Private Hylands Ascent Getting Ore Galore with Mi Amore

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus watched as the Lepus began to heal herself, feeling guilty that their tumble had managed to hurt her so. He would raise an eye at her complaint of not being able to hit the creature from a distance, "Don't you have Astra and Geomancy?" He would ask cocking his head to the side.

"Shouldn't you just be able to..." Brutus would stomp onto the ground causing a small chunk of stone to jolt into the air and then would kick it, sending it flying at high speeds towards the golem. The boulder would smash against the creature, causing it to recoil back and roar.

"It's some like...avatar shit aint it? You know, that ancient ass cartoon with all the shitty spinoffs?" He would watch as the creature stormed forward. His gaze would shoot from the walking landslide to Toko, and then back to the danger at hand. She was in no shape to run, and him scooping her up could agitate whatever was ailing her.

"Shit."

He would find himself reaching into the earth, calling on his newfound geomancy powers and tugging on the earth of the roof. "Come on...." he hissed between grit teeth. "Come....fucking....on....!" He would begin to sweat as he, through sheer brute force of will, ripped a chunk of the crystalline ceiling from the roof, sending it tumbling down onto their foe and smashing it to the ground. It was far from dead, but it would buy them some time.

"We need to stay moving." He would turn to her. "Can you run or should I carry you?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Don't you have Astra and Geomancy?"

The hare gave Brutus a deadpan look at his words, her hands still pulsating with magic as she encouraged her body to regenerate faster than normally allowed. "Yeah, how do you think I yanked you earlier?" A part of Toko wasn't sure if the Felis was being serious right now, or just naturally dense on account of his brain cells being occupied by the battle at hand, but she was thankful when Brutus bought them some time as the golem got slammed from above by a large chunk of crystalline shards.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay to move again..."

The added obstacle had earned the rabbit just enough time to finish casting her heal, her chest no longer hurting painfully, before she watched as the granite being finally shoved the largest chunk of crystal off its frame, another gravelly roar erupting from its mouth before it grabbed two fistfulls of the shards and flung them in the direction of Brutus and Toko.

"Kuso!"

Brutus had just hinted they should keep moving when the barrage of sharp items was hurled their way, the Lepus immediately planting her palms flat onto the ground before she allowed a wave of geomantic energy to flow through. A thick earthen wall was quickly erected as a result, barely on time to avoid any direct impact from the shards, though the quick casting had caused the hare to exert more energy than usually required... and the exhaustion was beginning to show on her face.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Then you can use gravity to fling rocks like a trebuchet can't you?"

He'd barely had time to react as Toko raised the wall, blocking the incoming shards. This was getting out of hand quickly, and if they didn't get this under control they wouldn't be able to get any ore, let alone surplus enough to make his canon. The hare was beginning to huff and puff, already worn out from one fight, let along a creature with as much power as this. Brutus would rush forward after the Hare, and when the impact of the shards was fully absorbed, he would jump and drop kick the barrier, using his own Geomancy to send it flying forward into the golem landing with a BOOM as stone crashed against stone.

Despite what one might think with twisted pokemon logic, using earth to pummel earth was turning out to be quite effective, each strike like a catapult against a castle wall. Only, they didn't have time to slowly rip down a castle with a few shots, they needed something more.

Brutus would take a sharp intake of breath, using the air to fuel a powerful spark of pyromancy, then, by holding his breath and clenching his hands together, he created a vacuum of extreme pressure and forced the flame into an incredible tiny speck, spiking the temperature dramatically.

"STAR."

He would grunt, taking another breath and adding more fuel to the fire. The pressure would keep the temperature up, but he would increase the firepower.

"CUTTER!"

Like a flash, the laser would be released from his palm in a slashing motion, and a brilliant flash of cerulean would slice through the air. The same move he'd used on the hag, but sharpened and more refined. More efficient, less waste, faster set up and delivery.

