Complete Private Eastern Brisshal Fools on the Road

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

The warns were endless, to a point that Ronja was already becoming bothered about it. The fact a handful of guys were going around and ambushing poor people was making Ronja really willing to give them some bonking so they would stop being evil-doers. But Ronja knew she couldn't stop them all by herself, so by scrolling through her friend list, the answer was clear:

"Harper!" Ronja beamed, jumping and wrapping the tiger girl in a hug as soon as they met by the entrance of Honeyhome.

"Ronja is so glad-" She squeezed her friend a bit, before loosening her hug and looking at the girl with a smile. "Now that you are here, it is certain that this issue will be solved," Ronja said, fairly confident that her collaboration with Harper would go well.

"... But we will have a few problems to get rid of these ruffians. So we may need to plan a lot of things so we can find a good plan to arrest them for good." Ronja nodded.

"They were preferred them alive too, after all."

@Harper

 

[Harper]

Harper didn't have much planned today, logging on to Terrasphere mainly to kill time this time around. Deck a few bears, throw a few boars, that kind of Sunday morning. So when her friend Ronja suddenly sent her a message asking for her help with some evil-doers, the tigress was more than happy to help. Throwing people is a lot easier than beasts after all, and it let her practice some stuff from her judo class last Friday.

Once arriving in Honeyhome, she wouldn't need to look for her friend for long, the Tigress letting an uncharacteristic yelp in surprise from the Magia's sudden hug, her striped tail standing upright for a moment before she'd relax with a smile, returning the hug with one of her own before casually lifting the magia in the air. "Jeez, one would think we hadn't met in years, haha!" After a hearty chuckle, Harper would put the magia down, letting one of her hands rest by her hip as the other cupped her own chin in thought.

"Well, I do appreciate the trust, but I can't say it's gonna be easy. If we can't kill them, we also can't basically kill. As in, no broken limbs or other injuries which might leave them without a way to earn their bread honestly. After all, even if there's magic in this world, we can't assure they'll get appropriate healthcare." Not doing any of that wasn't hard for Harper. Caring for your partner in Judo was important, and everyone who practiced learned both how to fall properly and how to throw without hurting their partner early on. The problem was doing that while still putting them out of commission.

"There's always the option of me just choking them out, but that takes a few seconds, and it's not like I can do that to all of them at once. I think our best option is just to knock the lights out of them, really." She'd nod, closing her eyes before opening one of them to look at Ronja, the eyebrow raised. "Say... You do have non-lethal stuff inside of you, right? Don't think rifles and missiles are going to do the trick here."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja giggled at being lifted, shrugging slightly and looking at Harper fondly. "There is nothing wrong with showing some care, there is?" She asked, looking at Harper happily, tilting her head as Harper showed some concerns regarding how they would conclude their mission. "You are right, though Ronja has some skills on Alchemy, so she can provide some treatment if necessary." Ronja said with a small smile.

The idea of letting Harper to choke them out was good, but at what point that could be too dangerous for her friend? Ronja didn't want to risk her.

"Ronja does have non-lethal things." She nodded, having a smirk on her lips. "Ronja has been working with her Arcanamancy and Alchemy to make special bullets for her weapons. Some that cause different effects, which include non-lethal ones!" Ronja nodded eagerly, enjoying the idea of having a chance to test her new tools out.

@Harper

 

[Harper]

Harper would tilt her head at Ronja mentioning non-lethal options, especially when she mentioned non-lethal bullets. Crossing her arms with a smirk, she'd let out a chuckle. "Well, I appreciate the idea but... Bullets are still bullets. It goes through someone's noggin', and they're dead just the same no matter what you put inside of them. Though..." The tigress would tap her chin with a claw, brainstorming some ideas. "If those bullets do work, there might be a way."

She'd open up her UI, sorting through her inventory for a moment before a good amount of rope would manifest out of thin air, the beastkin wrapping a portion of it diagonally around her midsection. Some of it showed some signs of strain, and there were even some knots tying two severed parts of it together at some points, but for the most part, it seemed to be in good condition.

