World Tree MUSH

    It's a festival atmosphere in the city of Crossingway. Street performers, vendors opening booths and holding special deals, contests and performances, demonstrations of mageblade technique and skill, all kinds of food and drink, it's a grand time in the city. The festival continues well into the evening, but it might be wise to duck out before the sun comes down - because there's an event being held at the local duke's manor as well!

    The Tenebrae estate grounds aren't far at all outside of the city, so it's a relatively easy trip even on foot - a trip that might not even be necessary; for tonight only, there's a regular carriage service taking guests six-at-a-time from the edge of town to the front gate. Most of those showing up are wealthy merchants or lesser nobles from within the duchy; a fair number beyond that are merchants from other regions, a small handful of nobles from elsewhere... and then of course, there's the most obvious stand-outs, those from offworld entirely. Most of those are in modern business suits.

    A live band is playing a pleasant and lively song, and a number of butlers and maids are bustling among the partygoers with local food and drink. To one side of the front gate, there's an area of tables which have been set up so that guests can have a seat while they eat, drink and carouse; one particularly wide swath of open ground has had a raised dance floor set up, and there's a stage directly opposite the front gate, easily visible from all corners.

    Needless to say, there are armed soldiers keeping an eye on things; they're armed with mageblades much the same as the nobles (and even a couple merchants) are, but their bearing is entirely different, their posture alert, eyes watchful.

    And over there, near the stage, is a tall man of imposing presence and handsome features, with jet black hair shot through with only the faintest streaks of grey, and a mustache and goatee to match. His glasses, expensive clothes and the exquisite mageblade at his hip mark him as a noble, and a wealthy one at that; the way a guard or servant occasionally approaches him to ask a question or report something, would suggest that he's Duke Bartholomew, the man hosting this whole gathering. He's making ample time to speak with those who approach him, though.

Despite the festival atmosphere, one of those who's chosen to visit out of an impulse she can't quite explain isn't actually indulging heavily in the atmosphere. Quiet, constantly evaluating others. Yet at the same time her attire for attending a party is not... *entirely* out of place, though perhaps one might argue for a more... gothic venue than most. 

Rich purples and greens, velvet and fur lining and a reasonably well-cinched corset , though beneath it all also lay something additionally... useful, though at Sonia's side rests a cleaner, sheathed sword that strikes one as both somewhat decorative and actually not. And on her other side, the lengthy coil of a whip, though with the wide cloak and pants of her fusion between masculine and feminine attire, it's difficult to say how much about that whip is merely decorative. The Belmont, for her part merely keeps to somewhat politely distant observation, marking those armed soldiers, the merchants, the guards. Sonia doesn't entirely look out of place with her own posture, though she does disguise her own alertness a fair deal better than most. Won't change that someone might be intimidated, a little bit, unless they know her. 

... Or if they do know her, and would be initimidated regardless because of what she is.

    Earlier:

    "Alert: Mail notification at nearest access point." Pod 042 smoothly announces, making 2B's head turn. The android casually approached the access point; a battered old looking vending machine. In actuality it's a high tech YoRHa supply point in disguise, but it also serves as a simple e-mail station when not needed for more.
    2B's lips twitched into a frown as she reads over the screen her Pod displays for her, and heaves a sigh.
    "Dammit, 6O." She mutters under her breath.
    "What's up?" 9S chirps, peeking to try and read over the Battle unit's shoulder.
    "6O is sending us to another festival."
    "Euughaghhgh... After the last one I'm not sure I want to after the last one. Someone got assassinated right in front of us."
    Sigh. "Do we have anything better to do?"
    "Unfortunately... Nnnnno." 9S Mumbles. "I guess we could try and meet more humans?"
    "We could."

    Now:

    2B and 9S are dressed to the nines, a fancy black cocktail dress and tux, complete with bows for the Pods, the androids out from other partygoers. ... Or maybe it's the silver hair and pale synthetic skin. Regardless, the pair are mingling... Awkwardly.

