really do spoil them, you know. Have you thought about it some more? Staying to teach the reading to the children? You know nobody-" she glances pointedly towards the oblivious poet-musicians "-does the character voices well as you."

Spiral nods to Luke. "I can eat, if I get a small portion," she says. "That looks very delicious!"

"It really does," Anna adds, smiling to their hosts as she steps inside. "Oh, sorry, I'm Anna Freeman, and this is Luke Gray, Spiral, and Pangshi."

And then Spiral's ears twitch at the sudden disturbance of birds, and she looks over curiously. "Huh?" Her eyes flicker with pearlescent light, but anyone (or anything) in that direction is out of range of her abilities ...

Luke Gray nods and smiles, "Remind me to get you a Masalada as a gift next time." he tells Spiral, petting gently at the magic cat and simply following people inside. He bows a bit, while Pangshi wriggles free and slowly floats down to the ground, quite an unusual fall!. The small panda is quick to tell something is amiss as well turning around and letting out some loud 'Pang!', before Luke turns back, "What's wrong?" he asks to his pokemon.

     "Hello, and very good! Come, your challenges are not yet completed. The key to getting better tomorrow is to do just a little more than you think you can do today," offers the large lionguy as a bit of sage advice mixed with the playfulness of urged competition between them all. Rez is in no hurry just yet, although the tasty rewards in simply making it back is a definite driving goal. His offer to let the others overcome his casual jog (if they want) to have a head start is still available, although one of the three gets a surprise power-up. Temme may very well find a perch anew in this battle of the leg-length if but a simple arm-scoop up allows the chance to shoulder-sit on the way atop the pillar of brawling beast! 

     This motion, in turn and so combined with the casual descent down the slope of the hill, brings about a chance to hear the cries of the forest. This is not a thing that Rez actually fully understands, but it very well may catch his attention as a point of curiosity amidst the billowing of his gakuran and the jangling of the coat's chain along in the dinner-bound journey. 

     Rez turns his head to look, pace slowing even more, before commenting to his present companions, "How peculiar."

    "Ahaa... I can't deny it's a tempting thought, but... I'm afraid I simply can't. It's just not time to settle down yet." It IS a tempting prospect, and one Oberyn did briefly consider, but... well, he'd never become a great sage or adventurer just living here as a tutor.

    "But, have you given any thought to what I suggested? I know sending the children away for a few years would be lonely at first, but I can tell Little Maris would be a natural-- humh...?" He can't quite see or hear the stampeding animals yet, but the young scholar seems to feel some hint of... SOMETHING ominous in the air. "... hold that thought." Best to head outside again to see what's what. Probably nothing. Hopefully nothing. And as he marches for the door, Oberyn resolves to make sure it STAYS 'nothing'.

    Georg pushes the gate closed, shooing off Little Maris' attempt to help, and loop the rope latch around the handles before hurrying to join Little Maris and Luke and Anna. The way that those two are asking to pet the cute things with Anna and Luke and asking a barrage of questions like "where" and "what", leaving little room to actually answer the questions, suggests that both Anna and Luke are going to get their own earstwhile heralds. 
    Batu Deger finishes unhitching his yaks and settling them at the water trough. He looks into the back of his wagon, at the hard sorghum feed, and then thinks better of it. Into the Clerks' trading post he goes, a somewhat thin coin pouch jangling from his belt.
    From atop Rez shoulders comes words that Temme is not supposed to know yet, followed by delighted whooping and - bravely - the release of his arms from around Rez's head. That slow jog does allow Big Maris and Aarn to catch up - one red-faced and panting even harder and the other seemingly very deliberately slowing his pace to stay behind her. 
    "That's weird," Aarn's barely-pressed voice comes from Rez's left, "It's all quiet over... you think it's wolves?" 
    "Back...*huff*... inside." Big Maris shakily sprints ahead of Rez, headed for the fenceline. 

    A black, curved claw pokes through between the sticks above Georg's hitch and swipes downwards, completely failing to slice through the sturdy rope. It struggles with the fibrous obstruction a little longer, then finally fiddles to wiggle it loose of the handle, one short tug at a time. The village gate gives away, swinging inwards to reveal two deer, two Phikas, and five tall, horn-headed figures. Obviously these are demons - three male and two female - and just as obviously they are escorting their Demon Queen, who's tiredly tapping her foot waiting for one of them to learn to open a damned door. If that door wasn't damned before, it is now. Probably. 

