The Enchanted Maze Spring Ball '23

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ft. @Alora J. Graves

Balls weren't really Jaime's thing. Sure, she'd gone to the odd charity event or client dinner with her parents where she'd had to dress nicely, but nothing like this. And even in those, she lingered near the back, or slouched in her seat, observing the others. Her parents scolded her for this, but they couldn't do much when she was still young. Besides, they had her brother to deal with, which was the real challenge. He barely ever even showed up, and when he did, all manners were discarded. Jaime, on the other hand, was more... Laissez-faire.

But now, as she was exiting a castle, dressed up in her finest. Or, more like, her sibling's finest. Despite Jaime's wishes, Spencer had insisted on packing some of their old dresses to Hogwarts with her. In case of an emergency, they said, if you could consider a ball an "emergency". Nevertheless, Jaime was only moderately grateful for it. Sure, she was glad to have something to wear, but now she couldn't make up an excuse for not going.

It wasn't a bad dress, really. At least it was blue, one of Jaime's favourite colours, and didn't hug her too tightly. She even got to wear sneakers with it, which you could barely see even when she walked. To top it all off, she wore a bundle of chain necklaces clipped together to resemble a choker around her neck. Glancing at her reflection in the lake as she glided past, Jaime deemed her attire reasonable, at least by her standards.

Finally, she arrived at the maze. Wasting no time, Jaime entered the looming mass of plants on her own. The solidarity didn't mind her much, and she trudged along happily enough. Jaime knew some of her other friends had dates, but she hadn't paid them much thought. After all, she was just eleven and barely out of elementary school. Especially with all the homework she got here, let's just say romance wasn't high on her priority list.

However, she soon found that the maze made little sense. It moved with a mind of its own, and Jaime didn't pretend it was such a mystery. Despite being a muggle born, she did go to a wizarding school and guessed that it was probably enchanted in some way. Perhaps there was even a trick, but she wasn't entirely sure about that part. After all, everyone else seemed to be getting in and out fine.

As she rounded the corner, she spotted another student. It looked like she had just fallen, and was now glaring at the ground. After a second, she got up and brushed herself off, revealing a short black dress and black boots. Jaime liked the girl's style, but didn't approach her until she noticed a thin strand of blood coming from the girl's knee.

"Hello." Jaime said lightly, her voice calm and lilting, "There is blood on your knee, did you notice?"

Lyrics: 497 words in #CD7F32

Choreography: Pointing out blood to Alora

Gabe walked farther into the maze, a silent Vladislav by his side. They were silent, concentrated on the turns, but there was something else going on inside Vlad’s head. He had been just kind of rejected.. But there was nothing Gabriel felt sorry for. If he went around kissing people, he would never secure a relationship with someone like his fantastic boyfriend who he actually likes instead of just finding them cute.

They continued on for a couple minutes, the confusion still going through Gabriel’s head. It was a tough situation, he wasn’t exactly the confrontational type unless it was needed. Rejecting someone made him feel guilty, but it was deserved. He wasn’t sure how he felt exactly, all he knew was that the look on Vlad’s face suggested he was not ok and not backing down so fast.

He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of how to start a real conversation. How do you talk to someone who seems to only be focused on kissing you? He spoke a few seconds later, still his eyes were closed, “So.. how are you liking Hogwarts so far? You didn’t seem to react to what I said to you earlier but-” He opened his eyes to speak directly to the boy, but he was right.

The boy was certainly not backing down. He hadn’t been listening to Gabriel, but instead puckering his lips with an odd look on his face. Was it supposed to be a flirty look? Gabriel froze, the mix of feelings building up inside of him, pulsing through his veins. How was he supposed to explain this feeling? Was he angry? Impressed? Astounded? Flattered but mad??

Perhaps it was a mix of everything but he didn’t know what to do. After what felt like an eternity, he cleared his throat. “I’m not gonna kiss you.”... “Sorry”

Interacting with: Vladislav Gunther @Clark Baird. Action: venturing into the maze and rejecting Vlad.