    And then there's this joker hanging back at the edges, dressed in a black hoodie and a rainbow-colored skort, with a sports bag stuffed with baseballs at her hip.

    Technically, Serrah is supposed to be Countess Serrah Delany of House D'Ambrosio, but she wants nothing to do with any of that, and she stumbled through a Vine leading here accidentally in an inadvisable trip alone out of Diana's home Blossom.

    "... Eh, whatever," she mutters, and in a swirl of shadow, she's suddenly wearing a black silk cocktail dress. With a silk hood that still somewhat keeps her head in shadow. It manages to just barely avoid looking like a completely tacky disaster. There's faint traces of rainbow color against the blackness.

    And hey, there's a familiar face she hasn't seen in a while. She saunters over to Sonia, and nods in greeting. Though she is isn't getting too close. "Hey," she says. "Long time no see. How's it going?" She glances over at 2B and 9S curiously. Oh, it's them. But meanwhile, her focus is mostly on the vampire slayer who promised to kill her if it ever became necessary, who she doesn't want to leave out of her sight.

    (Serrah still has some remaining essence of humanity. But Sonia would sense that she has considerably less than the last time they spoke.)

    Sonia gets more than one curious look - she might catch the word 'adventurer' in mumbles here and there, said in a curious tone. But they all seem to content themselves with letting her be... for the most part, at least. And Serrah... well, the murmurs are more along the lines of, 'what is she wearing?' and 'is she ill?'. But not long after they've settled into a spot, a butler makes the rounds with a platter of food, on a route that specifically takes him in their direction. He's an older gentleman, clean shaven, hair a mix of dirty blond and distinguished silver that suggests he's got a good decade or so on the Duke. "I hope the evening finds you well, my ladies. Would either of you be interested in an Alendrian Dagger?" An 'Allendrian dagger' appears to be a rolled slice of lunchmeat wrapped in a thin strip of croissant-like bread; sweet and savory, with a faint hint of something like garlic.

    YoRHa's attendees, meanwhile, are absolutely turning heads. Who are they? Their clothes are magnificent. How can they see in those blindfolds? That's a handsome young lad. She's breathtaking. If this is what offworlders are like, having more of them around might be nice. Even Bartholomew has taken notice, and after disentangling from his current conversation, makes his way over towards 2B and 9S with an expression of interest. "Good evening to the both of you," he greets in a warm tone. "I hope the night finds you well?"

Catching sight of 2B and the Nines (that might be a good band name, somewhere) earns the androids a quick little bob of her head, a polite greeting especially given the two hunters in 2B and Sonia. It /has/ been a while since she saw her, and there's a few things that need to be discussed sometime, but that kind of discussion isn't happening here at a party. Hm. 

Serrah's presence isn't something Sonia confirms by sight. It's the kind of thing that she senses, the edges of her eyes crinkling flesh from the slightly unseen squint she might be inclined to give, as she sharpens and focuses her senses briefly on Serrah. The ever so familiar sense of that predatory element of Sonia made briefly, terrifyingly manifest before moves on. 

"Serrah. Yes, it has been a while." She cants her head slightly. "Perhaps too long, come to think of it." Why she says that, she does not quite feel inclined to elaborate on. The thought that she swore she saw some rainbow color before and now doesn't see it now makes her feel a bit of curiosity in regards to that--ah. There it was. Hm. 

Yeah, that can be forgiven.

Still, given the rounds those who are serving food are making, she decides to at the very least indulge a bit. A wry look to her face given what she smells, and given who else was offered it. "I believe the... Countess, has a mild allergy to garlic, which may be troublesome if my nose does not deceive me. I shall take one, however." she finishes with a soft smile. It does actually smell like it could taste quite delicious, when it gets down to it. "And thank you." 

>> SUMMARY[Sonia Belmont] >> Maybe actually giving Serrah a careful bit of 'help'. It's only a mild allergy.

