Complete Private Eastern Brisshal Just Like the First Time

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

With her cloak billowing as she rushed, Ronja's heart raced, and she didn't spare the use of her battle constructs to try and fend her chasers off, but they were relentless. One after another, they continued to chase her, and for some reason her magitech faltered near them... The reason? It could only be the encrusted gem on the center of their armors, that seemed to disrupt magic of any kind.

Looking behind her back, she felt a dread running in her mind, they were soon going to catch her up.

"Leave Ronja alone!" She roared, trying to resort to something more physical, using her magnetism to erupt one of the spherical constructs she had, now deactivated by force, toward them as if it was a projectile. It helped to throw one of the soldiers to the ground upon impact, but it also opened the defenses of the magia, that was soon struck by a thrown spear.

"AAAH!" Ronja yelped in pain, losing her balance, struggling to try to keep running before going face first against the ground, soon to be surrounded by four armored men, with the fifth trying to recover and stand back a dozen meters away.

"Got it-!"

One of the hissed, approaching the magia girl while drawing his backup weapon, a shortsword, to hold Ronja at blade point, making her grit her teeth and swallow dry. It wasn't hard to notice they were from Falderen, and they were probably in their typical magia 'witch hunting' that has been lingering for months now. They cared not if it was Starcalled or not, they wanted all of them gone and dead, and now that she was cornered, Ronja only had words to work with.

"You are making a mistake. Ronja isn't your enemy-" She tried to argue, but a clenched fist, protected by a gauntlet soon met her face, making her ear ring for a moment as she staggered.

"Shut up... Cursed abomination. You will pay for what you did. You are coming with us."

Without any restraint, he grappled Ronja's hair, and she winced for a moment.

@Harper

 

[Harper]

Another day, another trot through the woods in search for things to throw around and lift. Such is the Path of Harper. Though there was just one small issue...

"...Goddamit WHERE IS EVERYTHING?!"

They say nature never forgets. Evidently this was more than true given how anything vaguely hostile that lived here had more than learned to stay away from the stripped grappler at this point. Good for leisurely walks through the trees, bad for literally anything else she liked to do. She could always go further away from Honeyhome for more dangerous places, but the trip back was always such a pain so she always tried to stick closeby if possible.

After a bit more fruitless searching, she kinda just accepted defeat and tried to look for other things to do. Maybe there was more to life than throwing unconsenting dangerous fauna around.

Hey, maybe she could go kick rocks!

Really, reeeeeeally big rocks.

Before she caused another disaster that would get her dragged by Mizuki, her ears picked up a bunch of distinct sounds. They certainly didn't sound like your everyday wood critter, and they were much heavier too. A smile drew itself on her face as she started to follow the source, hoping to have found her training partners for today.

Beasts? Good. A pack of beasts? Even better. But what she was hoping was for possibly a patrol of the local anti-magia squad. Those usually made for a good fight, and it helped keep the area safer for newcomers. So there she went, very much looking for trouble. And trouble she would find.

Hidden by the foliage, she got closer to the scene and it was very much what one would expect, with a poor magia being held captive by a bunch of ill-intentioned armored douches, with god knows what intention for them. And Harper had very much patented a way to deal with them: A good ole' butt-whooping! Though the fact they had Ronja at sword-point was a bit annoying, so better to deal with that first. With a moderately sized rock in hand and a good aim, she took fire at the guard's sword hand...

And completely destroyed it.

The sound of flesh and bone being crushed and broken probably echoed in the magia's ears as the sword was dropped in pain, Harper wasting no time in making herself known afterwards. "Hey, hello, salutations, bonjour! So, I think your comrades who I sent crying back must've told you, or your superiors who I have also sent crying must've also told you, I am Harper!" She put her hands on her hips with a smirk.

"I've also been called cat, tiger, kitty or the good old b****, so you all might know me by any of those. What matters is the warning which I'll give you, which I also gave to those before you." She faked a cough before continuing. "You get to choose between scramming like a egg before I go fold you like a omelette. You can guess which the ones before you chose, and you also must know how they ended up, so choose wisely, 'kay?"

Her smirk turned into a taunting grin as she showed off her teeth, happy to oblige either choice.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

130 / 200

Fully Restrained
-50 HP from Anti-Magia Patrol 1
-20 HP from starting the Cycle Fully Restrained by Anti-Magia Patrol 1

Ronja gritted her teeth as she noticed there was no escape for her. Four against one wasn't that much of a bad odd for someone with her arsenal of weapons, but she didn't have full access to said weapons, and being all handicapped and now subdued, she would need to be very creative... Or wish for a miracle.

Her eyes closed as the blade drew nearer to her skin, pursing her lips...

But the miracle suddeny appeared, and with the sharp sound of the rock striking the sword out of the patrol's hand, he spat a curse as he glared daggers at the direction of the one that had the insolence of doing it.

The magia opened her eyes, surprised to see @Harper there. She hadn't seen her tigress friend in a while, and to have her there just when she needed the most, felt both nostalgic and relieving. "You are here!" Ronja tried to move closer to her, but the guard fiercely pulled the magia back by the hair, making her wince while in a matter of a second, a shorter blade- A dagger was dangerously set against her neck, and her arms were pulled behind her back.

"I need no name from a dead weight. Men, get her!"

The order was direct, and the patrols charged at her direction, drawing their own blades and roaring, ready to strike the tigress.

"NO! Harper! Ronja will- Ack!" Ronja struggled proved to be a poor choice, as the patrol simply allowed his dagger to prickle her neck, making the magia wince.

"And you stay quiet. Or you won't get to Stokbon alive!"

Rolls

Ronja took no Actions this Cycle.

Cycle order is: Harper > Ronja > Patrols

Battle Sheet
* +25 on Fortitude
* +25 on Reflex
* +25 on Will
* +25 on Knowledge
* +25 on Awareness
She has no access to Defense Actions.