Writing as Achille Lévesque-Auclair
see banner for outfit, abilities, and stats

If the girl had answered Achille's former question regarding her ability to speak French, he completely missed it in between that and his introduction. So it came as an immense relief when she, shaking his hand, responded to his introduction in French.

"I'm Zendra," She paused, similar to how Achille had. "And I am also lost in this maze."

Achille smiled, relaxing a bit as he was reassured that he didn't yet have to stumble over his words. It was a welcome relief, considering he was still very unsure of his speaking ability when it came to English.

Zendra, he thought, briefly.. What a lovely name.

"You are from Beauxbatons, right?" The girl asked Achille, looking back up at him and away from the maze walls. He guessed that, like he, she had previously been deeply considering the complexities of it. Achille nodded, still smiling easily.

"Yes, I am! You as well, no?" Achille tilted his head to the left, and sunlight glinted briefly against the surface of the aid he wore in his right ear. He noted again the light blue color scheme Zendra seemed to have chosen. "You wear the colors quite well," He said it without really thinking, just another quality of him that others sometimes over-analyzed. Along with finding the beauty in the small qualities of others, Achille often voiced some of those thoughts. Achille straightened his head back up again, and the sunlight again gave a fleeting shine. "Your name, too. It's pretty, and it quite suits you."

Gently releasing Zendra's hand, Achille gestured to the maze around them. The ever-changing, shifting and magically Enchanted maze.

"Did you also try to make it through on your own?"

Action: talking to Zendra
tags: @Nora De Carie
Open for Interactions

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Totally not getting lost with @Rhys Read And @Azrael Faire

Note to self: Do not offend the shrubbery, it holds grudges.


Okay. So the maze kidnapped Rhys… That wasn’t ideal, but Slytherins were resourceful. They could work with this. 


"Damnit!" Azrael yelled. 


Who were they kidding? This was a nightmare…


"Qrow, remind me to kick Rhys' arse when I see them next! Come on. We have to find them." The Gryffindor had begun to shake now, they were clearly unhappy about this situation, and honestly? Qrow could relate. In fact, the Slytherin would have remained in a frozen state of shock at what they had just witnessed had it not been for Azrael continuing forward.


This wasn’t supposed to happen. 


And now they were alone with someone who showed clear distaste for them. 


Fan-fucking-tastic. 


"Here's the deal, Beithir. We don't even bring our thing up to Rhys and we pretend it never happened." They stated, their tone slightly bitter. Honestly, the way they said it pissed them off. Who did Azrael Faire think they were? AS IF Qrow was stupid enough to tell Rhys that they didn't like their friend.


“I wasn’t planning on it Faire. Believe it or not, I don’t want to argue with you.'' That was a lie, they had thought about punching the Gryffindor more than once - it seemed more satisfying than just jinxing them - but of course, Azrael didn't know any of  that. Besides, this was somebody Rhys cared about, and Qrow wasn't going to cause any issues for somebody their friend cared so much for. Besides, Qrow Beithir had honour. They wouldn't hit someone with their back turned, nor start a scene during a party. They had been raised better than that.


The gryffindor kept walking, and their anxiety was beginning to irk on Qrows' own. The skin on their arms was hot and itchy. They needed a plan. 


“For fucks sake, will you stop for a minute!” Qrow said firmly. “Do you even know where we’re going? I get that you’re worried, but Rhys is smart and more than capable of taking care of themself, so maybe we should try and think of a course of action rather than wandering aimlessly?”

