Southern Wolves
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A lack of empathy could be a curse, as well as a blessing. Natalie sometimes came across as a monster, especially when she would refuse healing certain people in need without compensation. But she had seen healers that were truly all-caring. They were beloved by all. They could easily get broken by seeing those they care for die. Granted, she was not completely uncaring. Sometimes, even she felt a compulsion to help. Yet, she did not this time around, when she noticed someone making a mistake like that. The important part was that, whoever this man might have been, he had chosen his fate.
Yeah, yeah, some people claimed that they were ‘forced’ into one profession or the other out of money woes or whatever. But Nat did not buy that. That was a strong enough man. He could have found other ways to spend his life. Probably, he had picked this one because he, himself, had no problems killing those with less strength than himself. Now, the same had happened to him.
It didn’t touch her at all, aside from possible ramifications for herself. Chief among them was the otherworldly being that so clearly was nearby. Despite the knowledge of reinforcements, that sense of danger got shivers sent down her spine.
Having stopped by now, Natalie took a deep breath. It was obvious that she wasn’t just a bystander. Not with many hunters like that about. But it was the fool that only saw two possible explanation. It might have been foolish on her side too, but she rather quickly came up with another that could work. She knew the caring, selfless healers. And she had spent a lot of time being able to pass as one.
Instead of attacking the assailant, she would instead speak up. “You are the one hunting here, aren’t you? It’s…regrettable that you have to fight and such just to survive. A terrible fate. I seek you out to learn what it is that you truly need. Do you need to hunt? Do you need to kill? If you don’t need to, I wish to help you.” Slowly, without any hectic movements, Natalie would give out the ultimate bait and tug on her scarf, exposing some neck there. “I am a healer. I can patch myself up. No one has to die tonight.”
Cheshire Copeland
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Southern Wolves
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So, he had been hoisted by his own petard, eh? The man here could have certainly learned a lot more, if he had treated women better in the past. Certainly, sounded like he’d been quite the jerk. Well, at least if that could be believed. Natalie still would not rule out a psychosis. Guilds were collections of broken things, really. Those well-adjusted, normal people? They worked normal jobs and the like. Maybe there was something about magic that just inherently screwed up. It wasn’t the first time that she’d thought about that.
Still, she thought that she had a right to judge. Not because she wasn’t a jerk, but because she was one that still somehow felt a smug sense of superiority with regards to the one that had come close again. “My, you have grown quite flowery in your speech indeed.” A short chuckle followed, though she really did not need to indicate the half of a joke. She would grow semi-serious quickly, however. “It is fascinating, though, how you talk about this. There is an undercurrent of separation in your words. Those women did not serve that purpose alone. It was simply the extent you cared about them. I don’t think you will be able to understand others regardless of gender with that kind of attitude.” This time, she would give him a sharp, boring gaze, pretty close to a glare. People like that only learned if one drove the point home proper.
Morgan Laroux
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Southern Wolves
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And thus, she was alone. Well, at least she looked that way. It had been her idea, true, but that didn’t mean she would not be slightly irked by that. Of the two of them, logic dictated that she was by far the better bait. Between not having the ability to hide, nor a grand fighting capability, she would have been a poor choice for backup. Yet, being reduced to ‘bait’ still felt a little off.
Nothing she could do about that. Literally shrugging, she would wave the other off with a brief goodbye of sorts, even though she was still around. For all means and purposes, this was apparently a kind of goodbye. Then, she put her hands back into her pockets and looked about. The streets were thinning out, but it would probably look suspicious if she just stood around here, waiting. That was good to invite in people that wanted to hit on her, but if there really was a vampire, he wouldn’t strike in a wide, open space like this.
Even if no one was around, there were a lot of windows facing this way. There was at least a chance of being spotted. Best to get into more secluded areas. Breathing heavily, forming small clouds in front of her mouth, Natalie started to walk towards the outskirts of time, as if intent on leaving it altogether. That should probably work to get the other’s attention. Unless there was somehow an easier target drudging along nearby. She didn’t see any, but one could never know. They had committed to this strategy now, so she had to stick to it.
Cheshire Copeland
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Southern Wolves
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Yeah. Fine. Definitely. Natalie rolled her eyes at that notion. Just like a pig marinating on a fireplace would probably be lying when it said it was fine, so was this woman. Just the way she jumped from a nearby lightning strike was enough to prove that. It was not very close, either. Fortunately, this was probably just something psychometric or so, not an actual ailment that could or should be treated. Well, maybe she could have done something in the former case, but since it was something she couldn’t much help with, she also had no obligation to do so.