"Got me some rope to help myself train alone. Tie it around a sturdy tree, and you have a very good partner to practice your throws on. Besides, it's just useful for all sorts of things." With a touch of pride at her idea, she'd show the rope to Ronja before continuing. "So, if we can knock them down without hurting them too much, we could just tie them up. Though..." The tigress would scratch her head, her lips curling to the side as she seemed to be empty of ideas. "I'm not sure what to do next. Give them a stern talking to?"

She'd throw that out as a half-joke, not really believing it was a worthwhile idea. But what else could they do? Just throwing them to the authorities would get them out of the way of merchants, but they'd probably go back to their misdeeds if given the chance. On the other hand, could they really change their minds with just their words? Harper saw herself as a woman of actions, not really words. And while Ronja had shown to be more mature than her initial appearance would suggest, the tigress felt like said appearance might work against the pair if they took said path.

"What aboutcha? Any ideas popping in that metal head of yours, Ronja?" She'd ask, resting a hand on her hip as she waited for the Magia's response. If anything, her input would at the very least give Harper more to think about and work with.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja giggled at Harper's response regarding the bullets, feigning a carefree shrug. "If it kills, no one can tell Ronja she didn't try to be non-lethal." She joked for a moment, opening a single eye and shaking her head and waving her hand as if rejecting the idea.

"But of course, Ronja is just fooling around. These special bullets are no different from tranquilizers! The worst that can happen is the dose being too low..." She paused for a moment, averting her eyes. "... Or too high." She cleared her throat, casting a glance at the ropes Harper brought.

"Oooh, ropes. The oldest and best way to restrain people." Ronja clasped her hands. "Ronja would say this is a good idea. We could try going for that, yes." She nodded, then tapping her chin as she wondered...

"Ronja thinks our ideas are enough. Especially if they say they are just idiots. Ronja don't think we will need to do too much effort... Now changing their way is the tough part, Ronja has no idea how to proceed until it is the time to cross this bridge." She shrugged with a sigh.

@Harper

 

[Harper]

Harper would raise her eyebrow for a moment at Ronja's joke before chuckling. Even if worst came to be and Ronja's non-lethal bullets actually caused some fatalities, she wouldn't hackle Ronja for it. After all, she knew that the magia meant no harm and it wasn't like the tigress had any better options at her disposal. So she decided to just trust in Ronja's judgment of her dosages as she shrugged. "Well, push comes to shove we can say that we tried our best. And I ain't putting their lives above our own. Nuh-uh."

With Ronja's approval of her idea, Harper would smile before putting the rope back into her inventory, saving her the effort of carrying all that stuff around for the time being. At the mention of not having to do much effort due to the enemy's perceived lack of strength, Harper couldn't help but sigh. "You know, I'd like to fully agree with you there, but you know... "Puncher's Chance" and all. Especially when we are a pair against what could be many opponents. All it takes is a good hit for things to cascade away in the favor, and while I don't think said hit will come up, it doesn't pay to not disregard their chances too much."

With that said, Harper would start stretching her arms, letting out a groan. "But hey, this just means that we need to crush them before this chance can ever happen." With that said, she'd turn her back to Ronja and start to walk away, turning her head to face the Magia with a confident smirk. "What do you say, Astro-Girl? Fancy getting this done before sundown? We do need the time to "cross that bridge", as you so said. Though I'd think they would change their ways very quickly if the alternative was to leave them tied up for the night-wildlife, haha!" With a hearty laugh, she'd start to walk away.

Did she know where they were? Not really, but she hoped Ronja did. If anything, she figured it wouldn't be impossible to spend an hour or two tracking them down with her Investigation Mode.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"Ronja has no intentions of putting her own life or yours at risk either. They are the troublemakers, after all." She said, smiling softly and pondering for a moment about Harper's concern regarding them becoming outnumbered, which was when the small Magia nudged her friend, leaning in with a grin. "Do you really think Ronja would let us stay alone? She has her little friends..." She winked.

She followed the Tigress along, tilting her head as she listened carefully to Harper's words and letting out a giggle when being called an 'Astro-Girl'.

"As quick as possible, yeah." Ronja said, with her eyes clicking twice and retracting.