    Blending in with humans is... Interesting for the androids to say the least. And chances are high the Pods' sensors catch every whisper. But 2B catches sight of Sonia, head dipping into a slight nod of her own greeting.
    And then Duke Bartholomew himself approaches.
    2B dips into a formal curtsey, apparently able to see well enough despite the blindfold, it's 9S that... Well...
    "Yo! Hey, how are you?" The chipper Scanner unit starts to approach, hand outstretched to begin the complex and intricate human ritual of the 'fistbump and secret handshake'.
    Right up until 2B simply scruffs him, halting that before it can even start.
    "Good evening." She says levelly while 9S begins to sulk. "This certainly is... Quite the function." The Battle unit says, doing her best to sound at ease. It's not easy considering how she feels more at ease on the battlefield than at a social gathering. That and the last social gathering she went to ended in an assassination.
    "Thank you for your hospitality."

    Serrah grimaces slightly. "Yeah," she says, taking a step back. Sonia's predatory aura is oppressive for someone who is technically her prey. "I found ... another vampire slayer named D, she's even less subtle about, uh, making the same offer you made me." (That is, to kill Serrah if she ever lost herself completely, but the other partygoers don't need to hear that.) "And a bunch of other guys who showed up to fight off His Grace one time. D's sorta taken me in, so I don't have to worry about him when I'm going around." ... Yet she's here alone. Serrah has never been the best at thinking ahead. "We're tryin' to figure out a plan for dealing with Vinny," she adds. "One that doesn't get the entire Hartford Empire coming down on us like a half ton of bricks --"

    But then that butler shows up, and as soon as Serrah's nose registers what he's bringing along --

        (Sonia sees a ripple of light, the world becomes drab and purple and frozen in time, and Serrah jumps back behind her, muttering a curse under her breath just before things go back to normal.)

    -- she is suddenly standing behind Sonia, as abruptly as if she was a video that had skipped ahead. "Uh ... n-no thank you?" she says nervously. "I'm. Y-yesss, Lady Belmont is correct. I. Am. One hundred percent gonna have to pass on that."

>> SUMMARY[Serrah Delany] >> Maybe not that mild.

    Having Serrah suddenly teleport behind Sonia is a bit jarring - there might be a gasp or two from the crowd, where a guest happened to be looking at the right time - but the butler recovers with impressive speed, and dips into an apologetic bow, sweeping his right hand while keeping the platter perfectly balanced and away from Serrah. Impressive show of dexterity there. "Deepest apologies, my lady, I had no idea. If there is any way by which I might make amends, please let me do my utmost to offer it."

    Fortunately, Duke Bartholomew doesn't seem offended in the least by 9S' approach - if anything, he just looks vaguely baffled, but he covers it smoothly with a genial smile. "Old enough to have earned these grey hairs, young man." He gives 2B a pleasant nod, and adds. "And thank the both of you for attending. It warms my heart to see outsiders taking an interest in our kingdom, or our city at the very least. If you have need of anything, please ask - I won't have anyone calling Tenebrae hospitality anything less than perfect. Speaking of which, whom do I have the honor of addressing?" he asks, regarding the two androids curiously.

    Meanwhile, over at the front of the actual mansion, the door has opened and a young woman with long, jet black hair in curls is stepping out, flanked by a maid; after a moment's discussion, the maid veers off to head towards the Duke, 2B and 9S, while the girl starts making her way straight towards the stage, at a brisk, businesslike pace.

"Mn. Well, that is good to hear. Perhaps I might be able to lend aid in a different way. I've been traveling. Collecting knowledge. Perhaps one day the paths may be opened to a where I once came." Her Romanian accent is still present, a hint of wistfulness as she muses and then takes a bite. "Surprised you're here alone then." she adds after a thought. Not sure that Vincent would care too much over making a scene, last she recalled of him. 

She is keeping an ear towards the Duke addressing 2B and 9S in the meantime, mostly out of curiosity. Still, she is considerate in her enjoyment of the aforementioned Allendrian dagger, as it was so dubbed. Tasty, it is. As to the thoughts of what might be proposed, she debates suggesting something raw and bloody, but elects not to press those proverbial buttons. 