“Suuure,” she replied, looking about. This place seemed livable, yet no one had come to greet or shoo them away yet. That was odd. They probably would have to either lie low or investigate. Or they could just leave, probably. Yet, it was less stormy in here, so she would have preferred to stay for just a little longer.
Then again, to justify that, she might have to do something here. Nat sighed, deeply, before thinking about a prudent course of action. Magic was kind of pointless in this regard. Technically, she could just cause that girl pain to snap her out of it, but that kind of ‘distraction’ probably wouldn’t work.
Well, in that case, only the mundane means remained, didn’t they?
Deciding, on a whim, to take matters into her own hands, Natalie squatted down in front of the other, who was trying to somehow disappear into herself. Then, she would reach out, attempting to embrace the sitting girl gently as well as she could. Maybe a soothing presence alone would be sufficient in resolving this issue? Nat didn’t know. But that was usually helpful in one way or another.
“Shhhh…you are safe in here,” she lied. Well, she did think that they were safe here. But she had no real way to prove that at all.
Haruhi Kyouri
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Heh. She had caught the unflappable assassin off guard, hadn’t she? Nat could tell from the brief surprise following her question what kind of effect it had had. Naturally, it went verbally unacknowledged. But Natalie had been through similar instances before. She could tell. Or she at least believed she could. Which was pretty much just as important, as far as she was concerned. After all, that was all that would matter in the end, given that they were unlikely to meet in the future. They were not guild mates, after all. That did tend to make regular meetings pretty hard these days, all things considered.
“I guess it is better to have that heal naturally, then. As you can see with this man, my brand of healing is…and acquired taste, so to speak.” Natalie chuckled at that. But it was still true nonetheless. Most people did not enjoy her healing, so she tended to minimize the usage of it. The hunter had passed out from the pain, after all. Best if she didn’t have to carry two people back up there. Not when the other was much better at carrying people to begin with.
Instead, she dusted herself up briefly, while standing upright again. The rain did not look like it would actually let up anytime soon, but fifteen minutes were truly inconsequential to begin with. “It did not look like it made a proper home for many of its kind, yes. The people of the town will want to know about it, I think. According to the village chief, they did not have any monsters coming into the Vale for years, maybe decades. But maybe this heavy rain season has changed things.” She fell silent, briefly, pondering if these things might be connected more than they at first appeared.
Kasumi Ito
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“Well, maybe it can?” Honestly, she still was not sure about it all. Undead were surprisingly hard to come by these days. She had encountered some, while grouped with other mages, but those usually had made sure that these things were made properly dead soon enough. Getting close enough for any kind of field testing in that regard was usually a tough thing. It would be in this case as well.
That was especially true after being given the testimony that their opponent was very strong. Hence, she briefly furrowed her brows. “The issue would be to get to use this. Most of my healing is done, if you want to put it simply, by laying on hands and stimulating the body into regeneration. If you can follow that.” Non-healers often had problems really understanding nuances like that. She would never fault anyone for such, truly. But the most important part was the other thing, anyway. “The bigger issue is that I can only do that when I can touch them, and I need prolonged contact. It might still work. But I think if we can get to that, we can probably just do any number of things we know to be effective instead, right?”
Cheshire Copeland
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As a healer, trust was one of the most precious commodities that Natalie could deal with. Other members of her ‘parties’, sometimes just a single person, trusted her to keep them safe, to not desert them in their hour of need. By the same token, she had to trust them for their protection. That was of importance in situations like this one. The healer was fairly occupied by keeping the hunter pacified and healing him before he could expire. In that situation, she was incredibly easy prey for any foe seeking to do her harm. If that hobgoblin had won or even just been disengaged, she’d been done for.
Therefore, going in here quickly like this, instead of just waiting outside until the threat was taken care of, that said a lot about their current dynamic. It might have been a bit unwarranted, given that she still barely knew the woman. Yet they had spent enough time together, including the climb downwards, that she felt like it would work out.
Fortunately, it did. Trust only carried so far, after all. The girl with the purple hair could have believed in herself completely, yet still failed. That had not come to pass. The sword that appeared belonged to Natalie’s partner, letting her sigh softly in relief, as she gave the other a quick glance-over.
“Were you injured in the fight?” Naturally, that was the first question asked. It was her job. Having done what she could for the one they had come to save, she could offer some mana to her partner as well. Though the latter was still quite focused on the task at hand. “Traditional wisdom would be to at least wait until he is conscious again, to find out if there are any issues remaining that might not have been visible immediately. I’m fairly confident that he would survive a quicker evacuation, though. What do you think? We would have to keep him from the rain and cold if possible, but could there be more of those things out there?”