Ronja tugged Harper's arm, letting out a brief laugh. "You are so mean, you want to let them helpless to the dangers of a night forest?" She shook her head. "Just lock them down in a jail, but we can probably try to manage something... If we figure out the reason they are bandits in first place." Ronja considered, moving further.

@Harper

 

[Harper]

"Little friends, huh... Well, I hope they don't disappoint. For our sakes, heh." Harper didn't really doubt Ronja's capabilities with her creation, being witness to their power a few times already. Her only worry was being caught in the crossfire, given how short-range reliant her combat could be. She knew Ronja wasn't reckless, but missile explosions weren't really known for picking targets. If it came to be that Ronja needed to pull out the big guns, the tigress found solace in the fact she felt she could tank at least an explosion or two. Probably.

The magia's assurance that she also wouldn't put their lives at risk for the sake of a small-time task did help Harper feel better about things. TS wasn't short of idealists, and while the tigress could respect the drive to save as many people as one could, she wasn't going to potentially put herself a step closer to losing her own life back in the real world due to a bunch of bandits.

At having her arm tugged after her half-jokingly suggestion to quite literally tie them up and leave them to the wolves, Harper let out a chuckle. "Hey, it was just a humble suggestion! You can't say it wouldn't do the trick!" She would then cross her arms, going pensive for a moment. "As for the why of it... There are always a few obvious ones, like survival or just generally not being well-intentioned people. If we discard those based on the villagers saying that they are just idiots, then..."

Tapping a claw on her cheek as she thought, the beastkin would start throwing any assumptions that came to her out in the open. "They could be influenced by someone or something to do it for whatever reason. Or maybe they could be under threat to do it? It's hard to be certain when I haven't even had a good look at the blokes yet." She'd shrug, before putting her hands on her waist as she sighed.

"All this pre-fight thinking is making me tired already. And hungry. Wonder if I can find a boar roaming around once we are done with them for a quick bite."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"They won't," Ronja reassured with a confident smile on her lips, being certain it would be enough to keep herself and the tigress safe. She leaned in with a squint, raising an eyebrow. "Well... It would do the trick, but it is a bit too much!" Ronja insisted, shaking her head and letting out a quiet sigh. "But we can rough them up a bit. If things get too complicated, and if we need to find a real reason for all of it to be happening." She looked at Harper, considering the possibility of being something or someone else influencing the idiots to steal people.

"If they are under a threat though... Then we are hostilizing them when they aren't completely at fault." The idea gave Ronja a vague sense of guilt, that was suppressed with a sigh and a head squeeze. "Ronja says we cross that bridge when the time comes." She decided, for her own mental health.

She then smirked at Harper, nudging her. "Don't worry, if we find a big boar, Ronja will cook you the most delicious boar ever! Her abilities in alchemy made her find out ways to use it to make food even tastier. The taste component I grabbed during Camp Hope really is giving her some cooking skills in here!" She brimmed, tugging her dear friend to hurry them up to follow the path that was considered the most dangerous according to the troubled Landers.

@Harper

 

[Harper]

"Alright alright... No tying them up for the beasts." She'd let out a sigh, before winking back at Ronja. It certainly would be the easier way, given that the fear of god was one of the most effective ways to change someone's ways. Then again, such a crass and hostile way of doing things might just end up with them relapsing. Yet, it was almost certain that they wouldn't just listen to them at first, so a balance between tough love and outright violence needed to be found. At least Harper could bring as much of the latter as they could end up needing.

"If they are indeed doing this under threat, it doesn't change what we are here to do." She'd note in response to Ronja's mood change at the prospect, tapping her shoulder. "Regardless of motive, they are still obstructing people's lives back in the town. We should solve that first, before cranking our heads about what to do with them. Can't put the cart before the horse, you feel me?" She'd say, before letting out a chuckle as she was tugged further along the path by the Magia. With how cheerful she seemed to be, Harper couldn't help but wonder what kind of person she was back in the real world. Would they be alike, or complete opposites?

"And here I was thinking I would just end up eating raw meat for the sake of time. Doesn't taste as bad as you'd think it does, I'll tell you. Not that I'm passing on cooked meat, obviously. Especially with that Alchemy of yours. Say, have you already figured out the Alchemy equivalent of a dry rub?" She'd say in a joking manner, but there was a pint of genuine curiosity in there. Having the equivalent of spices around would make everything she had to cook over a makeshift campfire while training taste that much better, and having someone able to just make them for her would be a hell of a convenience.

