A Harrowing Holiday

Landing near the base of the mountain in Era, Leona dismounted her faithful griffin and dispelled it. She was the first to arrive on the scene. She was waiting for allied mages from Silver Wolf, Fairy Tail, and West Fiore Trading Company to arrive and help her deal with the latest threat to Earthland. Working with her today would be Yuvon Mu-Myu, Song Talea, Garnet, and Adalinda Ortinbras.

She knew Yuvon and Song from her guild, but she did not know anything about the Fairy Tail mage named Garnet. She also knew very little about the mage from West Fiore Trading Company named Adalinda. Leona was sure to learn more about their abilities and magic today when they clashed with the invaders from another dimension.

According to reports she had read, the invaders came through portals from another world and were terrorizing locations all over Earthland. The Magic Council itself had called upon Leona and the allied mages to travel to Era, discover the reason for the invasion, and stop it, preferably by peaceful means. That was a tall order for a single mage, but Leona had backup for this job.

Wearing her green-and-gold outfit with backpack and Argent Gloves, Leona also carried her Nightshade Machete. She was looking to take an easier job after the adventure in Silent Glaciers, but when the Magic Council called, there was no putting them on hold. The blonde waited for her job partners and wondered what enemies she would be going up against this time.

[Word Count: 252]
[Total Word Count: 252/4,000]

Ah, the cold season had fallen upon Earthland. In the late month of this blessed year, the merry aura increased by tenfold, and many stories were told. Yes, there was something traditional about this month - yes, indeed, the month of a holiday that many Fiorian civilians celebrated when the snow began falling. Despite the lack of too much snow for the moment, it was still the more reasonable to mark another annual celebration. Yuvon, on the other hand, was content in just knowing about the celebration instead of celebrating it himself, since his mission of knowledge was laid ahead of him. So much to learn, my benevolent friend…

It also sparked memories. Snow, cold air, dark sky… exactly like the time when he first put his footsteps in the guild areas. Could you imagine just how long ago that was? That sentence echoed in his head as he was warming himself up with a cup of hot cocoa and a book down in the library. While Leona was out for a mission at the Silent Glaciers, he watched over the corridors and guild territories with a tentacle casually floating around.

In the meantime, this book caught his interest more and more. It was about celestial bodies and the physics working behind them… he planned to widen his arsenal of spells by utilizing space-time manipulation. According to this text, the introduction to black holes followed:






Oh, what was that? A message was sent to the Librarian in form of a letter given to him by a nearby tentacle. It was from the Magic Council, and it warned of hostile activities with magical circles appearing and spawning havoc-creating beings from another world. Yuvon was no longer in his chair reading the book - he had simply teleported away, on his way to Leona.

He had a hunch, because as the Guildmaster, she must’ve gotten the message too. In the middle of her already existing mission at Silent Glaciers? She most likely needed a helping hand. Popping out of a wormhole in the mountain of Era, he saw Leona right next to him. Not many words were needed from him at this point.

“Magic Council sent me a call. I assume yours truly should aid you in exterminating this threat, milady?”

WC: 716

This winter wasn't quite as lonely as her first one away from Songs home city. Back then the only thing she had was herself and a search for something outside of the little box she had once known. The adults in charge of the orphanage were the closest thing to parents the girl could recall experiencing. They did their best to feed them, even to skipping meals themselves. They would reboil bones and things for soup until nothing was left, find way to make good even donations as poor as vegetables already partially deteriorating. Even if they were too protective, it had been out of love and care. Her brother had been the same too, though experiencing the outside world had helped him ease up. Back then part of her had wished to see everyone again, before it had set in that it would be unlikely to see any of them ever again. But this year she had a guild, and her brother back. Christmas as a holiday wasn't something she grew up with, but the foods and gift giving was something that got her interest. In this world outside the city nobody seemed to care about her ability to create luxury quality silk, she was free to use it to create things and exist without negative consequences. There were not a large number of unspoken laws that kept everyone in their pre made roles in life. This was a freedom the youth thrived on. This is why, when a state of emergency was declared? She had no issue signing up to help. This was how she ended up traveling so far to do her part in whatever this chaos was.

