Fear Impersonated? [Mission | Leila]

The scariest dreams... are the predictable ones.

Shen’s horse, Hēi, brought the thunderbird across the vast and dark woods that were mere inhabitants of a forest so haunted that it earned a name because of that, the Spooky Forest. To be completely honest, it sounded like a rather dry name for such a ‘horrific’ forest, so Shen paid no mind in the warnings that people shared with him during his journey. He was holding a lacrima under his cloak, the device which triggered him to go out here and find out just what happened to those Rune Knights in the records. However, the forest appeared to grow darker as he dived into it even further, so he decided to stop and let him and Leila step off of Hēi’s back.

He found himself quite quickly on the ground, landing with a soft impact absorbed by his martial arts footwear. Both his kwan dao and the silversword were tied to his back, just in case if they would find out what caused the lacrima to go silent again. His blood-red eye scanned the very leaves of the area around him, almost as if he had the target under his gaze, until he spoke: “It’s clear, for now.”

Made by Salrynn from FTRP

In the days of old, Leila was picked out by Magical Council to do one of their jobs quite often. She actually managed to grow somewhat accustomed to that. But being asked by another guildmate to do a job with them was something pretty new to her. In all honesty, she just kinda remembered ever going on adventures with Hero, her friend of few words. So riding on the horseback with Shen was quite the pleasant experience indeed. Not to mention that she loved riding on horses and this was the first time in a long while she got the chance to do so. And the haunted woods were not quite scaring her either, as she was here many times in the past. Sure, she was much less powerful now, but still very capable of conquering whatever would get in their way one way or another.

Once they arrived, she too would hop onto the ground, the midnight blue garment she was wearing in lovely magic contrast with the rest of this dim place. The only thing that truly stood out about her was the shining silver hair and equally colored bow that was holstered on her back. Gardens of Eden still needed time to reconnect with her, so this handy weapon was pretty much what she relied on these days. But all was well, as she managed to learn to handle this weapon quite well with time, even gaining a very specific skill that was rather dear to her heart and memory. Here was hoping that they would not encounter anything dangerous enough for her to use it. Looking at her partner with a smile, she would cross her arms at her chest.

"I'll follow your lead. Try to not get lost~"

The scariest dreams... are the predictable ones.

His teeth grinded a little as Shen looked away from Leila with a small, awkward look on his face. It was, though, mixed with anger over her warning; as if Shen would ever get lost. He could always just walk through the forest if finding it necessary, or he could climb the tallest tree and look over the lands for a way out. Thinking about that made him feel ridiculed by his own guildmate, which wasn’t the case at all. He knew that her voice indicated that she just teased him, but damn, did he hate that so much. It was like trying to make him feel irresponsible, and he was out on a mission!

“Hmpf! Just stick with me and we’ll get through this in no time, Leila…” he replied while crossing his arms rapidly. He could save the troubles of his confused feelings for later; right now, he waited until the atmosphere blew away their voices, so that silence dominated. When that happened, he would be able to listen very carefully in order to try and hear foreign noises or strange movements from the shrubberies. He slowly laid a hand upon his left eye, but merely rested his hand on that position for a moment. He could hear laughter, which were louder than normal. Did someone get a good laugh out of someone, or was it a distraction, a trap? "It sounds like that someone's having their last laugh of their life..."

Made by Salrynn from FTRP

Leila could have sword she had just heard a rather odd tone in the boy's voice. That and the pretty clear "hmpf" that he let out. Did she manage to already say something bad to him that would make him grow some distaste for the girl? Oh boy, this will probably be one long contract if she was correct. In confused and awkward motion, she moved one of her hands behind her hair and scratch it a little, equally uncomfortable smile adorning her face as well. Indeed, the silence was steadily growing between them and it was somewhat killing the silver haired maiden. At least until the point when some rather odd sounds would start becoming audible to the duo. Even Leila recognized that they sounded weird and unnatural, growing way more serious than she was until now, ready to grab the bow at any moment and fire it in any given direction. But there was something about this situation that was extremely familiar to her, something scratching at the back of her brain until she finally managed to remember.


Her voice was low, nearly completely silent and inaudible even for those around her, provided they didn't have their hearing ability enhanced in any way. This was worrisome. She had dealt with the Nightmare once before, but that situation was completely different. She had a powerful grip on her magic, as well as companionship of another powerful wizard from Black Rose. Not offense to the boy, but he wasn't quite there among the top ranked mages just yet. So for now, se would just move towards him, her whole movement indicating just how careful and serious she was about this whole situation. Her expression too lacked any kind of cheerful or even negative expression. Just pure concentration on her surroundings.

"Let us go further. Noises could mean anything. Don't disregard the option that someone's playing a trick on our ears."

The scariest dreams... are the predictable ones.