Anti-Magia Patrol - Cycle 0

​

Anti-Magia Patrol 1: Dealt 30 + 20 damage on @Ronja Bubblyfoot. Has @Ronja Bubblyfoot Fully Restrained

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 300 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 2: Is engaging combat

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 300 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 3: Is engaging combat

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 300 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 4: Is engaging combat

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 300 / 300 ❱

Taunt DC: 150​

Once in a Cycle, the Patrol Guards does one of these actions:

1. Capture. Targets a random target, dealing 30 damage with the immobilizing grip. The target must pass a DC 80 Fortitude Save to free themselves, if they can't be freed, in the next Cycle they are Fully Restrained. To free themselves after that, they must use a Bonus Action to attempt the Save again. Starting a cycle while Restrained makes you receive flat 20 damage.
2. Fierce Thrust. The Patrol thrust a random target with their blade. The target receives 40 damage.
3. Wide Slash. The Patrol slashes at all targets within its range. The targets receives 20 damage.

Passives:

1. Anti-Magicka. All Magic-Related Masteries (including Magitech, Summon, Evoke, and Corrupt) are disabled. Any benefits, including passives and save or expertise bonuses from them are also negated.
2. Retaliation. Anti-Magia Patrol deal take 10 damage in retal whenever they are attacked.
3. Tactical Combat. For every Anti-Magia Patrol in the field, they deal extra 5 damage.

When dropping one of these enemies at 0 SP, choose one of the effects:

• Grapple (Only one at a time). The target is held. All the effects of their Actions and Passives are negated, but their Actions still deal damage. Any damage dealt against the grappler has half of it redirected to the grappled target. The target frees themselves after a Cycle recovering 50% of the SP, unless the grappler spends a Bonus Action to hold them for one more Cycle. The grappler may also use a Bonus Action to swap the 0 SP effect to Throw or Vulnerable.
• Throw. The target is thrown out of the combat for one Cycle (they can't act or be targetted, and all their current effects are suspended), receiving HP damage equal to the double of SP damage dealt after the bar reached 0. When the enemy returns to combat, their SP is restored by 50%.
• Vulnerable. The targets becomes Vulnerable. All damage on them is doubled, and their SP can't be recovered anymore.

 

[Harper]

200 / 200

Well, she certainly had hoped they would've taken the first option.

As much as she was confident in her abilities, fights like these always had the risk of going south due to the sheer numbers against her. These weren't your run of the mill bandits with makeshift weapons that were more likely to break over her skin than to actually do damage. These were trained soldiers, with state-of-the-art weapons. If they manage to get her good, it was going to get messy.

Worse than that, Ronja was still captive, and the last thing she wan- Wait.

"R-Ronja?! What happened to you?"

She had seen some girls switch up style in college, but Ronja straight up looked like a different person, so much that the beastkin initially had some doubt. But the magia did call her by her name, and she didn't know any other people who talked in third person like her magia friend did. They hadn't seen each other in ages after Szofrit, and Harper really wished their reunion had happened under more normal terms.

Then again, they did meet on a similar situation. And once again, Harper was coming down as her miraculous helper in times of distress. Fate was really something, huh?

Turning to the guards, she would let a animalistic growl. This had just gotten a whole lot more personal in a instant. She would get around to battering them into the ground soon enough, but out of all of them the one holding Ronja was going to get it first. And get it the worst.

Digging the tip of her feet into the ground, she would stare all of them down before swiping her leg upwards, throwing a cloud of dirt into the air that obscured her figure for a moment. All but enough for her to rush past all of them towards the one keeping Ronja captive. One of her hands immediately went to hold the one keeping the dagger in Ronja's throat to keep him from hurting her further, while the other went to hold onto a notch in the collar area of their armor.

With both grips, she would making a turning motion like she was holding a steering wheel, throwing him off balance as one of her feet hooker the leg in the side the patroller was turned into before hooking against it and pulling, the tigress taking both him and Ronja down with a O-Uchi Gari. It wasn't a throw meant for damage, and Harper even hoped the guard would serve as a cushion for her friend's own fall.

Once they were in the ground, Harper would use her knee to pin down the arm holding the hair of Ronja by the biceps. "I'm sorry Ronja, this is going to hurt a lot!" And with a upwards pull of her friend, she would break the grip the guard had on her hair, though it wasn't exactly pleasant. This was a way to get rid of grips in your kimono after all, you couldn't exactly feel it, but unfortunately time was of the essence, and Harper couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

With her friend free, she quickly grabbed the guard by the armor and threw her into a nearby tree like a garbage sack, before offering a hand to Ronja. "You alright? Sorry for the hair."


Hinder
1d100 (30) + [15] + 15 + 15 + 10 = 85
85 SP damage

Guard Arts | Harper | 1979

(BA) Ultra Disruptive
Disruptive damage doubled.
Deal 60 SP damage in addition to your attacks' damage.

Harper

Total damage to Patrol 1: 145 SP.

Throwing Patrol 1.

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

60 / 200

-40 HP from Anti-Magia Patrol 2
-30 HP from Anti-Magia Patrol 3
Must make a DC 80 Fortitude Save on her next turn to see if she will become Fully Restrained.

It took a moment for Ronja to realize the reason why Harper only had recognize her now- Of course, she had gone through a few physical changes, so the Tigress would never guess how she looked nowadays.

The momentary realization and reunion didn't halt the guards from trying attack the tigress, of course, but she managed to slip past their charge, and reaching for Ronja, the stumble made the magia squeak even if the guard kept a tight grip on her, forcing her down on top of him. She winced, glancing up at Harper, and with the warning, she braced herself before the man was forcibly pulled again, feeling her hair being pulled and gritting her teeth to supress a yelp while the patrol yelled for his life being thrown away like a sack of potatoes.

