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year 5, quarter 3
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[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]She momentarily ignored his squirrel glare by simply pretending she had not taken notice. But there was a heat of his eyes that shot static at her and bristled his tail. She gave a soft sigh. “I understand it is not your preferred form, but its only for a short while. It will help us reach our goals more quickly.” In human form, it was difficult to climb and look over the hedges. As a mu, he could squint over the edge and reassure them of the lesser of two dangers. She also could not turn herself into one without serious consequence. She tried it once before and it cost her much. Never again, unless there was a dire need for it and she had no other options.
“Additionally, you shall have a wonderful story to tell at social events afterwards.” Now she was being cheeky. Though, she did find him out here alone. Perhaps, he simply needed a good ice breaker at these events. Or he was up to something - scouting or searching maybe.
Either way, it was currently none of her business. They had a haunted hedge maze to deal with.
He ducked a little behind her shoulder at the sight of the apparitions. Oh yes. She was supposed to feel frightened. Her life was at stake here, as well as many others. Perhaps, she became numb to terror after many months of being a hostage. Or she simply expected to see such things after seeing the curse placed on the girl and how suffocating the magic was here. Attempts to intimidate her vexed her instead. It made her determined to prove that she could rise against her adversity.
She pressed a hand near Genesis’s paws to show that he needn’t worry. She would make sure he was safe. And when he huffed at her for not notifying him he could speak sooner, she only cracked a smile. Perhaps it would have been more amusing to let him find out on his own. Alas, she was not in the business of tormenting someone. Patiently, she waited for him to skitter up the wall. Her hand reached towards her pouches of prepared ingredients, just in case ghosts decided to be confrontational.
“Right it is, then.” She nodded once he jumped back down to her. She wholly believed him. A hand raised to sketch a divine pattern in the air. “Shell.” A shimmer occurred beneath them before tendrils of light floated up and formed an orb around them before vanishing. She had a feeling the closer to the center they became, the more danger was ahead.
He fussed once more and she gave a soft shrug of her shoulders. Ah. He only worried about her well being when it benefited him. “I have no intention of dying. Not when a young lady is depending upon me.” She reassured him. She made the right turn and she tried to calmly walk down the path. Though there was a stiffness in her the moment she felt eyes on her and a sudden malevolence. The mist suddenly rushed past them and she felt a shiver run down her spine. The temperature seemed to drop rapidly. Then, there was an angry moaning behind them.
She swallowed down her fear and she felt like her heart would jump out of her chest. She turned to face the once passive apparitions to see they had coalesced into half beings from head to stomach. There were no legs as they floated above the air. They were blanched figures like skeletons with some remains of stretched skin. Their arms and fingers were far too long and on top its heads were long curled horns.
The two apparitions raced for them. Hilda’s first instinct was to run to keep the distance. She was an inexperienced fighter, but it didn’t stop her from doing what she needed to for survival. She rushed down the hedge row, cursing her heels for sinking into the softer ground. She rounded the only corner at its end and kept going.
At least, until she snagged her foot on a unearthed root. She hissed as she stumbled half way down this second row. There was now a zombie of the supposed gardener - based on his clothing - at the next fork in the road. Behind them the two ghosts relentlessly continued their pursuit. “Get somewhere safe.” Genesis may not truly care about her well being, but it did not mean she did not have to care about his.
She struggled quickly to her feet and leaned against the hedge wall. She needed to end this quickly. Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she raised her hands out before her. She turned herself into a conduit for white magic. “Curaga!” The spell was weaker when split across two ghosts, but a higher spell should manage the offensive well. The threads of bluish-white light appeared to swirl up from the ground, then disappeared into little starbursts. The ghosts cried out in anguish at their undeath being touched upon by the force of life itself. They promptly vanished.
However, Hilda hardly had time to notice that the zombie had come running down the aisle towards her.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]Genesis RIP. Need a lot of prayer.
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] Lady Hildagarde was maybe enjoying this far more than she should have, and Genesis gave her another glare when she said this was something he’d be able to talk about at parties now. “Oh yes! Let me tell you all the men I could impress with -squeak-!” He complained, though she wasn’t entirely wrong. This was hardly an experience that most people would ever have in their lifetime. Not that he was thanking her, and he made sure to flip his tail against her face so she’d know it. Of course, his tail was more fluff than anything, so it would do literally nothing, but it was the principle of the matter.
The blonde noblewoman shielded them from further attack with a spell before she followed his advice and took the rightmost path. Genesis looked up a little curiously at the light magic before it vanished, his improved nose twitching at the almost floral scent. It looked a little similar to MBarrier or Wall, and he imagined the effect was close enough. It was sweet for her to consider him too at any rate, though he might have just happened to receive the benefits since he was currently still perched on her shoulder.