For some reason there's a sardonic, if mischievous enough oddly, side to her when it comes to Serrah at times. Friend prior to the whole vampirization against will or not, she's still a vampire. It's inevitable, but that doesn't mean she has a lick of hate for her in her heart. Then again, when it comes to... certain aspects of that supernatural lifestyle, she keeps her exact opinions to herself. Mostly. 

"Always a bit peculiar when I sense you do that." Sonia muses, careful not to blast her with any garlic scent. "More peculiar being used to hide behind." she admits while suppressing the urge to laugh, if barely. "She's fast," she announces with a clearing of her throat. The entry of the maid and young woman is not something she's keeping her gaze focused on, but it's not unnoticed at least. Hm. Might be the main event is pending?

    Thusly locked in conversation with the Duke, 2B and 9S introduce themselves.
    "YoRHa Number 2, Type B. 2B for ease of shortness, sir."
    "YoRHa Number 9, Type S! Just call me 'Nines'."
    Regardless of 2B's mildly exasperated frown, both of the androids dip thier heads into understanding nods.
    "The hospitality so far has been just that." 2B says cordially.
    It's 9S' head that turns when the door opens and the maid approaches. "Oh, hey who's that?" He asks about the girl on her way toward the stage.

    Serrah laughs nervously and shakes her head at the butler. "N-nah, it's fine, it's fine. Just ... uh ... yeah."

    She focuses back on Sonia. "I ... yeah, I really don't have a good excuse for being here alone," she says flatly, nervously rubbing the back of her head. "I will welcome any suggestions you have for dealing with the whole situation, though."

    She glances at 2B and 9S, furrows her brow, then looks back at Sonia. "I ... yeah." She hurriedly steps away from the vampire slayer. "I just got startled, and you're fifty-percent non-enemy at any given moment." She smiles thinly, pointedly not showing her fangs. "It's just too easy to use, y'know? I'm ..." She shakes her head. "... probably jumping at shadows, but I guess that's better than not jumping when there is something."

    "Delighted to meet the both of you," Bartholomew replies, offering a polite bow to 2B and 9S; far from being put off by Nines' youthful energy, he seems a touch amused. "Hm? Ah, that would be my daughter, Octavia Alicette. I believe this means I'll be needed in a moment...?" The latter is asked in a slightly louder voice as the maid approaches him, and she replies with a nod. "It does, your grace. She's ready." He turns to the androids and says, "Then I apologize, but I must take my leave for the moment. After we're done speaking, I can bring her over to talk, if you'd like."

    In the meantime, the butler gives Serrah a solemn nod. "Very well then, miss. If you do think of anything, I shall be about all evening." He takes his leave of the two, about the time both Bartholomew and the black-haired girl who must be Octavia take the stage. There's a general drop in the volume of conversation even before the Duke claps his hands together, and the girl stands beside and slightly behind him, hands folded in front of herself, while he speaks loudly and clearly. "Ladies and gentlemen, those of this region, those who have traveled from abroad, and those visiting us from much further, I bid you all welcome to my estate and my duchy. It pleases me to see all of you here on such a wonderful occasion, and it is my hope that this event will be the start of a long and fruitful relationship between the Kingdom of Schild and other worlds."

    He takes a sweeping step to one side, and gestures at his daughter. "Of course, that isn't just my hope. My daughter has taken a keen interest in the topic of the World Tree from the start, and her quickness of wit has impressed even me. And after her graduation from the Academy, I find her smarter and more graceful than ever I have known her. So it is that I am glad and proud to announce my daughter, Octavia Alicette de Tenebrae, as Schild's ambassador to-"

    There's a yell from the gate. "Your grace! Your grace, it's an emergency!" The crowd ripples with what sounds like irritation at first, but it quickly subsumes into worry as they realize what's being said. "Undead attack! We've a horde of zombies making for the gate!" Gasps rise from the crowd, and both Bartholomew and Octavia look alarmed - but the Duke quickly drops into a stern countenance. "Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize, but I'll need to ask you all to step away from the gate. Guards, to the defense!" He and Octavia both look at each other, then take a hop off the stage and start jogging for the front gate as well, while the party guests wisely filter away.

