[PP-F4] Attack of the Dragon <<DHA: 4>> Telrenya

[Jomei 0]

Spoiler

 

After defeating Ghidorah, Jomei and Erin decided to directly start on finding the fourth dragon. Jomei could feel the awkward tension coming from Erin, a want to not be around others.. especially Jomei for some reason. On the other hand, Jomei did want to get to know the girl more, especially if she was going to be a part of his guild and all. Lucky for him, he walked in front of the woman, so she was not able to see the frown on his face. However, he had already decided to respect the girl's secrecy, and work to finish this quest line as quickly as possible. With a heavy sigh, Jomei set his sights back on the trail back to Delilah. 

Now back in the quaint, peaceful town, Jomei and Erin approached the blue ring that would warp them to the Fourth Floor. As the ginger approached the platform that housed the teleporter, Adere swooped from the sky and landed on his shoulder, causing a small smile to form on his lips as he pet at her feathered wing. Stepping up onto the stone, Jomei turned to look back to Erin.. at the thin metal mask that covered the mysterious girl's face. "Look, I can tell that you still want to play the solo player game, despite being in the guild now.. especially from the silent treatments.. and I'm sorry if you were looking to do these quests on your own... but." the man rubbed the nape of his neck, breaking eye contact for a moment, "You have a lot of potential.. and as the dragons get harder.. they might be tougher for me to take on my own. So.. I.. really appreciate you being there with me." A small smile broke from the frown he had wore earlier. 

@Telrenya

[Telrenya 0]

With the third dragon down and a daunting seven more to go before the chain of quests would be completed, the duo thought it best to continue on to the fourth floor right away. The decision brought Telrenya a sense of relief, as it meant that she wouldn't have to communicate with the man by going through the actual Erin, and she could avoid any annoying, embarrassing mishaps like how he had made her late for their meeting earlier that day.

She walked a few paces behind Jomei, as the Irishman seemed intent on placing himself in front of her on the way there and back. She shrugged it off, however, without a reason to complain about the distance between them while she hid behind her disguise. They arrived in Delilah after a short walk, but before they had warped to Snowfrost Jomei turned to address her again. Telrenya blinked, stunned behind her mask at his words. Despite how she had held him at arm's length all this time--and how she planned to continue doing just that for the foreseeable future--he was not only complimenting her, but expressing his thanks for her assistance with hunting down the dragons. Her cheeks only burned for a second before her chin dropped. She couldn't look at the smile that normally caused her heart to flutter in her chest, because now she only felt a twinge of guilty pain. "...Thank you." She replied in a quiet voice. "I mean, I could say the same... Your level is so much higher than mine, so I'm sure it's going to be me relying on you to even finish it in the end." She admitted, staring at the cobblestone between them.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei chuckled at Erin's response at his own level, "Well then, we will see this through until the end, together." Jomei felt a bit of guilt after telling Erin that the two would stick together until the end of this.. For he had wished he had invited Telrenya along. At first, he did not want to bother her, since she seemed busy with finalizing things in her shop. However, after noticing how much experience he had gained thus far--as well as experiencing too many awkward silences from Erin-- he knew that Telrenya would have been more than happy to join him. The small frown returned for a moment as the thought came and left, telling himself that he would make it up to her somehow. "Alright, let's get going." Turning his body to face the large blue ring, Jomei called out the floor, "Warp, Snowfrost." In a blue ball of light, Jomei's body had disappeared.

Before reopening his eyes, Jomei felt the cold snow of the Fourth Floor as it landed upon his head. Snow crunched beneath his boots as he stepped off of the platform and turned to await Erin's arrival. Swiping his hand upward and moving into his inventory, Jomei equipped his green cloak. The large cape fell over his neck and shoulders, warming him up a bit more. Jomei crossed his arms, looking at the small button that lead to his messages in his menu. "Hm.. haven't gotten a message from Argo about the next dragon yet.. might make things tough.." 