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Bailey glanced around. She spotted a few friends - @colin mccoire, @Ashley Dinero Montez and @Lucian Mornstern to name a few. She also spotted her dear friend Hiro, but he was with someone - she made a mental note to go find and approach him later. She spotted entering the maze, but was too late to catch him. oh well she thought. Bailey was determined to find someone to go into the maze with, and from the looks of it she would have to approach someone. Luckily for bailey, a someone approached her.
A boy to be exact, one with dark black hair and dark brown eyes, and who seemed emotionless. Bailey was not sure how to act, but she decided to just go with the flow. The boy did not have a date either, and bailey wondered should i offer that he accompany me into the ball?
The boy followed her introdution up with one of his own, introduing himself as Botan Miura. She smiled softly, and said " it is a true pleasure to meet you, Botan."
To answer his question she smiled and said " i would probably go alone. I do not think i will wait much longer for someone to show up alone. I have seen many friends enter the maze already - but i really do not want to go alone. Everything is more fun with friends!"
Bailey smiled when she heard colin howling, presumably for clair per usual. Bailey turned her gaze back to botan and asked "if you want, we could go into the maze together...?"
Bailey waited for a reply, hoping that her new friend would accept her offer.

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Statistics, Abilities, & Items

Stamina: 6
Evasion: 6
Strength: 7
Wisdom: 8
ArcPower: 6
Accuracy: 7

Martial Artist
Calming Presence

OOC Note Reducio open to interactions!!! word count: 224/200 french || english @Duvessa Ember ||

Outfit Board Reducio

Lloyd asked Angelique if she would accompany him into the maze, and the younger girl jumped at the opportunity. lloyd was grateful for her joining him, as it was true - he did not want to enter the maze alone. Angelique asked if the should procceed, and lloyd said "i do think we should!" he offered Angelique his arm, and even if she did not accept his arm, they would proceed together. Lloyd replied to Angelique's nervous question with a "yes i do recon we should.. he lead Angelique forward, and they entered the maze together. Lloyd was dressed in the suit his sister had sent him for this event, along with some comfortable sneakers, a few rose gold rings, and a soft silk pink bow tie. He smiled down at Angelique, who was dressed in a stunning periwinkle blue dress, and Lloyd just had to complement his friend. "my darling, you are stunning in that dress!" he said. Lloyd and Angelique made their way through the maze together, and lloyd glanced back one last time. he spotted his friend Achille talking to a girl, who he thought was named Zendra. Now thinking on it, Lloyd noticed that Achille seemed a tad nervous - lloyd wondered if he liked Zendra, or if he was just going back to his introverted self, not liking meeting new people. LLOYD HAS ENTERED THE MAZE

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stats photo etc.

or but with slightly longer hair
Link to ency:

viewtopic.php?p=434076#p434076


Stats:
Stamina: 7
Evasion: 7
Strength: 8
Wisdom: 8
ArcPower: 7
Accuracy: 8

Interacting with @Rhys Read, as Zendra Blanchet

Zendra's face heated up as Achille complimented her. Because of her quiet demeanour, she'd never received many compliments in her life. Even from her doting mother, who loved her more than anything, it was a rare occurrence. She was more likely to say something like, "Hide your legs, Zendra," or "That will make men look, you don't want that," or "You're too short for that type of dress," than anything sincere. While Zendra couldn't complain (What was she, a narcissist?), she got tired of it sometimes. But she couldn't tell that to her mother. Zendra knew what would happen if she did, and they couldn't afford the alcohol that a rant about "him" would require.

Achille, on the other hand, had now complimented Zendra twice in just one minute. It was a new feeling to her, entirely unfamiliar, and more enjoyable than she would have expected. But maybe she was appreciating the comment a bit too much. After all, it was just a nice thing to say, right? A passing remark of kindness, normal. Anyone else would do the same, she reasoned as she stared into his striking blue eyes, Anyone would. But she felt herself blushing deeply all the same, and when Achille released her hand, it didn't take long for Zendra to miss his warmth.

"Did you also try to make it through on your own?" Achille asked, jolting Zendra out of her thoughts.

"Well, yes, but it didn't work out so nicely," Zendra answered, a small smile emerging. "This maze likes to trick people, it seems." Wincing, she hoped that she didn't sound too formal. That was something her mother hated Zendra doing. Trying to regain her smile, she took a leap of faith and added, "Want to try to find our way together?"