    The Forces of Hell stride through the broken (not really) gates into town, sending chickens hiding into their coops, Batu's yaks straining at their hitchings, and appearing to be all glowering down directly at Oberyn. Well, five were glowers and the other one's a tired, unamused glare. It's all very cinematic except for the Demon Queen herself, who looks like she wants a meal, a bath, and a bed rather than burn the whole village down with everyone in it. That can wait, apparently.

Anna smiles at the kids. "Okay, heh, one at a time!" she says. "Uh ... Spiral, why don't you handle the arrangements between yourself and Pangshi -- Whoa, what!?"

She whirls around at the sudden encroachment of demonic presence! "Ohhhhh crap," she mutters, eyes wide.

Spiral's eyes flicker with pearlescent light as she tries to gauge how much of a threat these demons are. "GAH!" She recoils. "Hey, uh ... remember what I said about Ms. Sheik and her connection to some sort of massive divinity?"

Anna looks nervously at Spiral. "Yeah?"

Spiral jerks a paw at the Demon Queen. "She's got the exact opposite."

Luke Gray chuckles, while Pangshi strikes a pose and waves at the kids, chattering in typical pokemon way for a few moments, distracted a bit by the sudden attention, before noticing the... presence nearby and turning around, letting out a squeaky growl and moving to hide behind Luke, who was busy trying to explain the name of the small critter. "What... what's wrong Pangshi?" he asks, one hand petting the panda, the other reaching for his belt. "Those look... bad." he mumbles, eyes fixed on the horned creatures, and of course, towards teh 'Queen'.

    Well. This isn't nothing. This is... pretty much the opposite of nothing. It doesn't take much guesswork to say this is some sort of monster incursion. Before he can really register the situation, Oberyn is already mumbling to himself - assessing and categorizing what he see. "... shadowy, 'obviously I'm evil' looking... can almost taste the magic bleeding off... demons probably...?" He doesn't seem to notice the (hopefully only?) injured townsfolk the demon host brought along - understandable, in the situation.

    "I'd like to think you're here for the stew too. It's really good, you'd think it'd be plain or something but there's just something about simple country cooking, you know?" As he talks, Oberyn stealthily slips a small black book from his coat pocket, and slips the tip of his thumb in between two pages. "I didn't think I'd be here more than a day, but the Lolfson family recipe just keeps adding one more day, then another." (Okay... one human looking one. Probably the leader? And already a little tired looking. Check.)

    "... but, no. You're monsters. I can see that. You're not going to be here just to visit, are you? You're here to hurt these people. And that means... I'm here to stop you." And with a fluid motion, Oberyn cracks open his book - a grimoire of black magic - and begins chanting and gesturing. The book grows from pocket size to 'how can he carry that' in a heartbeat, and as it floats before him the writing begins to faintly glow in sync with his sounds and motions. The last flicker of light will come from the title of the page, a single word:

    "Sleep."

     Back inside. 

     Whatever the reason for the strange outburst from the animals, the notion to head back and retreat into the safety of indoors (at least for those 'younger') is solid advice. Without immediate alarm bells signaling danger, Rez has no reason to push ahead and actively carry all three...but he could! Rather, the game of racing and the fun of exercise turns into discretion and the tall lion guy serving as a faithful steed for one instead nods his head and gestures forward. He'll keep close behind. 

     That is, all is 'well' until the sounds of the village's livestock in distress signals that whatever caused an upset in the woods has reached the four families and their abodes. For as tough-looking as Rez is, not once during his stay has he ever expressed a line of combative behavior. He has been a gentle giant, very helpful to chores and the general needs of those around, has been friendly and playful with the village's youth, and has never been made to explain his many scars or the wrappings he wears or his rather unpleasant history. The look on his face becomes one of a thoughtful frown mixed with the air of a warrior's hardening battle experience. 

     Temme no doubt finds a thick arm lifting to offer support in this shift of tone of their heading back. Temme also has a front-row seat to the near palpable change in Rez's demeanor. "Be swift." Rez's words are low, but not a whisper. "Mind your step." His own barefoot footsteps pad against the ground in this guardian-serving retreat. "Breathe." Don't hold your breath. "Listen." Sound often provides more clues faster than sight alone can offer. "Concentrate." Be here and be aware of 'here and now'. 

     "Let us get you all indoors. I will remain outside. Warn your families." Protect the food...