As they walked, Lady Hildagarde reassured him that she had no intention of dying when someone was relying on her, and Genesis twitched his ears back in response. “Ah, you’re the heroic type. I can -squeak- it now.” Lady Hildagarde was infinitely more interesting than most heroes he’d encountered at least, and she certainly had more wits than Zack. Not that that was the most difficult of bars to clear.
The mist from before coalesced into a solid form behind them, and Genesis snapped out of his thoughts in favor of staring at the pair of unsightly ghosts that blocked the path. They were skeletal figures with rotting flesh and horns, and Genesis would have noped right out of this had he still had a human body. As it was, he just had to hold on for dear life as Lady Hildagarde raced forward and took the only path available to them. She seemed to be afraid for the first time since they’d entered the haunted maze, and Genesis couldn’t resist poking at her about it even if she’d been remarkably calm until this point. And truthfully, he was probably more afraid than she was. Not that he’d ever tell her that.
“Oh, is that all it takes to rattle you? Just the most hideous things I’ve ever -squeaked- in my life! What is your deal anyway?” Perhaps he’d never know, because she tripped on a tree root that was probably strategically placed, and they both went sprawling down to the grass. Genesis managed to catch himself on all four paws, but the relief was short-lived at the moaning of an undead figure in front of them. They were surrounded.
Lady Hildagarde told him to run somewhere safe, which was incredibly noble of her really. He almost felt bad that he was already halfway up the hedge wall as soon as the words were out of her lips. As soon as he’d reached the top, he turned around to watch the scene going on below him, his tail twitching anxiously. His fate rested on hers after all, and he wasn’t much combat help in this form. Thankfully, healing magic seemed to hurt the ghosts, which was curious. Even more curious was that the blonde woman had known to do that, but perhaps she’d encountered something like this before. It would explain her confidence at any rate.
“When the war of the beats brings about the world’s end, the -squeak- descends from the sky-” The zombie was faster than Genesis would have thought, which interrupted his Loveless quote. It was almost upon her by the time that Hilda had dispatched the ghosts. Genesis had only a split second to react, and with his new animal instincts, he simply launched himself from the top of the hedge maze directly at the undead creature. As he smacked directly into the zombie’s face, he used his momentum to bite the creature’s cheek, which was disgusting and left him sputtering as he tore off a chunk of flesh and landed hard near its feet. The zombie was still on the move as it tried to grab for him, and Genesis panicked as he reached for magic that he wasn’t entirely sure was still there.
What happened to one’s equipped materia when they were changed into an animal anyway?
“Fira!” He tried, and was rather pleased when he felt the familiar draining sensation of magic as the undead monster’s body went up in flames. Still, his fur was a bit too close for comfort to the source of the fire, so he squeaked and retreated back to Lady Hildagarde’s side. “You’re welcome!”
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]He complained even more about his situation and flipped his tail in her face, which she promptly raised a delicate hand to swat it away. ‘Oh yes, Hildagarde. Thank you for saving my life, Hildagard. So very nice being nimble and having an excellent vantage point, Hildagarde,’ She thought sarcastically, though she held her tongue. Instead, she gave a soft smile. “I doubt I can be so simply confined to ‘heroic’. I am like any modern lady, trying to follow her heart…” Even if that heart caused trouble for her. Even if she could not explain herself at times.
Of course, it had also led her into this haunted garden.
He poked at her sudden fright. And she bit back a biting remark to focus more on her recovery. The part with her not dying to two ghosts and a zombie. She seemed quite pleased with the effects her magic had. She had not needed to resort to holy spells just yet. However, as she quickly turned, the view over her shoulder showed the zombie stumbling towards her. She took an aching step back, away from the monster, on her injured heel. Her jaw tightened as she held up her hands to stop the attacker.
That was when an honorable mu jumped down from his perch among the bramble right into the zombie’s face. It was a flurry of fur and rotting meat. She noticed a part of the zombie’s cheek missing as the thing shambled to get the tiny threat of its face. Then, there was the shock of fire that caused her to take another step back in surprise. The pain in her ankle caused her to collapse in a rustle of her skirts.
It seemed the gentleman had his own tricks up his sleeve. Her hand raised to shield her face from the heat, even though her shell spell glimmered in the proximity of the fire. Her nose wrinkled at the scent of burning flesh. She felt her stomach turn at the stench. It was simply nauseating.
The zombie gave one stumbling lurch forward before collapsing on the ground in front of her. A burning arm outstretched to grab her skirt.