299 words. #44505f

Actions: Talking to Achille

Outfit:

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Valentin tried to take control of himself before his sick stomach could. Putting his arm around Amina and introducing her as a very dear friend, the captain reflexively tried to protect her and the group’s amicable dynamic with nonchalance. Although first reassuring himself that the kiss was a good sign of how close they had grown, upon seeing Ginyami’s cranes, Valentin’s resolve collapsed as he began choking down half-formed fragments of realization. Yet, Valentin wasn’t alone in this.

"'Babe' Amina? Really?" tried Romeo with a humorous edge, causing Valentin to half-smile with a sigh. His co-captain was trying to help stabilize the situation as well.

"Oh, what would be better than babe? Honeypuff? Moonpie? Since he is so sweet you just want to eat him up?" Smiling, smirking sweetly, Amina laid her hand on Val’s arm with a pat and turned to beam at him.

Valentin's snowy head turned away as his cheeks pinked at the notion; his state of mind always played clearly over his face, and so he blinked his white eyelashes until the thought fell away. Still, Amina’s physical contact, paired with her kindly quip and gaze, had pulled the seeker out of his pangs of dread for a moment. So it was sincere affection…? considered Valentin, his hopeful eyes glinting as the last remnant of setting sun darkened. However problematic, the idea came with a strange slaking relief – but all too briefly.

"And duh, I’ll join you, but - Wait a minute. Are you jealous?” asked Amina of Romeo, eyes widening as Valentin’s twitched at one corner. "You are, aren’t you? You have a crush on me! Oh. My. God. This explains so much!”

Valentin’s eyes darted to Romeo’s, not wanting to believe the assertion but unable to quash his dire need to understand. Although he watched closely and gave his co-captain a chance to speak for himself, Valya had no intention of leaving Romeo on his own either. If the Italian showed any hint of defensiveness, the captain slid in front of their mischievous chaser.

“Now wouldn’t that be problematic.”

Valentin always watched his team mates closely in order to understand each person down to their subtlest complexities. It was his job as captain, and his whole team knew the two sides of his personality, too. Most of the time, Valentin was so fun-loving and laissez-faire that his butler teased him regularly, even in the middle of Boot Camp exercises. Only last summer, Sergei complained that if Val had kids they’d be more strictly parented if raised by wolves. Yet, the “Frost Captain” had earned his name for not just one reason. Certainly the pale seeker kept cool under pressure most of the time, and there were also times he frigidly drew the line. When it was important, his diamond-sharp eyes could send shivers.

“There are so many delightful games in the world, what need is there to toy with another’s heart?” As he squeezed Amina’s shoulder with an affectionate smile, Valentin ran the side of his scarred right hand's index finger down her cheek. “I bet this maze has all kinds of fun in store for us. How about it?” Romeo also contributed the suggestion to get into the ball’s action, whose cheer was echoed by Slava.

"Yeah, come on. Let's see if we can't find something interesting in this maze they so kindly grew for us to conquer! Veni vidi vici! Latin: I came, I saw, I conquered!"

The party indeed moved on into the mouth of the labyrinth, and Slava pulled Amina off to the side in the process. Meanwhile, Romeo approached Valentin’s side and extended his lantern while the seeker waved to Maila in invitation for her to walk alongside them. Val wasn’t about to leave the violinist on her own, and once his eyes caught sight of Ginyami again, Val jerked his head towards the maze to welcome him to accompany. If Maila came up alongside, Valentin offered his arm in politeness as well as to play a mind game against himself. After all, to walk side-by-side alone with Romeo at the front of the group was sure to absorb the seeker’s attention utterly to the exclusion of everything and everyone else. Valentin knew his own tendency to hyperfixate on favorite interests…

"A torch for the keen eyes? I hope you won't let me trip, I'm not accustomed to night vision." For however much of a joke Romeo intended, Valentin’s nod sent back only the most genuine smile.