[Telrenya 0]

How many times did she have to visit the fourth floor before she would invest any points into the Survival skill? Telrenya mentally scolded herself when her avatar had appeared on the floor of an eternal winter. She immediately felt the bite of the cold penetrate the thin cloths and leathers of her light armor, and she only grimaced at the realization that harsher winds awaited them outside of the settlement's walls. She sighed, the breath seeping through the tiny cracks of her mask and forming a slight cloud of fog that was quick to dissipate.

She did her best to ignore the oppressive weather and took a few steps forward into the snow. "So... Any idea which way we should be heading?" She prompted, a bit curious to find out if the dragon they were now hunting might have been hiding nearby some place she might have visited in the past. When Jomei would have informed her that he had no leads on the next dragon as of yet, Telrenya frowned. Would they really have to go into this one blind? She shifted her weight, crossing her arms over her chest while she gave some thought to the various points of interest she knew of on the floor. Frostbite Lake, the crystal caves, the Snowglades... Crossing the latter off of her mental list, she brought up the other two as possibilities, content with taking Jomei's lead should he choose to direct them somewhere else completely.

[Jomei 0]

Erin had suggested both the Frostbite Lake and the Crystal Caves, which both seemed like viable options where the dragon egg could have hatched. Placing a hand on his chin, Jomei looked off towards the path that would lead to both locations.. one that would eventually split off in two directions. His thoughts trailed on the two locations.. the crystal crave he believed he may have been to with Telrenya.. though he would not be surprised if there were more caves with similar crystals, hidden within each of the large snow topped mountains. The lake, on the other hand, Jomei had never been to, heard rumors about the frozen lake, yes.. but he had never seen it in person. The man chuckled, brushing a few flakes of snow from his ginger locks. "Well.. last time I made a trip into one of the caves here... an avalanche trapped us in there." Despite a tragic sounding situation, Jomei's lips spread into a smile, his cold cheeks heating up and turning red, remembering the night he had first kissed Telrenya. Blinking hard to bring him back to reality, he turned back to Erin, "But I don't remember seeing any sort of dragon eggs there, and I'd prefer not to get stuck in a cave again. So I'm going to suggest we try the lake."

[Telrenya 0]

Jomei's words evoked the memory of the same day that he was recalling in Telrenya's mind. She remembered the avalanche that had trapped them in the dim cavern, their shy confessions, and the first kiss that they shared. Her own cheeks burned just the same, but she gave a nod to agree with his suggestion of checking out the lake.

Frostbite Lake. She had caught glimpses of the sheet of ice that was the frozen-over body of water on a couple of occasions when she made the trip to Aereth's shop, but she hadn't ventured close enough to properly see or explore the area. So, with both players unfamiliar with the lake or its surrounding area, they set out from Snowfrost. It was a good ten minutes of travel, which was accompanied primarily by the crunching of snow underneath their boots and the howling wind that carried past them in occasional gusts.

After emerging from the snow-covered treeline of a small forest, the duo finally came upon the edge of Frostbite Lake. The sight was naturally beautiful, but before Telrenya could find herself enraptured by the sight, something else caught her eye. In the distance close to the center of the ice-topped lake, the shimmering scales of a small, snoozing dragon drew her attention. Her gaze turned to a more prominent figure standing closer to them and off to the right on the lake's surface. Telrenya squinted to make out the details of the lanky man that stood shivering alone atop the ice. "Mercury?" She said the player's name aloud in disbelief. They must have been within earshot, because the bespectacled man turned his head towards Jomei and Telrenya.

"M-M-Miss Erin?" He stammered out with a similar note of shock in his voice.

"Oh my gosh, Mercury!" The girl exclaimed with concern, breaking out into a run towards the player. She skidded to a stop once she had reached the bank however, kicking up fresh powder when the man's frantic warnings reached her ears. "W-wait! Wait, wait!" Upon further inspection, Telrenya spotted a thick layer of ice coating the player's boots. In fact, it appeared as if a frost clung to much of Mercury's avatar to hold the man in place. "That d-dragon over there," He explained in a hushed voice, eyes darting to the still-sleeping hatchling in the distance, "I-It spotted me from afar, and, w-w-well..." He trailed off with the puzzle pieces left clearly in the air for the players to put together.