Talk first, try to do things peacefully, use your brain. This was something she liked about the job, even if it was a state of emergency. The counsel gave the option to do it peacefully. She could have the chance to try to solve things differently. How would her guild leader want to handle things? It was something the spider could ask soon. The desert built arachnid child had her red shirt on and a stuffed back on her back, just in case unforeseen weather popped up. While not being able to see the blond adult, the Small Talea could feel where which one Leona was from the unique magic of the person, as well as the scent they gave off. She started to wave, giving a gleeful smile. "Hi Leona! Hi strangers! I'm Song Talea! Everyone here is for the emergency thing, right? I hope we can help solve it. Killing enemies a lot easier for me than talking things out, but I'll try to help." This made her youth very apparent. An adult probably would have been less likely to be quite so blunt, she herself had lived most of her life speaking very differently. Most of her life had involved her being unable to share large important things to her most important details. Ever since gaining freedom over her person, she still had not yet learned to ease up on the blunt honesty. At the least she was friendly, even if her hyperactive hand waving and bounce in her eight legs were not so long after saying that killing was easier for her than trying to change people's minds.

Who were the other three people? She wasn't sure. She had seen squids, but not squid people. She had read about dragons, but had never met one. Safe to say, she lacked a lot of experience. Who was everyone? Well, who knows. What were the names of the people she was supposed to join to deal with this? Honestly she only remembered Leona and that they were not all from her guild. Oh! Was she supposed to say her guild? Would they feel as clueless as her? There was one good way to solve any confusion in her own mind, so she just did it. "I'm from Silver Wolf." Arms went down after waving, but only half way. The girl wanted to be ready for anything that she might smell or feel coming. One of the things she could recall in training was the need to surprise, to not be caught by surprise yourself.

Wordcount: 707

It seemed like the group was all here, so it was time to get going. The crisis was not going to resolve itself. Leona had not worked with many of these individuals before. She had worked with Yuvon and Song, but that was a long time ago. She had never worked with Adalinda or the Garnet fellow before today.

She was also slightly distressed at Song's cheerful declaration that killing enemies was a lot easier for her than it was to verbally negotiate with them. That sounded a bit too much like Leona herself. She always found it easier to let her weapons do the talking... that tendency was something that she had been trying to change with mixed success. She managed to talk down the goblin and the Vulcan in Clover Town but had just killed the Red Sand Bandits in Desierto because talking them down would be a pointless waste of time. After their leader was taken and hanged in the Tri-Council city, they saw no point in negotiation and fought to the end.

The worst part was that Leona had forced their backs to the wall. Then she thought about it a little more. Who was she kidding? They were outlaws who wanted to kill, torture, and live a life of consequence-free banditry. They saw that their lifestyle was catching up to them and tried to delay the day of reckoning by casting their lot with slavers instead of simply giving up their bandit ways and running somewhere far beyond Earthland.

Leona felt conflicted. Was there another way to resolve the Desierto issues and help the Blue Sky Clan in a way that did not involve killing? Probably not. The bandits were men with prices on their heads and knew it. They would do anything to avoid the hangman.

Leona shook off the lingering feelings of conflict and focused on the present. The five mages had a job to do. She began to talk with the mages.

"We're here to stop a continent-wide invasion of Earthland. The Magic Council wants us to find out why the invasion's taking place and stop it." Leona said to everyone.

"The Council would like a non-violent resolution to the problem. They'd like us to talk the leader out of their actions." Leona continued. She swore that she could hear Ghost Kasim laughing at her.

"You who bathes in the blood of bandits, talking to others about peace?" He asked mockingly.
Leona ignored it and continued speaking.