“Count on me.”

The awkwardness Romeo felt only added a softness to his words for Valentin, who at last forgot his earlier troubles within the warmth of his co-captain’s camaraderie. Valya loved to have a job, an action to do, so the prospect of being useful to Romeo called to him so sweetly he could only take the suggestion seriously. To simply be asked to assist was one of the captain’s most cherished of gifts to receive, particularly when it came to his co-captain. Still, Valentin blinked with disbelief – he wasn’t used to this. It felt dangerous to allow himself to believe in the change of atmosphere, but Romeo’s ask was far from critical and urgent. After a sigh to dismiss his intuitions, the tranquility of Val’s reverie was all too brief, as the captain was still listening and observing. He always was. It was his job.

“That was… an interesting entrance you made,” said Slava to Amina from behind the lantern-wielding vanguard. “Although I know something that could improve your outfit.” It was not difficult to deduce from words alone that Slava was offering his iconic glitter. “So what was up with that anyway? Do I get a kiss too?” teased Slava. Valentin’s keen eyes squinted as he silently scanned the ground for tripping hazards.

“The king commands, the peasant obeys. Please, do me the honor, Mylord,” replied Amina, accepting the glitter. “Oh, I just wanted to prank Val a bit. Also - kissing is fun.”

Valentin’s mouth opened but said nothing. So it meant nothing. I’m just a plaything. It wasn’t some obscure cultural practice, nothing about us becoming better friends, and nothing even more loaded. Surely it was the same as with her comments for Romeo. It’s one thing to hurt me, but…

“…And maybe, if you’re lucky. What would you do to get one?” continued Amina. Shaking his head, Valentin couldn’t find what was supposed to be funny about all this.

What if she hurts Slava? I mean, back during the shield game in the stairwell… Is she really flirting with him, or is she going to break my keeper’s heart by pushing things too far? Valentin began chewing his lip, eyebrows furrowing ever tighter as he stared harder into the path ahead.

“Romeva, I don’t know if the traditional wall trick works in enchanted mazes. What if the walls re-orient themselves?” Shifting his broom to his other shoulder, Valentin’s path drifted closer to Romeo’s as they walked, pulling Maila along with him if she had taken his arm and held on. The captain didn’t want to have to spoil the game if he didn’t have to, so he didn’t offer the Arrow to Amina when she remarked about seeing the maze from above. During their flight in, Valentin had specifically looked back at Maila rather than learn the secrets of the maze from on high. Running one hand through his snow white hair and scratching the back of his neck in thought, Valentin wondered if he should just trust that Slava would be fine. Then, dropping his hand when Ginyami’s memory returned with a knife in his gut, Valentin grimaced.

I’m no different from Amina. I’m a hypocrite, no, worse. What have I done?

Valentin’s eyes fluttered over Romeo’s tall silhouette before turning back towards a cluster of hedge flowers – dead ahead – in the same blood-red hue as the sun backing the crane on Ginyami’s outfit.

What an unforgivable fool I’ve been.

Then, with a whisper of wind through the hedge gaps, a rustle of leaves spawned the words: "DON'T HURT ME!" Valentin’s eyes flicked back to Romeo and he raised his hand to stop the party. Turning around, Valentin looked for Ginyami.

“Guys, did you hear that voice?”

It could have been his imagination. The voice might as well have been his suppressed intuition trying to reassert a warning. If Valentin kept up like this, wasn’t he sure to hurt those he cherished most? Sighing, the captain shook his head. Despite the similarities, he knew he’d heard it and was no schizophrenic.

“Maybe someone needs help. Let’s look around.” Drawing closer to Romeo’s lantern light, Valentin began to search for the source of the cry.