[Jomei 0]

After Erin agreed with his suggestion, the two set their paths to the Frostbite Lake. If not for hearing of the lake's presence through hearing other conversations, or the snow covered signs posted along the path, the two would have never ended up finding the lake. Silence fell over the two as they walked, one that was mainly brought about from the cold temperatures that bit at each of the players skin. Erin seemed especially cold, her body covered in thin leathers and metals. Jomei concluded that she most likely did not have the Survival skill as he had. Though, despite the skills presence to keep Jomei's body temperature somewhat regulated, the winter gusts that pushed his cloak out from around him sent chills down his spine. As the two came to another fork in the road, Jomei looked at the sign posted in the center through a fog of breath. With an arrow pointing to the left, the words engraved in the wooden post read out Frostbite lake. The man's lips trembled as they curled into a smirk, before hurriedly pushing through the snow, which seemed to fall harder the farther they had gotten from Snowfrost.

Pushing through the treeline, the snow seemed to die back down to a light fall, making the weather conditions much more bearable than before. With a sigh of relief, Jomei looked out at the large frozen lake, amazed that he had never taken a trip here before-- let alone seen it. Each of the players seemed to notice the small dragon in the center of the lake, its body curled as it snoozed atop the ice. "Well.. that didn't take long." Jomei said in a quiet voice with a chuckle. However, before he could approach the beast, Erin's focus shifted to another figure out on the ice, one that stood very close to the dragon without moving. Erin addressed the man as Mercury, a name Jomei had not heard before.. but a face he definitely recognized. 

Before Jomei could question about Erin's acquaintance, the masked woman began to rush forward towards the player. Mercury was quick to stop Erin, warning her about the dangers of rushing to rescue him. Upon closer inspection, Mercury had been frozen, most of his body covered in a thin sheet of ice, the rest covered with frost as if he had been stuck out in a blizzard. The ginger's lips pursed, recalling the last encounter he had with the bespectacled man.. one that made him feel this person was untrustworthy. However, who was he to let another player stand out in the cold and freeze. Jomei placed and extended forefinger against his lips while looking at Erin, before gesturing for her to follow him slowly. As the man stepped from the snow to the ice, he felt his boot shift forward on the slippery surface. Once his second foot was on the ice, she slowly shifted himself towards Mercury, trying not to make a sound. "Lets get him out of here, and then we can handle the dragon." Jomei said in a whisper to Erin.

[Telrenya 0]

"Okay, but--" She was about to try arguing with the frail man as he discouraged her from coming to his aid, but her words fell short when she failed to formulate some kind of plan or counter-argument against the threat of waking the snowy dragon. She bit down on her bottom lip and gently gnawed on the skin while she struggled to figure out how to help the poor player. Luckily, Jomei moved beside her and took the initiative, stepping carefully onto the ice and offering her a hushed instruction. His lead managed to boost her confidence, and she gave him an understanding nod in return. She eyed the edge of the frozen lake standing in front of her with a touch of nerves, but she soon urged herself forward.

Telrenya didn't think she'd ever felt her balance remain so precarious for so long before. It was possible that she was just being paranoid, but every time the sole of her boot involuntarily shifted against the slick surface of the ice she felt the smallest spark of unease shoot through her. The players moved carefully and quietly, and once they had reached the trapped Mercury, Telrenya let out the breath she had been holding. "Now, how do we get you out of here...?" She whispered the thought aloud. The girl crouched against the frozen surface, taking a closer look at the thick ice that encased the man's boots. "I don't want to try hitting it..." Though it coated his feet and shins more generously than the rest of his avatar, all she could imagine was somehow running Mercury through with her blade in an attempt to free him, or for an attack to somehow register against him and cause the man harm instead.

She reached out with hesitant fingers to run them gently along the frozen surface of his entrapment. Still puzzled, Telrenya straightened up and shifted back half a step, wearing a frown beneath her mask. "M-Miss Erin? I-I would highly suggest you and your f-friend do not stick around much longer..." Mercury's warning caused the woman to cock a brow, but after seeing how his pale face was focused elsewhere she then followed his gaze towards the center of the lake. Icefyre's mouth stretched wide as the small dragon let out a silent yawn, giving a shake of its head while dark citrine eyes blinked open. Its gaze immediately fell on the three players, staring intently and rising to its feet in the middle of the frozen lake. Telrenya's hand found the hilt of her rapier, fingers wrapping around. "Well, so much for it staying asleep." She mumbled, turning her attention to the ginger beside her. "Change of plans?"