The beam would cut through golem and crystal alike, leaving a glowing blue trail across its from as the upper body of the golem would slide off it's now inert legs. The creature would grown, slamming one hand down in front of the other as it began to drag itself forward.

"Motherfucker..." Brutus would hiss. "This asshole won't die..."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Had she not been busy erecting a stone wall, and currently struggling with the kickback of spending too much energy in a short amount of time, the hare might've actually been compelled to smack Brutus on the back of the head for his comment. "Maybe I should just hurl you at it then..." She was getting a bit cranky, the frustration about her earlier gravitational blunder still fresh and now compounded thanks to the added discomfort of magical exhaustion.

At least the wall was placed to good use shortly after it served the necessary purpose, but it was clear they'd need something greater to take down their enemy rather than keep slowly chipping away at the golem. A familiar stance was taken by Brutus then, the Felis managing to conjure up the familiar Star Cutter technique with greater speed and precision than before, and Toko watched with a satisfied smile as it cleaved the granite creature like a hit knife through butter.

"Finally, I thought this battle would never end—"

A sigh of relief had been let out as the rabbit began to speak, before her words came to an abrupt stop as she watched the top of the goliath still trying to drag its now assless body over to where the pair stood.

"Ah moooh... iikagen ni shiroh yoh!"

Perhaps in another time the Lepus would've been amazed by the resilience of the golem, however in her current state it only served to exacerbate the situation further. She gritted her teeth in annoyance, before the rabbit was back on her feet and rushing towards the creature before Brutus could stop her. Instinct defaulted back to basics as Toko got closer, pivoting to dart right when one of the arms of the golem was brought down in an attempt to smack the hare, before she leapt with all her strength.

"Sassato shineyoh...!"

For a brief moment a burst of pale golden energy radiated around the rabbit's frame, a familiar presence awakening in the back of Toko's mind, before the Lepus brought down a ki saturated fist of martial energy down onto the top of the golem's head.

CRAAACK!!!

The sound reverberated around the small cavern, amplified by the natural echoing that occurred, as a thick crack spread through the skull of the monster from top to bottom. It finally caused the head to split into two, the raised arm of the creature immediately falling limp onto the ground, before the Lepus followed as she stumbled back to land on her ass shortly after. The spiritual energy surrounding the hare would flicker then, lasting just long enough for the Felis to catch a glimpse of the small antelope like horns that had sprouted on Toko's forehead, before the effect would finally dissipate away in a small magical spark cloud around the hare.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus didn't have time to catch any of the words she had said past threatening to throw him at the Golem, he was too busy processing the sass coming from her to translate from another language. He would yelp as she dashed forward, freshly mended rib and all, going full tilt at the thing he'd just told her not to go full tilt at. He couldn't truly blame her though, it was in their nature.

Full cock it or go home.

So he would chase behind her as she charged, his lumbering steps not nearly fast enough to keep up and the quick brown rabbit as she jumped over the lazy brown rock. She would bring a glowing fist down, smashing the creature in half. He would watch as golden horns would fade away, and she would tumble to her ass.

"Sugoi..." He would mutter, trotting up to her and reaching down to heft the hare onto her paws. He would carefully brush the dust from her shoulders and glance down at her. "You okay?" He would ask, his sapphire eyes squinting as they took in her features.

"And to answer your question, you could have flung me at it. That would have been a really cool way for us to collaborate in our fighting. Do you want me to try and figure a way to shoot you safely out my canon?" He would lean down closer.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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A muffled groan escaped the hare, a hand raised to press against her forehead as Toko felt the pangs of a splitting headache assault her mind. She barely heard the voice of Brutus at first, both hands now carefulyl massaging her temples in the hopes that it would lessen the pulsing discomfort that assaulted her brain, before the rabbit finally opened her eyes once more to gaze at what she'd achieved.