She rubbed her head, looking up at Harper and the hand she offered, smiling. "Harper..! Really... You always appear just at the right moment, don't you..." She was just about to reach for her friend's hand, but the reunion was soon interrupted by a sharp thrust of sword that slashed across Ronja's arm, making her scream and try to move away, holding onto her arm.

A patrol was already by the vanguard, cautious, and Ronja glared at him.

"You--!" She gritted her teeth, slipping her non-wounded hand under her cloak, and tossed a potion out for Harper. "This should help us... Hopefully-" The potion brimmed with an intense orange liquid, bubbling with an empowering composition, that would boost the strength of her friend.

The two patrols didn't waste time to charge, however, with the two of them throwing their weight and blades on the two girls, hoping to restrain them as soon as possible, while they still had the number advantage.

Rolls

(BA) Overload
Attacks & buffs gain 40 and heals gain 20.
You cannot move this cycle.
Ronja Bubblyfoot

AoE Buff
1d100 (23) + [30] + 25 + 20 + 40 = 138 / 3
+46 extra damage on @Harper for 2 attacks, and on Self for 1 attack.
AoE | Alchemy | Ronja Bubblyfoot | Just Like The First TIme

(F) Versatile
Apply the Heal/Buff/Power effects to 2 targets instead of 3 and apply the last charge to one of them.
Ronja Bubblyfoot

Cycle order is: Harper > Ronja > Patrols

Battle Sheet
* +25 on Fortitude
* +25 on Reflex
* +25 on Will
* +25 on Knowledge
* +25 on Awareness
She has no access to Defense Actions.

Anti-Magia Patrol - Cycle 0

​

Anti-Magia Patrol 1: Thrown out of the field by @Harper. Can't act or be targetted this Cycle.

❰ 0 / 100 ❱

❰ 210 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 2: Attacked @Ronja Bubblyfoot with a Fierce Thrust, dealing 40 damage.

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 300 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 3: Attacked @Ronja Bubblyfoot with a Capture, dealing 30 damage. On her turn, she must make a DC 80 Fortitude Save to avoid becoming Fully Restrained next Cycle.

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 300 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 4: Attacked @Harper with a Capture, dealing 30 damage. On her turn, she must make a DC 80 Fortitude Save to avoid becoming Fully Restrained next Cycle.

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 300 / 300 ❱

Taunt DC: 150​

Once in a Cycle, the Patrol Guards does one of these actions:

1. Capture. Targets a random target, dealing 30 damage with the immobilizing grip. The target must pass a DC 80 Fortitude Save to free themselves, if they can't be freed, in the next Cycle they are Fully Restrained. To free themselves after that, they must use a Bonus Action to attempt the Save again. Starting a cycle while Restrained makes you receive flat 20 damage.
2. Fierce Thrust. The Patrol thrust a random target with their blade. The target receives 40 damage.
3. Wide Slash. The Patrol slashes at all targets within its range. The targets receives 20 damage.

Passives:

1. Anti-Magicka. All Magic-Related Masteries (including Magitech, Summon, Evoke, and Corrupt) are disabled. Any benefits, including passives and save or expertise bonuses from them are also negated.
2. Retaliation. Anti-Magia Patrol deal take 10 damage in retal whenever they are attacked.
3. Tactical Combat. For every Anti-Magia Patrol in the field, they deal extra 5 damage.

When dropping one of these enemies at 0 SP, choose one of the effects:

• Grapple (Only one at a time). The target is held. All the effects of their Actions and Passives are negated, but their Actions still deal damage. Any damage dealt against the grappler has half of it redirected to the grappled target. The target frees themselves after a Cycle recovering 50% of the SP, unless the grappler spends a Bonus Action to hold them for one more Cycle. The grappler may also use a Bonus Action to swap the 0 SP effect to Throw or Vulnerable.
• Throw. The target is thrown out of the combat for one Cycle (they can't act or be targetted, and all their current effects are suspended), receiving HP damage equal to the double of SP damage dealt after the bar reached 0. When the enemy returns to combat, their SP is restored by 50%.
• Vulnerable. The targets becomes Vulnerable. All damage on them is doubled, and their SP can't be recovered anymore.

 

[Harper]

150 / 200

-20 from Patrol retal (This turn and the previous one)
-30 from Capture attempt.

"Well, thanks! Kinda wish I could be with you before you get into trouble, though! I'll give you pats to help with the hair pain once we are done!"

That's about the extent of what she could do though. Her skills were handy for throwing and crushing things, not follicle damage healing. That would have to wait though, as the guards were quite clearly not too keen on letting this wholesome reunion happen in their watch, one of them already taking the chance to strike at Ronja, earning a fierce glare from the tigress's wild eyes. One of them tried to get a hold of her, but he would quickly find himself having an intimate moment with Harper's forehead via headbutt before being pushed away as the tigress turned her eyes towards the ones facing her friend.

It was bad enough they were going after innocent magia, but to also clearly pick hitting the least important threat to them right now just showed they were also a bunch of cowards, sending them even lower down Harper's totem of respect. And an unrespectful approach was what they would earn. Popping the cork out of the potion Ronja had just managed to give her and taking it all in one gulp, Harper would quickly go and start to make use of her newly acquired fitness. "HRAH!"

Grabbing one of the patrol members looking to seize Ronja by the armored forearm, the tigress would bluntly pull them away from her friend and towards the ground with a simple motion of her arm, before her feet would stomp harshly on their swordhand, the beastkin keeping the pressure for a second or two before quite literally kicking the guard into a nearby brush like a soccer ball, before turning to the two left with a sneer.

"Attacking Ronja instead of the girl actively kicking your asses, huh?! You know, when Szofrit sung and I was in the midst of it, I thought I saw a bunch of pebble-looking things rolling away towards her. At the time I thought they might be some kind of minions... BUT EVIDENTLY, IT WAS Y'ALL'S GODDAMN BALLS!"