[Jomei 0]

Was now a bad time to admit to Erin that he was incredibly inept when it came to ice skating, let alone walking on ice? The skills the Emerald Duelist had learned during his time in Aincrad,  Cardinal assisting modifiers included, helped to diminish his once clumsy nature. However, ice was still something he was inexperienced with, and he tried his hardest to make that fact not apparent to the masked woman who scuffled behind him. What made it even more difficult was not making any noise to wake up the sleeping dragon just meters away from them. Every time Jomei would slide one of his feet forward, he felt his boot want to slide even more forward. His slow movements were able to stop him from falling, though his long arms that seemed to have spasms every time he almost slipped also did something to keep him upright.

Jomei felt a wave of relief as they finally reached Mercury, meaning he would not have to move much more. They would have to worry about fighting the dragon afterwards.. but at least they would not have to be quiet, he would only have to worry about standing up straight. Jomei and Erin began to look at the ice that encased the player. "Yeah.. there has to be another way to free him aside from trying to break it..." Jomei said, placing a hand on his chin. Though Jomei's trust for the shady character was very low.. he did not want to see him accidentally getting hurt--or killed-- by himself or Erin. Mercury's warnings and gaze soon brought both Jomei and Erin's focus off of the frozen man, as they soon found that their presence had woken up the snow-white dragon from its slumber. "Great.." Jomei groaned, reaching across his body and pulling out Oathkeeper from its scabbard. 

Just unsheathing the rapier was enough to make Jomei slip a bit, needing to grab onto Mercury's frozen shoulder to keep himself from falling. "[censored].. how am I going to even make it over to it?" That was when his eyes shifted to the thick sheet of ice that covered the bespectacled man's boots and shins. Might work.. he thought to himself. Shifting his position, Jomei used the ice as a base to put his heels on. "I'm gonna have to borrow you for a second, so don't go anywhere." he jokingly said to Mercury. Activating his Charge skill, Jomei used the ice that trapped Mercury as a base to push himself off of. Jomei worked to steady himself as he slid across the ice, before activating his Over Radiation sword art to let Cardinal take over. Moving from a slide to a spring, Jomei shoved the tip of his rapier into the shoulder of the dragon, before delivering an onslaught of slashes and cuts. With one last thrust of his rapier, Icefyre shattered like glass. Now with no resistance behind his strike, Jomei's feet slipped out from under him.. the ginger falling face first onto the ice.

ID 94358 | BD 4(+4 ACC)(-1 EVA) Hit! | Charge! Over Radiation: 14x (17 Base)+(5 Charge) = 308 Dmg (-50 Mit) = 258 Dmg
MD 1 Critical Miss!

Jomei: 1170/1170 | 119/129 | 17 Dmg | 4 EVA | 4 ACC | 52 Mit | 2 Savvy
Telrenya: xx/xx | xx/xx | 
 

Icefyre: 0/250 | 75 DMG | 50 Mit | 2 ACC | 1 EVA -258 HP

• <<Tiny Ice Breath>> : On a roll of 9 - 10 (naturally), this boss will breath ice on your character and immediately be frozen in place for a turn removing your evasion properties.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya kept a firm grip on the hilt of her rapier for a moment, drawing the weapon once Jomei took on a combative stance. She couldn't help but wonder how she would manage trying to fight on the slick ice, but without much of a choice in the matter she did her best to ready herself. When Jomei shot forward to challenge the monster Telrenya then put herself in between the fight and the still-immobilized Mercury. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here no problem." She spoke over her shoulder with a confident smile that carried through her voice.