"If we can't talk them down... then we force them out. The only restriction is to keep property damage to a minimum. Since there's forest everywhere, we'll have to be careful with Fire Magic." Leona counseled. Again Ghost Kasim laughed at her.

"Why bother with words? Use a weapon instead. It suits you." He snarked. Leona again ignored him and tried to rally the other mages. She would cut to the chase.

"All right then. We need to find a portal because that's how they're getting here. Once we find the portal, we try to talk them down and if they offer violence, we shut them down." Leona outlined a rudimentary plan of action to her teammates. She was not much of a leader and it was starting to show. She had told them things that they already knew and did not have much of a plan for how to stop the attack on Era. In the future she needed to find and take some leadership courses because might did not make right. She might have been the second most powerful mage in Silver Wolf, but power alone did not make for a leader.

Leaders knew how to work with people from different backgrounds and with different personalities. Leaders knew how to unite them and get them to work towards a common goal. Leona was not one of those leaders. She was a good fighter and devoted to the job, but she was not a leader of mages. Becoming Guild Master of Silver Wolf was the very first time she had ever had the opportunity to lead people.

The blonde would have to find any dormant leadership qualities if she wanted to get her teammates through this job. She would have to step up and take charge. However, that would be easier said than done. Adalinda and Garnet came from guilds with stronger and more experienced leaders. Who was to say that they would accept her taking charge?

"You will lead them only to their deaths." Ghost Kasim snarked. Leona sighed. This was going to be a tough job.

"We're gonna need to think about how to find a portal. They just won't leave one out in the open because that'd be too easy to find and shut down. Where would you put a portal to another dimension?" Leona asked the group in order to glean ideas from them and get them involved in the mission. Using their intellects would be a good idea. This would be a job that would require intellect as well as muscle.

[Word Count: 842]
[Total Word Count: 1,094/4,000]

The team was quickly gathering around the small area in the forest next to Era. After Yuvon made his presence known from his own, slimy portal, a pair of West Fiore Trading Company members arrived and greeted themselves to them. “A pleasure to meet your acquaintances. I’m Yuvon Mu-Myu, a Silver Wolf wizard,” he greeted back to them. Per his own experience, they were allied with the WFTC, so that stood to reason with their allies in this crisis being from the same guild. This particular circumstance also strengthened the possibility of capable wizards from another guild to aid them in their cause. He would have to trust his hunch and deductive thinking to prove himself right, a claim that only time would tell.

The next arrival was that of a small person, stating the obvious as his height was the first thing that caught Yuvon’s eyes. Waving back, the librarian considered finding out how that could be - in this day and age, dwarfness was a rather rare occurrence among humans in Fiore. Despite realizing how offensive it could be to assume all kinds of things from his allies, Yuvon had a lust for knowing exactly what, why, where and how. He just couldn’t help it, he needed to know about this interesting, little person. Time, as always, would likely help him finding out the new figure’s origin and physiology.

Next up was Song Talea, a guildmate of his and Leona’s. With her cheerful greeting, she was more than ready to help stopping this country-wide terror, even with her rather violent comment that many could relate to. The feeling of violence and offensive action being the easiest to choose was not something new to the librarian - this wasn’t based on awareness for one’s choices in life, but more like a trigger and response that came first to mind, even if there truly was a calmer solution to a case or problem. Perhaps, it was simply natural to people of high power to resolve to that power in times of need. They were all renowned wizards in each their unique, baffling brilliance, and they all held their deep tales and moments of aiding and helping with what they excelled at.

Today, they were going to put that psychology to the test. The Magic Council had stated very clearly that a peaceful solution with less collateral damage was preferred given the exact time and holiday. It was still Christmas, and they didn’t want the entire nation to pee in their pants on Christmas. This holiday was still to be celebrated, even if terror knocked on the door. However, to negotiate with them, they would have to find them first - and given their little care in discretion, finding terrorists in the midst of their actions was easy. They did use magical portals located at strategically preferable positions, so that their terrors could reach the population with little warning. It was assumed by the librarian that a portal would likely be near a gate to the city. Because of the vegetation surrounding Era, it was difficult to assume that just any tree could hold the portal.