The first thing she noticed was the flashing energy bar at the top corner or her UI, having been depleted all the way down to the last fifteen percent available. "I-I'll be fine..." The next thing Toko noticed was that the golem was finally down and out for the count, a relieved sigh leaving the hare before a faint blush of embarrassment crept onto her cheeks.

She hadn't meant for him to hear those words... then again the Lepus should've knwon better, after all Brutus coul hear her heartbeats as she had learned a while ago.

"... you're too big for me to fling though."

The imagery of being shot out of whatever new cannon Brutus planned to make caused Toko to chuckle ever so slightly, the hare shaking her head before she regretted that particular movement with a visible wince.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Did you hit your head? Or is this like...magic blowback?" He would ask cupping her chin and tilting her gaze upwards so he could peer into her eyes in a practiced manner that she probably would have grown used to as he looked her over for any potential injuries. He would tut a bit and lick his thumb, wiping away a bit of smudge from her cheek.

"As for me being to big to fling..." He would raise an eyebrow, leaning down to get a closer look to a scrape at her cheek. "You grabbed me and flung me backwards at the speed of hurt, why can't you push me the same way eh?" Finally his hand would release her head and he would tut slightly.

"Doctors diagnosis is a bit of shake up, probably some low bars, in desperate need of a good meal and a massage." He would claim cooly, a smirk on his lips. "All things easily tended to back in town, ne?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"... magic blowback."

She hated to admit it, but regardless of how much the Lepus tried her magic always seemed to be one step away from becoming uncontrollable. It had gotten somewhat better during the time that Toko had been playing TerraSphere, especially given her very mixed style of physical and magical combat, but she certainly lacked the finesse Brutus and others showed... not to mention half the time her energy bar took a fucking nose dive.

Her hands lowered away from her temples when Brutus reached for her face, allowing the Felis to inspect her as he often did whenever he was concerned for her safety. The Lepus fidget slightly as Brutus wiped a smudge from her cheek, before a pout gathered on her lips as her gaze adverted away from the giant when he mentioned she had no issues pulling him towards her not that long ago.

"That was different, and I didn't mean to pull you back that hard..." The doctor diagnosis Brutus suddenly delivered as he released Toko's face made the rabbit chuckle in response, her gaze moving to look over the downed golem. "Honestly that sounds like a great idea... but you sure we have enough ore before we go?"

After all it was quite the treckt to get here from Honeyhome... would be a shame if they hadn't taken full advantage of it before returning back to town.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus would pat the rabbit on the head as he peered past her. This creature was significantly bigger than he was expecting. If his entire arm was made of the ore they needed he would have enough to make ten of his own canons. "I mean, you take one look at him and tell me how much metal you think he has in him?" He was tempted to scritch her ears, but he wouldn't for now.

"Either way, I may have underestimated these things, I don't think we have another one in either of us. If I need to come back for more I come back for more." He would take his hand off the Hare's hair and walk past her briskly as he examined the corpse of the beast. He would spot several points of interest and begin using his pyromancy to slice and dice the corpse up, pocketing sections of foe into his UI for later use.

"Oh yeah..." he would mutter, nodding along. "This is fucking plenty based on what I'm finding here dear," he would add scooping up some more. "I might not even need the whole buffalo." He would spend several minutes grinding out all of the loot from the elemental. The perceptive eye would reveal a rather...unusual little quirk of this process. Brutus' hands were shaking ever so slightly, the normally calm and collected giant who laughed in the face of danger was trembling ever so slightly.

"So uh..." he would pause, biting his lip. "I'd uh, mentioned plans about going out..." Swallowing slightly, the giant would clap both hands against his cheeks, forcing himself to regain his composure. "On a date. I was thinking a nice dinner? There's a fancy bistro in Finweald I was thinking about trying, or we could always like...do a picnic? Then I'll show you something really cool I've been working on?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Hopefully the Felis was right and this golem was made of the very ore they had been searching for... Toko would absolutely hate to think that all their efforts had been for naught, especially after the effort it took them both to fell this single goliath. It was almost an awing moment in a way, the creatures within this cavernous system serving as a reminder that there were stil plenty of things out there capable of overtaking them if the pair wasn't careful.

"That body composition better be one hundred percent of that ore after all the trouble it gave us to kill it..."

Hands reached up to her head to smooth out the strands Brutus' hand had shifted around, before the lepus slowly stood back up as the Felis went to check out the body of the fallen golem. She had been in the process of dusting the dirt off her pants when the lion referred to Toko as dear, the word causing her to pause even as a blush quickly colored the hare's cheeks.

"I might not even need the whole buffalo."
"A-Ah, that's g-gret then..."

Suddenly the rabbit had found a random point in the cavern inmensely interesting as her gaze fixated on it instead of the Felis hard at work dissaasembling pieces ehre and there of the golem before yeeting them into the extremely convenient spacial space of the UI inventory, her hands combing the long strands of hair to keep herself busy instead... especially when the Felis turned his attention back to her.

"H-Hai..." Right, a date... he had definitely mentioned that before. "A-Anywhere is fine, h-hontoni."

Funny how the hare had zero issues facing a golem straight on, or even wrestling the very lion into the ground when it was a sparring match, but now the Lepus couldn't even find it in her to look up and meet eyes with the Felis.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Leonid eyes shot to the Lepus as she gazed away, horrifically distracted by the sites to be seen and definitely not the fact that she was nervous. He would afford her the decency to not tease her, after all, he wanted her to enjoy the coming night rather than dread it. He would dust off his hands and take a few lumbering strides, closing the gap between her and him.

"Anywhere? Really?" He would raise an eyebrow before leaning down to get on eye level with her. "Noted. Why don't we get back to society first then? Maybe do something about that fever you seem to be running, your face is all red." He would gently reach out and boop her nose. Her nervousness was fueling the lionheart within him, giving him confidence to continue forward.

After all, someone had to be confident in this situation otherwise they would get nowhere.

"I'm thinking we go to either Finweald or Honeyhome, your choice. In Finweald, I can get us a reservation at Dorsia, being a recently minted platinum rank and heroes of the Kurungar fight opens a lot of doors. A fancy night of nice food and wine? Otherwise we can prep up a wonderful picnic like we tend to do and go to the springs? Maybe the stone or Cleartop? Maybe one leads to the other I don't know?" His eyes would narrow.

"Or if neither of those options sound great I can come up with something else too, I just..." he took a deep breath. "I just want it to be the best it can be, and I know regardless of what we do it'll be fun I just..." He would trail off. "I'm sorry I probably sound dumb."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Urusai n-nah..."

He would boop her nose as he spoke, causing the Lepus to pout before she tried to cover her cheeks and bottom part of her face with her own hair as a response. The constant doki doki in her chest served as a reminder of how nervous she was currently feeling, though the flicker of her ears showed she was listening to the lion even when the hare refused to met his gaze head on.

Still, confident as the Felis often portrayed himself to be, even Toko could notice that he was starting to ramble on as he spoke... a nervous habit of Brutus that she had managed to pick up on even if it had only been fairly recently.

"I'm sorry I probably sound dumb."
"Iie, don't say that... you're not being dumb at all."

As unnerved as she was about this new experience, and about whatever this new development in their relationship might eventually lead to, it brought Nao some comfort to see that Olivier was taking things seriously... instead of the usual lackadaisical and teasin approach the Felis would commonly portray. If anything it, at the very least, served to calm down some of the woman's worries.

"Whatever you think best is alright with me, Brutus." She had managed to calm down enough to finally look the Felis in the face again, though her gaze was quickly adverted once more as she spoke next. "... after all, it's not like I have a lot of d-dating experience."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"It's not like I have a lot of dating experience"

Those words echoed in his ears, causing his pulse to begin to skyrocket. He would take a deep breath and nod his head. "I mean, that's why I'm so nervous. This is special, for you and for us." He would gently take one of her hands and begin to lead her back up the way they came.

"I want to wow you, but on the other hand like, if it aint broke don't fix it?" He would frown, giving her hand a squeeze. "I mean, like, you can't undo your first date and man..." he paused, stopping midstep. "Never mind, not gonna go into that one. Why don't we go with the simple thing eh? A nice bath, picnic, some Onsen Tamago eh?" He would give her a nudge. "Then some stargazing?"

He would continue down the cave, her hand still hastily clung to hers in which he was paying no mind. Besides, it wasn't too much of a big deal, hell, he'd seen her naked and practically gotten to second base already. What was a little hand holding?

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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There was an almost instant increase of her heartbeats when Brutus' hand reached for her own, the blush that Toko had managed to suppress instantly back and doubled in intensity as the Felis began leading them back the way they had come through. "R-Right..." For a moment it had sounded like the Felis had a story to share when it came to first dates, before the lion seemingly thought better of it as he changed topics instead—a soft squeeze given to the small hand that he kept his larger palm around as they walked.

She had been about to agree with his planned idea, her free hand having reached for one of her long ears as Toko pulled it down slightly and now fiddled with it, before her mind finally kicked in the mental brakes at a particular part: a bath...!

"Ch-Chotto matte...!"

Granted, they had shared a bath at the mud springs before—That was under different circumstances thought!!!—right, well, this was actually quite the conundrum that Toko found herself in right now... her mind struggling and working overtime to figure out a way to express that maybe that was a bit too much right about now, but also how did she go about explaining that she'd had no issues with the bath before compared to now?!

With all of those thoughts going on perhaps it was no surprise that Brutus found no resistance as he continued to hold Toko's hand while guiding them back through the cave and into the outside world—though if he took a moment to glance back at the Lepus' face he would see it was the deepest shade of red she'd ever managed to manifest until now, the hare's heart beating a mile a minute and giving no clear indications of slowing down any time soon.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

He would turn back to her, a goofy grin on his lips as he saw how scarlet he'd managed to make her face. This was going to be a great date, though she had brought up a Chotto Matte, so that needed to be addressed to make sure she was comfortable.

"Whats up?" His eyes would narrow into slits as he watched over her carefully. "Something wrong with the plan?" His mind would turn over everything he'd said, looking for the problematic factor. It was nothing they hadn't done before, maybe that was the problem? Too much like shit they'd done before? Maybe it would imply those other hangouts had been dates? Was that it?

"I know it sounds a lot like what we've done before, but we had fun those times right? If you want it to be special we can go get the fancy dinner instead?"

He would raise an eyebrow, but the smile that would blossom across his lips wasn't some sort of taunting smirk, it was a symbol of raw unfiltered mirth and affection. He would give her hand another reassuring squeeze, "What do you think?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"What's up? Something wrong with the plan?"
"I-Iie—I mean, y-yeah...!"

She couldn't help tripping over her words as the Felis had turned back to look in Toko's direction, his goofy grin only further confirming that the lion wasn't even remotely in the same thought lane as the rabbit as Toko struggled to figure out how to word her issue without coming off as rude in turn. Last thing she wanted was to dash the hopes and dreams Brutus was clearly very excited over... but the hare was pretty sure her heart wouldn't hold if she had to share a mixed bath with the Felis right now.

"... we had fun those times right?"
"H-Hai, tanoshkattah..."
"If you want it to be special we can go get the fancy dinner instead?"

It wasn't that it hadn't been special enough, or that she preferred a fancy dinner over their usual ways of hanging out and enjoying each other's company... but honestly, did she really need to spell it out to the giant?! Her face felt like it was almost on fire, and Toko was definitely sure that she was probably beet red by now as she chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

Was dating someone supposed to be this complicated... or was she just being the silly one here, making a mountain out of a molehill?

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"You're giving me mixed signals there Bun."