But before feeding herself, she knew they needed to solve the issue at hand. They had been walking for a while, and the beastkin suspected that the bandits might be just lying in wait to ambush them like they did the merchants. Not wanting to take a chance at being taken by surprise, Harper decided to shout out at the top of her lungs.

"OIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! I KNOW THAT YOU ARE THERE, YOU BUNCH OF COWARDS! HOP OUT OF HIDING AND LET A GIRL SHOW YOU WHAT A REAL PAIR LOOKS LIKE!"

Corny? Maybe so. But for Harper, this looked like a fairly good bluff. If their pride felt attacked or their ambush had seemingly been twarted Harper hoped they would face them head-on. If not, then at least there really wasn't anyone other than Ronja to witness her goof.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja simply giggled along with the tigress, considering her words and nodding in agreement. "It really doesn't change what, but it does change how- Even if we shouldn't hold back in case things go too dire." Ronja said, recalling what Harper had mentioned regarding not letting their lives go endangered.

"Ronja can make something like dry rub, yeah! It isn't hard at all." She nodded eagerly. "Ronja has no idea how raw meat tastes, but if she doesn't like cooked meat, raw ones are out of menu... Unless she is starving to death! Then please force feed her meat!" Ronja said with a quiet laugh, reminding herself of a few times in the past where she was forced to ear those for her own good.

At some moment of their trip, Harper sudden pause and shout startled Ronja, who jumped and turned to look at her with a puzzled expression, leaning in with her camera eyes clicking.

"Are you su-" before she could finish her question, hustling on the bushes that surrounded the girls soon revealed one, two... eight bandits! All armed, albeit not looking like that much experienced.

Ronja's eyes widened for a moment, placing a hand on Harper's arm and looking around surprised. "Th-There are more than Ronja expected..." She admitted with a whisper.

@Harper (Whenever combat start, if it does, I will put up some mechanics if you want~)

 

[Harper]

Harper couldn't help but break out the biggest smile once the bandits unveiled themselves from their hiding spots, clapping her hands as she took a good look at all of them. If she had to snoop them out with Ronja or had they been ambushed this day would be a lot less fun, and they would run at risk of being legitimately caught off-guard by a trap.

She knew both she and Ronja had faced far, far worse in their journey thus far, so just being outnumbered didn't exactly bother her, though she still made sure to keep anyone from sneaking on her. Her defensive skills were on point, and her fur might as well be a sheet of armor, but her nape was still as vulnerable as your everyday commoner. And they still didn't know if the ones in front of them were all the bandits.

But Harper was always someone who liked to first deal with the problems at arm's length before going for anything else. As such, she would cross her arms as she leaned forwards slightly, sizing the bandits up. "Sooooo, you might've surmised this by now but I and Ronja here aren't mere merchants. Nor are we going to just hand out our money to you all. So that does leave you all at a crossroads, doesn't it?" She'd say, wrapping one of her arms around the worrying magia while the other flexed its muscle.

"Either your try to forcefully part us from our goodies and find out how deep the ass-kicking rabbit hole goes or you just flee with your tail between your legs... Well, those who have one, at least." She'd snicker, wrapping her striped tail around her own thigh as she taunted. Her friend's whisper about their numbers made the tigress chuckle, lightly hitting her on the back before ruffling her hair. "And what are you worried about, huh? Don't tell me all that talk about your "friends" was empty banter! I'll take the four on the left, so you and your buddies take the four on the right, 'kay?"

With that said, she'd turn back towards the bandits, her free hand now resting on her waist. "Ah right, the crossroads! See, I understand it may be a very difficult decision for you lot, so I'm taking the liberty of picking for you with a third option of my own. You lay down your weapons, settle down and we can all talk about how naughty you have been and how we can fix that." Harper would exclaim, taking on quite a relaxed stance. It was clear as day that she didn't really take the ones in front of her as a threat, nor did the tigress make any attempts to hide that fact.