Shen slowly turned his gaze back at Leila, noticing the shift in her earlier teasing and joying manner into a more serious one. Either did she suffer from schizophrenia, or she acknowledged the situation as well. He found himself on the same surface as her now, both focusing on the same, in which he felt at ease now. With a sigh, he noticed her whisper something into the thin, black air around them. He couldn’t get a grip of the exact words spoken from her mouth, but why keep it so silent? “If someone… or something is causing this to lure us…” he spoke back to her, while his red eye turned towards the woods again, “…” He suddenly went mute, keeping an eye into the shadows right in front of him that lead into the forest, seemingly waiting for something.

In the blink of an eye, a branch came charging from the tree before them, crooking its edges towards him. He waited not to let it hit his head, but swiftly pointed his kwan dao towards it. It was unrealistically wielded onto his palm by the time that the branch made it to the point where it was only a few inches away from its blade. It made a loud, cracking sound as the kwan dao dug right into it, but as soon as Shen blinked his eye from the expected splinters, nothing seemed to happen. He just stood there with a readied kwan dao, no signs of any branch having come his way. He quickly looked up to expect a simple trickster of his mind to distract him with some illusion, but no branch approached him. It was, in fact, a mere illusion in the end. He took time in trying to spot any enemies nearby, because the outfall clearly indicated that.

A clear, living shadow made its way into the blind aspects of the forest in a hurry, but Shen’s clairvoyance made a clear picture of its black appearance. A black creature… that must be what the Rune Knights encountered, he thought in a second. It would make sense given by the situation, in which he spoke: “Whatever that was, it might try and lure us somewhere now.” With that said, he suddenly leapt back up on his white horse, looking at Leila with his deep, yellow + red eyes, “But one can’t predict fate… I say that we go after it, anyways.” He sat down again, waiting for Leila's comment or agreement, in which he made space for her on Héi.

Made by Salrynn from FTRP

"This is some creature's doing from the shadows. Even in place like this, events such as these do not happen just like that on their own. Prepare for possible ambush..." Thankfully Leila was always prepared for something like that. Her eyes were connected to the nature and even if the enemy would try to attack from a blind spot, she should be able to either sense them, or actually see them through the flora surrounding them. That said, she didn't want to active that ability prematurely and loose the option of using it when it truly mattered. So for now, she turned around and make the space between her back and Shen's as small as possibly. Due to this, she somewhat missed what had happened between him and the illusion that plagued him. She, however, had her own share of worries. A strange dark mist was starting to grow stronger around them. And it was truly reminding her of the Haunted Village when it was massacred by the dark mage Nightmare Lilith. Was this just a coincidence, or would she meet the old enemy here? No, there was something else. A dark figure in the distance, too far away for the girl to make out. But it was far too tall for the little nightmare.

Her partner probably saw it too, as he started speaking again, suggesting that the two of them should go after it. To that, the Eden's mage could only smile as she narrowed her body and tried to calm her composition. The best defense was direct offense, or something like this? Complicated strategies were far too boring for her and charging in like a headless chicken was often most fun, so she had no problem with it at all. "Yes. Whatever is out there plays the hunter. Let's turn the tables and hunt down whatever is plaguing this place!" But as she wanted to jump atop the horse, something came out flying from the bushes. Quickly slapping the horse's behind to get it to move away, Leila would leap back and pull out her bow, shooting a blue arrow made out of magical power, shattering a reasonably big stone just before it managed to hit her. Though one of the shards did manage to form a small cut on her left cheek. This was no illusion but an actual attack. "Guess they had a similar idea to ours!"

The scariest dreams... are the predictable ones.

Shen was glad for about a second when Leila agreed that they had to turn the tables, then turned his face back to the kuudere form, looking straightforward and preparing to ride off with her. Although, she never managed to get up on Hēi, because something dark came passing him and caused the mount to suddenly neigh out loud in the forest, echoes flying around. The horse advanced forward, galloping right pass trees and other shrubberies with Shen on top. “W-Wait, Hēi..!” he commanded it in shock, noticing that the horse felt hurt from behind. It braked, however, sending Shen right at a log. His head almost squashed comically with the bark, while the horse turned and decided to sprint over to Leila again. Something had charged over to her, but from his position, it appeared to have been taken good care of. “Ouch, ouch... Okay... Let’s regroup-“ Shen suggested as he stood up again, but his words were put on pause by a figure right behind him, silhouetting his entire body.

Turning his body around, Shen leapt off and sent a descending kick towards the figure. He could make a good contact with it, surprising despite its shadowy form. “Not as difficult as I thought, huh..!” he commented with a bloody nose. Its lack of ‘unphasing’ ability didn't suit its shadow-like body. He would then grab his kwan dao and sent it right forward to stab its belly, but the beastly figure was too fast and simply stepped to the side. Without pausing, it slammed right into Shen, launching him through the woods and pass Leila’s position. Some blood came out of his mouth as well, but he managed to collapse his kwan dao into a chain-like mode, using it to grab a large branch, so that he could brake and prepare to send himself back again. “Leila, over here!” he warned the Phoenix Lady, while swinging himself over to the black figure, sending a clockwise kick to its neck.