Well, that was certainly uncalled for. But when dealing with well-trained militia, one had to appeal to their all so commoner-like ego to get them to do what you want. Even if it required going a tad low.

Taunting (402)

@Ronja Bubblyfoot



Hinder
1d100 (33) + [15] + 15 + 15 + 10 + 46 = 134
134 SP damage

Guard Arts | Harper | 1979

(BA) Ultra Disruptive
Disruptive damage doubled.
Deal 60 SP damage in addition to your attacks' damage.

194 SP Damage to Patrol 3, throwing him away from the fight.

Harper


**Save**
1d100 (95) + 55 = **150**
`Fortitude | Harper | Just Like The First Time | I forgor`



Battle Sheet

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

40 / 200

Vulnerable
-10 -20 HP from Anti-Magia Patrol 1 retaliation
DC 80 Fortitude Save cancelled

Ronja smiled at @Harper's words, nodding. "When we are done with it, we will have plenty of time to catch up!"

But for now, their main concern were these tenacious guards, that continued to charge in and attack them no matter how many times Harper proved she could throw they away as if they were mere pebbles. Perhaps the hope in the number advantage was exactly what they were aiming for.

Knowing they would engage in a more melee combat, Ronja tried to quickly reach for her User Interface, pulling out her giant wrench and putting herself in a fighting stance.

However, it only opened her guard for one of the patrollers try and reach for her arm, only for Harper to intercept the attack and throw the man away, with a shriek echoing as he eventually fell over some bushes, making Ronja's mouth half open, casting a grateful glance at Harper, just before a patroller tried to reach the tigress from behind, hooking his arms under hers and kneening her back, trying to put her in a helpless position while attempting to hang her out of the ground.

Meanwhile, another patroller approached, thrusting his sword at her direction, aiming to wound her as much as possible while his partner struggled to try and keep her pinned.

"Harper! No!" Ronja's voice escaped from her lips, but a lump formed in her throat seeing her friend being targetted by those cowards. She tried to intercept, but she was soon interrupted by the patroller that had captured her earlier, and her teeth gritted. "Get out of Ronja's way!" She swung her giant wrench, that nearly struck the man's throat, but for his luck, it was only on the side of his head, forcing him to stumble near his friends.

"Get off her!" She roared, sliding her hand under her pockets, and pulling out an alchemical bomb, tossing it toward the first patroller, which upon impact with his face, it bursted into several shards that struck the other patrollers that endangered her friend, while Ronja tried to shield her eyes from the shards that flew at her direction, relieved that the first patroller served as a shield against the shards for her friend.

Rolls

Critical Attack
2d100 (Advantage) (34, 57) + [40] + 25 + 20 + 46 = 188
188 damage to Anti-Magia Patrol 1
You are Vulnerable.
Ranged Weapons | Ronja Bubblyfoot | Just Like The First Time

(F) Area Effect
Divide your damage between the target and all enemies adjacent to them. Take retaliation damage (if any) from each enemy you damage.
Ronja Bubblyfoot

(BA) Area Effect
3d20 (13 + 18 + 12) = 43 splash damage to all Anti-Magia Patrols (Except Anti-Magia Patrol 3)
Ronja Bubblyfoot

Cycle order is: Harper > Ronja > Patrols

Battle Sheet
* +25 on Fortitude
* +25 on Reflex
* +25 on Will
* +25 on Knowledge
* +25 on Awareness
She has no access to Defense Actions.

Anti-Magia Patrol - Cycle 0

​

Anti-Magia Patrol 1: Returned this Cycle, but died.

❰ 50 / 100 ❱

❰ -21 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 2: Attacked @Harper with a Capture, dealing 30 damage. On her turn, she must make a DC 80 Fortitude Save to avoid becoming Fully Restrained next Cycle. Taunted.

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 257 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 3: Thrown out of the field by @Harper. Can't act or be targetted this Cycle.

❰ 0 / 100 ❱

❰ 112 / 300 ❱

Anti-Magia Patrol 4: Attacked @Harper with a Fierce Thrust, dealing 40 damage. Taunted.

❰ 100 / 100 ❱

❰ 257 / 300 ❱

Taunt DC: 150​

Once in a Cycle, the Patrol Guards does one of these actions:

1. Capture. Targets a random target, dealing 30 damage with the immobilizing grip. The target must pass a DC 80 Fortitude Save to free themselves, if they can't be freed, in the next Cycle they are Fully Restrained. To free themselves after that, they must use a Bonus Action to attempt the Save again. Starting a cycle while Restrained makes you receive flat 20 damage.
2. Fierce Thrust. The Patrol thrust a random target with their blade. The target receives 40 damage.
3. Wide Slash. The Patrol slashes at all targets within its range. The targets receives 20 damage.

Passives:

1. Anti-Magicka. All Magic-Related Masteries (including Magitech, Summon, Evoke, and Corrupt) are disabled. Any benefits, including passives and save or expertise bonuses from them are also negated.
2. Retaliation. Anti-Magia Patrol deal take 10 damage in retal whenever they are attacked.
3. Tactical Combat. For every Anti-Magia Patrol in the field, they deal extra 5 damage.

When dropping one of these enemies at 0 SP, choose one of the effects:

• Grapple (Only one at a time). The target is held. All the effects of their Actions and Passives are negated, but their Actions still deal damage. Any damage dealt against the grappler has half of it redirected to the grappled target. The target frees themselves after a Cycle recovering 50% of the SP, unless the grappler spends a Bonus Action to hold them for one more Cycle. The grappler may also use a Bonus Action to swap the 0 SP effect to Throw or Vulnerable.
• Throw. The target is thrown out of the combat for one Cycle (they can't act or be targetted, and all their current effects are suspended), receiving HP damage equal to the double of SP damage dealt after the bar reached 0. When the enemy returns to combat, their SP is restored by 50%.
• Vulnerable. The targets becomes Vulnerable. All damage on them is doubled, and their SP can't be recovered anymore.