Kasumi Ito
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Funny? It was rare that people commented on her way of talking. At first, surprise was clearly visible on her face. Yet, when that woman started talking herself, it quickly became apparent just why that was. This girl had a funny way to talk herself, laden with expletives and contraction. It was quite unlike how her family usually talked, but there were some similarities to certain guild mates. A bit distracting it was, yes. But not something she couldn’t deal with. Just keep on smiling and listen closely, to not get tripped over by some odd choice of words.
Fortunately, the plan offered here was fairly simple. That girl sure liked to get everything out of the way before even properly introducing herself. But that was fine. She could just go with that as well. Names of guilds sometimes only complicated things. “No, that is likely the prudent choice to begin with. Our foe will seek a victim anyway, so forcing it into a controlled environment would be safer. The question is, however: where will we get one?” It was not necessarily a wasteful endeavour, but convincing someone to join them for this would be hard. They’d have to trick someone, most likely, unless they wanted to alert whatever authorities there were here by forcing someone. Plus, they needed to create a trap that wouldn’t be easily noticed to begin with. If their enemy could just be overcome in a head-on collision, then they were likely of the crafty kind.
Cheshire Copeland
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A hunter. Now that wasn’t good. To Natalie, that immediately translated to this being a predator to be wary of. She gripped her staff tightly, would soon enough hear the noises as well. Alert and apprehensive, she rushed there following her partner closely. Given how she’d been carried down earlier, it was clear that the other was not going at full speed. The healer knew better than to waste time feeling bad about slowing them down, and instead focused on keeping up as well as she could.
Soon after, they arrived. She likewise stole a look at the scene unfolding and, though less experience, quickly gathered what was going on there. The other swiftly formulated a plan, prompting her to nod. It was easy enough. Kasumi swiftly took to provoking the enemy in an effort to garner its attention. Her earlier explanations had made it sound as if that thing had limited intelligence. The barbaric attire supported that as well. This meant that it probably did not understand the plan that was so openly shared, meaning there would be an opening soon.
The issue with caves was that they usually only had one entrance, after all. That thing was already inside, standing between them and the hunter. While it would probably be possible to dash past it, Nat didn’t think Kas would risk that. Instead, she pressed herself against the cave’s mouth on the outside, trying to be as small as possible to not appear in the thing’s peripheral vision. Also a bit dangerous, but it seemed the better option for now.
The assassin would probably pick up on that quickly. Nat decided not to reply verbally to not give away that there were two of them. Instead, she hoped that Kas would draw the Hobgoblin out of the cave towards the other side, allowing her to sneak in past it and make haste towards the hunter. Then, she could take care of him properly.
That would be exactly what she would do, once the foe had left. Trusting her partner to know what she was doing, Nat would dive in as soon as she deemed it safe, put one hand on the guy’s mouth and the other on his wound. One, to heal him. One, to keep him from screaming in pain.
Kasumi Ito
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Ah. Cheshire. What a fitting name for someone with kitten ears. Nat wasn’t judging, of course. Not openly, at least. But in her mind, she was very much snickering at that choice of name. In the end, she only pretended to be a likable person. For the most part, she really was not. So, she shook the hand offered in a gentle, very subdued manner, not letting her smile falter for even a second, despite her interior amusement at that name. She was not always a professional healer, but she did take a whole lot of care in regard to keeping appearances.
“I am Natalie, often also called Nat. Yes, I am here for the job of taking care of the issues of nocturnal persuasion plaguing this place,” she replied, her slightly melodious voice reinforcing her slightly haughty choices of words.
She did not keep up that act for long, though. What had the ghost girl called her? A snob? Yeah, that was it. Probably not the best first impression to give others. Instead, she focused on the sharing of intelligence instigated by the intrepid partner. Apparently, she was an expert in all things stealthy and shadowy, probably to be the polar opposite to the luminary healer. “Hmm, if you want to sneak about, that would mean I have to play the bait or something, doesn’t it? Risky, since I am a healer. But I am used to that kind of mission-fare.” Natalie would shrug, recalling the other times where she’d had to take on that kind of duty. That just came with the territory of being a healer. In two-man groups, she often had to take on other roles as well.
Cheshire Copeland
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Southern Wolves
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Despite what she herself wanted, Natalie did have some of the instincts of a healer. Why? She couldn’t tell. Before starting to use her magic, she’d never had any desire to help others. Even today, it was not really a desire, but more the seeking of opportunities. That was as far as her conscious self was concerned. Yet, there were these brief moments, when she heard someone cry in pain or fear, that her mind just snapped in that direction. In truth, she could not explain that with greed. That only came afterwards, when she was taking a closer look to try and find out whether helping would prove lucrative. But that first impulse truly was an impulse, involuntary, sudden and unpredictable. She’d tried to get rid of it, but to no avail.