The Irishman unleashed their most powerful sword art, littering Icefyre's crystal-white body with bright red gashes as its health rapidly dropped. Telrenya tightened her grip on her own rapier, lowering herself an inch while her eyes carefully watched for an opportunity. She blinked in surprise, however, when the dragonling let out a tiny cry before its body glowed brightly and shattered into fragments of data. "O-oh..." She breathed out. After realizing she really shouldn't be surprised that Jomei was able to take it down in a single attack, she gave a small start when he seemed to lose his balance on the ice-topped lake. "Jomei!?" She called out with a hint of concern. Before she could make her way over to the man, a loud sigh of relief pulled her attention behind her. With Icefyre's defeat, it seemed that Mercury was finally released from his icy prison, only a bit of remaining frost clinging to the tips of his dark chestnut fringe and dusting patches of his light equipment.

The blonde had only just dropped her shoulders, glad to see that the man was now freed, when a massive, low rumbling sounded from beneath them. A few seconds of eerie silence and the ice--perhaps the entire floor of the lake--shook with a forboding groan. Telrenya hurried to catch herself, dropping to a knee in order to keep her balance. Her breath quickened in confused apprehension, watching the cloudy surface of the thick ice. For a split second, Telrenya almost thought she saw the movement of a large shadow. Another unsettling silence, and the third quake brought about the sound of a sharp crack to cut through the air.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei grunted as he hit the frozen lake, the feeling of the icy ground against his cheek sent a shiver down his spine. As he slid to a stop, he let out another groan before placing his palms on the lake's surface and pushing him up to his knees. Before he could pick himself back up to his feet, a tremble caused the entire lake to shake. The feeling reminded Jomei much of the avalanche that trapped him and Telrenya inside of a nearby cave, so his first thought as if a similar event was happening nearby. However, he soon realized that the shaking was, in fact, coming from the ice below him. Jomei froze in place in fear that the ice was more fragile than let on.. and that his movements would cause the surface to crack and shatter under his feet. 

With careful breaths, Jomei stared at the ice below him, waiting for the rumbling to subside. With the quakes now finished, Jomei let out a heavy sigh. Before picking himself back up to his feet, Jomei caught a glimpse of something under the ice. A large shadow passed just underneath him, followed by a plethora of large tentacle-shaped silhouettes. "...W-what the hell..." Jomei said in a shaky voice to himself. Jomei quickly began to try and pick himself back up to his feet, his boots slipping on the ice as he tried to do so. Another rumble sounded out, this one much louder, and accompanied by the sound of a crack that pierced the silence of the air around them. Near the center of the lake, where the dragon once slept, was a large crack in the ice. As the rumbled began to increase in power, the single break in the lake's surface began to spread out, creating webs in each direction. "Erin! We need to go!" Jomei shouted as he quickly turned around and began to frantically run towards the snowy shore. His boots continued to slip out from under him, but the ginger was able to keep his balance for the most part. "Go! Go!" he continued to shout, before a large tentacle shot up to the side of Erin and Mercury. Another one cracked through the ice a couple of meters back, and another in front of Jomei. 

The ginger quickly changed directions, trying to to the side rather than following Erin directly. However, as he turned about face, the top of the creature's head crashed through the center of the lake, revealing the face of a dark skinned squid-like creature, its eyes locked on the two players. The quake caused by half of the ice shattering threw Jomei off of his feet yet again, leaving him struggling to stand back up yet again.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya brought her grip on St. Andrew's Bane from the ground beside her to the scabbard at her hip, hurriedly sheathing the blade to allow herself an easier time navigating the icy surface. Her breath felt like it caught in her throat when she took in the sight and sound of the sheet of ice they stood on breaking apart. The continued cracks paired with Jomei's voice, calling out and urging her to move. Snapping out of her anxious trance, Telrenya rose to her feet and hurried to grab onto Mercury's wrist. The man seemed to frozen back up in fear rather than a dragon's icy breath, but he too jolted to attention when the masked woman began to pull him forward.

