IC: Sanctuary REVAMPED

Pine Grove | Bone Dragon Fortress

The vampire sat perfectly still and quiet in her little chair for what seemed like forever. All the undead, all the blood, every last decoration and piece of furniture was all made from the people little Seki had murdered. But despite the sins that were all around them, the fox didn't seem to think any less of the vampire. Even went so far as to call her "her pride and joy"

The girl finally laughed at the absurdity of it all once she was done thinking it over, even placing her hand over her eyes and forehead to try and contain herself. "Is that so?" she asked, emoving her hand from her face. Her eyes were closed now as she thought back to tha time long long ago.

Spoiler

"Then why did you abandon me?" Her eyes were now wide open. Pure red and staring daggers straight at the fox Yaju.

The floor beneath the fox and the monkey's feet would open up like a trap door and drop them into the forest below. they were close enough to the ground that the fall wouldn't kill them and there were plent of trees to break their fall is they were swift enough. But she was sure to leave no way for them to stay within the fortress.

Pine Grove | Bone Dragon Fortress


The yaju stood there for a fraction of a second, her smile still showing how proud she was to the girl she raised, but that second went off as she fell through the fortress. Not to be done so easily, the vixen took the vial of elf blood she had taken, snapped it open with her claws and made a gesture with them to throw the liquid back up with one of her remaining knives. The blood started solidifying as it flew with the knife, cutting the metal and making the material into tiny shards that were taken by the crimson liquid.

In the end, the now morphed object managed to reach the chamber where Seki resided, getting stuck on the roof, it was the form of a crimson rose, its stem and petals made of the knife and a single teardrop of elf blood hanging from one of the leaves.

Nera´s nose would have some blood leaking with the concentration she had to use to make such detailed relic, but she was falling towards the forest at exponential speed. She let her instincts take over her mind, taking her long sword and stabbing the nearest tree, making a long gash on the bark of the towering flora. The vixen just looked up and spoke from her perched spot "I never abandoned you Little One, you were prepared to fly already" her tone was of sadness, but also from wisdom.

Pine Grove | Bone Dragon Fortress

Saru watched on and listened as the two conversed and discussed... something that just... seemed to confuse him. It was as if he was having little time to react to everything. That was when the look Seki shot at Nera caught him off guard... then the ground suddenly opened up beneath them causing the two to fall. This had caught Saru off guard as he was trying to figure out... what on earth the other two were talking about. As he fell he tried to reach for Nera but he was unable too. He was falling fast and if he didn't do something soon... it'd be quite painful for him. As such he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he concentrated. Upon doing so he opened his eyes and let out a howl as he quickly reached out and grabbed one of the tree branches as he fell. Grabbing one he quickly spun around it before letting go, sending him flying further towards another tree that he can more properly grab onto. After successfully managing to do that he began to quite quickly, skillfully... but a bit recklessly crash down through the trees like a wild acrobat.

Pine Grove | Chronomacer's Tower

As Zena rose into the wagon, she fell, prompting Azeruk to quickly grab beneath the elf girl's other arm with his other hand to ensure she did not either fall onto the ground or back out of the wagon. He then lifted Zena the rest of the way into the wagon before holding her up to ensure she didn't flop to the ground. It was clear to Azeruk that she was quite exhausted from the entire ordeal, so much so that she looked like he did after a day of training.

"In your condition, I'm surprised you even managed to make it halfway into the wagon.", Azeruk said to Zena as he pulled her away from the edge of the wagon and closer to the center.

Pine Grove | Chronomacer's Tower

The Elvin girl couldn't even hold herself up anymore. If Azeruk insisted on holding her up, she would have to do so while supporting all of her weight. She forced herself to smile at what the armored boy said, but between that and speaking she couldn't' do much else. "Usually reiteration magic doesn't take that much out of me, but when you're dealing with fetal wounds it's another story. We may not have beaten that monster, but at least I was able to save a few lives."

The way she breathed and spoke, she was clearly struggling just to do that much. She wouldn't be conscious for much longer. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."

Pine Grove | Chronomacer's Tower

"Azeruk.", Azeruk said to the elven girl before bringing her over to a seat and gently sitting her down in it.

This whole day had been nothing but chaos, and so far Azeruk had felt rather lost. Luckily, it seemed it would all be over soon, though many people died as a result of what had happened at his home. At the very least, he could probably get some answers from his new acquaintances, and they seemed friendly enough. Azeruk quickly reached into his pack once more and pulled out a vial with a strange green liquid within it. After that, Azeruk pulled the top off of it and showed it to Zena.

"Here, drink this. It won't magically make you as good as new, but it should ease your exhaustion... I never caught your name either.", Azeruk said to Zena as he handed the vial to her.

Pine Grove | Chronomacer's Tower

The elf girl hesitantly drank the potion offered to her. The look on her face clearly showed her dislike for the taste, but it surved it's purpose well enough. She no longer felt like she was going to faint, but she was still very tired. "Thank you. I Believe i told you before, but my name is Zena. rank B3 advocate of sanctuary. I serve the queen as a paladin. Mr. Azeruk. Are you the guardian of this tower?"

Pine Grove | Bone Dragon Fortress

The vampire who was still sitting atop her small chair silently meditated on everything that had happened today. She was able to hear the fox answer, even from such a distance. But that didnt' mean she forgave her. the blood rose above her head seemed to be a gift from the yaju she once thought so highly of. Bt how could she accept it? "...Orgok, get us out of here. Theres much work to be done." the hole in the floor closed itself up and the fortress began putting itself back together again. The massive undead dragon was gone for now. But this wasn't' the last time they would meet Seki. Specially considering Nera still held the key to Seki's chest.

Pine Grove | Chronomacer's Tower

Azeruk was quiet for a brief moment as he debated howe much he should tell her. Azeruk had not spent very much time with others outside the tower, so he was not sure if he should have entirely trusted her. Of course, they both did just survive a rather extreme event and relied on each other to survive, so surely she wasn't that bad, right?

"It seems that way. Until today, I just lived there and trained.", Azeruk explained to Zena as he looked back at the tower, or rather what was left of it.

Pine Grove | Chronomacer's Tower

By this time the wagon was already moving as they were all heading back to Sanctuary. Zena didn't fully understand the boy's answer, but she could find out more later once they got to know each other a little better. "I see, I'm sorry about your home. There's a spare bed at my Papa's forge if you need a place to stay. Or if you prefer I can try and find you a bed in the barracks." She offered him, trying to be as helpful as possible in the boy's time of need. Even if Azeruk didn't know of her inability to lie, her voice and tone sounded as earnest as she possibly could.

Pine Grove | Chronomacer's Tower

Azeruk simply looked over to Zena and gave a rather weak smile, though Zena would not have been able to see it beneath his helmet, his expression being masked by the disgust and contempt etched into the cold metal face of his helmet. After smiling weakly at Zena, Azeruk looked down to the wooden floor of the wagon before thinking to himself about the Homonculus, Lavender, how she was still out there somewhere. He still needed to find her, but after all that had happened, it might prove difficult to do so. He only hoped that Lavender could take care of her self for just a little bit longer.