It flinched not and suddenly tried to grab his leg, but Shen quickly landed on the ground by his hands, swinging his legs to kick it while balancing on them. He wasn’t getting rusted on his martial arts, which served quite well against a creature that by appearance was supposedly transparent for physical attacks. He wasn’t going to use his magic now, but if he could keep it occupied with him, then Leila might’ve got an opening to use her magic on it. He still had to see just what she was capable of in battle…

Made by Salrynn from FTRP

Things certainly weren't going as planned, that much was clear. Her partner was carried of by the horse as she dealt with the poltergeist that was attempting to crush her with stones, but that still wasn't the end of it. As she dealt with her own problems, she would spot it too in the corner of her eye. A tall figure covered in darkness, right behind the boy she was here with. She reacted almost automatically, her throat vibrating as she shouted out. "Watch out!" And he did. Yes, despite the lack in his magical power, he appeared to have some aces up his sleeves, something that went a long way when paired with proper experience and knowledge of one's own power and that of the enemy. Though they did not know exactly what they were up against, Shen managed to figure out that this opponent of theirs was actually damageable and not just another specter that would fly about laughing at them while they were powerless to do anything about it.

So she joined in, several of her blue magical arrows flying at the creature. Though it avoided all of them seemingly without putting forth any real effort. This guy was fast, which was never any good. Attack incapable of hitting was worse than just a weak attack after all. Deciding that she needed a better position, she turned her back to the battlefield and jumped onto one of the trees that were all around them, her feet now resting on the solid branch as she started scanning what was happening with her clear blue diodes. But all she could catch with that gaze of hers was Shen's body flying by, clearly hurt by the enemy. "Dammit...!" She was trying to find a good opportunity to shoot, but none was presenting itself.

And as the struggle continued, the shade would eventually loose it's interest in the boy, disappearing into the forest once more with it's speed. Loosing an enemy like that was about the biggest mistake you could make when on a battlefield. It was a sad reminder that they both lacked, as Shen's attempt to keep the creature in close range with his martial arts failed and the girl's gaze could not keep up. Though she soon lost her vantage point too, the darkness showing itself behind her back and striking her at full force. Several lacerations were now present through the cloth armor on her back as she struggled to get back up from the dirt and grassy road. But perhaps this was better! If no opportunity to land a proper attack was showing itself, then she just had to make one! A smile would grow on her face as she pumped some of her magical energy into the ground.

The beast soon charged after her, but as it was possible to restrain it with physical and magical means, it soon stopped. The Eden's mage set up a small trap in front of her, vines and roots quickly unearthing as the enemy stepped into the correct zone. It was spell not meant to deal damage and it would not hold the creature for a long time, but it was enough. Another blue arrow would be ready to be fired, but this time it was different from her regular shots. A vast amount of wind started gathering at it's tip, slowly surrounding the arrow of magic and transforming it into something that could almost be called a tiny tornado. "Wind... you who guided my friend to victory so many times before, lend me your power! Together, let us dance towards the absolutely freedom!"

"Wolf Shot!"

Releasing the arrow, a line of wind was created, penetrating the shadowy being. Only that much could be caught, as the projectile moved faster than even a bullet, it's piercing power crushing into their enemy and forcing it to fly backwards, even breaking apart her own spell as the hit was landed. Even high ranked enemies would have problems standing up after being directly hit with something like that. And this one too would now know that this due was just too much. Fleeing the scene in an instant, the dark aura all around them was lifted as a single piece of paper was left on the ground. But the girl would not pick it up, as she just lowered her arms, the bow suddenly feeling extremely heavy. "Well, that was close... are you okay? I have some healing abilities, though they're not great." Her gaze was now filled with concern and directed at Shen. It was obvious that he was hurt before, but she did not know just how severely.

The scariest dreams... are the predictable ones.

Landing on his feet again, Shen quickly attempted to send a palm through its skull when it suddenly faded away. His palm hit the bare air, causing him to leap back in shock. He scrolled around his red eye to track it down, but he already had an idea of its next target. Leila…!, he thought whilst pushing himself to run faster towards their positions. What, did it try and switch opponent? Shen wasn’t done with this fool, yet.

Leila had her hands on the ground right before the shadowy creature, whose body was kind of bound to the very earth beneath it through vines and other signs of natural objects. Pretty impressive…, he thought. The creature was forced to await their last attack, but Leila was already on it, even before Shen could even ask to have the last blow. Sending an arrow-like tornado towards the beast, Shen could conclude that her magic contained essences like nature and wind. Thinking about that, he barely noticed the paper on the floor after the flee of the shadowy creature; its attitude signaled defeat, anyways. Relieved, he wiped off sweat from his forehead, a little blood coming onto his arm. He still had that headache from earlier. “Uhh…-“ he let out quickly by Leila’s suggestion, “…” Normally, he would just let the bandages -specially made by the Dao family in Ca-Elum- do the job, but something in her eyes softened him. “O-Okay, if you really want to…” he replied with a rather displeased face, crossing his arms. The paper from before was shown on his left hand...

Made by Salrynn from FTRP