Statistics: STA 8 - EVA 15 - STR 3 - WIS 15 - ARC 1 - ACC 15
900/900 HP (Paragon of Health buff declared by Slava Preobrazhensky ally)
Abilities: Keen Eye - Charmer - Evasive Maneuvers - Fearless
Action: Keen-eyed boy searches for the source of the words, “don’t hurt me!”
Free Actions: Slowly realizing why he is plagued with regret
Location: In the hedge maze with his party
Inventory: Silver Arrow, wand
Attire: Şehzade war general outfit including a light cloak, gold ring, amethyst ring on a silver chain tied to his belt, silver hoop earring, Turkish dagger (peace-tied with a sapphire-blue silk ribbon)

Open to interactions.

Post Tracker: 1, 2, 3

@Beatrice Dupont (Maila), @Jack Burnett (Ginyami), @Ruby Cazares (Slava), @Piérre Marchonné (Romeo), @Ileen Knight (Amina)

¤ 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 ¤

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Nec Temere, Nec Timide. Durmstrang Institute's

Romeo Giovanni Marchonné [6'6" | 198lbs]

"English." "Italiano. Italian." "Russian."

| Faint Scar on Left Eye & Mangled Right Ear | \ Fingerless Glove on Right Hand, Bite Scar on Forearm / | Lichtenberg Figure on Right Arm and Down Back |

Valentin Schnell, Ginyami Midorimori, Maila Aurora Laine, Slava Preobrazhensky & Amina Petrovic
@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood, @Jack Burnett,@Beatrice Dupont, @Ruby Cazares & @Ileen Knight

I had raised my brow at every nickname that Amina fired off at my initial rebuff of surprise, slowly crossing my arms and then tipping my head as I leaned my weight to one leg. When she reached her conclusion, I tsk-ed aloud with a small rise to one of the edges of my mouth while shaking my head a touch at the admittedly creative names. I would not be the one to give her the fodder to know that Italian terms of endearment were much more interesting and creative compared to these plain English ones. "I believe a more apt name would be 'sugar', but what do I know about these sorts of things." All the romance in me checked in at my name and struggled to really get much farther than there. Yet I couldn't help but tip my head a bit. "Actually... I quite think..." I couldn't contain my amusement as my eyes crinkled a bit with amusement at the thought. "A tribble. That's what Valentin reminds me of."

It was a joke likely reserved solely for Muggleborns and Half-bloods who were more aware of the ins and outs of Muggle pop culture. I knew of the show simply because I remembered my foster parents watching it whenever I tried to stay up later at night in an attempt to wrangle Piérre back into bed to force him to go to sleep. I remembered one episode in particular in that classic series; The Trouble With Tribbles. Wherein this episode the creature known as the Tribble was introduced; squeaking, rolly-poly balls of multi-colored fur that purred and allegedly 'existed solely to give love'. Their purring did indeed have a therapeutic effect on all they interacted with. Realizing that perhaps this was too obscure to simply say at face value, I nodded quickly and tried to explain. "Ah- oh, Tribbles are sort of like Pygmy Puffs or Puffskiens, but they're just fur and don't really have any externally discernable facial features... they're just fur... and... uh... I'll stop trying to explain."

Yet again, however, dearest fire-haired Amina proceeded to surprise me again with her words and her deeds when she made the leap that I was jealous because I... had a crush on her? Well, there were a few logical fallacies with this train of thought, but it was one that I was at least good-natured enough to manage and explain away if I had to. "Don't be ridiculous." I shook
my head again, tapping the handle of the lantern as I averted my eyes skywards a ways. "Amina, you know as well as I that our relationship with one another doesn't really go much farther than the Quidditch Pitch. If anything, I think I make you jealous due to being such an irresistible young bachelor." Well, sarcasm was simply dripping from me by this point; two could play at any game, and I did like myself a game of one-up. You want to start something, consider it a challenge when it came to me. Of course I meant none of it, shame on me for presuming myself anything more than I was. The best that Amina would get out of me was a tight grin and a roll of the eyes. I stood by what I said; our relationship began and ended at the Quidditch Pitch were I was the co-captain coaching her, the player.

