Small hands pressed tightly to their mouth, they glance to the side as Vex darts to be next to them, maneuvering not only to block them from view, but to press the weaker of the two against the furnace's wall. A sigh of relief comes from the other side as the bandit stops in front of the fire and out of the chilly air outside.
Frozen to the spot, mere seconds felt like several eternities, waiting to be found as the man paced and muttered, staying close to the furnace while complaining of having to stay outside for long periods of time. From the side of their eye, they see the man draw closer- and Vex reacts too fast to comprehend. Leaping towards the man, she spins on one foot so that she was behind him, the man turning towards her as they choke, "Wait-!"
There's a sick crack as she kicks him in the back and his head connects against stone- a fractured skull, they guessed, the idea causing their stomach to turn. It didn't take long before the horrid scent of the burning man infiltrated the air- flesh and hair and cloth. Bringing a sleeve to their face, they cough and choke from the smell, stumbling away from the back area- no real reason, only so they could leave the place.
They look to the furnace in horror, though quickly tears their gaze away, instead pinpointing a look of disbelief onto the Changeling. She only gives a leisure shrug, motioning with a tilt of her head towards the outside. Another short glance at the furnace, and they numbly follow with clear distress as the two step out into the snow once more.
Barely noticing the chill nor the crunch of snow beneath them, pale eyes search the inner wall that blocked the mine, looking for any alarms and counting- several bandits stood along the wall, shifting from foot to foot, but none seemed to have noticed anything amiss as they grumbled to one another. A touch of water to their nose, and they look up- it was snowing.
Looking over to Vex, they open their mouth to make a comment, though they freeze, seeing flickering fires above an open palm of her hand. "Hold on-" They try, but as usual, she wasn't listening- snagging their sleeve and dragging them into a stumble, she's already throwing the bolt of flames as the bandits notice them, one crying out an alarm as an explosion rocks the earth. Gunpowder, they guessed as flames erupted, charred and broken wood flying through the air with ash and snow, grey and white with sprinklings of crimson from the few unfortunate as the two skid to a stop.
The wooden wall groaned, some of the broken wood giving out to reveal the stone hole behind. Several bandits lined the walls still, having jumped out of the way, and a few laying on the ground. A few bandits recovered their shock quickly, already racing for a stairwell or ladder to reach the ground.
"Why did you do that!?" They cried out, looking at the Changeling- terror stained their voice, but she paid them no mind, though she couldn't exactly respond to begin with. Conjuring up another bubbling flame, she flung it to an oncoming group, some bandits skidding to a stop and dodging and others... They flinch, not wanting to look as their gaze flew elsewhere, trying to formulate a plan.
Two men fell to the wrath of the Changeling as they notice a fallen bandit in a curled up position. Hurling their own pitch of flames, aiming for the snow ahead of the groups (A scare tactic that they hoped work), and Vex finally notices the fallen but alive bandit. Another bolt of flame starts, but they snare her wrist, face twisted into a determined frown, a glare set in pale eyes. She stares back for a moment before letting out a confused huff, pulling her wrist free to fire at another group as the weaker heads to the fallen bandit.
'I'm an idiot,' they thought, dropping to their knees by the curled up enemy, placing a hand on a trembling shoulder to try and shake them. 'I'm going to help this stranger, and then he'll kill me', they guessed, giving another shake as the bandit squeezed his eyes shut. Mustering up their own voice, they try, "Are you okay-?" A slight crack in their voice, but that couldn't be dwelled on as the human started to scream.
"Fire! Fire everywhere- No! Fire-!" They startle at the scream, hands flinching away before they tried again, shaking harder- not the wisest idea, they knew, saying, "H-Hey, calm down- look at me." glazed eyes the color of copper finally open in response, seeing nothing from reality as the human repeats 'fire' over and over. Swallowing the lump in their throat, they pull the bandit into a sitting position.
"There is no fire, only snow-" They try,207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOkdgyS5Fv
"There is only fire!" The bandit retorts in a shriek, making the small mage flinch away with a short cry. Another breath of nervous energy, and they continue, "There isn't any fire- it's cold out here, fire is not cold." Sure enough, the fire had turned to embers and ash by now, so it was the truth.
There's a pause as the human opens and closes his mouth, like a fish out of water, before the glazed appearance melts away, those copper eyes landing on them, finally snapped out of it. Despite the wave of misfortune they see in his eyes, they wonder if he'll just stab them any second now, asking anyways, "Are you okay?"
What they didn't expect was a clipped tale of sorrow from the older teen- a dying pet, an unfaithful ex who sent an assassin, horrid jobs- they can only blink in startled surprise as the bandit concludes, "All within the past two weeks!"207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfv8fA4clRg
"That bad, huh?" They muster, head tilting to the side by a margin.
Bowing his head, the bandit responds, "Yeah..." His head darts up again, staring at the mage, "Uh- what's your name, anyways?"207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyjMCm8KkY
Off put by the question, they stutter for a moment, "Huh-? Oh, uh, Raven, what about you?" 207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDd6tEiPMS7
"Jeff..." is the short response.207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPt9NUP0PBc
They decided they'd kick themselves over the awkward introduction later as they play with a strand of hair, nodding. "Alright- Ah, well, Jeff- please stay here while me and my friend deal wit the bandit lord, that would be great. I would rather you not get caught up in the crossfire."207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡup5vzakMZT
Jeff watches them stand up for a moment before nodding.
They offer a smile before turning their head around, looking away from the brunet to try and spot the Changeling in question. There, only twenty feet away- a large bandit, wielding an iron shield, was locked in combat with the girl. With a kick, she's flung across the area, hard enough to crack the wood of the outer wall with a series of cracks- no bones, from the sound- but then the bandit was turning to glare at them as they stood frozen in turn, a deer caught in a hunter's sight.
ns 18.68.41.140da2