 

[Harper]

60 / 200

-20 from Patrol retal*2
-30 from Capture attempt.
-40 from Fierce Thrust

Harper's insults sure had the desired effect, as the guards went from going after Ronja to trying to swarm the tigress.

Neat. Now she just had to deal with the consequences of that.

Being held like that wasn't something new for the tigress. Unusual in Judo, sure, but more common in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. So when the guard got the underhooks behind her, she immediately dropped her hips and weight down to make herself harder to lift while wrapping her tail around the guard's right ankle to prevent a potential suplex. From here it wouldn't be too much of a problem for her to eventually break the grip and reverse. Hell, with the difference in skill between them she might be fine even if she gets thrown into the ground.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a 1-on-1 fair fight, as she realized upon the other guard's attack, seeking to gore her with their sword.

"Tsk!"

Given her predicament, all she could do was to use her legs to try and deflect the sword as best as she could to avoid her midsection, though this came at the cost of opening a large gash on her right leg, earning the guards a shriek of pain from the beastkin.

Her eyes darted to look at the damage.

Blood. There was blood.

Lots of it.

Her breathing quickened. Her golden, feral eyes went wide as they darted around to assert the situation.

Two with her, one down. Last one is coming back to the fray. If three gang up on her, she's done for. And so is Ronja.

She gritted her teeth, letting out a ear-splitting roar as her face twisted in primal anger, strands of purple energy flowing out of her figure. The air almost seemed to get heavier as she lifted her healthy leg and it made it stand almost completely vertical before driving her heel down onto the guard's foot, crushing all those small bones to make him loosen his grip as she repeatedly drove the back of her head into his head, eventually stunning him enough for the tigress to explode out of his grip, dropping to all fours as she turned to face him.

There wasn't much left of the boastful martial artist here. Her face twisted and contorted like that of an animal as she launched herself fangs first onto his throat. The armor did its job to not let her teeth pierce his flesh, but it couldn't do much against the build pressure from the beastkin's jaws.

First, the building sound of metal creaking and giving in. Then, choking. Finally...

*Crack*

And the body went limp.

Harper held the corpse by the throat for a moment before letting it drop like a sack of bricks as she turned to the two remaining guards, letting out a low growl as her golden eyes stared through the both of them, baring her fangs as she walked them down.

Taunting (1041)

@Ronja Bubblyfoot



Save
1d100 (84) + 55 = 139

Fortitude | Harper | 1979 | Grip Break
(BA) Berserk
Gain up to 20 damage worth of bonus to attacks, heals, or buffs.
Battle Spirits | Harper

Wild Attack
2d100 (30 + 87) + 15 + 10 + 20 + 46 = 208
208 damage

Crush Weapons | Harper | 1979


(Medium Armor Ability) Twice
You may perform 2 actions and 1 BA or 1 action and 2 BAs this cycle.

Harper | 1979


Wild Attack
2d100 (86 + 54) + 15 + 10 + 20 = 185
185 damage

Crush Weapons | Harper | 1979

(F) Taunt
(347 * 3) = 1041 threat

Harper

Total Damage: 347 damage on Patrol 2.

Patrol 2: 0/300 HP








Battle Sheet

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja knew how deadly her tigress friend could get, especially when their enemies weren't showing a glimpse of mercy or intention to run away, no matter how hard they fought back.

The consequences came soon, and even Ronja was taken aback by it, with a hint of pity running in her chest, but not for too long, as she reminded what they were about to do to her if her friend wasn't there to rescue her just in time.

"You... You beast! You demon!"

The guards staggered in feat, attention all turned to @Harper and her show of brutality, while completely missing their eyes that should also be wary about Ronja, who glanced at one of the fallen patrollers, and reached for their crossbow.

She was quick to load a bolt on it, with the -click- snatching the attention of one of them, that as soon as they turned to look at the direction of the magia, they were met with a rapidly approaching projectile, that sank deep into its eyesocket and stumbled on the patroller. Startled, the patroller looked at their fallen companion's corpse hit them, nearly making them lose the balance before another bolt went straight to their knee, slipping between the gaps of the armor, and making them shriek in pain as they lost the strength of their leg.

"This is the end." She warned, putting away the crossbow.

Between screams of pain, they held their leg, breathing heavily as they looked up at the beastfolk, the dead companions and the magia.

"No... Fucking... Fucking bastards! No!"

In a last effort, they tried to draw their backup shortsword.

Rolls

Critical Attack
2d100 (Advantage) (75, 74) + [40] + 25 + 20 = 160
160 damage
You are Vulnerable.
Ranged Weapons | Ronja Bubblyfoot | 1979

(F) Area Effect
Divide your damage between the target and all enemies adjacent to them. Take retaliation damage (if any) from each enemy you damage.
Ronja Bubblyfoot

73 damage to Patrol 3
87 damage to Patrol 4

(BA) Area Effect
3d20 (16 + 13 + 10) = 39 splash damage to Patrol 3 & 4
Ronja Bubblyfoot

Patrol 3 is dead

 

[Harper]

The guard would seldom have a moment to consider their options before the tigress would jump at them maw-first with a roar. A scuffle would follow, with the two tussling on the ground, but it was quite clear that this was less of a fight and more of a mauling by Harper's part. Even if her judo techniques were very much lost in the depths of her mind at the moment, the principles of balance and stability drilled into her every single class were still there.

There was no world that he was getting the tigress out of him. His fate was sealed the moment his back hit the ground.

Flesh and fangs wielded with herculean power easily made their way through the metal, eventually gaining access to the flesh they guarded. Though, for a mercy, her methods followed the one before, with a quick bite to the neck ending things in a moment.