She quickly pulled the fabric from its grasp as she partially shuffled backwards and gave it a kick in the face with her good heel. She quickly patted out the threatening flame that tried to catch her on the fire. As she did so, she gave a gentle whisper of a “cure” spell on her ankle. It would not fully mend the sprain, but at least it would make it tolerable until she could rest it.
She pulled her handkerchief from her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose with it. She rose back to her feet. “You have my thanks, Sir Genesis.” She stated belatedly as he rudely interjected his preemptive acceptance of her gratitude. She stamped out the small parts of dry shrubs that tried to catch fire.
“Shall we proceed?” She gestured to the garden bend.
“I have a feeling we will find what we are looking for around the corner. Best be on guard…” She told him as she finished her stride to the end of the row, careful to step around the burning corpse. It made her feel ill to see such a poor man turned to rotting flesh. He deserved a proper burial. Perhaps once they finished their business here…
She made her way around the corner and found the center of the maze. It was…eerily empty. There was a broken fountain that held stagnated, green mildewy water. There were tables and chairs all strewn out with tattered table clothes and rotted food. Playing cards and games were strewn out and half played. It was as if the people simply vanished.
There was also the Maxillar family heirloom sitting on a pedestal to the side. A small posable figurine of Bahamut sat picturesque and undisturbed by the fountain. It was no more than a foot and a half tall. It’s large, dark wings spanned out intimidatingly wide. And just above it, a dark crystal spun, as if by a float spell, above the head, but between the shoulders of the wings.
“Don’t touch anything yet…” She took a cautious step forward. She felt the cold of the curse hit her full force and the goosebump erupted. Perhaps, there was an item cursed? She could sense the bahamut artifact had a magic separate from this event…
“I will lay out the ingredients to dispel this. Once they are laid properly, can you use your spell to burn them.” She needed them to smolder in order for the full effects to take place. Already, she was pulling out the mixture of parsley, sage, and thyme and gently sprinkling it in a circle.
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] Genesis had instinctively used his fire materia on the zombie that had once been the family gardener, but he found himself wishing that he had cast something else. Not only did the flames singe his fur and sting his paws, but his increased sense of smell made the scent of burning flesh absolutely nauseating.
“I regret everything,” he bemoaned, climbing up Lady Hildagarde’s skirts and burying his nose against the fabric in an effort to block out the scent. It helped, but only a little since the smell of smoke was already catching onto the fabric. It was a shame really—her dress had been rather beautiful. Hopefully it could be cleaned and she wouldn’t have to throw it out. “I’ll be a rodent forever if I never have to bite a zombie again.”
Lady Hildagarde suggested they continue onward, and he hurriedly squeaked his consent, only scurrying back up to her shoulder when they were further away from the burning body and the stench that accompanied it. “...How did you know white magic would hurt them?” The question was a bit begrudging and accompanied by a tail swish, because there was an underlying compliment there. She really was quite capable, and even if Genesis hadn’t stepped in for the zombie, he suspected that she would have found a way out of that. Not that he’d ever tell her that of course. He doubted noblemen or noblewomen needed any boosts to their egos. He still didn’t even know what she was a Lady of.
She seemed to think that the center of the hedge maze was close by, and Genesis squeaked in agreement. It hadn’t seemed that far off when he’d been at the top of the hedge wall, so he shrunk a little lower on her shoulder as she rounded the corner in case he needed to run off. Surprisingly enough though, there was no one in the center despite the celebration that they’d heard when they’d first entered the maze. Every table and chair looked as if it had been abruptly abandoned. The only thing that even looked out of place was a small statue of Bahamut on a pedestal to the side.
Genesis immediately perked up, since this was obviously the very object that the Children of Bahamut were paying him to bring back. He didn’t like the look of the dark crystal hovering above its outstretched wings though—the heirloom looked to be far more dangerous than they had warned him about, but that wasn’t too shocking where they were concerned. The cult had been shady since the day that Genesis had met them, but they paid handsomely, and his morals had always been a bit loose anyway. It didn’t bother him much whatever they were planning as long as it didn’t affect him.
Lady Hildagarde warned him to stay back from the artifact as she started to sprinkle some sort of herbs in a protective circle. She requested that he burn them for her once she was done with them, and he nodded his rodent head as he hopped off her shoulder so she could work. “You don’t have to tell me twice to burn anything. Just let me know when you’re done.”