For a moment still, Sonia is quiet, before she speaks, and with little pauses between her voiced thoughts. "Without anything particular in mind, you have to make it where they can look past losing him if you really want to avoid them coming down upon you for his removal. For one reason or another, he is, despite his buffoonery, of value. Diminish his value. Make him be seen as a failure in the eyes of his peers. Principle would demand that someone need answer for the 'crime', but perhaps not as intense as it would be. The old sentiment of the death of one of theirs means the books need to be balanced still applies." Barring that, someone else taking the blame, or making it be seen as it's a necessary payment to be spent with his lifeblood.

Still, she does not have overmuch time to actually really rattle off much more than that, with Bartholomew moving to take the stage--and not too long after that, being able to put two and two together with regards to her appearence from the front. Coupled with what she overheard, actually meeting the person of the hour does interest her, truly. 

Unfortunately, with the yell from the gate quickly snagging her attention, her lips curl into a hard frown. The attack is bad enough, but the undead's involvement... part of her does wonder if her impulse to attend this party was instinct. "Serrah. If you fight, be cautious. I will do what I can, but it is likely being anywhere near me will be of great risk to you." She tosses the young vampire a look. "That, of course, depends well on your interest to be relieved of your curse, however." It's halfway to a tease, as she knows better, but the offer to end her 'suffering' remains, as ever, an open offer. 

Regardless, in contrast to other guests, with a few careful adjustments, Sonia simply begins to take off in a sprint towards the gates, quite possibly ending up alongside Octavia and the others, for all she knows! She'll occasionally leap as to avoid having to weave through the crowd, though she's more of interested to know what /kind/ of undead--skeletons, zombies, malevolent spirits, and wondering if undead are a common source of troubles, come to think of it. 

It's when she gets a bit closer, that she manages to ask, "Are undead common for you and yours in this World?" she calls out over the general din of panic and hustle of people getting away. 

    So it turns out that girl is the most important person of the night then. 2B and 9S nod once more as the Duke prepares to take his leave.
    "That would be very nice, thank you." The Battle unit replies smoothly for herself and her companion.
    It's the yell at the gate that turns the pair's heads. The androids share a quick glance to one another, before 2B's attention turns towards Sonia, casting her a wordless look that says everything. 
    'I'm coming too'.
    "9S, stay back, I'm going."
    "Whuh- hey don't just leave me behi-- she left me behind..." He laments as the Battle unit makes her way for the gates.

    Serrah nods slowly. "Pretty much what I was thinking," she says, starting to follow Sonia towards the stage. "It's gonna take some kind of finesse, of course. But yeah, nobility seems to be pretty much the same everywhere. A bunch of --"

    And then Serrah, too, is interrupted by the sudden shouting. She narrows her eyes. "Hmm." She shakes her head at Sonia's comment. "I've handled myself around you before." she says. She snorts at the reiteration of her promise. "And no, we are no where near that point," she snaps.

    There's another swirl of shadow, and she's back in her street clothes. She jogs over to the Duke and Octavia at slightly-superhuman speeds, nodding in greeting to 2B. "And is blunt trauma sufficient to dispatch them?" she adds to Sonia's questions. One hand is already pulling a baseball out of her sports bag.

    With Bartholomew busy calling out orders to put his guards in formation, it's Octavia that answers Sonia. "Perhaps not common, but they appear often enough for their destruction to be a part of the training most nobles and knights receive. You'll have the odd small horde wander in towards a town now and again. We try to exterminate them whenever we hear... about..."