That was why it was in action once more today. Walking in the same area, she too had considered finding shelter when she heard someone calling out in distress. Blinking, she quickly turned her head in said direction and saw a young woman sprinting right into a nearby building. It struck her as odd, actually. Winds were getting not just intense but also loud. That girl also seemed too far away to hear, especially this clearly. Yet, the duress in which the oddly clothed woman was seemed obvious still. Why she didn’t come towards Nat and instead sought shelter, the latter wouldn’t know. But this felt too odd to ignore. Interest piqued, the young healer would best the storm a bit more and close in on the house.
Said house didn’t look like anything special. Neither dangerous nor inviting, all she could call it was ordinary. Still, the storm was getting worse, so she hurried that way anyway. If nothing else, concern for the girl would make for a good enough reason to go in there as well. Before doing that, however, the healer in the yellow raincoat would listen on the door, hearing….absolutely nothing. That was odd as well. Usually, there was always something to hear in a house with life in it. Here was nothing, though.
It was not only odd, of course, but it also meant that doing this was pointless. If she wanted to investigate, she had to take a look inside.
Cautiously, she opened the rain-coated door and spied inside. Why not? It was not locked, after all, so if nothing else, the people of this place had no one else to blame. Said people were not in sight, however. Instead, she would swiftly be able to make out the cowering girl next to a wall. Clearly shaken, this person was in outright distress. That prompted her to rush in as well, allowing the door to fall into lock behind her.
Natalie would slow down as she got closer though, in order to be a bit more soothing, gentle, calming. “Hey, you. Are you okay?” It was a dumb question, of course. Yet, it was also the positive way to get another to explain her current state of being.
Haruhi Kyouri
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While others might have been transitional, Natalie tended to stay the same. Stagnation would be the wrong word for it. The healer was simply content living her life her own way, not changing much but knowing exactly who she was in return. There was progress now and then. Becoming better as a mage and contractor was one aspect of that, but she also had her little pet projects with the people she had met so far. It was all nice, going fine. She was not looking for big change.
Instead, she looked for big money. In absentia of that, she settled for good money. Vampires were not her speciality, but they couldn’t be that much of an issue. Any creature with such clearly defined weaknesses would not be too hard to destroy. Who knew? Maybe her very own healing could aid in that as well. Some people did say that healing the undead wounded them. It was something that she had wanted to put to the test for a while now.
Natalie adjusted her scarf, looking about. Naturally, there would be a partner. With her, there always was one. While not completely helpless on her own, she appreciated having someone at her side to make up for her defensive and offensive shortcomings. As per usual thus, she had come early, clad in a white, somewhat fuzzy coat to keep herself warm. The weather was not to her liking, but she soldiered through without a cap as well. That would only get lost anyway. Oftentimes, the mage took the pragmatic route with her clothes, so this was for the best.
Looking about, she did notice someone else in the vicinity, who seemed to look for someone as well. Good chance that this was her supposed partner, so she’d give the girl a smile from afar, seeing how she would react to that.
Cheshire Copeland
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Likewise, Natalie would remain silent. Travels between cities were for chatting and other means to stave off boredom. While this area was supposed to be secure, it was still better to be both quiet and alert. There could be something wrong that had caused this issue to begin with. Just because they did not run into anything along the way did not make this less true.
Nevertheless, Nat was relieved that they did not have a fight here. The muddy ground was not great for combat, much too slippery in parts and filled with roots and the like. The first time they found something suspicious occurred near the cave itself. That was a but more favourable. It had worse implications, however, as her partner deduced the most likely culprit.
Nat had not heard of hobgoblins yet. But the name did not inspire confidence in the fate of their target of rescue. “Hmm….I don’t know much about them. Sounds bad, though. Do you know any specifics about these things? I am not so sure if that is a good sign for the guy we are looking for,” she replied. Admittedly, that offered little of substance or help in the current situation. But she did not have much to contribute, really. Aside from asking questions, that was. “Do you think it might have attacked him? That would explain why he has not returned on his own, but could also mean that he might no longer be alive.”
Was it odd that her thoughts so quickly moved towards dark places? It probably wasn’t good, but she did prefer to be wrong about things being worse than about things being well, if nothing else.
Kasumi Ito
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Southern Wolves
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Thread Request
Oct 16, 2019 16:00:48 GMT
edited on Oct 16, 2019 16:01:08 GMT by Natalie Chevalier
I am not sure how this works, but I would be looking for someone to venture into the event with. This thread seems like my best bet to create a 'random' party for this. I am willing to start the thread in question, of course. |
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