He scurried off a foot or two to let her work as he sat up on his hindlegs and sniffed at the air. There was a musty, sinister smell here, and the source seemed to be coming from the pedestal. He considered the lifelike statue for a moment, but he started feeling a bit…strange the longer that he looked into Bahamut’s eyes. Before he had scoffed a bit when Lady Hildagarde had warned him not to touch anything. Obviously he wasn’t planning to do something as dangerous as that. But the longer that he looked at it, the more appealing the idea became…
Hopping forward towards the broken fountain in the distance, Genesis hesitated before hopping upward onto the edge of the bowl. Once he was level with the figurine, he couldn’t resist stretching out one paw towards it.
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]The stench affected them both. She bit back a cheeky remark that she could arrange him being a rodent forever. Then again, she was sure she would give up much to not be near one of these abominations again. Besides, she was sure he looked much more handsome as a man than a mu - even if he was much cuter from the tip of his moist noise to the end of his pointy tail. She would have to be sure that the poor gardener would obtain a proper burial by the end of this.
As she composed herself, he asked who she knew the depth of her magic. “When one is charged with overseeing a regency, she learns the depth of threats and what her magic is capable of in defending her people from them.” She said simply. A good ruler put herself last and the people first. She even studied the dark arts so that she may know the best way to defend against it.
A lot of good it did her when she was kidnapped and rendered useless. She wondered if that was part of the reason she was held against her will. “It is convenient when a sorcerer keeps you hostage for months with nothing more to do but indulge his library…” Still better than being kept by a skirt chaser. With all that said, she kept her tone light and humble. That was a whole world away now, wasn’ it? How much of her past mattered now except the experience?
“Those who can cast your spells are rare where I am from.” She supposed outside of the black mages and Terrans, there were Red Mages and those who could enchant their weapons to a lesser degree. “Are such skills unique to your homeland?”
She was set to work with her spell circle or herbs. She whispered gentle incantations and kept her mind focused on the intent of the spell. So much so, she had not noticed the small mu inch towards the statue until she was nearly done with the circle. She hazard a glance casually, then it turned into a double take and a gasp.
“Good sir! No!” She warned with an outstretched hand, but it was too late. His paw had reached it. At first nothing happened, and Lady Hilda thought she might have overreacted.
But then the ground rumbled beneath them. She raced to Genesis’s side and pulled him away from the Bahamut statute. The statue’s eyes lit a violet-red suddenly and the rumbling ground showed signs of something burrowing up from the ground. Hilda stepped back and tried to quickly think out this situation.
She had to turn Genesis back now. If she fell here, then no one else would be able to reverse the spell. Then he would have much difficulty impressing the men at parties, which for a young nobleman, was already a hard life. She had no wish to make it harder.
Then, it happened…As she held the mu in front of her, the ground and part of the hedges ripped up as a great BEAST ripped itself out of the ground. It had long, bone-shattered legs and a maw like a spider. However, in place of its thorax was something that resembled a reddish-purple beating heart. It’s aura was freezing as weeping filled the air.
“Sepsinia. Why?”
Hilda looked up and had that frightful scared rabbit look on her face. She had never read or seen anything like this before. There was movement under her palms that drew her attention and she looked down at Genesis. Right. Turn him back…figure out how not to be devoured by this abomination.
She planted a gentle kiss on the top of his head, right between his two ears. Her reversal magic flowed through her much like those in fairy tales of the maiden and the frog. A gentle trickling of warmth sought to spread through his limbs. She set him down on the ground as he begun to grow heavier in her hands. Then stepped away.
The earth shook and broke again with lesser tremors. Zombies began to peek from the ground like undead guards for the heart monster.
“Sepsinia can endure you no more. You must let her go and move on.” There was a pause as she shakedly stood between the creatures and Genesis. “The circle must be lit.” She told him over her shoulder. The smoke must air in the area to take effect. “I will do my best to keep them at bay.” Even if she had to run herself in circles. She was not much of a fighter, but she would guard from further victims of this creature.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]She has no idea he's been charmed. RIP. Stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea.Genesis
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] As Hilda worked on setting up her circle of protective herbs, Genesis was surprised to learn that she was actually some kind of ruler. He only had the vague idea of what a regency was—Shinra had dominated the planet for so long that other forms of government only existed in Wutai or in stories, but he’d never had a high opinion of people with power. Everyone on the Shinra board of executives was either malicious or just plain incompetent, so his rodent nose twitched in surprise as he looked over Lady Hildgarde. She didn’t exactly fit the bill of what he’d come to expect.
“You govern the land where you’re from? But you’re just doing this job to be nice. You’re not even asking for anything.” It made him a little suspicious as to her motive, but she didn’t seem to be hiding anything. It was odd. She even went on to be a little vulnerable as she confessed that some sorcerer had held her hostage for several months, which had left her plenty of time to do magical research. The admission made Genesis a tad uncomfortable. Ugh. Feeling sorry for other people was the absolute worst. “Well I hope he got what was coming to him,” Genesis said with a flick of his tail. “He sounds like a storybook villain if he’s keeping women in a tower.” Or a melodramatic play. But truth be told, Genesis would still watch it.