"Of course, I'm not cruel as to take all choice away from you lot. So here are your new crossroads:" As she said that she would unsheathe her claws, leaning forwards and taking a more aggressive, threatening stance and tone.

"You get to pick whether you'll walk out of here on your two legs or tied up like a hog. Make your choice, buckos."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot ((Sorry for the wait! Life got busy + S4 threads took what little time I had.))

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

The arm wrap of her friend followed by the chuckles and hair ruffle she offered softened Ronja's worries. Yes, their position was still disadvantageous, but Harper's positivity and warmth brought a small smile to Ronja's lips, at the same time she felt a boost of confidence.

"You... You are right!" Ronja nodded, facing the bandits and moving along with Harper. If the tigress was with her, there was nothing they couldn't do!

"You all may think you have the upper hand, but there is much more for us than you think, and Ronja won't hold back either." She said with a scowl, looking at the men without turning her back.

The ruffians looked at each other, before bursting into laugher and mockery, looking at the two girls dismissively. "You talk too big for someone of your size, you brat." One howled, taking a step and cracking his knuckles.

"No talk for them! Let's teach this cat her place is on a LEASH!" Another, who was less patient, rushed forward already swinging his club toward the girls.

@Harper

 

[Harper]

Ronja's newfound resolution earned her a thumbs-up from Harper, the tigress more than happy that her partner's head was back to being 100% into their task at hand. But she couldn't focus on her too much, having her own share of bad guys to take care of. And one of them was particularly hasty, already springing into action.

As he swung his club at them, Harper's mind went back for a split second to her escapades at the Gauntlet. Once again, she'd block a swinging club with her forearms, yet this time she wouldn't recoil or groan in pain, barely budging back with the blow. After many trials and tribulations in Terrasphere, her fur had become resilient enough to pass as armor, and while it did hurt still it was leagues better than her encounter with the gnolls. With a grin, she'd push the club away before rushing the attacking bandit and... Hugging him?

Well, it was less a hug and more the tigress just wrapping her arms around his upper body, clasping her hands together behind his back to pin his arms down by his armpits, pushing them up. Now that they were this close, he couldn't really swing his club with any practical degree with force at her. "Oi oi! What's the rush for? You still have the other six people in your group to make their decision." And with a "Hup!" she'd lift him a few inches out of the ground without breaking much of a sweat.

Could she absolutely destroy him from that position? Absolutely. But they had promised to not rough them up too much, and Harper knew she could break a good amount of his ribs without much fanfare. So, for now, she just let him down before pushing him back to his group with both arms. A warning shot of sorts. Putting her hands on her waist, she would once again lean forward, taunting as her tail waved left to right behind her.

"Alright, now that we are more acquainted with each other, I'm going to give you the chance to reconsider your choices. Come on, take your time~"

This was a win-win situation for the tigress. If they surrendered, less work for both of them. If they still came at them, she wouldn't feel as bad given that she gave them many chances to change their mind.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

The remaining bandits and Ronja herself were startled for a moment after the powerful thrown from Harper, entering in a moment of hesitation until one less cautious yelled at the top of her lungs: "What are you waiting for? ATTACK!" She said, holding onto her weapon tightly and rushing toward the two girls.

This prompted the other bandits to follow, albeit delayed and leaving the careless bandit in the front.

"Not this time-" Ronja clasped her hands together, and a beaming silhouette appeared in front of the girls.

❰ Automaton - Iron Fist ❱

A bulky blue iron golem materialized in between Ronja, Harper, and the charging bandit, reaching to grab the hostile woman and swing to slam her against the ground in a throw that completely lacked the technique Harper had, and instead, happened in a form of pure brute strength.

Ronja winced slightly at the merciless counterattack, but she quickly engaged into position, materializing her Skullbuster rifle, and starting to charge it up with non-lethal ammo.

"A-Alright! Seems like it is on the bad way!" Ronja said, casting a glance at the tigress and the other incoming bandits, that were now in reckless abandon.

@Harper

 

[Harper]

Harper's advice had been heard, and the bandits made their choice.

Alas, they chose... Poorly.