Then... All but Harper's panted breathing broke the silence in the forest. Her chest started to slowly stop heaving, her expression softened and her golden eyes lost their feral edge. Bit by bit, the fog in her mind started to dissipate, as the beastly instincts subsided as the threats were dealt with, giving way back to proper consciousness.

...

-!

Blackout. In a moment she was in a dangerous situation, and then in the very next she'd find herself amidst a bloody mess, with no recollection of what happened. Though, with the heavy taste of blood in her mouth and the dirty claws and clothes, it didn't exactly take an oracle to figure out what happened. Doing her best to spit out any excess from her mouth, she'd turn to try and face the corpses as her face twisted into a grimace at the sight of her handiwork.

"...It happened again, huh...!"

She let out a quiet gasp as she turned to search for Ronja, letting out a sigh once she spotted her. She was relieved her magia friend was safe, of course, but it also meant she saw what happened. With a somewhat somber gaze, she turned back towards the fallen patrol.

"This might be weird after all that's happened, but... Would you mind helping me bury them?"

She hovered her hand over one of their faces, closing their eyes as she ran her fingers down it.

"Might be wishful thinking on my part, but I'd like to believe that, under different circumstances, we would've met as a bunch of partying dorks on a tavern or something. Be friends, even."

Turning her gaze up at the sky, she shook her head.

"I don't like killing people, Ronja. Even if they didn't share the same feeling towards us."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

@Harper's ferocity was unmatched to anything Ronja has ever seen. Was she not the friend Ronja knew, or was this situation not one where Ronja has been saved, Ronja would've been terrified about what she had just witnessed. Instead, a relief for the combat ending with the two of them in one piece had run over her mind, and only when Harper voiced her concerns about what had just happened, that Ronja actually paid mind for how berserk her friend had gone.

Her somber gaze and words, it showed she didn't meant for things to go that far.

"Harper..." Ronja muttered, forcing a step forward, and then going all in for her friend, wrapping her in a tight and grateful hug. "It isn't weird, Harper. It is only fair to not feel like hurting someone." She said, leaning away to look at the tigress' eyes.

"Ronja doesn't like that you are feeling bad for it, but she understands it... Yet, she can tell you... She is very thankful you have saved her." She squeezed the girl's shoulders softly, showing a fond and bittersweet smile before it faltered as she looked at the corpses of the patrollers.

"Ronja can help you to bury them, if you wish. But it may be better to leave them close to a town, so they can be found and be taken care of by who cares for them." She suggested, taking note of how 'considerate' Harper was being of them.

 

[Harper]

Harper was very glad that Ronja didn't seem too disturbed by what had transpired, the hug coming in at a good time. Usually the tigress wouldn't hesitate to joyfully swing the magia around as she hugged her, but at the moment she wasn't exactly in the proper mindset to do it after all that, so she just settled for letting a few moments go back in silence inside Ronja's hug.

"Thanks. But I still killed them. And unlike your situation, had I been in my right mind I could've spared them. I had the choice, yet I... Or some part of me decided not to." She looked to the side, softly pushing Ronja away. "Its... Scary. I haven't hurt anyone I care about yet. Maybe I never will. But maybe I will. And that worries me."

She covered her face with her open palm, her golden eyes slipping through the gaps of her fingers as she looked back at the corpses, then back at herself. Her once bright white fur had very noticeable patches of dark red decorating it now, a stark reminder of what she had done. She would close her eyes for a long moment, before letting her shoulders drop down with a sigh.

"But if we are to talk about this, I guess its better to do with a roof under our heads, don't you think? Come on, I'll do the heavylifting here."

Going back to the corpses, she would make sure to carry the ones with the most potential to staining her body with blood further, leaving Ronja with the cleanest one of the four to carry. As for Harper, two of them went on each of her shoulders, while the third had their torso wrapped around by her tail and lifted up.


It was taking a herculean effort to not react to both the strong smell of blood and the feeling of the crimson liquid dripping down over her body.

"Though I guess that might be a bit too hopeful on my part. As it stands, I am a beastkin, a starcalled, and covered in blood. Not exactly a most charming first impression, haha!"

She let out a hearty laugh, but one who knew her like Ronja could tell she was forcing it out somehow. As she started to walk, the tigress would try to seek something that didn't involve the bodies she was carrying to talk about. Thus, the topic of Ronja's new looks came in handy.

"Sooo... You look different!" She leaned closer."Wait, don't tell me, lemme guess. You... Did your nails! Bingo!" Another laugh, but this time a good lot more genuine.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

@Harper's concerned were shown with a tone that Ronja would have never expected to come out from her tigress friend. In a way, however, it was understandable. Her friend may have sounded like a reckless and lively fighter most of the time, but even the most lively people had troubles in their hearts... And that one sounded terrible, especially when Ronja knew very well what she meant.

With a brief nod, Ronja didn't feel offended when she was softly pushed away, resting her hands behind her back and looking at Harper. "It is okay. Ronja understands." Especially when Szofrit had forced her and many other magia to attack their own beloved. Perhaps in Harper's point of view, the possibility of it happening to her was even more terrifying.

A faint smile crossed Ronja's lips. "You are right. With a roof, and a nice drink, right? There is a lot for us to talk about." Ronja rubbed some of the dirt away from her, and wore her hood once again, hiding her features while she carefully tried to help Harper to setlte the corpses on a position that was advantegeous for her to carry. "We may need to go to a lake to clean up first though, yeah..." She said, looking at Harper up and down... And of course at herself, she was far from being clean, especially after being hurt and having her face shoved against dirt.

Guiding the tigress to somewhere else, according to what her friend's priorities were, Ronja engaged into the topic, even if she knew Harper still had a lot hidden in her heart. "Hmm, almost there." Ronja teased with a faint smile. "Her nails, her hair, her eyes too... A lot of things, really." She said.