Telrenya stumbled when the frozen ground beside them split and shattered. A frighteningly large tentacle towered over them, pulling up plenty of frigid lake water that fell and splashed against the loosened sections of ice. With Telrenya's pulse racing, she glanced at the snowy bank in the distance before the force of two more tentacles breaking through behind them caused the surface to shudder once again. As gravity began to take hold of the appendage closest to them, she tensed up before pulling Mercury forward. She planted her palm between the man's shoulderblades, shoving him forward just seconds before the aquatic beast's arm came crashing down. Telrenya stumbled backwards and fell on her side as the now slab of ice she stood on shifted and leaned to one side with the impact before it fell back to settle on the water's surface.

With Mercury forced away from most of the danger, Telrenya took quick breaths and attempted to take stock of the rest of her surroundings. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest when she laid eyes on the face of the beast that emerged from the waters below--something akin to a kraken from a dark and gritty pirate's tale. The girl clenched her jaw, spotting Jomei atop the loose ice in the distance.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei struggled to stand on the loose block of ice that floated in water below, as if trying to stand in a small rowboat.. with a giant, tentacled thing trying to kill you for waking it up. As one of the emerged appendages rose into the air above Jomei, the man launched himself from the loose platform onto another one, barely managing to escape the weight of the tentacle as it crashed into the water, sending a wave of freezing cold water pouring onto Jomei. The sensation of the water seemed to completely bypass his Survival skill, and the man felt the full icy burn of the water on his face and body. The man still had half a lake to travel before he could stand on solid ground, seeing that Erin was going through the same trouble that he was. "I'll try and keep its attention off of you! Get off the ice!" Jomei shouted to the woman, before turning around and jabbing his rapier into the tentacle that had nearly sent him under the water. 

Though the single hit of his rapier did near to nothing damage against a monster that Jomei now assumed may have been immortal-- or at least near immortal without a larger party to back him-- the stab did draw its attention off of the girl and Mercury, its eyes now focusing on the ginger. "Bad idea, bad idea!" Jomei shouted to himself before spinning around, his boots fighting to regain traction on the ice before he jumped to another block of floating ice. The man continued, moving as quickly as he could on the slippery terrain, managing to avoid the tentacles that crashed down atop the ice and water. With each attempt on his life, the ice became more scarce, the large blocks he could jump on breaking up into smaller bits.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya recevered from the shock as quickly as she could manage. Her attention split between the Irishman behind her and the imposing tentacle that snaked across the ice beside her. In the few seconds since she had pushed him away, Mercury had managed to scramble to the lake's edge, seemingly torn between wanting to help the two players in some unknown way and the idea of hurrying back to Snowfrost in an attempt to find help.

The blonde pushed against the loose block of ice to get back to her feet, fighting to keep her balance as the surface wobbled under her weight atop the icy waters. She pushed off and onto the next closest section of ice, catching herself just in time before her balance was lost completely. Through spurts of holding her breath, she would eventually break away from the center of the broken lake. Although she was seemingly free from the kraken's wrath, one misstep resulted in the girl dropping into the waist-deep water several meters from the bank. She felt a sharp sting that was quickly replaced with a tingling sensation running along her lower half that persisted until she had waded through the glacial waters, past the remaining floating shards of ice to the lake's edge.

Edited January 26, 2018 by Telrenya

[Jomei 0]

Nearly there, Jomei had dodged one last tentacle before taking the last step onto the snowy terrain. The relief he felt from feeling solid ground was immense... a relief that was soon taken away as the shadow of another tentacle engulfed his body. The ginger tried to move as fast as he could, but the attack, pinned the man's leg to the ground, his body hitting the snow with a loud thud. The grip caused by the suction of the appendage made it nearly impossible for Jomei to break free, and he soon found himself moving backwards, being dragged into the water. The frightened man reached his hand out towards Erin, trying to get a hold of her hand, or anything to stop him from being dragged under.. but it was too late. All at once, Jomei felt his body become submerged by the water, the subzero temperatures of the lake immediately causing all of he muscles in his body to tighten. 

Jomei fought to break his leg free of the suction, his health slowly beginning to drain from lack of oxygen. The man would not quit, he still had so much to live for.. he continued to struggle to break free. Gripping his rapier as tightly as he could, the swordsman began to stab into the tentacle with all of his might, the resistance the water put against his arm making it nearly impossible to plant a devastating hit. His eyes clenched shut, his health depleting more and more. With one last swing of his blade, using as much of his energy as he could, Jomei's rapier stabbed into the tentacle that held him, the Kraken letting out an underwater shriek, letting the man go and descending back into the dark to recover. 