    That is a little more than a 'small horde'. It looks as if there might be a village's worth at least. The Duke's marching orders quickly change to something more akin to a proper battle formation; Octavia herself grimaces, then glances at Sonia and Serrah, and 2B as well when the android approaches. "...I had thought to ask you all not to trouble yourselves, but I don't believe that's an option with this many. Blunt trauma should be quite sufficient so long as it's aimed for the head, or separates their head from their body. But give us just a moment to thin their numbers first, and do take care not to get bitten."

    'Thin their numbers' seems to be the operative strategy behind the formation. It's actually Octavia that opens the festivities, so to speak; her rapier flicks and darts, inscribing a series of runes in the air that glow white, with a rainbow halo of color around the outer edges, and then when she sweeps her weapon, the runes explode into a barrage of white-and-rainbow Light projectiles that hammer into the front lines of the horde. Several go down on the first shot, and she continues with a second, and then as the zombies draw closer, a pair of other guards begin unloading magic as well. One inscribes orange-red runes in the air, unloading a rapid stream of fireballs, while the other draws runes of an almost minty green, and a zombie or two out front are cut down by what looks to be a blade of wind hurled through the air.

    True to her word, by the time the earth-users dare to begin casting runes and preparing to go into melee, almost half the zombies have already been put under. For his part, Bartholomew has been waiting with rapier in hand - but he finally deigns to move, flicking his rapier in quick, precise strokes that draw runes of dark purple in the air. The runes shimmer, and then flow into the ground, and a pool of darkness stretches itself out along the earth beneath the zombies' feet. They stick in, and tendrils of shadow coil up and around to hold them in place. Sitting ducks. "Guards, to the attack!"

Serrah's remark earns a bright little smile from Sonia. "Good. That you're fighting. Very good." She's absolutely serious when it comes to that. The only reason she ever offers is to measure the reaction she gets from Serrah, and if it ever deviates from what she's seen, then she may well make good on the offer. 

The wordless look of acknowledgement--fancy dresses and clothes or not--if they have their weapons, which they do, they're not about to back down from this kind of situation. It's a tacit look that communicates all that's needed to be between two hunters.

The frown Sonia was wearing deepens as she listens--spotting the amount of undead was it's own reason for concern, though at the same time, she isn't... immediately extremely concerned. It's like she's marking them for destruction, a light bob of her head as she exhales a bit. "Would that I have simply chosen to wear my armor." she admits with a slightly weary tone. She's not about to get in the way of thinning numbers at first, as she has her own way of doing such, and does not wish for the crossing over of different styles of magic and what not. That and actually watching Octavia's style of runic magic and the like. It's not far removed from how she's sometimes done magic herself, and some other styles she's heard of, but that doesn't diminish her curiosity. 

And in Sonia's case, she steps forward, using her whip at first, lashing out at an errant zombie--seemingly too far for it, but at the extension of that whipstrike comes a rapid glow along the whips length, sending a lance of fire into the horde, before she draws the whip back, letting it coil around her feet. A circle of light at the woman's feet, though not nearly as complex as the elegant runic patterns drawn by Octavia's rapier, and she pivots, stepping out of the circle to lash out with the whip, sending an arcing 'bolt' that splits into numerous other shards of light to impale and further shower the undead horde with purifying holy light. 

    2B and 9S' first encounter with the undead, and it's bigger than a small horde. Well that's all fine and dandy as the android in the nice cocktail dress watches the locals put their runeblades to use.
    "Pod. See what you can do to help." 2B orders her faithful pod unit.
    "Affirmative." It replies in that smooth, male, voice as it spins up a little mini-gun and starts firing a fussilade of hard light 'bullets' into the approaching undead, stopping only when Duke Bartholomew orders his men into melee.

    Serrah nods. "Good to know!" she says. "Ghk --!" She recoils back from Octavia's Light-show. Okay. Now she knows to stay away from her while she's fighting, in addition to Sonia!.

    She rises up off the ground, and flies closer to 2B. "Hi again," she says. "Is this better or worse than the last time we saw each other?" Once again, she stops time, and now starts throwing baseballs in all directions, aimed directly at zombies' heads. Once again, to everyone except Sonia, it looks like she's suddenly in a slightly different position, and baseballs are flying everywhere.

    When the other guards join the fray, she hesitates, makes a face, and swoops forward and attempts to physically rip a zombie's head off with her superhuman strength.

    The fact that a tiny little floating machine can produce bullets capable of felling zombies? That draws arched eyebrows from Octavia and Bartholomew both, but he gives the android a stern, approving nod, and returns to overseeing the defense. With his own shadow magic to bind the zombies in place, and a cadre of disciplined soldiers, this was already a solid defense; with help from offworlders, it becomes almost entirely too easy.

    When Sonia unleashes her holy bolt, there are soft gasps from the crowd watching through the gate - and even one or two from the guards. There's a stray murmur somewhere of, "The offworlder used holy magic...!" But the surprise doesn't become disruptive. They're professional enough to hold the line, and Octavia looks a little surprised, but certainly not unpleasantly so. Serrah's display of strength is a bit more brutal than they might have expected, but by no means are they going to complain about the zombies being taken down. The young woman even takes care to start unleashing bolts of light magic further away from the offworlder that seems so uncomfortable around them!

    Really, at this point it's more of a mop-up than anything else. As the last zombie falls, Bartholomew releases the shadow spell, and assigns a trio of swordsmen to take horses and go on patrol to find anything they've missed. As they're heading back into the mansion grounds, he turns to face Serrah, 2B (and Pod), and Sonia, dropping into a deep bow. "I must thank you all for offering your help. Any time an undead attack can be dealt with casualty-free is worth-"

    "FATHER LOOK OUT-!"

    It looks like a spider the size of a pony. Parts of its body are missing. It is almost certainly undead, and it's taken a chance to creep around along the estate's outer wall while the defense was on. It's vaulting straight towards Bartholomew.

    A barrier erupts between the spider and the Duke. Semicircular and honeycombed, it glows with a soft, gold-white light. When the spider impacts it, there's a soft hiss of searing chitin, scalding the creature just by touching it. Serrah and Sonia can both tell quite easily; that's not just light magic, that is outright holy energy. A sacred radiance. And it's Octavia that drew the runes in the air to call it forth, her expression still panicked.

    Of course, the spider is still alive...

    Serrah asks a very good question.
    "I'm not entirely sure." 2B answers honestly. First time there was that killing, now everyone is fending off the living dead. Both situations certainly have been... Interesting to say the least.
    Still, as the undead fall in droves, Pod 042 eventually ceases fire and floats back to 2B's side, where she...
    Gently pats it atop its boxy 'head'.
    "Gratitude confirmed: Your affinity with this pod has risen." Pod 042 announces.
    Right before Octavia's cry makes the android whip around, hand reaching for the ornate katana hovering behind her. ... That most certainly is a large spider. 2B immediately hurls herself into its path, standing herself directly in front of the Duke just as-- the barrier of holy light forms and stops the spider in its tracks.
    "..."
    She remains where she is, though, sword clasped in hand, defensively in front of Bartholomew, but she's playing defense right now, someone else will have to actually kill the thing.

Oh yes. Yes she can indeed tell. The sense of the aforementioned holy energy does bring a smile to her face. But it's a minute little display, given what's actually at stake here so far--the attempted ambush thankfully failing before she turns her attention towards the spider in question. She doesn't have much time to process the reaction to holy that she can wield, given what's going on. "Hold on!" she calls out. 

And given the giant spider in question, and she's already bolting towards it, and after a leap into the air, is coming down with a flurry of whipstrikes, each imbued with holy energy to either lash -through- a limb, or wrap around and possibly be used to yank it's legs out from under it. 

And still making sure that she's probably not going to hit anyone else like Serrah in the crossfire. Much easier with more direct blows being thrown, however! 

    Serrah chortles at 2B's rejoinder. "Yeah, fair enough." She sighs, peering at the now-headless zombie. "Yeah I'm not as big a fan of doing things that way."