"Honestly..? This looks more like... The real Ronja, if you know what Ronja means... But it is temporary, maybe. She just wants to make sure no one ill intentioned realizes it is her for now."

 

[Harper]

Having Ronja's reassurance really was a boon here. On previous episodes, all she would have to calm their turmoil in her head would be her own thoughts, and it could be an awfully long walk back to safety sometimes. So, even if they were a bit on the awkward side after all that's happened, she still appreciated all of this more than anything.

"Again, thank you. And yeah, a bath would do us well, for sure. I can track down the sound of running water once we get close enough to one." She pointed to her ears, making them twitch playfully. "So once I hear running water, its either a river or a giant taking the literal piss. And I'm pretty sure we don't have giants around here, haha!"

Bit by bit, Harper was returning to her former self, much due to having her magia friend around as they made her way towards their destination, whatever that ultimately ended up being. In all honesty, once they paid their respect to the bodies, she wouldn't mind just walking around with Ronja as they reconnected after all this time apart.

It beat sulking, that's for darn sure.

"Ah darn, just short. So that's more or less how you look outside of the game, huh." She looked down at her own chest, inspecting herself. "Can't say I share the same philosophy. People have called me stuff like fierce and wild, but I can assure you that outside of here I'm nowhere near as fluffy."

Ronja's mention of the reason for the change of looks did not escape the tigress, a small frown forming on her face as she shook her head.

"So, people are getting on your butt about the whole thing with... Her." She let out a 'Tch', letting out a sigh. "Need a walloping. All of them."She then turned to Ronja, pausing for a moment as she considered her words. "...You don't need to answer if you don't wanna, but... Is everything okay, Ronja? I mean... A lot happened, and I haven't seen you since... Then."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja smiled faintly to @Harper's gratefulness, but soon released a hearty giggle when her friend spoke of the weirdest situation it could possibly happen. The magia did wrinkle her nose at the mental image of that terrible situation though. "Ronja will never approach the sound of an waterfall ever again!" She exclaimed, shaking her head.

She glanced up at the tigress again as she went on about her looks. "Well, Ronja doesn't really look this short in real life either. She is quite a bit taller, even if the general eye height is the same, since she is mostly in her wheelchair." She explained, then giggling. "But you aren't as fluffy? That's a shame! How Ronja will pet you?" Ronja teased a bit with a warm smile.

Things turned bitter when the topic about the elephant in the room continued, and upon her friend's question, Ronja averted her gaze for a moment, considering her that question, that Ronja has barely asked herself lately, despite everything.

"No, not everything is okay." She admitted, returning to meet the eyes of the tigress. "But everything that is okay is thanks to people Ronja love." The bittersweet smile on her lips included Harper into the people she spoke about.

As they ventured, they eventually reached the outskirts of a town, which was when Ronja tugged her hood to hide her face a bit more. "We can leave them around here. At some point, the patrol of the town will find them..." She frowned. "Approaching more than that may be a bad idea. Let's leave them here and go find a spot to clean ourselves."

 

[Harper]

"Bwahaha! Hey, I was joking... Mostly."

Ronja's expression stole a small fit of laughter from the tigress, her hands resting on her waist as she closed her eyes and raised her head towards the night sky. This kind of talk wouldn't be out of place back when they were just cleaning out bandit from a merchant road, a good time ago. A smile couldn't help itself from creeping up on her face as the memories creeped back up.

Good times. Better times.

She'd break out of it with a pout at Ronja's comment about her floofiness, the beastkin letting out a harrump as she puffed her cheeks.

"Hey, I'll inform you that even if I don't have actual fur, I actually have a very nice and floofy hair that I wash everyday!"

If she wasn't holding two corpses, she would be holding her finger up in her best nerd emoji impression, so her tail did the job instead as they walked through the forest. Though she did technically bring up the question, she still couldn't help but feel the impact of the answer, looking to the side for a moment as she tried to think of what to say...

...But in the end, a simple tap on the shoulder with her tail and a smile back was what she decided would do best for now.

---

Once they settled the corpses down, Harper couldn't help but shake her head. Though she'd have liked to bury them instead of just leaving them in the open, it was also a fact that without the proper tools for it, digging a proper grave would probably suck. She wasn't a dog, after all.

...

Had Mizuki ever dug a hole with her hands?

In any case, she would settle the bodies down besides the one Ronja was carrying, patting some dust out of her fur before clasping her hands together and extending her arms forwards while arching her back, letting out a prolonged sigh as she stretched. Once she was done, she turned to her magia friend with a hand on her hip.

"I think I know the general direction of a river from here, since we are close enough to town that I can use it as a reference. Though... Sorry if this comes off as offensive, but are you sure you can handle water? Since, you know, circuits and all... I have a cloth in my inventory that we can wet if you need it."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"Then—" Ronja grinned widely, wiggling her fingers while looking to @Harper devilishly. "— Ronja will sure enjoy giving your hair a very, very good ruffle and massages!" She giggled.

Their playful interaction probably wasn't enough to fully mitigate how bad the situation was, but as soon as the bodies were placed down, Ronja already began moving just while Harper began speaking, tugging her sleeve softly as if encouraging her to move with her, not wasting any time to leave that spot. Both because she didn't want to see the corpses again, and because she didn't want someone else to see them with those corpses around.

"That's not offensive of you. That's very thoughtful." Ronja smiled gently to Harper, looking at her.

"But it is alright. Ronja's 'circuits' can handle it. You see... Magias are more like golems than... Well. The typical robots one see in real life? At least that's how Ronja has been interpreting, according to her studies on her own body and on the magias she has fought so far." She shared her knowledge with the tiger openly, wondering what her friend would think of it.