With everything going hazy, Jomei began to flail his arms, trying to swim his way back up to the surface. However, before he had the chance to breathe in the cold air again, everything went dark. Jomei's nearly frozen, unconscious body floated to the surface,  pushing at the small blocks of ice that floated on the surface of the water above him as he emerged. 

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya's breathing was heavy when she pulled herself out of the water. Her gaze shot up to her health, where she saw the harsh temperatures of the water had drained it a bit. After a grimace in reaction, she spun around for a ripple of relief to run through her as she saw Jomei drawing near. Telrenya dropped to her knees, sitting back on her legs while her chest heaved in an attempt to catch her breath. The trio was allowed only a second of reprieve that was quickly ripped away from them. Telrenya gave a start when Jomei's body crashed to the ground, and her eyes went wide with the sight of the creature's hold on him. "Jomei!" She called out, pushing herself forward in an attempt catch his extended hand. Their gloved fingers missed each other by mere centimeters, and Telrenya's eyes widened in horror as she watched the man disappear into the frozen waters.

"Nick!!" She screamed out his name, bringing her hand up to tear the silver mask from her face. Her ragged breaths formed thick clouds in front of her lips, dilated eyes dancing over the water's surface while her body froze up. A split second later, the girl pushed herself to her feet, tossing the mask aside to fall into the piled snow. She lunged forward, but felt a tug on her arm that kept her in place. She whipped around, her frantic eyes falling on Mercury who stammered out some kind of warning that Telrenya couldn't process. She ripped her arm from the man's fragile grasp, turning back to the lake. Her boots splashed against the shallow pool of its edge before she pulled her hands forward to dive into the numbing waters.

A minute later, Telrenya fought her way back to the shore. With one arm hooked underneath Jomei's and across the Irishman's chest, the other dug through the water to pull them both to the boundary. With Mercury's help, the two players were able to bring him back to the snow-covered bank and distance themselves from the water's edge. Several seconds passed, and one by one the monster's head and each imposing tentacle slipped back into the lake and out of sight in the distance. Telrenya's shivering was constant as she knelt beside Jomei, worry and panic written out on her face. Mercury hesitantly brought himself to his other side, mumbling out a short apology as he pulled up his menus. As if asking for the unconscious man's forgiveness for his invasion of privacy, the brunette issued a party request that appeared in front of Jomei and he then lifted the ginger's hand in order to direct him to accept. Mercury seemed to be taking in the most important pieces of information as quickly as his frail mind could manage. "He's a-alive, of course, b-b-but his health is still draining." He explained, looking to the girl who was still fixated on Jomei. Mercury raked his fingers through his hair, trying to describe some kind of debuff that must have considered him to still be drowning.

With tears just beginning to form at the corners of her eyes, Telrenya pulled her knees closer to the man's side. She leaned over him lacing her fingers over one hand and positioning her heel of her palm in the center of his chest. She pressed down with rhythmic motions, trying to keep count in her head before she shifted to Jomei's still face, bringing her mouth to his while pinching the man's nose and working desperately to resuscitate him.

Edited January 26, 2018 by Telrenya

[Jomei 0]

Jomei's health slowly drained, due to Cardinal still believing that he was drowning. Even though the man had been pulled from the water, and was laying upon the cold, snow covered ground, water still clogged his lungs, making it nearly impossible for him to breathe. The loss of oxygen to his brain from being under the frozen water for far too long had knocked him unconscious, left to slowly die. Unbeknownst to the man was the treatment being done to him-- the rhythmic chest compressions followed by resuscitation through assisted breathing. The ginger slowly began to regain feeling of his appendages as blood began to flow through his body again, and as breath was forced into his lungs, his chest slowly began to rise and fall. 

