[Action/Closed] Lighting Strikes Twice Log

[youfool]

Ted wanted to attempt cleverness in dealing with his next target. Perhaps he could construct some sort of Faraday armor, or erect a lightning rod to ground and thwart all attack. All these hopeful subversions fell apart at the word "magic". Anything might apply once that came into the mix. All he knew for certain was that such a thing carried massive amounts of energy; so much that it's a wonder its practitioners don't fry themselves simply by being near the stuff.

Oh well; he'd don Konoka's eternally useful anti-magic charm and cover all the bases. Now the dullest and most essential part of the job: finding them. Both of them.

Ted can, to the pleasure of those who meet him, get lost just about anywhere. Exponentially so when it comes to the vast wilderness of Fayren. Thankfully, if magic lightning is as obvious as its natural analogue, that should give him a clue. Unless they can cast over incredibly long distances...goodness, he hopes they don't strike someone else down before then.

His life-fiber suit is more intrusive than usual, affording his ears and eyes extra protection should things get too loud or bright, respectively. He's swiftly crunching through the forest, speeding randomly in many directions merely to draw attention and make himself an easy target.

Or, better yet, why not make a lightning rod of himself? They couldn't resist that, could they? He leapt to the height of a very tall-tree top, and spotted smoke from a few yards away. Where there's smoke...

He went to find the corpse of a charred stag and cleared undergrowth. Apparently they'd taken to smiting wildlife to fill the time. Unfortunately for him, this made an easy target for the twin casters to blast the black bounty hunter. Alas, he is not yet fast enough to move at light's speed.

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[erinoah]

There was another problem for everyone involved, and that took the form of the twins approaching Camp de Fae!.

They'd been attacking wildlife, hooting and hollering and enjoying the sheer destructive power that came from every thunderbolt. Because none of Noah's bunnies had seen anything, only the faint rumbles of thunder, they hadn't really moved out of danger. The distant rumble of thunder was their only warning, and Azumarill and the couple of bunny rabbits had already decided to move back into the shelter. The noise even brought out Noah, who was sensing something odd about thunder when there were so few clouds in the sky.

"Oh, nice! More things to fry!" Out of the woods came two young men, smiles almost lacking in malice. Keyword being "almost". One raised his hand, holding a small staff, like a mad conductor before pointing. Noah and Azumarill recognized the danger just before they hit, but only one was fast enough to shelter the more defenseless of the bunnies.

A terrible lightning bolt struck the aqua rabbit Pokemon. It spun and crumpled into the ground, still twitching from the aftershocks.

"Wow, did you see that?" One of the men crowed. The other laughed. "Let's see if the bunny girlie bounces next!"

Terrified of the loss, Noah's eyes shrank. "No... no!" She dashed over to Azumarill, to cradle it and check if it was alive. It was still hanging on... if barely. But as much as she wanted to cradle her pet, the others were still in danger as long as those two men were around. Terror became ice cold anger. Noah rose and turned to them. They hadn't even moved to attack, so much as gloat.

"Didn't you see our power?" "Yes, we're the strongest with those bolts, and we can strike you just like your pet!" The other man did his twirling strike and attempted to give Noah the same bolt his partner did to Azumarill.

It missed, because she teleported.

Noah's hollow eyes bore into them, even as they realized they missed and grew angry. When she reappeared, she lifted one hand. "I will make you regret harming bunnies." Her voice was low and cold while she raised a hand. A lavender, shard like spear appeared. Then a second. Then a fifth.

"Sit still! What can you possibly do against us?" One shouted, with an angry smile.

But as lavender spears kept appearing, their smiles faded. There were now entirely too many lavender spears, pointed directly at the two of them. Realizing that they needed to interrupt her angry summon now, the pair pointed their staves, but it was too late. "Eat th--gnnnk!" That was the weight of several magical spears smashing into the two of them. Fortunately, it was just magical energy and not something solid enough to pierce, but it dealt serious pain.

The spears faded, but Noah wasn't finished. Her anger now apparent, she lifted a hand again, strong magic gathering like the nightmarish thunderclouds they once summoned. "Die."

[youfool]

A crackle and flash of light appears, and then...nothing. He sees nor knows any sign of them. What's better, he didn't appear to be harmed. The charm must've been effective, then! He'll have to thank Konoka, perhaps by buying more things. Maybe not make fun of her devil-worshiping ways as much. He spied a purple, faded rune on the ground. Perfect; they'd booby-trapped the place. How was he going to find-

A flash and crack of thunder alerted him. A rune, or were they there in person? Drat, he has to go either way. Ted hopes this isn't another ruse.

A few small sonic booms heralded his arrival with his eyes on the sky to see what he had to look forward to. The appearance of the ethereal spears was as interesting as it was worrying. Technically the paper didn't say the two were restricted to lightning exclusively. Either they're mixing things up, or a fight's breaking out.