She also asked him about the nature of his magic, and he shook his little Mu head. “Natural magic is almost unheard of where I come from. The rest of us have to use rocks called Materia that are infused with the planet’s magic. You could use black magic as well if you had the right one, but they seem to be in short supply here. I only have the ones that were on me when I came here unfortunately.” It was a major blow to lose access to the others. He had a stash on Gaia—particularly summons—but they hadn’t been equipped on him at the time and so they were lost to him now.
As Lady Hildagarde was finishing up her circle, that was unfortunately when Genesis looked at the Bahamut statue for a little too long and ended up in the predicament of touching it while balanced on a fountain. Hilda yelled for him to stop—somehow still as eloquent and polite as ever—and she snatched him out of harm’s way while the ground rumbled beneath them. For his part, Genesis was feeling dizzy and confused as to how he had even gotten up there, and it didn’t help matters when Hilda placed a small kiss on his fuzzy forehead. Genesis very nearly got up the energy to tell her ‘I’m flattered, but we’ll both end up disappointed,’ but he bit back the snarky comment at the feeling of her magic washing over him again. As she set him down in the grass, he was conscious of growing larger, watching his limbs stretch out in front of him and lose their fur until he was just himself again, sprawled out in a heap with his robe fluttering in the wind.
Oh thank the goddess, he wasn’t naked.
Still, the situation wasn’t much better as he climbed to his feet. The remnants of the statue’s magic clung to him, making it hard to ignore the pressing command to protect it at all costs. Meanwhile a monster straight from the bowels of someone’s nightmares had hauled its way out of the earth. It appeared to be possessed by the girl's fiance, assuming it wasn’t just him to begin with, and at its command, more zombies appeared to surround them.
Too many. He could see the realization on Lady Hildagarde’s face as she asked him to burn the herbs, and while he automatically raised a hand to carry it out, he found that he just…couldn’t. The statue seemed too important to work against, and he pressed a hand to his forehead as even the idea of harming it sent a spike of pain through his head.
God, this maze was the worst.
Genesis would have normally preferred to hold Hilda at sword-point, but he hadn’t brought his weapon to the party, so he attempted to just restrain her arms from behind instead. He had no doubt that his strength was superior to hers, but he still wouldn’t put it past this woman to stab him with one of her heels or turn him into something worse than a garden rodent, so he did his best to move quickly. Still, he hesitated as he brought one hand up to close around her throat, and his hand ended up clenching on nothing as he just as suddenly released her while staggering to his knees. He so loathed being a puppet to anything’s will.
The zombies were closing in on them now, and it occurred to Genesis that he didn’t feel the same pull towards them that he did towards the source of the Charm spell. Remembering Hilda’s actions earlier, he called on the Restore materia that was part of his collection and swept an arm out towards them. “Cure2,” he managed through his headache, and it was a relief when one of the creatures staggered back. He didn’t have to be completely useless then. Only against the statue.
“Change of plans!” Grasping at his shoulder armor, he unhooked the Fire materia, feeling a little vulnerable without it as he tossed it over to the blonde noblewoman. “You’ll have to burn it. And I want that back!
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]He seemed surprised and a little suspicious at her good will, despite her title. She lowered her eyes and kept to her work. “I may be a ruler, but at heart I am a white mage. My people come before me.” She was the head of state, but she was honestly the least. She always made sure her people were fed, before she sat at her own table. She thought twice or thrice - and even yet again - before acting. The people were her children which she would defend with her last breath.
Yet, there was that small twinge of guilt in her heart. That moment of weakness that had cost her, her people, and her husband dearly. She had been pushed and she turned into an angry witch. The issue turned her into something she knew she wasn’t.
“I rule not here, but it is still my duty to protect life.” She did not owe him an explanation or excuse. She hardly knew him at all. Yet, she still found herself softly saying, “Perhaps, it is not entirely unselfish, but rather a simple attempt to assuage the guilt of my past failures.” She could not bring back the people she lost to her one moment of selfishness. But, if it was within her power, she could prevent more suffering and loss.
She shook her head. It was odd speaking like this, and to a stranger no doubt. “I assure you, the sorcerer got more than what he expected.” Yet, there seemed to be a warmth that touched on her features at the thought. After all Kuja did, dying would have been an easy way out of his punishments. Dying left little room for dealing with consequences.
No. He must live.