    "All rise for Her Demonic Majesty Daria-" The one unburdened demon gets a withering look from the Demon Queen as her head whips around towards him. He gulps, then corrects his heralding-voiced heralding, "Daaria Qarr'zy, Sovereign of Hell, Calamity of Calamities, Protector of Evil, and Queen of All Demons." 
    The Demon Queen purses her lips lopsidedly, then mutters, "Yeah, no. Keep working on those." 
    "Yes, Your Demonic Majesty." The heralding demon looks simultaneously disappointed and enthusiastic. He distracts himself by turning towards Luke and Anna - also towards Little Maris and Pangshi and Georg, but they're hiding behind the former two, "Excellent, well done. Keep on standing." 
    The Forces of Hell march on towards Oberyn and the Lolfsons' Eating-House, five sets of feet stomping in poor synchrony like the dull drumbeat before war. 

    The sixth set of feet is silent, because the Demon Queen is stretched out on the ground, face-down, quietly and peacefully snoozing.

    Oberyn gets towered over by five demons, two dead deer, and both of the very much unhurt and glaring-at-each-other-like-we'll-have-words-about-this-later Phikas. The herald-demon again raises his voice, "All rise for Her Demonic Majesty Daaria Qarr'zy, Soverign of All Hell, Crusader of Evil, and Bringer of Woe." He pauses, then looks back for a hint of approval. "..."
    Both of the poet-musicians can be heard noisily making their way out the back door of the eating-house, stumbling over a pile of laundry on the way, and cursing loudly. They tear up the opposite way from the village, crash a fresh hole through the admittedly rickety fence, and flail their way up the hill towards Rez. 
    "Demons!" 
    "The Forces of Hell are attacking!" 
    "Flee while you can!"

    A knife appears in Aarn's hand as he puts a hand out to signal for 'wait', "Maris, wait here, I'll try to get your mom out."
    "Sod that!" Big Maris bats Aaron's hand away, "If you think- *huff* -I'm going to- *huff*" She gulps and keeps going, ahead of Rez, headed straight for the freshly demon-infiltrated tavern. Or rather, for the wood-cutting axe stuck in a stump out behind it.

    "..." the herald demon looks at the sleeping Demon Queen, then at the Oberyn with the impressively hovering book, then back again. He was supposed to wait for some speech to happen now and then instructions, but that's not happening anymore, is it?

Anna tenses up. There's a flicker of pale blue right around her for a momen.

And then she stares at Oberyn with an expression of frank amazement and admiration. She looks at the fallen Demon Queen, then back at Oberyn, then at the Demon Queen, back at Oberyn, then back at the Demon Queen and bursts out laughing. It's ... not that great as far as laughter goes; there's an edge which sounds just plain exhausted, and like she wants to cry, and she leans forward with her hands on her knees.

Spiral looks down at her and frowns, seeming very worried. "Uh ... Anna ...?"

Anna just shakes her head, still laughing.

    Luke gets more concerned on the kids that came to inspect Pangshi and Spiral, glancing back at them, "Please go back with your parents... Pangshi, go with them." he hopes that maybe they will follow through, if htey keep the ghost panda as company, even if said pokemon has no clue on where those parents are. For the most part, Luke is a bit... confused maybe, watching the Queen just go to sleep, and back at Oberyn!. Before he has a chance to say something... Anna's laugh gets his attention, joining Spiral's concern and reaching one hand towards his friend, "Anna?" he asks, his other hand touching a pokeball, a large, round looking tiger materializing in burst of red light, "Dynamo, standby." he says softly, torn between helping Anna or attacking any of those demon creatures.

    That... worked? ... well, kind of. The big imposing dangerous monsters are still up, but the leader is out of the action for a minute or two, at least! Clearly, the smart thing for Oberyn to do now would be to take this opportunity to try to get the townspeople to safety while the marauders are in disarray. 'Crusader of Evil and Bringer of Woe' isn't a title that screams 'easy win', and things could get messy fast with inexperienced non-combatants around.

    But then, the smart thing to do a minute ago would have been to hide behind someone in heavy plate, not cast a spell that's killed more black mages than can be counted. This seems to be the time for trying the BOLD thing instead.

    "Okay. That's very impressive. But your Demon Bringer of Hell or whatever seems to be the only one here NOT standing. Long trip? How about this. We'll give her a bed, a nice breakfast. She can give her proclamation or whatever in the morning; these folks haven't seen a noble, let along royalty, in their lives, she'll probably get a whole festival. And you guys? You can Go. HOME. Fair?" (Please please please oh this can't be how it ends just take the bluff and go away I don't want to die today.)