Once Jomei was able to breathe more on his own, his body worked to regurgitate the water logged inside of his lungs. The slow rise and fall of his chest turned into heaves, before coughing up water that spurt from his mouth. He continued to cough, expelling more and more water from his body, until he was finally able to take a deep breath. Jomei's breaths were heavy as he slowly started to open his eyes, his vision hazy. Olive eyes continued to flutter open, squinting up at the figure who knelt over his body, their face a silhouette from the brighter sky above them, and the hood over their head. His mind was clouded, and the everything seemed to be spinning.. but as he looked up at the figure above him, he could have sworn he saw a familiar face shrouded in the shadow..His eyes shut again, "..stel.." he whispered, yet knowing full well that it was not Telrenya who was there with him. 

Jomei rose his hands up to his head, which felt as though it was about to split in two from the pressure and discomfort from the lack of oxygen for so long. "T-thank you." Jomei said in a hoarse whisper, "..E-Erin.. Mer-cury.." Once he was feeling well enough, the man propped himself up onto his elbows for a moment, before sitting upright. 

[Telrenya 0]

The moment that Jomei's body worked to force the water from his lungs, Telrenya felt a tiny wave of relief wash over her. The girl backed away, her breaths ragged while the rest of her still trembled--half due to the panic from Jomei's dire state, and half from the cold air that caused her still-wet avatar to shiver. She listened to the fraction of her name that Jomei managed in a whisper, her eyes widening as she came to the realization that she knelt before him without the guise of her silver mask. She backed away as the Irishman slowly came to his senses, subconsciously moving to retrieve the item where it sat a few feet away half-buried in the snow. She paused for a moment, her back turned to the two men. The tears had already been running down her cheeks with the panic she had felt. Just like that day on the snowy floor with Aereth, she asked herself if this was all worth it. Couldn't she bring herself to face him, after something like this? She only wanted to hold onto him tightly, kiss him, and tell him how happy she was that he was okay.

Then she heard Jomei's voice stammer out a different name behind her. She felt a catch in her throat, but tried to swallow past it as she slipped the silvered mask over her face once again. She turned back, kneeling down beside them again. "Are you...alright?" She asked in a quiet voice.

[Jomei 0]

"Y-yeah.." Jomei said through a groan as he sat himself upright, his hand still pressed against his forehead. "Still.. pretty dizzy.. and my head is pounding" The man's hand retracted from his head with slow, shivering movement. His entire body seemed to be shaking, his teeth chattering every time he went to talk. "A-and F...Freezing.." he managed to get out, before slowly turning his head up, the corner of his lip twitching. "W-What I get... For... trying to.. take a ..swim." he said with a small chuckle, before hugging himself, shivering violently. Slowly, the man worked himself up to his feet, his body still slightly hunched, his arms clenching at the sleeves of his coat at his elbows. An olive gaze slowly turned to look up at the masked woman, "E-Erin.." he said in a soft, shaky voice. Jomei noticed that Erin's leathers were also damp from the icy waters..soaked even. Jomei did not recall seeing her drop fully into the lake. "You.. You dove in to.. save me.. and.. brought me back.. You.. saved my life." The man took a couple of small steps forward, until he stood directly in front of Erin. Letting his head drop to her shoulder, he wrapped his shuddering arms around her, "T-Thank.. you.."

[Telrenya 0]

While Mercury nervously navigated his menus to disband the party he had formed with Jomei in order to check his status, Telrenya pulled herself to her feet. A quick glance to her health showed it still in the yellow, although with the threat of further damage gone it had begun to slowly regenerate. Her eyes traveled back to Jomei when he spoke up with the name of her masked persona, and his still-shaken voice caused her chest to tighten.

The feeling of Jomei's trembling embrace caused fresh tears to roll down her cheeks behind the mask. Telrenya threw her arms around him in return, clutching onto him tightly. "Don't... Don't scare me like that." She said through short breaths. She held onto him for as long as she could, but as they eventually separated she tried to blink back the remaining tears that left her vision blurry. "We should... We should go." She forced out in as even a tone as she could manage through the freezing temperatures and residual ripples of emotion.

Thread Summary

• Telrenya: +3 SP, +550 col
• @Jomei: +3 SP, +550 col