Ah Valentin, always a good voice of emotional reason. Now was no exception for be to remember my gratefulness towards his ability to diffuse a situation. I nodded in concurrence with him. "Agreed. When we have a puzzle in front of us, why get distracted by the muddled world of love for the time being." So saying as we departed. "Such things have a time and place, and this isn't the time or place."

So now I was walking with Valentin, holding the lantern on the pole a good distance in front of him so that it illuminated everything in its radius as much as possible. Valentin's keen eyes were exceptional insofar as using light to discover even the smallest shard of reflective surface; case and point, the Snitch. Thankfully Amina had fallen back with Slava, which did leave ample opportunity to make sure that Valentin was truly alright after appearing to have been so shaken up by such a small action. "Amina and her antics, hm?" I murmured quietly to him, glancing down at him for a moment before returning my gaze to the ground so that I didn't trip over an errant thorned vine. "Are you alright? I know some people don't much like having their personal space invaded..." I suppose I spoke from experience in that regard. Though I often most willingly and obviously outwardly expressed my distaste for having people get up in my grill, I knew that others struggled to emphasize their unwillingness to be touched or otherwise be physically interacted with without their explicit permissions. "If you didn't like it, let me know. I'll pull her aside and talk to her; as a co-captain and as your confidant. It's the least I can do, to be honest."

Panning the lantern so that I could determine that the shadows were just shadows and nothing else, I tried to discern the weaving and the waving patterns of the blowing leaves and the twisting vines wrought with thorns. How nasty would it be to get stuck in such brambles, having them dig in and trap anyone foolish enough to try and cut through the hedges directly. Not even I trusted my ability to use sheer strength alone to cut a path. I really think that if I did try I would be trapped fast like a sparrow in a snare. Valentin finally mentioned what I was starting to piece together myself. "Yeah... I was starting to think of that, myself..." I mused quietly and mostly to myself. A small consideration as I swallowed lightly and tried to rationalize my colliding thoughts, intuits, and instincts. "But I don't suppose we could try it, just in case? Maybe it could work... we would never know until we~"

"Guys, did you hear that voice?”

I cut myself off as Valentin spoke up, dispersing my ideas where they were and forcing me to fall quiet and I attempted to listen for myself any disturbance in the environment. Sure enough, despite being carried over what was likely an audio interference due solely to a mixture of distance and the foliage between ourselves and the voice... there was certainly a voice to be heard. "DON'T HURT ME!"

My brows immediately creased, swinging the lantern about again as I tried to search for the source. Valentin seemed to have the same idea, though I was more covering his back as opposed to helping him search in one direction alone. He probably had a better chance at spotting for the source; I had a better chance of defending him if the thing that had made such a sound had a malevolent origin. I was not taking chances, particularly concerning what I had experienced prior in similar dark and shadowy circumstance. "Valentin." My voice had lowered into a commanding tone. "Do not leave my side." I hissed to him in particular. "We don't know what its origins are, and I don't much feel like trying to deal with another doll creature again if I have to; especially if it thinks you're a favorable target over me." My hand trailed lightly to the peacetied longsword's binding knot, my fingers hovering over the tie in preparation to lose the attachment so that I could could bludgeon anything that dared to come close. I was ready to drop the lantern to do so.

I was ready and willing to take a hit, particularly with the help of the stonelike Roman scutum I had on my arm. By this point, I was more than used to it and was ready to take a blow for Valentin if it meant that I could spare him some pain for once.

Action: Covering Valentin's Back as Valentin Searches for the Source | "Bodyblock" Action

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Stats:

Ω Stamina 9 | Evasion 8 | Strength 15 Ω
Ω Accuracy 15 | Wisdom 9 | ArcPower 0 Ω

Abilities:

Ω Obnoxiously Strong | Perfectionist I | Martial Artist | Healing Sage I Ω

Inventory:

Ω Holstered [Redacted] Wand | Medicine Notebook | Enchanted Lantern Ω
Ω Peacetied Italian Longsword | Duro'd Roman Scutum Ω