Harper would smile ear to ear as her part of the bandits came at her with reckless abandon, getting into a combat stance. As much as she'd love to just throw them around like used rags, their numbers made it a bit awkward to solely rely on her judo, given that even a quick technique would require her to focus on one of them for a bit, leaving her possibly open. In this case, she'd have to use her very detailed plan B:

Just beat them up.

As the first one came towards her, swinging their dagger downward toward the Tigress, she'd prepare to meet them head-on, before something suddenly manifested between the tigress and her quarry, catching the beastkin by surprise as she took a step back before her vision was suddenly occupied by a very big robot, who quickly dispatched the attacking bandit by taking a page out of Harper's book. She would almost be proud at Ronja and her creation, but her inner competitive fire only told her this meant she was now one down in their first-to-4 competition.

Wait, competition? Well, there was one now, mainly because Harper felt like having one.

"Hah, I'm gonna have to ask for royalties if you keep this up Ronja! But do feel free to gather more inspiration, as long as you don't steal my targets." She'd crouch for a moment, before jumping high into the air and landing on top of the robot's shoulders, crouching down and leaning forward to look him eye to eye with a smirk, her twin tails hanging down as she was upside-down on his point of view. "Try to keep up, Buckethead."

She would then stand upright once more before jumping, landing in front of a group of bandits. Stomping the ground with her foot, she would crack her neck from one side to the other. "Alright, let's dance." No sooner had she spoken, one of them tried rushing in with their hammer, swinging it downwards at Harper, which would respond with a sidestep before swinging her right leg into their thigh, sending them spinning into the air before they would fall to their side, clutching their leg in pain. Another would try swinging their fist at the Tigress, but he would only find air as she ducked to his side, using the movement to whip her striped tail at their ankle and wrapping it before pulling as she stood back up, tripping them to the ground before crashing down on them with a gut punch.

As she looked back at the other two bandits, their resolve clearly shaken by how fast the others were taken out, Harper couldn't help but sigh. "You know, you did bring this upon yourselves." She'd almost felt bad at this point, but their previous words and actions brought her head back into the right place as she walked them down.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

What happened was nothing short of a massacre. The bandits were numerous and scary-looking, but Ronja couldn't help but notice while seeing them throwing themselves without a drop of caution toward the large robot she had summoned, and toward the tigress that was kicking their arse royally that...

Yes. They were kinda idiotic.

Ronja deadpanned beholding the sight, only being snatched back to reality when Harper caught her attention again.

"Ronja will pay for them-" She giggled, watching the acrobatic maneuver on her robot from the tigress, before aiming with her skullbuster and shooting down another bandit with her non-lethal ammo - something that didn't really look non-lethal to the remaining bandits, that were already with low morale due to their one-sided combat.

As the tigress neared the remaining bandits, seeing that their allies have been defeated, and with some (presumably) dead, they...

Knelt down, crying uncontrollably while pleading for their lives.

"WAAAAAAAAAAH, PLEASE NO, SPARE US!" A bandit, nearly thrice the size of Harper sobbed, worried for his life.

"W-WE DIDN'T MEAN TO DO ANYTHING ILL, WE SWEAR!" Another bandit, who acted smug all the time before the combat broke out, was now shivering in fear for what the tigress would do with her.

Ronja frowned, looking at the pathetic sight almost feeling pity. "You guys didn't mean ill? You were surrounding us!"

@Harper

 

[Harper]

Well, their resolve certainly fizzled out quickly. If Ronja's gaze was one of almost pity, Harper's was one of sheer disappointment. She knew that these guys were more bark than bite, but even still she was expecting... More. At least some more fight, even if they were still utterly destroyed. As of now, all Harper felt was a sheer surge of unfulfillment.

She would crouch down next to one of them pleading bandits, staring them down for a moment before grabbing their weapon, a wooden club. Sizing it up for a moment, she would grab both ends of it before starting to bend it, her muscles tightening and tensing up for a brief moment before she unceremoneously broke the thing in half, letting out a loud sigh as she immediately relaxed. Breaking stuff always seemed to do the trick to get her head back into place.

Throwing the broken remnants of the club back at the shocked bandit, she would now go towards the clearly shaken female one, leaning over her with her hands by her waist. "Eeeeeeh? I'm not so sure I got that from the way you all were treating us. Sounds more like you were going to do short of leaving us here on only our undergarments. Buuuut, I'm not one to judge prematurely. So..."