She had not much time to spend on that thought. Their magic was mostly taken from stones. It was not something she unheard of. Her world had items that were enchanted to grant specific skills and temporary effects. Even ways to weaponize eidolons to warmongers, especially after stealing them out of summoners. However, this was the first time she heard about materia and those without the inherent talent being able to use black magic.
“Black magic is an exceedingly rare talent in my world.” She admitted softly. An entire army of black mages created and used by a sorcerer was the largest extent she had seen its use - and to devastating effects. Where Lindblum’s battleships gave them aerial advantage enough to turn the tides of war, these new homunculi gave a destructive edge to Alexandria. Having a stolen airship on top of that...
However, her world did have red mages that could harness it to lesser effects. “It is unfortunate this materia is not native. I would have enjoyed studying its potential.” Hilda doubted she had the capacity to use such magic, but Genesis had shown her its use earlier in the garden.
Interesting.
But things began to spin out of control quite rapidly. Why had she forgotten a match, a magnifying glass, a candle, a tinderbox - anything to light the herbs?! And it seemed Genesis was no longer working with her. What had caused such a sudden change in his temperament? Had she misjudged him?
It was hard to tell when she stood between him and the undead. One couldn’t look someone in the eye when being restrained from behind. She struggled against Genesis’s assault. Her small build was unmatched to that of a well trained duelist. “Unhand me!” She demanded, driving her heel into his boot. “Or we’ll become garden weeds.” She stopped struggling, since it was useless. There had to be a form of resistance better to suited her capabilities.
She began a soft whispering of a spell, leaning further away from the hand that could stop it in her throat. If he would not let her go, she would just mini him, then blind him, until she could get away.
Then, he suddenly interrupted her spell as he suddenly pushed her forward as he staggered away. She turned to watch him stagger to his knees. What in all of Gaia was happening? She tried to move sideways to gain distance between the shambling undead and a madman. She scrunched her brow when he suddenly cast a spell against the zombies.
“I don’t understand!” She shouted at him, feeling frustration rise in her chest. She absently cast jewel to make sure she didn’t drop his magic stone…this materia. It held ancient whispers in the rock. Could he hear them too?
She wished she could just poke Genesis in the forehead and glare at him. What the heck was he expecting her to do with a stone she’s never seen before? The zombies were gaining grown and the one he hurt staggered, but now crawled across the grown. The sight made her heart race.
She turned back to Genesis. He was acting…he was acting…
She saw that the aura of the crystal on the Bahamut figure had a greasy edge underneath its red glow. It’s head had turned to watch the man.
Was he confused? Charmed? She could not tell. Maybe he wasn’t either. Still, it was the only thing she could think of. She stared at her protective herbs scattered.
It was not worth her time to remove the effects on him just yet. The figure could potentially just regain its edge as soon as she removed it. With a flick of her wrist, gentle white magic webbed the figure as if to strangle its magic. The silence spell. She was unsure if it worked on a figure of an Eidolon, but it felt good to do SOMETHING.
“And you!” She stood up straighter, hands on her hip. She leaned slightly forward. “You are meant to be a fierce dragon of protection.” What had Garnet told her about Bahamut? It was powerful and temperamental. Lindblum took its image for their emblem as a show of strength and protection through knowledge. “What has become of you?! We will have a talk once this is over.” Or maybe Garnet will have a talk with it.
Seemed there were many things she needed to protect and fix now.
She shook off the statue's heavy dark aura with a wisp of her holy magic.
“How do I use this?” She said with conviction. It could not be that hard. Enchanted items and stones were common. But this magic felt terribly alien to her. She would need a few minutes. “Buy me time!” She commanded under her stress. She could either cower and be useless. Or she could do something that would help her situation. She decided to help.
She stood in the center of the circle she drew. She began a soft chanting with the magical words she found in a book. Something to curse her holy magic began to strengthen the circle. As she allowed her magic to flow, she stared at the materia in her hand. Work damn you.
The zombies began their shambling towards Genesis. The one crawling went to reach for his feat. The others mindlessly hurried forward towards him. In turn, the Lovelorn let out another depressed cry that shook the garden. “Sepsinia come back. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I mean…give me another chance.” Then, the lovelorn promptly vanished into seemingly thin air.
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] Lady Hildagarde didn’t seem to appreciate Genesis’ inner struggle as he was on his knees in the grass. She seemed much more concerned about how he could get them both killed. Ugh, somehow everyone always seemed to think the worst of him. He couldn’t imagine why that would be the case. What had he ever done in his life to deserve this?
Personally he couldn’t think of anything.
“I could still strangle you,” he complained through clenched teeth. Though honestly, the sharp pain in his left foot rivaled his headache now. “And your heels are like knives.” Of course, her quick thinking in stomping on his foot with her heel was probably what had briefly shocked him out of his confusion, but he still wasn’t going to thank her for it. Clearly Genesis was the real victim here.