Swiping a hand across the air, Yuvon manifested a 3D map over Era and its surrounding shrubbery in the blink of an eye. With a further insight in the structure of the location, he concluded: “Since they’re bent on entering the city, their portal must be somewhere near the only gate into Era… here, around the main road, train station and trees. They’d likely prevent people from escaping so quickly, so the portal might be near us, already.” He awaited their responses and suggestions to the case, given that these portals had the chance of functioning differently than the types of portals that Yuvon was used to.

According to a report, some assaulters used candy canes as weapons… but that didn’t help Yuvon, since he was more affiliated with magical sensory rather than the physical - well, except for the tracking of human bodies thanks to that stupid heritage of his.

WC: 676
TWC: 716 + 676 = 1392

OOC: If Tamaria is used for her ability to fly to scout for the portal, I give permission for people to use her before my post to find it (just give me a heads up in dm/discord).

Song smiled to Tamaria, giving a bit of a wave. The youth felt excited to meet new people, even if it was on a job that possible meant killing. "Hello Tamaria! It's nice to meet you." What she didn't expect was the whispering, but it caused more than a few a few giggles. She didn't know Tamaria yet. The girl wasn't even fully aware that she was talking to a cat. Still, this new person was fun so far, it made the situation feel a little less tense. It sounded like the big lady, named Ada? She had the same sort of issue. The girl didn't know Leona had the same issue since it wasn't outwardly spoken, she couldn't read facial expressions, and hadn't known the woman long enough to know that yet. So to the girl? Ada was the first adult she had heard of with the same issue. "I didn't know adults had that sort of problem too, I feel a lot better now. Were you born to kill too?" She wanted to try something peaceful, but if she thought like herself? There were no ideas. Leona didn't seem to have more than hers. Property damage?

Right, that was something more likely to happen outside her home. Why was she surprised? This was an area with people around, not just a random patch of wilderness. The younger Talea decided against thinking any deeper on that. Instead she focused on talking strategy for figuring out what to do when facing them. "I have one healing spell? It was something I wanted to try to figure out how to after me and my brother both got hurt during the no light thing some months back. Uh, it might buy us time in talking if I set up some traps maybe? I have one trap that slows people down and another one that temporarily stuns them. That could buy us some more talking time? Or I could put spells on you so attacks hurt less Ada. Also, uh, what's a dragon slayer like?  You're the first one I've ever met, I think." She wanted to be useful in any way possible, but also be ready for anything. The youth lacked the experience to be able to predict what might happen in battle as accurate as some others might. She was as eager to try not killing, though not for selfless reasons.

The desert spider still had fresh memories of the years of training. Running away didn't change the years of training with others that had powers so much like hers. In a village where your magic decided what your job would be, hers had been killing. The youth had been working to change though, this could be a good test on her efforts. When the topic of Tamaria being a cat came up. The idea of talking and cat just didn't really click to her as two things that could go together before that time. A genuine look of shock struck through her body. Songs blind eyes were wide and leg movements stiffened. This quickly gave way to excited movements in the legs though, expression changing back to normal. "You're a kitty Tamaria?! A kitty that can think and talk and fly and things? You're so amazing!" There were not too many instances where her blindness was obvious.

If you ever asked her about color, an expression someone was making, to read something without touching it, all things that didn't actually ever come up in conversation. This was just one of those instances where it became more apparent she couldn't see the world. She could feel it, hear it, sometimes that felt like sight? But in the end, it really wasn't. Of course now that she met someone like the cat, she would be more aware when meeting other talking cats. There were just some things she needed experience, or touching someone to figure out. Others, like color, she would never understand. Though of course, the topic couldn't remain on one thing forever. Leona had brought up the portal, Yuvon suggested where it was most likely located, and then Ada brought up what sounded like the best solution. Well, it was probably the best solution? The youth gave a bit of a shrug. "It doesn't matter to me who flies up and looks for the portal, as long as someone flies up and looks."