He had seconds to piece together the ensuing conflict. A fainted pokemon. Two dressed in wizard garb. A half-dozen spears angled in their direction. And...Noah?

"Die."

Not good! Acting purely on reflex, he shot a line of thread to the ground, then traveled through it, appearing beside both of the bounties. He then made a hemisphere of himself, covering them in a dome of darkness that would take any direct attack straightway into the void.

Once the fusillade died down, he'd chastise, voice emanating from the odd shape he'd assumed.

"Noah, what on earth is going on!?"

[erinoah]

The spears disappeared... but that was only because Noah had recycled their energy into firing a massive white beam of light. Only Ted's voice registering got her to stop, and it was only so she could dissipate the attack and talk to him. Even in her rage she was not indiscriminate; her target was not Ted.

"They attacked my bunnies," Noah's voice was sharp and yet cold. "They were also going to attack me, but I decided to dissuade them from ever harming a bunny ever again." The bounties were pretty alive but surely had seen better days thanks to having been danmaku pin-cushions.

[youfool]

He's glad she can recognize him by voice alone. He's not exactly dressed to impress. The two, meanwhile, had fainted, as the proceedings were far too much for them. They may have interpreted the pitch black darkness that came over them as the premonition of death. He's in no hurry to disabuse any notion that made them complacent.

The dome wraps them up and tucks them into voidspace, leaving Ted looking vaguely humanoid.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, thank you for, erm...pacifying. I'll handle the rest. Are you hurt? Anything I can do before delivering them to justice?"

[erinoah]

Noah clenched her teeth, practically bared now. But to her credit, she lowered her arm. The white hot seething part of her anger had passed, and she was now just staring dully at where he made the men disappear. "You say you are delivering them to justice... where is that? Will they be some place where they never come across this land again? They don't seem like the type that would learn their lesson."

[youfool]

"The stocks. Oh, certainly. Hardly any criminals make encores. You've nothing to worry about on that score."

He considered that maybe not offering her any bounty money was rude. But wasn't talk of money also vulgar?

"If it's a question of the reward..."

[erinoah]

"I don't care about any 'reward'," Noah cut in. "Just keep those monsters away from my home, or I might follow up on my promise to end them."

Though the fact that he said that criminals don't repeat seemed to inspire a little hope. Maybe she didn't need to take the strongest solution?

"I hope you're right about them not trying again."

[youfool]

Happy day! He gets to keep the money *and* the comfort of conscience.

"I beg you reconsider, lest law enforcement return your wrath in kind. Pray let vengeance alone; it never helps things like this."

No one seriously hurt, bounty in tow. Not too much work on his side. All it cost him was appearing in front of someone in an ugly costume. He's had worse.

But courtesy calls.

"Your, ah...ahem, blue...bunny will be all right if you take it to the pokekmon center. You needn't worry on its account; they're very hardy creatures."

[erinoah]

Once she felt like the threat was gone, Noah deflated, her long, thin ears sagging slightly. Ted's words, however, jolt her back up, and she immediately ran over to pick up Azumarill, who was still breathing, if hurting.

"I see."

She turned to see Bunnelby poking out the door. "I need to take Azumarill to the hospital... err, Pokemon center. Watch the others while I'm gone."

She wouldn't even bother with any farewells and would storm off to get Azumarill aid immediately.

[youfool]

"Wait, but-!"

But Noah would not afford him the pleasure of but's, whisking away like a fairy. As if babysitting bounties wasn't enough, now he's to look after these ghoulish fakes?

He groans as he puts his threads to work. One shot towards civilization--or as close as Fayren gets--while another made a perimeter around camp, in case any of the abominations get curious and incur the wrath of Noah for their absence.

Now he's only to watch and wait, looking upon the abominable bastards with a mix of contempt, aversion, and pity. Well, so long as they keep their distance, things should be manageable.

Noah will return, barring incident, to find him seated on a log with a book on casuistry in his hand.

[erinoah]

The bunnies don't bother him, outside giving cursory looks while setting up his protective barrier. They seemed just calm enough once his threads finished.

Noah would come back about an hour later, with Azumarill looking in far better health. But there was confusion on her face as she spotted Ted. "Why are you here?" She noted the barrier which he established. "Well, I guess you're not half bad if you made a barrier to protect the bunnies, but I told Bunnelby to keep an eye out, not you."

[youfool]

So she thought...but he! And she said--but it was addressed to...ffffffff!

He'll roll with that. "So, aheh, so you did. Now that all's well, I'll pursue the attendant well end. Good afternoon, Noah."

He'll just retract and sink into his own threads in shame. At least he got some reading done.