    She stares at the spider for a moment. "... well, that's a thing," she says, reflexively leaning away from Octavia. She stops time to give herself some space to gather up the baseballs she's already thrown and put them back into her sports bag; suddenly, she's hovering a bit higher, and on the opposite side of the spider from Sonia. "All right," she calls out. "PLAY BALL!"

    And with that, she begins throwing baseballs, two or three per second, at a hair over a hundred miles an hour.

    Oh good grief. That poor spider.

    Sonia's assault is already tearing it apart. Serrah begins absolutely obliterating it from the opposite direction. Within a matter of seconds, it's a scorched mass of what used to be undead arachnid. That didn't take much more effort. So why does Octavia look like she's still about half-panicked? At least she's... slowly calming down.

    With the undead properly re-deadified, silence settles for a moment... or rather, the background noise comes forward. Where the reaction to Sonia's holy magic was brief and restrained, the hubbub is a lot more sustained at this point. Did she just use a holy rune? Not just a light user, but a holy user? I've never seen a light barrier like that. The Duke's daughter is a-? Bartholomew, for his part, straightens his coat, gives 2B a curt but grateful nod, and then turns to look at Octavia as if he's never seen her before. And THAT look seems to finally calm her down.

    "Octavia, was that...?" he trails off.

    Octavia ducks her head, and looks to one side, shrinking into herself a little. "...yes, father."

    A great weight seems to settle on the Duke's features for a moment, and then he lets out a breath, sheathes his sword, and claps his hands together once. "Well. I fear with the appearance of such a large horde, it would be irresponsible to continue such a large gathering before I can guarantee the safety of the surrounding land. I shall have to ask the partygoers to venture home early. Of course, escorts will be provided..." And so on.

    Octavia just kind of looks like a kid that knows they're in trouble.

    Serrah exhales. "Whew!" And then she's suddenly standing on the ground, and the thrown baseballs are back in her bag, which she's peering into. "... might need to replace some of these, they're starting to wear down ..."

    She looks over at Octavia. She's not about to get closer to her, but she definitely has enough remaining humanity to say, "Hey, uh, you doing okay, kid?" She looks uncertainly at the Duke, then back to Octavia.

Sonia, for her part doesn't offer an immediate response, though the reaction the others have to Octavia's magic, or rather, holy aspects such as those runes is somewhat concerning. That Octavia probably concealed having the most obvious part, but the feeling that she might be put into a troubling position for having it also makes her somewhat bothered, if she were to be honest. 

However, after a moment she approaches the others, after cleaning her whip with just a bit of cleansing fire with a gesture of her hand to coil the whip up again. "I take it that's a rare ability, what she used to defend your life, good sir?" She does put a slight emphasis on the fact of 'defend your life', as it happens. 

    "-eh?" Serrah's voice seems to tug Octavia back to reality, so to speak. She quickly puts on a facade of normalcy, but unlike her father, the mask isn't perfect. "Ah, no, I'm quite fine. It's complicated, but the use of holy magic is... w-well. My father hadn't been aware I was capable," she admits. "It will mean quite a bit of work for both of us." She can't exactly hide the fact she did it, not when half the guests could see her casting a holy spell.

    As he directs people to and fro, Bartholomew does pause to regard Sonia with interest out the corner of one eye. "Within our world, quite exceptionally so. Light-users are scattered and rare, but certainly not unheard of. But the last person to awaken a holy rune died more than twenty years before I was born. It carries... certain expectations, within the Kingdom of Schild. Certain obligations." It's subtle, but there's a weight in his voice that wasn't there before. He's fairly good at hiding it, but not perfect.

    Serrah almost misses the weight in the man's voice, but then she glances between him and Octavia again. "... Damn," she says frankly. "This feels kind of ..." She briefly glances at Sonia, then looks Octavia in the eye. "Why do I feel like it's gonna be exactly as much trouble for you as getting turned into a vampire was for me?" she says weakly. "At least you've got a home to come back to."