Wordcount: 733
My Total: 1,440

Leona listened to Yuvon, Ada, and the others and their counsel tended to agree on one point. Someone needed to scout the area by air and tell the other mages what was going on. The blonde fully agreed with that line of thinking. As a mage able to summon wind-based creatures, she was qualified to scout the area. In a situation dripping with irony, she was a wind magic user who was afraid of heights.

But there was an easy solution to that particular problem. Leona did not have to go herself if she could send her summons to do the work for her. They could communicate with her telepathically and vice versa, eliminating the need to scout in person and run the risk of being knocked off her mount and falling to her death if the invaders had brought air cover with them. She could send her owl summon and have him escorted by her harpies.

Leona raised a hand and called out the words.

"PHARAOH SUMMON!" Leona called out. Ramses the owl appeared and flapped his wings above her head before landing on her right arm, making sure to land on the protective metal of the Argent Glove. Now it was time to call out the harpy sisters.

"O FABLED HARPIES, O SISTERS THREE! LEND YOUR STRENGTH UNTO ME!" Leona recited the chant. They appeared at her feet and took wing in unison.

"Oh, hey girl! We're not under attack already, are we?" Sylvia asked.

"Like, I'm surprised that we're not. We're usually called when there's fighting." Daphne commented.

"I'm glad that we don't have to fight just yet. Fighting all the time is pretty stressful." Sandy chimed in. Leona was inclined to agree with her. Everyone present would have to fight as soon as the portal was spotted.

"I want you guys to escort Ramses around and help him spot a portal. Some enemies are using the portal to get into our world and terrorize people. Once you spot it, let me know immediately." Leona told the harpies and Ramses the owl. Ramses turned his head around and looked Leona in the eyes while his chest faced forward. That was more than a bit creepy, but it was what owls did.

"It will be done!" Ramses said before he took flight. The harpy sister trio followed him into the sky and together the quartet began searching for signs of the portal. Searching by air would be a lot quicker than having to coordinate and keep up with five people searching the forest on foot. It was also low-risk... if her summons got killed by invaders they did not permanently die, unlike the mages with her. All Leona had to do was wait a little bit and call them out again and they were as good as new.

"I'm sending my summons to search around from the sky. If anyone else has any summons or any other aerial surveillance, now's the time to use it." Leona suggested to the other mages. Adalinda had already brought out Tamaria, but it was not Leona's place to command someone else's summon or pet. She would remain in place until her summons spotted something of interest and relayed the information back to her.

"Nothing yet." Ramses tersely reported via telepathy.

"Same here." Sylvia chimed in.

Leona did not like the sound of that. What if all the enemies had already gone through and the portal was left as a distraction? Leona hoped that was not the case and that there was still time to stop the attack before anyone got hurt.

"Is there anything else that we can do to find the portal or any enemies that may have already gotten through?" Leona canvassed the group for more ideas. It pained her to lean so heavily on the group when she was supposed to be a Guild Master, an individual who planned out the course of her guild and made decisions for an entire group of people. She was supposed to be a thinker, but at the moment she had no good ideas to offer. Right now she could only ask for ideas from the others and act on them.

Dealing with her intellectual shortcomings could wait because there was no time to mope. There was a job to be done. The Magic Council needed their help and they would do everything they could to complete the job. Leona's thoughts were interrupted by her summons suddenly talking to her. They had spotted activity!

"I have spotted movement in a clearing not too far from your current position!" Ramses declared to her.

"We see it too! Stay where you are! We'll come that way and guide you to it!" Sylvia added. Leona was ready for this moment.

"I've found some activity, guys! Get ready!" Leona informed the other mages.

"Get ready, Leona! They're heading your way!" Sylvia updated Leona.

[Word Count: 816]
[Total Word Count: 1,910/4,000]

Leona Jarnefeldt rolls six Monster Die.

The member 'Leona Jarnefeldt' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Monster Dice' :

Leona Jarnefeldt rolls six Monster Die.

The member 'Leona Jarnefeldt' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Monster Dice' :

Leona Jarnefeldt rolls six Monster Die.

The member 'Leona Jarnefeldt' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Monster Dice' :

Whilst scouting the map laid in front of him, Ada did mention a point - it was just as likely that the invaders mentioned by the Magic Council could have put a portal inside the town rather than outside of it. They were located in the woods right outside the outskirts of Era, so if the enemies were as deceiving as needed, they could have tricked them all into thinking that they would be spawned into this world at this spot rather than somewhere else. It was an infamous thought that the enemy would outsmart them, though… Yuvon felt threatened by the possibility.

A curious comment from Song was caught by his hearing - his oddly average sense of hearing, that was. She noticed the magic that the respectable lady Adalinda possessed and mentioned that it was her first time ever meeting a Dragon Slayer before. Now, Yuvon himself did hold knowledge of the Dragon Slayer Arcana that existed in this plane of existence, and it had always fascinated him how magic began to look more and more like an actual, constructed piece of artwork or tool. It had a specific design, and in this case, it also harbored a specific purpose - to imitate and surpass dragons. He would remember to lecture Song in a short session of info and trivia about Dragon Slayers later.

Unless if she got all the knowledge she wanted from- no, no… Yuvon wanted to teach her. Just something! Knowledge was never satisfying!

The plan was sufficiently explained as most from the group came up with the same point; somebody had to scout by air, since the higher element was preferred as a scouting post. Tamaria, Adalinda’s cute, little friend, was adept in flying by Yuvon’s own judgement and observation, and it didn’t take long before Leona sent out her parade of summons; an owl and three harpies. Whether if she noticed it or not, Yuvon undoubtedly memorized the magical signatures required to spawn these particularly feathery creatures; truth be told, it was the first time that he memorized a summoning spell. The closest thing to that which was in his memory already was the bow from the octopus massacre…

His mask was always in place, so little adjustment was needed when he looked up at the flying warriors who soared out to get a spot on one such portal that was explained in their request. Sadly, if the portals didn’t emit magical signatures, then Yuvon had trouble finding one without a blood or flesh sample… yes, truly that wasn’t in his favor.

But what felt like fate spinning the wheel a little faster, his Guildmaster warned them of activity. It must have been close as Yuvon readied up his hands. Bright magic particles covered them, warming up his arcane activity and readying him for any next action that was taken against him.

He heard roars in the distance. It was dry, loud roars that came from bears. Were those really bears? They looked like none of the pictures of bears that Yuvon had read in his library. They were way larger and more ferocious in their looks than the ordinary, white-furred polar bears that he was familiar of. They came rushing through the shrubbery and tore down trees that weren’t already decorated in Christmas decorations akin to those trees that they accompanied. These weren’t capable of being negotiated with… that was a pain.

He clenched his fist and released a black stone that came flying like a dart, cutting around in a prism-like fashion to push the trees back. Despite successfully pushing the trees back, the bears were infuriated. One of the presents from the trees also landed in front of Yuvon, and fearing the worst, he stretched out his hands to form a barrier. The next thing that happened was a big, pink cloud of smoke that covered him entirely…

WC: 1392 + 648 = 2040

8 Weak monsters (24 - 40 Santa helpers)
5 Normal (10 - 15 Polar Bears)
1 Strong (1 - 2 Christmas Trees)
1 Boss (Santa)

Rolling for effect from Christmas Tree (ignore this post)

The member 'Yuvon' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Normal Dice' :

It was interesting watching everyone work to get things done with their different skills. Her guild leaders bird friends were able to find the enemies location. When Tamaria and Ada spoke again though? Song gave a bit of a frown, pouting. "You could have just said no, don't act like I was born with a problem!" Of course any rational adult would know that this wasn't what either of them were trying to say. The spider was a child nearing puberty though, certainly not at the age where rationality was at its finest. Still, it was unlikely that this was exactly the finest of times to down talk a young girl and explain things in a way that she would better understand. As for the rest of the information? She was hoping to hear a bit different, she wasn't sure what, just... maybe something that wasn't in a book? "That... sounds exactly like what a few books say." She tried to hide her disappointment, but it was written on her facial expression. It was easier to control her voice, it was something she picked up in herself and others. With faces though? It felt a bit like a guessing game until she could get her hands on the person's face. At the least it seemed she did know what a slayer was, just had never met one. Meeting something or someone in person was different in person. She couldn't see things, but feel? Most definitely. A lot of the times it felt a bit like books were lacking in information that would help her identify in ways without going up and groping someone all over. She didn't mind doing that, but knew others seemed to mind for whatever reason.

An exceed? She hadn't read about those before. "Ohhh..." But this of course was not a train of thought she could finish. Instead of exclaiming her curiosity to know more, there were elves, bears and... trees? The girl was stunned in shock for a moment, staring at the thing that was mobile christmas trees. What didn't make them less weird? That one tossed a gift that... wait, "Yuvon are you naked?!" A snowball hit her, but the girl hadn't quite noticed due to still being in somewhat of a surprised state. There's nothing like a blind child re confirming that someone was just stripped bare by a gift tossed by a pine tree. Then of course when her mind started working, it was to wonder how you try to talk and rationalize with bears or trees. The girl slapped herself in the face, trying to get herself back to the chaos at hand. "Breathe!"Another snowball, this time too close to the slap for her to notice it. That's right, when your world is always a blank canvas, most of what you have are a bunch of questions and a little information that helps you draw out what you think is going on. Now, what was happening? Yuvon was naked, pushed back some trees, and irritated large bears. A bear bit Ada, she was around the bears. More pushing them back maybe? Her traps would affect the enemies, but also anyone close enough to be effected. She could boost her own speed, but what could she do with it? Well... Where was the chance to talk? She didn't see it anywhere. Not in the snowballs flung at Garnet, nor the box tossed at Yuvon, or the bears going for Ada. So... Song gave into her instincts. She quickly made and wove together black spider silk. When it was completed, her hand begun to glow.

Taking in a long deep breath before rushing towards who looked to need it the most. The desert arachne touched Garnet with the speed boosting spell before rushing off herself. If only she had a strength boosting spell? Something to figure out later. What she did next? For now she rushed towards the fray, weaving white threads together until a spell was created. The white holy blade shot out from her hands, hitting one of the christmas trees. Then again, when have trees ever been hard to hit? Of course, it would only be a matter of time until she was attacked. She was just hoping it would be something like a fist, flying attacks... flying anything were out of her range. This was around the time another snowball hit, finally causing her to weave clear silk strings together, creating a spell shaped like a small ball. She used it on herself to heal before starting to try to find the source of the snowball attacks. This... was easier said than done.

Words: 775
My Total: 2215
Speedy Steps: 1/8 duration left

Leona dispelled Ramses and brought out the griffin in his place. As proud as the owl was, he was simply not suited for combat. The griffin was much more suited for combat because he could move quicker and hit a lot harder. The team would need combat-capable summons because enemies were everywhere and they greatly outnumbered the team by a considerable margin. The five mages had to deal with bears, elves, and a Christmas tree slinging presents that exploded and had random effects... in Yuvon's case, it somehow made his clothes disappear and left him naked.

Leona spotted Garnet among the elves, who mostly ignored him except for the odd snowball lobbed in his direction. She wondered what he was up to but did not have time to talk. He needed help because it appeared that he did not have magic just yet, so she sent her harpies to help him.

"Give Garnet some cover and avoid killing the elves if you can help it! Just knock them out!" Leona telepathically instructed the trio. They flew over the mass of elves and began dive-bombing them with their talons, causing the elves to scatter and turn their attention from Garnet to the airborne threat. They began lobbing snowballs at the harpies, who easily flew out of their range and dodged when necessary. Now that Garnet had a distraction to help him, it was time to turn to the more immediate threat, namely the polar bears menacing the mages. There were quite a few of them running about, including two that found Leona.

It was time to go to work. Leona punched one in the chest with a Mach Straight, then hit it with a Hurricane Punch that connected with all twelve punches, knocking it down. Its colleague rushed at her and she jumped just in time, landing on its back and standing for a count of two then dismounting with a forward flip. She spun around upon landing and threw a Smashing Crescent spell at it which hit but had little effect on the burly quadruped. It only got angry... it roared and stood on its hind legs, raising its paws and swinging them downward with all its might. Leona jumped to the side and felt the wind generated by its paws rustle her hair.

The blonde mage hit back with a Gale Cannon that hit it in the face but only staggered it. Its friend had gotten up for more and swiped at her with its heavy paw, which Leona barely avoided with a backwards jump. The griffin swooped in and gouged the bear with its talons before flying out of range of any retaliation, which gave her an opening to attack. Leona took full advantage of it. She raced in and hit the bloodied bear in the face with a flurry of punches, then used Sky Hammer to bring her heel down on its head when it lowered itself after receiving five consecutive punches to the face.

The Sky Hammer kick knocked its face into the ground and knocked it out, leaving her facing another angry bear. It charged and tried to tackle her but only hit air because the blonde jumped forward and over it. She landed and used a Wind Bullet spell to hit it in the backside, propelling it forward and out of the way, which was good because another bear hurried to engage her. Leona faced the new threat and dodged its diagonal paw swing with a timely duck, then hit back with a Mach Uppercut that hit it under the muzzle. It roared and swiped back, grazing the edge of her skirt and ripping it but somehow missing her leg by the slimmest of margins.

"I like this skirt!" Leona yelled indignantly like the bear actually cared about what it had just done. The griffin swooped in and gouged the bear's back with its claws before flying away, leaving the bear to stand on its hind legs and roar defiantly before Leona slammed into it with a Zephyr Charge, knocking it over onto its back. It rolled over and was soon coming back for seconds... the angry blonde was happy to oblige. She fed its appetite for pain with a Mach Straight, a flurry of three normal punches, then a Hurricane Punch to the face which hit with all twelve and knocked it down for the count.

Leona took a moment to breathe before she was hit in the face with a snowball packed with ice. The blonde was not happy after the polar bear ripped the edge of her skirt and now an elf was laughing at her. She would show those annoying elves what they had gotten into. She cast a Wind Blast in its direction and knocked down it and four of its friends who were preparing to launch a volley of snowballs at her. It was Leona's turn to laugh at them as they struggled to get back to their feet.

Her humor at the reversal of fortune was short-lived as another polar bear charged her from behind and knocked her down with a tackle to the backside that propelled her forward. Leona landed and rolled over just in time to avoid getting her back ripped into by its teeth; the griffin flew in and distracted it long enough for Leona to roll onto her stomach and get to her feet. Now she was staring down a polar bear and trying to think of a way to bring it down quickly, preferably without killing it.

Leona started off with a Fast Ball to the face and followed up with a Wind Bullet that knocked it down for a moment. She was about to attack it again when another bear joined the fight, forcing her to back off and face two angry bears instead of just one. She had gotten in over her head, but she could not back down now. The Magic Council was depending on her. So was the team of mages that she was nominally in charge of.

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are!" Leona defiantly challenged the bears before using a Wind Blast to knock them back. Her harpies were still giving the elves a hard time and her griffin was coming around for another pass, which meant that the blonde was effectively alone against two bears. Now would be a good time for a teammate or two to help out.

[Word Count: 1,078]
[Total Word Count: 2,988/4,000]