"Oh! And lead the way!" Ronja added, gesturing Harper to guide them to the nearest river.

 

[Harper]

Harper couldn't help but chuckle at the imagery Ronja's words brought up, with all the hair ruffling. It was definitely adorable, but if someone were to overhear them one would think Harper was being played by a golden retriever. It almost made her forget what got them into this whole ordeal in the first place.

She didn't, however, the strong scent of iron reminding her fairly quickly of why they were there.

Once all of the bodies were on the ground, the tigress couldn't help but look at them for a moment.

Their terrified expressions, their gnarly bruises...

Before the beastkin could start to spiral within those thoughts, a friendly tug from her magia friend helped get her mind out of that mess for now. Nodding towards Ronja, she turned her back on the corpses for the final time as she listened to her friend's explanation on her previous inquiry.

"Aha, I see! Guess it makes sense, as there isn't any electricity to go haywire on water contact on you guys."

And as requested, Harper took the lead towards the river. Now that things had calmed down, Ronja might be able to notice through her tattered clothing the plentitude of scars and bruises in her body, many which looked fairly recent, half-hazardly taken care off with bandages and run-of-the-mill soothing balms.

"The river is close enough for us to get there on foot, but far enough that we won't be bothered, so its perfect! Water is squeaky clean too, since the spring is nearby."

---

After a bit, they would eventually arrive at the river. Getting by the waterside, she would kneel down and spend a moment looking at her own reflection in the water. Though her fur was more roughed-up and dirty from many battles, and her golden eyes showed the signs of experiences both good and bad, she smiled at still being able to recognize the earnest tiger girl who joined this game just to find a hobby on weekends.

Despite everyting, she was still herself. No matter what.

She would cup some water in her hands and start to wash the blood out of her fur. Without soap it was certainly a bit of a challenge, since it had already dried up at this point, but there wasn't no rush. She was with friends, she was safe. So she could take up as much time as she wanted.

"So... If you don't mind me asking, what got you into a wheelchair?"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Getting to the lake, Ronja didn't miss @Harper's gaze on her own reflection. But Ronja didn't say anything for now, instead she worked on the dirt of her face, getting some water and washing off the blood, both human's and magia's.

With the reflection, it was clearer just how much they had roughed her up.

She traced a hand on her scratched cheek, frowning her lips. Thankfully she was a Magia, so she wouldn't need to wait for 'scratches and bruises' to recover or heal up. She could fix all of it later in her home. But for now, washing it was necessary.

Soon, Harper's question broke the silence.

"Ronja has never been a healthy person, she..." Ronja started talking, but eventually she stopped herself for a moment, pausing to think and side glancing to her friend.

"Long story short, Ronja has a type of spinocerebellar ataxia. It is a degenerative illness, and it well... It makes moving very hard. It has other complications too, and it makes other existing problems be worse. You could say Ronja's health is all over the place." Ronja answered with mostly a neutral voice, pensive about it, but soon pushing it away and starting to undress to get ready to actually get into the lake while she drew a question herself, wishing to know more about Harper.

"Why did you decide to stay in this game, even after all that happened?" She wondered.

 

[Harper]

Harper only gave a silent nod as her Magia friend explained the disease that afflicted her back in the real world. Having a mother who worked in the field of medicine, she had heard of all sorts of particularly nasty cases. Especially in the field of American Football, which was were her parents met and where her mother did most of their work, gnarly injuries were aplenty. Harper herself had seen what happened if someone fell the wrong way while being thrown or tried to hapharzardly stop a fall with their arm.

All of that, of course, paled in comparison to what Ronja had to deal with. The medical terms flew over her head, but the description certainly didn't. Nicole had seen what having a troublesome heart did to her father, and that mostly kept him out of the field or other high-intensity activities. Ronja's seemed to pretty much affect every facet of her life, and given how it she called it degenerative, it was bound to only get worse.

It would certainly be a good reason to play a game like Terrasphere. Which made Ronja's question towards Harper quite interesting.

Nicole was fit as a horse, with a supporting family and a set goal in her mind. Heck, playing such a game is actively detrimental to reaching her goal in many ways, possible death being the most obvious. So then, why?

"Hmmm..."

She crossed her arms, her striped tail swaying back and forth behind the tigress as she mulled over the question, her eyes closed. Eventually, she turned her head to face the Magia with a smile.

"Firstly, I'll make something clear: I do not, in any way, regret the path that I take. That being said, the path to becoming the best is much like a sharp ascent of a mighty mountain. And when I started, I could see both companions and rivals all around me, with those I sought to surpass high above the clouds." She reached with one of her claws to draw a line in the ground. "I put in the effort, and started my climb. And as I did, I made my way to and past those I set as goals, dedicating my all to do so. Those who didn't, of course, fell behind me. And then I made it past the clouds... Only to realize I could barely reach towards those under them. Talk about suffering from success, am I right?"

She let out a chuckle, but there was a small hint of sadness behind it. Finishing her line in the ground, she carved a circle at the end of it.

"This is just a very roundabout way of saying that... I don't really have many friends. I also don't drink or smoke, train 4-to-5 days a week while also keeping up with my studies, and most things I eat save from very sporadic exceptions go straight to a calorie counting notepad. Before Terrasphere I wasn't much of a gamer at all either. By most accounts, I'm the resident Judo nutcase. And while those opinions aren't gonna make me sway on my goal or anything... Well..."

She would look to her sides for a moment, scratching her head.

"Being able to just have people to chill around like this is... Nice, you know? I like the people on the dojo, of course, but they have their own things to focus while there, as do I. In here, I can just cut loose. Lets me take out pent-up stress on things I don't mind hurting, as well." Turning back to Ronja with a confident smile, she banged her chest. "And if everything thus far hasn't killed me yet, dunno if there's many things that can, haha! So don't you go worrying about me, you hear?"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot