Into the Demeter Woods

The alraune wasn't going to stand aside without giving them a fight, letting out a sigh Dixi took her battle stance and started to gather her Ki. Red sparks crackled around her, not much different from how it happened with Ryofu when she launched her attack. Energy started to surge within her when she opened her eyes that, for a brief moment, seemed to change colors. "I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

(Spirit Charge)

"I know, I know!" Ryofu's blazing fast form did what it had wanted, and then made its way backwards, putting a little distance between her and the plant woman, planning her next move. She'd gotten her hit off, but it didn't seem to have the affect she waa hoping for. Did she block it? Or was she moving too fast for it to take affect?

"But that doesn't mean I'm not pissed off!" Most of their attacks had been ineffective. Both the elf man and the big metal man's strikes had been clear misses, and the former was paying for it. They were losing momentum, and it looked like she'd have to grab it back for them, or at least try to.

Her stance had not changed the entire time, readying her next move as fast as her brain could process it. She bolted back and forth, hoping to take her attention off of the two she had grabbed her attention off of. During the process, she was able to lightly slap the man on the back of the head with a "hey, snap out of it!", noticing the look on his face, before she was able to launch herself, bottom legs first, directly at the plant woman's body.

(Lightning Grip)

"Tch!"
They had overstepped. His aim had been off. And now the white haired male was...suffering? for it. He was unsure if folks would call that suffering, but it meant little to him. Lifting the Bolter once more, he adjusted his aim, and began firing once more.

(Bolter.)

This time, Barchiel's humongous firearm managed to land a shot on the alraune, making her cry out in brief, but stinging, burning pain. "H-Hey, that's not very nice of you!" She readied herself to make her next move, but thanks to the sharp sensation of being shot, the alraune was distracted long enough for Ryofu to leap in and put her legs around the Midara's neck for a chokehold, sending more chi out to hurt her. "Gah, quit it!"

While their foe was trapped, Dixi took time to establish a nice flow of Ki for herself, preparing herself to go deeper into this battle. Sadly Ferro wouldn't get as much prep time as Dixi, for as he attempted to deal a swift blow to the lady of flora, the alraune managed to break free of Ryofu's hold and barely avoid the elf's attack. "Damn--!" was all he managed to get out before the opponent's arms turned into ivy that wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides and slowly pulling him closer to her.

Palm Strike - 43
Bolter - 76
Lightning Grip - 30
Spirit Charge - Auto

Vine Grip - 78

Ferro: 18 + Charm + Bind
Dixi: 19 + Spirit Charge (Ki: 0)
Barchiel: 20
Ryofu: 20

P.Alra: 9

She was quickly thrown off before she could secure a tight grip, but Ryofu wasn't focusing on that. She wasn't even focusing much on the other people fighting with her, even if she was making sure she was always aware of where they all were. Her body and movements were that of a well oiled, focused machine, and her mind was a steel trap locked into the one target she had right at this moment.

In a single swift motion, her body corrected itself on the floor, swirling back around with ki radiating from her fist, not even stopping as it swung itself around, launching a crackling concentrated orb of pure ki from her hand directly at the plant woman. The sphere seemed to almost scream through the air, aiming directly for its target at high speed.

(Heaven and Earth: White Wolf Strike)

"Note to myself, keep an eye on the big guy, that thing he's using seems to be pretty dangerous..." She whispered after seeing Barchiel's attack connect.

With her Ki starting to flow through her body, Dixi was ready to fight. "You better snap out of it, elfie!" Once back into her stance, Dixi looked at Ryofu charging at the alraune. "I like her spirit." She muttered to herself and then, following Ryofu's lead, Dixi dashed towards the plant woman with her fist covered in fiery Ki, almost resembling a flame.

(Blazing Meteor)

Hrmm....He seemed to have dome some kind of damage to her. Not enough though, as she was still moving, and trying to draw their 'leader' towards her. As the others launched their attacks, Barchiel took aim once again. Adjusting his aim ever so much to aim for non-lethal areas..Would still hurt like a bitch though.

With that, a hail of bolter fire erupted once more, until that familiar "click!" of an empty mag could be heard.

(Bolter.)

Misfortune seemed to strike almost everyone this time around, as even though Barchiel's aim had improved enough to put another bullet in the alraune, she pulled Ferro closer and managed to drag the elf into her pitcher, slowly eating away at his clothes and filling his body with a strange kind of pleasure. "Aw, there we go, now you can relax and leave everything to me~!" He wanted to escape, but he just couldn't snap the vines before he'd been pulled in.

Ryofu and Dixi moved in on opposite flanks to land attacks of their own, however Ryofu's powerful ki strike only blew right by the plant woman. Dixi's series of blows were avoided completely, the alraune taking advantage of her uneasy stance on the second attack to trip her. It was a rather embarrassing move on most of the team's part.

Struggle - 97
Blazing Meteor - 87
Bolter - Auto
Heaven and Earth: White Wolf Strike - 43

Nectar Bath - 88 (Crit)

Ferro: 15 + Stunned + Bound
Dixi: 19 + Spirit Charge (2) (Ki: 3)
Barchiel: 20
Ryofu: 20 (NoXLimit: 1)

P.Alra: 7

The burst of ki that Ryofu had sent out whizzed right by her head, mere centimeters off, screaming by her and colliding with a tree behind her. Had she been distracted? Was she getting sloppy? All she knew was that it made her blood boil, even more than Dixi getting tripped up or Ferro still struggling to get a hold on things. The big guy didn't seem to be having any major problems at least, but this had to end, now.

Not missing a beat, her body crouched on the ground before exploding forward like a spring, bobbing and weaving so fast it was hard to keep track of her, and not taking any shortcuts as she rushed her way to the plant woman, readying her fist towards the woman's abdomen for a viscous close range strike.

(Close Pulse)

Annoyed by being tripped by the alraune, Dixi waste no time on getting back on her feet. This was starting to take too long, they needed to settle this quick and start moving, the longer the took, the more traps the midara could lay for them.

Wasting no time, Dixi focused her Ki around her and charged at the alraune once again, to someone with a less trained eye, it would look like a fiery blaze was heading towards the plant woman.

(Fiery Rush - Use 2 Ki to avoid drawback)

His shots rang true, but the alraune was dragging the white haired male into her pitcher...which seemed to be eating his clothes? This heretic had acid! Tossing his bolter to the side, Barchiel clenched his right hand, an ever growing whine emanating from it, electricity beginning to spark.

"You're insisting...ON A FISTING!"

With a roar, Barchiel charged forward, swinging his fist forward, the energy gathered preparing to unleash upon one point. The Alraune's unsuspecting face.

(Power Fist)

Dixi's mad charge, cloaked in her ki, made a direct hit onto the poor plant woman, making her cry out in pain, which was then followed up closely by Ryofu's powerful fist knocking the girl out cold, leaving her to drop onto the ground and Ferro to spill out of her pitcher, still recovering from his stun. Luckily, the Midara was spared Barchiel's fist thanks to her collapse, the Space Marine's assault missing completely.

Once Ferro had shaken off his dizziness, he looked up at the others, embarrassed of his incompetence during this first encounter. "Sorry about that, I guess I wasn't much help this time."

Stunned
Fiery Rush - 42
Power Fist - 75
Close Pulse - 88 Crit

Ferro: 15
Dixi: 19 + Spirit Charge (1) Ki: 0
Barchiel: 20 + Power Fist on Recharge
Ryofu: 20 (NoXLimit: 2)

It took Ryofu a short moment to move again, her fist having collided with plant woman's abdomen and delivering the final blow that knocked her out cold. She had put quite a lot of force in that hit, and it was enough to get her to shake her hand after she pulled herself up, working out the kink in it.

"Not bad for a first fight. Got your blood pumping, didn't it?"

She was riled up, and excited. It was hard not to focus on it, the sound of her heart beating. She always got like this when she was really into a fight. It reminded her of how things used to be...something about that bothered her.

She looked Ferro up and down for a moment. She was holding back a comment that he had been kinda useless, feeling it wasn't the right time for it. Plus, it would have been super rude. "Well, you've got time to make up for it later. If this forest is any indication, plenty of time." She turned on her heel, patting the big guy on his shoulder for a job well done as she went by and turned her direction towards Dixi.

"Hey, I saw that. You alright? Looked like you hurt yourself a little." Little telltale signs from the other woman caught her attention during that last moment. Gritted teeth, a focused expression...they didn't go under her notice.

After finally knocking out the alraune, Dixi dusted her clothes and stretched a bit. "I'm okay, I'm used to that happening." She turned around and looked at the rest of the team. "You might need to step up your game buddy."

Then her gaze focused on Ryofu. "Not bad for someone who was 'nervous' to go alone. Pretty impressive."

The energy dissipated as the punch missed. With a grunt, Barchiel walked over and grabbed his Bolter, ejecting the clip and placing in a new one. "I do hope that was a mistake, and you aren't here to sleep with the Midara."

As Barchiel slotted a new magazine into place, he began to walk. He wasn't one for conversation. "All of you, be on your guard."

She shot the woman a wry grin. Seems her cover was blown, at least. She didn't expect it to last all that long, anyway, but it was clear this Dixi was doing something similar, too. She recognized the feel and look of ki anywhere, after all.