The blonde noblewoman was perplexed when Genesis tossed her the materia, and she seemed frustrated that he couldn’t do it himself. “Pride is lost, wings stripped away, the end is nigh,” he explained through Loveless as he managed to halfway drag himself to his feet. It was quite a clear explanation to him at any rate, but thankfully Lady Hildagarde seemed to figure the problem out anyway as she silenced the statue. At least it wouldn’t be able to confuse him anymore now. Or even worse, confuse her. They would be really lost then if both of them were.
He couldn’t resist a laugh as she chewed the Bahamut statue out like a misbehaving child—he appreciated the sentiment, he really did. If it weren’t for the stabbing pain in his head, maybe he would have even asked if she was going to assign the statue chores next, but as it was, there were more pressing matters at hand. Like Lady Hildagarde not knowing how to use materia. Which was natural, really. Genesis had to learn when he was a 14 year old cadet, but there wasn’t exactly time to give her a crash course. “Just feel for its magic and channel it. I’ll buy you time, just hurry it up! That’s my only offensive one.”
He really needed to start bringing his sword to parties.
To keep the zombies at bay, Genesis relied on his Restore materia as he threw out Cure and Cure2 spells in a circle. It kept at least most of them at a distance, though the one on the ground managed to latch onto his boot and he was forced to stomp on its head to put a stop to that. It was disgusting and somehow simultaneously squishy and crunchy, and he hated everything about this maze even more. He was probably going to need new shoes now on top of everything else.
To make matters worse, the huge monster was finally on the move, proving once again that it was possessed by the fiance’s spirit before just straight up vanishing. Despite being surrounded by zombies, Genesis had a much worse feeling about that particular disappearing act. “I’m sorry, did that thing just go invisible?!” He demanded, hurriedly digging through his remaining materia to see if he had anything that could deal with that. Not really, beyond throwing out his wing and escaping, but that was assuming he could even stay air-borne with whatever the statue had done to him. He’d prefer not to learn that in mid-air, so he chose to stay on the ground for now.
Still, he did pause as his fingers landed on the only summon materia that he’d brought with him to Zephon. He hadn’t had a single cause to call on Phoenix yet since coming here, but it occurred to him that he did in fact have a way to spread fire if Lady Hildagarde couldn’t work out the materia. He could even do it passively so the statue’s spell wouldn’t interfere. A little too passively for his taste since he’d be unconscious, but those were details.
“Hurry up, or I’m killing myself!” Really, that had sounded less dramatic in his head when he knew his own plan.
[attr=class,ooc-notes]
[attr=class,tagline]@ladyhilda
I hope I'm not derailing your plans for the thread or anything!
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]Genesis gave a threat of strangling her. Perhaps, she should have left him a mu. Honestly, she debated on returning him back to that form. At least his retorts would be cute then. ‘I could still strangle you,’ with little mu paws. Alas, no. She did not have enough in her magical reserve. Additionally, it was clear he was stressed fighting the effects of something. He shouldn’t be punished for that. Had she guessed right of the statute's effects?
He tried to explain the reason he could not cast his own spell in the form of poetry. She was quite sure it was full of symbolism of himself, but she had not the time to contemplate it. It was becoming clear he had lost full control of himself, though she certainly hoped the end was not nigh.
“Magic does as it will. It can’t be rushed.” She huffed under her breath as she stared at the polished, smooth stone. Just feel for its magic and channel. It sounded simple enough. She closed her eyes tried to blot out the danger around them and the frenzied Genesis. She felt the materia light up slightly as she touched the magic in its core. A soft whispering entered her mind a language that was unknown to her. The words passed through her consciousness like a shining ribbon. There! She grabbed the word she needed. “Fira.”
She felt the magic run hot through her veins. It was more intense than the warmth of Holy. It was ravaging and destructive. She directed it at her feet toward the circle. The heat blew back her hair as she cast the spell. Her barrier shimmered a powdery blue as the embers lit the herbs. She chanted softly to unbind the curse to infuse the smudging smoke with holy magic. A healing light began to extend from the circle and slowly spread.
The illusion began to fade from the garden as the lovelorn’s deathly hold began to loosen its grip. The zombies began to lose their vigor as they trembled and let out a ghastly groan, as if the magic that brought them unlife was being torn from their corpses. The garden’s green color seemed to fade and wither with chairs and bodies overgrown by the fauna.
Aggravated, the lovelorn let out a scratch and leapt at Hilda through the flames. The fires licked at the spider-like heart as its fangs clamped down on Hilda’s arm. She tried to fend it off, but the sting of its bite caused her to cry out. Venom dripped onto the wound. The materia dropped from her grasp and rolled away. In retaliation, she cast her most powerful spell.
The ground beneath her lit with cool bright light that spiraled around her at her summons. Then, the garden was flooded with light that was far too bright. Her magic manifested in a prismatic orb with a holy blue aura. “Holy!” The magic exploded on the lovelorn and it gave a writhing painful screech.
Hilda collapsed to her knees in the middle of the fiery circle. Her hands over her ears. She suddenly felt so tired. Had she drained too much of her magic? Was the yellow venom dripping from her arm draining her vitality? Perhaps, it was not so bad to just lie down here.
Still it was too late for the lovelorn. It was shriveling from the fire and holy magic coursing through the air.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]Genesis Time to lie down and die now.
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] Lady Hildagarde didn’t seem to care for his dramatics as she protested that magic couldn’t be rushed. Personally, he felt that magic very well could be rushed in an emergency, but whatever. He was the one just channeling magic rocks while she had magic imbued in her naturally. Who was he to argue under those circumstances?
He was someone being attacked by zombies, naturally. And still trying his best not to turn on her again. So on second thought, maybe he was within his rights to argue.
“All that awaits you is a somber morrow, no matter where the winds may blow!” He elected to rely on Loveless to voice his complaints as he was currently a bit too busy holding off the undead to think of something better. He really wished he was armed with something more potent than a Restore materia, but it was at least effective given his current opponents. Unfortunately he could only target one at a time though, since he didn’t have it hooked up to an All materia, and he started to severely regret that as they closed ranks around him.
“Hildagarde! Any day now!” He dropped her title given his current predicament as one managed to latch onto his coat and drag him downward. He managed to kick the creature off him, but there were three more to take its place, their arms grabbing at him while their teeth gnashed at the air as he did his best to hold them at a distance. Thankfully that was when a rush of heat told him that she had succeeded in casting a fire spell out of the materia. Smoke from her herbs started to rise into the air, and the effect was immediate as the zombies that had been attacking Genesis suddenly groaned and slumped to the ground instead. Disgusted, Genesis scooted back a few inches before climbing to his feet, while he was startled to see that even the appearance of the hedge maze was starting to change. What had seemed to be bright and lively looked more withered and decayed now, and in what seemed to be a last-ditch effort, the monster from before flickered back into view before leaping directly at Lady Hildagarde.
Genesis should have gone to her aid—even he knew that—but with the hedge maze reacting so desperately to hold on, the last vestiges of his status effect made his head spin so violently that it brought him to his knees. He ended up only being able to watch as the monster’s jaws clamped down on her arm and she sent it reeling with a powerful spell.
…Come to think of it, had she said Holy? Had she somehow just called down the full power of the planet so casually?
Well, he’d worry about that later. The creature lay dying now, and his head suddenly felt clear again. Springing to his feet, he noted that Hilda had dropped down to the grass and might have been legitimately hurt, but there was a more pressing matter to attend to first.
“Never again,” he scowled as he elbowed the Bahamut statue off of its pedestal and let it fall to the ground. Let it shatter if it would. Good riddance. He wasn’t going to handle that thing ever again, so he sure didn’t plan on delivering it to the Children of Bahamut. He’d earn their rent money this month some other way.
On his way over to Lady Hildagarde, he also stopped to pick up his discarded Fire materia because priorities, but eventually he knelt down by her side to examine the nasty wound on her arm. “Ouch.” He gingerly passed a hand over it to avoid the yellow venom oozing around the edges. “Cure3.” he murmured, hoping that it would at least mend the wound itself, but he wasn’t sure what to do about the rest of it. “Hildagarde? You’re likely poisoned or…something similar. I don’t have a Heal materia, so I can’t fix it. Do you know Esuna?”
White magic seemed to come to her naturally, so hopefully that spell was in her repertoire. Assuming she wasn’t too out of it to fix herself up. If she was…well. He could always just leave her there and move on, but she had gone out of her way to help him so many times in the hedge maze that his pesky conscience got in the way of that one. This was why he hated having any sort of morals. It always gave him extra work to do and not much reward.
“Or I can take you to someone who can.” With a bit of hesitance, he unfurled the large black wing on his left side. It had been hidden under his coat until now, but he did have a slit there for easy access. It was just that he usually didn’t much like showing new people how much of a monster he was, but under the circumstances, he might need to fly the woman somewhere.
[attr=class,ooc-notes]
[attr=class,tagline]@ladyhilda
Hilda's hurt! Genesis is going to stop for petty revenge and his materia first.