The giant would lean down to get on her level. Perhaps getting at Bun height would help put him into her headspace, allow him to peer into those red eyes of hers that at this point matched her crimson face. What could possibly have her that flustered about the plan. All they were going to do was go back to the onsen and-

Oh.

His eyes widened a bit, as a blush bloomed across his face. "Ah, Souka." The words left his lips plainly as he raised himself back up to his proper height. "We can uh-" a fist would raise to his mouth as the giant cleared his throat. "We can skip the bath bit if that would make you more comfortable..."

The Lion's tail would swish side to side nervously as he turned back around and began down the corridor. Fucking perfect, how could he have forgotten that two homies hanging out in a hotspring scrubbing eachothers backs and wrestling in the mud was fine, but doing that shit on a date?

That was an intimate experience.

On one hand, he was glad that he'd told her how he felt, and that she reciprocated. On the other hand, why did their relationship suddenly have to change? Why was something they'd done before now off the table?

"That put your heart at ease?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"You're giving me mixed signals there Bun."
"Eetoh—aah, moooh...!"

One hand still remained snuggled away in his, while the hare's free hand was now pulling down at her ear as she tried to cover her face with the long auricular appendage. It's not liek she was trying to give him mixed signals, but what did Brutus expected—especially when he already knew about her lack of experience when it came to dating anyone?

He had leaned down to be closer to her level, the Lepus' red eyes staring into his blue ones, when the lion's brain finally seemed to click all the dots together at last. A blush colored his cheeks before the giant straightened back up, clearing his throat as he offered Toko a way out of that part. His tail was swishing now more than usual, the lion finally turning around as he began leading them both down the corridor—his hand never letting go of the rabbit's own as she followed close behind him.

"That put your heart at ease?"

On one hand it actually did, and he'd probably noticed that her previously erratic heartbeats had calmed down to an extent... but then why did she now felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach when he'd uttered those last words? "... gomen'nasai." Great, they weren't even into the first date and Toko was already pretty sure that her behavior would no doubt have the Felis rethink this whole situation pretty soon.

I'm such a child...

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Brutus would get maybe five or six steps down the chamber before turning back to the Lepus and raising an eyebrow. "Why are you apologizing? I was the one being inconsiderate. I should be the one saying sorry." He would give her hand a gentle squeeze and continue onwards. Her heartbeat had stabilized, but her blush wasn't abating much.

"Given my track record of going off full sprint at things, I need you to be vocal if I'm moving to fast for your or making you uncomfortable." He would explain as they walked, growing closer and closer to the surface. "I mean, you know me. I've already made an ass out of myself once, I would like to avoid that happening again. Even if you think it'll hurt my feelings or upset me, I would rather you say something. I'm big on uh..." He would pause, slowing down slightly.

"Communication? Even if you think it's overcommunication, like clearly I overcommunicate and if you ever want me to shut up you just gotta tell me." He would pause and take a deep breath. "Look...if it makes you feel any better. I'm just as nervous as you are? So lets just both breath and take it one step at a time?"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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The gentle squeeze on her hand was reassuring, and it cause a small smile to line up her lips as some of the worry lines on the Lepus' face dissipated somewhat. His words weren't something she had been expecting, Nao's own personal insecurities having caused her to waver, but as the lion continued to lead them towards the surface while talking Toko realized that was just the way Brutus had always been.

Perhaps that's why she'd come to like him so quickly, without even realizing it until the giant had decided to sit them both down for a chat.

"You're nervous...?" It was hard to imagine the Felis knew the meaning of the word, much less could actually feel it, considering the usually loud and confident nature the lion portrayed. "...but you've dated before. Why would you be nervous about it?"

Finally they had reached the top level, the bright light filtering into the cavern from the entrance causing Toko to wince as her eyes shut close for a moment, needing space to adjust after having become used to the low lighting conditions that came with underground adventuring.

@Brutus Dahlgren