     Birds are a natural wonder in some schools of philosophy. Their ability to glide along the winds high above is a marvel to behold in its simplicity and the desire to be able to do so has inspired many mechanical and magical machinations in many Worlds. The rush of air that whooshes by, the land slipping away underneath, and a direct path over all obstacles -- these things three are what Temme gets to experience, and suddenly so. 

     There is a jerk of motion, a sense of acceleration, the ground falls away, the wind rushes by, and Big Maris and Aarn's noble intentions and hurry to attain means of acting upon them are suddenly passed by as the giant beast man leaps forward with an impressive hang time only to land just beyond Maris Lolfson's position with the grace of a...of a cat. 

     With a dramatic spin around, coat draped over the shoulders flaring outward, Rez casts a stern gaze upon the noble, yet weary. An arm still remains bracing Temme safely in place. "I will not stop you, but you must pay attention to your surroundings. You know not what you rush to face. Work with what you know -- you know where you are and who you are with." To Big Maris, he repeats, "Breathe." To Aarn, "Listen." And to both, "Concentrate." 

     Rez nods. He isn't a babysitter. He's not even a guardian. He's a brawler that presses battle over talk. He has no reason to keep the children from doing the same. Rather, he's glad to help them take the fight to where it counts. If that's what they want, get ready to charge! He's ready to back them up one-hundred percent. To Temme, "Are you ready?" Why? Because everybody's opinion and insight counts; even those of the young. 

     Without the children's ardor, Rez would be less worried about fighting and would simply be more curious as to the goings-on. However, the nature of what he is and who he is synchronizes with their endeavors, even if it proves to be nothing in the long run.

    "Normally I dare not speak for Her Demonic Majesty, but given that I -am- Herald," The demon puffs up his chest with pride, "And that Her Demonic Majesty is otherwise indisposed, I accept. Oh and we found some hunters in the woods." The demon gestures, and the Phikas and the deer are set down rather abruptly. "Can they please come back to be hostages tomorrow? It was part of the script."
    Luke and Anna get to watch Pangshi run off with Little Maris and Georg, arrowing into the Clerk house and safely away from all the ... nonsense going on over at the eating-house. It's not really an attack. Nothing's actually been attacked yet.
    Temme, obliviously, pats on Rez's head and requests that he does that flying thing again, because this guy is TOTALLY ready.

    With a terrified, screamed battlecry, Big Maris and Aaron both charge the herald demon, one with a knife and the other with an axe. The demon looks just as surprised as anybody that this is happening.

Anna giggles. "I-I'm sorry," she says. "That was just ... I am in such terrible shape right now and that was just so ridiculous." She grins weakly at Oberyn. "That was awesome, though!"

Her eyes go wide as Maris and Aaron attack. "... oh jeez," she mutters. She takes a deep breath, and gathers magical energy together; pale blue light flickers around her and then vanishes. "... uh-oh ..." More flickering and failed pale blue light. "... ahahahaha, why do I feel like this is gonna be worse than that castle ..."

"Breathe, Anna!" says Spiral. "Don't panic! You can do this!"

Anna looks at Luke and Oberyn. "Uh. Go on without me? This'll take a minute ..." Another failed flicker of light ...

>> SUMMARY[Anna Freeman] >> Anna, while feeling intense negative emotions, tries to use a power which is fueled by positive emotions.

    (It's working! I'm LITERALLY staring down the forces of Hell and telling them to go home, and they're LISTENING! I... I don't know how this is happening but it is the greatest moment of my adventuring-- oh no. OHHH NO. Oh no no no no no no no no no...)

    While he wouldn't admit it, Oberyn is trembling - invisibly, thanks to his somewhat oversized clothes - with adrenaline and panic. Fighting monsters is one thing - fall back into your role, try to make them die before you do, it's tense but predictable in a way. But THIS... passing on luck and bravado, with one slip meaning probable death... a seasoned veteran adventurer would probably be feeling pretty drained. One as early in their career as the scholar is lucky to still be standing.

    And then to have it all thrown away by a couple of overeager kids!

    The sound that escapes Oberyn is part scream of frustration, part wail of anguish, because this is not going to end well. "Noooooo! Maris! ... other one! Whyyy!? They were... they were going to leave... (they were going to leave...)"

    So much for the tough guy act. Seeing the situation start to fall apart is enough to make Oberyn slump down to his knees, momentarily stunned and overwhelmed.

    The young teen seems glad Anna is... a bit better, at least she is no longer doing that terrifying laugh!. The big electric round tiger next to him has it's eyes fixed on the demons, growling softly, and tilting it's head at hte talk of 'food' and 'truce'. Luke certainly seems relieved as that happens!

     Of course, seeing a couple of kids weapons (who in their sane mind gives yound kids somethign so dangerous!, says the kid with a living explosive bear pet) charging at the demons. Before Luke says anything, the electric pokemon is already moving ahead, either to help the kids, or to get them out of hte way, it's a bit hard to tell at this point, while not as impressive or majestic as Rez, there is something to be said about a running round tiger with visible electricity arcing on spots of it's fur, quite fast moving too.

     Temme gets to experience that leap again all too soon, but it's not to directly head into battle. Not yet. Instead, a figure appears standing above atop a new perch on the eating-house. His coat billows like a cape, his mane is tousled by the breeze, his arms are crossed, and another no doubt still sits atop the figure's shoulder. People may not even notice the stare from above with the attack being made and a bluff-hardy diplomacy starting to be undone. At least, that is, until the individual speaks. 

     "Do you truly realize what it is that you have done to inspire such retaliation? Do you realize that you have arrived just in time to be the worst possible time to arrive?" Arms uncross and a hand points to the Herald, clearly the leader from Rez's point of view (as poor Daria(!) goes overlooked presently). "Miemasen ka..." The lion suddenly roars loud enough to wake the dead, "You have interrupted dinner!" 

     There. Have a great reason for being attacked by children. Take that! Or something.

    Two minutes later...

    There's a demon with a knife-shaped hole on his arm, bleeding a little bit into the grass as he stands in a corner, kept there by some combination of pokemon. Big Maris was turning red in the face as she she sits silently at the dinner table, while Aarn goes into yet ANOTHER repetition of the story of how the axe flew out of her hand and is now stuck on the roof somewhere (to be retrieved in the morning). 
    Temme has thus far refused to get off of Rez's shoulders, and has his own small bowl sitting on top of Rez's head while he sloppily eats from it and proclaims that Rez is the best horsie ever. Georg has been shushed by his mom into at least finishing his dinner before agitating for a turn. The griddle is empty of rabbit-and-onions now. The four other demons had gotten a really stern talking-to, and are currently busy trying to make a demon-ladder on each other's shoulders to get up on the roof to fetch the axe. The talking-to came from the just-woken-up Demon Queen, whose initial distress over having gotten her clothes dirty was rapidly assuaged by the arrival of dinner, and quickly promised NOT to burn down the village or murder anyone tonight. Good herald.
    She still radiates an ineffable aura of overwhelming evil, though.
    "It's... it's what I do! I mean, like, it's not about having done evil things, you know? It's about the thwarting. Like today! Today was a good thwarting, right? You heroes liked it? Had fun?"

    Still on the ground and dazed, but starting to come around, Oberyn is having a little trouble using his words. "I... buh... thuh... auwh? Is... did... ... so this... was this... this is some... some kind of GAME for you!? Do you even... this almost... ... nnggggh!"

Anna is sitting nearby, mostly just looking relieved. But every now and then she shoots Daria a faint smile.

"I definitely would've been able to help thwart you if it came to violence," she says. There's some brittleness, but she's generally in good cheer now. "I mean. I originally became a Heart Mage to fight monsters, not villains. But I'm sure I would've come up with a suitable 'magical girl' resolution that'd get me together enough to transform." She glances over at Georg and Little Maris. "Protecting these kids' smiles, for one thing." Who, me? Corny? Nahhhhh.

Spiral is using a soup spoon which is comically large in her paws. She chuckles at Anna. "Well, that's good to hear, at least."

     Thankfully, Rez still has an earned amount and doesn't have to share. That helps considerably. All is fine, for the most part, but it certainly opens doors that are hard to shut again for some. And, also thankfully, Rez working to fill his belly prevents something disastrous from truly happening in present company -- Degeneration. While it would raise a lot of questions from the people that he has been helping and whom have all been very kind to him, it would cause other as of yet unspoken complications. 

     Also, Rez gets food dribbled onto him, but he doesn't seem to mind. Not one bit! Who wants to bet Temme is going to enjoy all sorts of 'super leaps of fantasy' in the near future after that display? 

     "Did you have fun?" Rez asks of Temme in response to the other question raised by the local royalty. Does that make Temme a hero, too? ...is this really a good influence?