"You're not so bad yourself, hot stuff. Just don't go hurting yourself too much, alright? Save that energy for the midara." Her attention turned back to the hulking behemoth of a man, who was already stomping his way further into the forest. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Now wait up, already! You've got a group with you, you know!" She hurried over to his side, slowing his pace next to him with her arms behind her head. Gruff as he was, his performance in that fight was pretty high. Last thing they'd need would be to have him trip something they weren't ready for.

"The fruits of training since I was a child." She didn't really pay attention to her flirt attempt. "And don't worry about me, I have plenty of energy left." She followed the woman until they both reached the big metal man. "Don't fall behind, unless you want to get toyed with by another midara by yourself." She said to the elf.

"Apologies. Working with civilians is not something I am accustomed to." Barchiel said this, yet continued walking. His movement was slightly slower now, however. He was taking their words to heart. All the while, his gaze shifted. Left...right...Up...Down. Taking in any and all sights and sounds. He needed to keep his head on a swivel. He'd be the bulwark between the foul Midara and his allies.

"Well, I'd recommend you get adjusted to it," Ferro sighed as they headed further into the forest. "We're going to be in here for a while by the looks of things." He didn't respond the comments regarding his performance, nor Barchiel implications that he was only here to bang the Midara. He knew that first fight was a total unfortunate flop for him and he'd need to do better.

Thankfully, another opportunity would come knocking the sound of a feminine voice's melodic humming broke through the conversations. What appeared to be a gorgeous brunette appeared from behind a tree, gazing hungrily at each member of the group. "Oh, so you four are the ones making all this commotion?" She emerged from behind the tree, revealing that her lower half extended beyond that of a normal human, transitioning to a length snake tail.

Ferro: 15
Dixi: 19 (Ki: 1)
Barchiel: 20 + Power Fist on Recharge
Ryofu: 20 (NoXLimit: 2)

Naga: 15

At the voice of a new Midara, Barchiel quickly moved to stand between the group and her. If she wanted them, she'd need to get through him first. And something told him diplomacy wouldn't work.

"Don't worry about it, big guy. I'm not really used to a group, either, so I don't really blame you." Ryofu could definitely see his agitation, but also his attentiveness. He was scanning the area as he went, watching, very intently. Listening. He moved like he had seen many, many things before. She couldn't begin to guess his history, but at the very least, he was looking out for them, on some level.

And that was more apparent when he placed himself in front of them, shielding them from the new midara that popped up. A snake tail...she let out a visible shiver. Plants were one thing, but something about lizards freaked her out, just a little.

She turned her head to Dixi and Ferro, her uncomfortableness probably apparent on her face. "So...we gonna try to talk this one out? Or..."

Dixi let out a sigh. "I'd rather try to talk things but... Considering our last encounter I don't think its going to be possible... Hey you okay?" She noticed Ryofu's discomfort.

(Pressure Sign)

"I'm fine! F-Fine! Don't worry about me!" She tried to shake off her apprehension, physically, but anyone looking at her would know it didn't really help all that much.

"Don't think about that. This thing isn't that thing. Don't let it get to you."

Despite her bad experiences with snakes, she tried to get her mind to relax. Her heart was still pumping in her ear from the last encounter, too. She needed to calm down. Luna warned her about that, and she knew it herself, too. Ryofu put her hands together, closed her eyes, and focused on her breathing, hoping to calm down both her body and mind for what was in front of her.

(Deep Breathing)

Sadly, it didn't seem as though her breathing techniques were working for her right now as the naga approached the group. Ferro readied his staff, unwilling to be a damsel in distress this time. Leaping forward with a good amount of distance, he swung his staff and thwacked the snake lady in the head, making it spin.

After the naga recovered, she noticed one of the cute girls getting into a defensive stance, however before Dixi could finish, the snake slithered in faster than expected, grabbing her face and looking her right in the eyes. Hers, in fact, became flooded with rings of many colors, mesmerizing Dixi almost immediately. "None of that, pretty girl~ Why don't you have some fun with your friends a little. Perhapssss that boy with the stick, he looks like he enjoyed smacking me in the head, right? Go on, use something flashy."

Helm Splitter - 80
Pressure Sign - 46
Deep Breathing - 35

Hypnotic Gaze - 92, Crit (After Dixi becomes Unstunned, she'll hit Ferro with Fiery Rush)

Ferro: 15
Dixi: 19 + Entranced (Ki: 1)
Barchiel: 20
Ryofu: 20 (NoXLimit: 2)

Naga: 12

Dixi let her guard down for just a second... And that was enough to screw up. She found herself mesmerized by the naga's eyes, froze in place and unable to do anything.