She would wave her hand to bring her UI, before the rope from before into her hands, before handing it to the bandit with a smile. "I remember something something about putting me on a leash. Well, here you go. If you truly meant no ill, I'm sure I will have no problem with it. Though, if you aren't up for it anymore, why don't you help me go around tieing up your comrades? Whadya think?"

While friendly-sounding, her body language and showing off her teeth kept an underlying threat to her words. Sure, they couldn't just beat them up and be done with it, nor would they leave them to their fate, but terror was a good way to have this rowdy bunch sit down and listen to their words. As she waited for her response, she'd look back at Ronja to check how she was doing with her own share of cowering bandits.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"EEEEEEEEK--!" The big bulky bandit squeaked like a little girl at the subtle threat, shivering and shaking his head eagerly. "N-No! W-We were just joking, yes, joking! We would never put you or your friend on a leash, right? Right?!" He looked at the other bandit.

The bandit nodded eagerly, looking with a terrified smile at Harper. "O-Of course, that was a joke, th-that guy that told you belonged a leash was an idiot, you are a tigress, not a cat, yes!" She giggled nervously, hurriedly picking up the ropes. "Let... Let's do it..." Her lips clenched shut, nudging the bulky bandit to go ahead and tie their allies.

Ronja looked at the shameful display with a frown, letting out a long sigh and shaking her head in disgraceful disapproval, peeking at Harper and smiling faintly. "Good thing Ronja has you around, she wouldn't be able to be that rough with them, and it would probably turn out really bad." Ronja smiled warmly to her friend, then peeking at the other fallen bandits, gesturing to the giant automaton.

"Iron Fist, tie them up as well. But try to not do it too tight, Ronja don't want to bruise them, even if they kinda deserve it..." Ronja rubbed her head, somewhat wishing she was a little meaner, considering how the bandits confronted them at first.

With the bandits eventually tied up, Iron Fist carried a couple of them, while each of the surrendered bandit carired one.

Ronja used her magia strength to bride carry another, albeit it made it her walk a bit clumsy due to the height difference. "Ronja thinks she knows a good spot for us to stay for now." She said, guiding the group toward a nearby, small cave. It would be a little cramped for a total of ten people and one large robot, but at least it wasn't out in the open.

@Harper

 

[Harper]

Harper tilted her head at the bandit's pleas for mercy before shrugging and shaking her head. This went about as expected, but she couldn't deny that the fighting left her longing for a bit more, the tigress considering going out to fight a bear or two to get that itch off once all of this was done. Looking at the two of them, she would scold the pair.

"You know, all of this could've been avoided if you hadn't turned into banditry. You would be on your feet, and your friends might not be suffering from debilitating injuries right now. We just defended ourselves."

With that said, she'd pick up the bandit whose leg she kicked and bring him over her shoulder, knowing he would probably be the one who would struggle the most to walk, before starting to walk herself as she followed Ronja side-by-side. "Come on, don't shoot yourself over being too nice. If you want to be a good cop, I can do a bad cop all day! Just remember to not let people take advantage of that kindness, lest you end up losing it." She'd note, ruffling her hair with her free hand before continuing her way down the path the magia was leading them.

"Didn't know you had that strength in you though." She'd note, pointing at the bandit Ronja was bridal carrying. Unlike herself, who was using her shoulder and basically the entirety of her body to carry the bandit she was on, Ronja's position essentially relied on arm strength alone. "Don't see any new muscles either on you. Can Magia even get those?" She would ask to make small talk as they neared the cavern. Once there, she would settle her bandit on the ground alongside all the others before standing before them.

"Alright, you all must be wondering why the two of us happened to wander into your area and not the usual helpless merchant. Truth is, those same merchants and townsfolk are the ones who asked us to give you all a lesson." She'd note, putting her hands on her waist. "So, I got a question for you all, so I can understand the situation we find ourselves in a bit better: Why are you guys like this?"

She would plainly ask, but it was the best question to make at the moment in her opinion. If they wanted to get to the bottom of this and hopefully reform them, they needed first to know what led them to banditry in the first place.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot