<div></div><br> <br>Shantytown is extremely quiet beyond the sounds of someone beating something. The sound repeats itself over and over again with various degrees of aleration, ad occasionally an "oof" or sound of anger can be heard accompanying it. Along the entrance to an alley a group of five beings of various sizes have pinned a rat of average stature, holding his arms still while one of them works his gut. "Just give up Johnny you ain't got nothing left to live for. Just join us, your boys are all good as dead right now, they aint got their no good monster of a soulless leader to stand up for them, you "gifted" punk."<br> <br>Arimia was in Shanty Town herself, nothing unusual about that. As she was making her rounds through the hovels she heard the sounds comming from the alley, which drew the small, pink raccoon toward it. She slips into the shaddows of the alley, then moves to lean on a wall, near enough to the group to perhaps cause some worry. The small 'coon, her cloak pulled about her and hood raised, speaks up then. "Well. This hardly looks friendly or fair. I must commend you on that last point, but the first could use a bit of work. Ain't like we ain't got enough enemies outside the town without makin' more inside it, yeah?"<br> <br>Angus was making his way near shanty town, going through his evening patrol when he heard the sounds of the commotion, breaking from his path to investigate the source of the sounds to sate his curiosity. He makes his way to the allyway, stopping a few feet away to look over the situation before he puts his hands on his hips, before speaking. "This a private party or can anyone join?"<br> <br>Kalt was joining Angus on his patrol this day, her arms and armors prepared as usual when they hear the commotion. She's quick to follow after, doing her damndest to keep up with him until arriving not long after. Her gaze quickly traveling to all of the individuals as her left hand begins to tighten onto the hilt of her sword. "... Lookin' like it's bein' a lil'public an' all..."<br> <br>Cedric isn't really entirely sure what he's doing in Shanty Town. Just taking a stroll probably, since he's been away from the city for a while. He is, of course, prepared for trouble given his tendency to wander headfirst into trouble that is 'None of His Business' while in Shanty Town. Clad in dark silver armor and his spear behind his back, he traverses the road through the city. And... of course, he would stumble across something that is decidedly none of his business. "Wonderful." the badger says as he approaches the scene just behind Angus and Kelt. "I guess things haven't changed much while I was away, huh?"<br> <br>Violence? In Shanty Town? Nothing too surprising, but Dio was curious if a certain new gang could be part of the trouble. It could also be a wonderful opportunity to test the tower shield hoisted across his back, complimented by a spear in his hand. Witnessing the commotion, the lion peers at their bodies, recognizing a familiar tattoo. Since some others are joining on in, he decides to holster his shield and clank the bottom portion upon the ground next to the others. "What're ya doin' beatin' up a poor ol' rat," he questions, peeking out from his shield. "I got some questions to ask. Yer part o' those Vox folk, ain't ya?"<br> <br>The alarming amount of people surrounding their little get together causes the group of beings to tense up and ease off of Johnny, one of them keeping their hand on his shoulder, propping him to the wall the look rather casual. "What? Nah we's bein friendly. This is just a little get togetha ween friends see, ain't nothing to worry about." a tall and rugged bald eagle says as he looks over the pink raccoon. A small roach folk gives Kalt a wink as he watches the two foxes, and the rest of the eye the arriving heavily armored folks. "There are a lot of yah, what brings you all by here?" says a fat rat terrier. Johnny looks like he might say something, and then is gripped rather tightly by the eagle, which prompts him to say "I gots somewhere to be, right now. You guys think you can keep my friends company?". The rat gets a few glares, and Dio is completely ignored.<br> <br>Arimia reaches up with her metallic arm and pushes the hood on her cloak back, a scowl on her features. "Let the rodent go, first. An' don' even try to pull one over on me." She walks over and, with that same metal hand, grabs the wrist of the hand on Johnny's shoulder, pulling it away. "As I said, we got enough enemies outside of the town to worry 'bout." She waves her normal arm toward Angus as she says this. Surely just a coincidence. "We don' need to be makin' more among ourselves." Directing her gaze toward Johnny she says, "An' we don' need to be givvin' clan folk an excuse to be commin' out here. Yeah?" <br> <br>Angus frowns as the Eagle speaks, spinning a tale as he crosses his arms and watches Arimia walk in to free the Rat from the grip of the Eagle. An eyebrow raises as Arimia gestures towards him, a thin smile appearing on the foxes muzzle as he taps his claws against the fabric of his shirt, keeping silent for the moment as he regards the situation.<br> <br>Kalt growls lowly at the winking roach, her hand tightening in anticipation around the handle of her sword as she glares at them. Her tail flicks slightly at Arimia's mention of clan folk, working to not pay her much heed before looking back to Angus. "... They ain't lookin' like they got a lick'a sense between 'em. Think they'll go an' wise up to run?"<br> <br>Cedric takes another glance around at the scene, shrugs to himself, and walks around the gathering in an attempt to continue down the road in the other direction upon deciding that he doesn't really care what happens here, and doesn't really want to get involved anyway.<br> <br>Arimia says, "Or so you think."<br> <br>Dio starts gently raising his shield up and down, making annoying metallic clanking sounds along with a bit of scraping here and there. "What yer gang 'as been doin' is sick," he proclaims, caring not that he's been ignored. Nothing like a one sided conversation. "Cuttin' off tongues, flayin' people an' leavin' 'em in the streets. An' now beatin' up this fellow right 'ere."<br> <br>Daniel didn't have a place that he could call home as of late. The passing seasons have been harsh on the little mouse, and while they have taken their toll on him, they have also toughened him up. His hair was longer, his body was more lithe, and he was even sporting a couple of scars due to his choice of, or rather lack of, living conditions. One is even along the bridge of his nose, running over his eyes. Blinking his milky white eyes and twitching his whiskers, his head turns toward the sound of commotion and voices, the little mouse props himself up on his old, busted staff and creeps his way towards it, opposite of the rest of the group. Keeping himself in the shadows, he crouches behind a pile of scrap wood, but anyone perceptive would be able to see his blind eyes shining slightly in the dim light.<br> <br>The rat offers a smile to Arimia, saying "Of course not, just need to make sure something is safe." before he is elbowed by a terrier. "Yeah maybe you're right miss." the dog says looking to Arimia. "Not so friendly as it turns out, we did have a little dispute and we were workin it out, mabe we should all sit down and have a chat, spend a good long while working out the dents." Angus and Kalt are given a few looks as Arimia points to them, but Dio is given a few agast looks. "We don't do anything like that, that's awful stuff man." Johnny begins to move away from the alley and his hand is taken by the terrier. "Oh come on, we just offered to talk, you're going to turn us down?"<br> <br>Arimia looks between Johnny and the terrier, one of her ears flicking. "I can't blame him. If someone was beatin' on me an' I had a chance to get away, I'd take it too." She fishes about in her cloak pockets before pulling out a white cylinder. Some sort of smoke it seems, as she raises it to her muzzle and uses a small gesture and some fire magic to light it. "Okay. That's a lie. I'd take the chance to kill 'em an' pike their heads in front of the place of whoever annoyed me the most recently. But the general idea is the same." She glances at Dio then, then looks back to the group. "An' you'd better not be doin' anythin' like that. It's a good way to upset folk." She waves a hand at the armoured lion. "The sort of folk like that who would wade in an' exact a bit of violent justice."<br> <br>Angus eyes narrow as Dio speaks up. "I believe that on that we agree Arimia, I would hate to see these poor fools anger Dio or someone else here." He taps Kalt on the shoulder lightly as she growls, turning to watch Cedric go for a few moments before he speaks up again. "Cedric, why not join us? I would enjoy hearing tales of what you have been up to, while we escort these fine fellows to the dungeons for. At least assault I would say?"<br> <br>Kalt huffs gently as she's tapped on the shoulder, straightening her posture as she nods to Angus and cuts the growling... Though the scowl remains as she listens to Dio talk. "Yes'sir. Runnin' round holdin' folk down an' beatin'em soundin' like assault an' such to me." Her scowl becoming a rather dark grin as the dark condensation of dark math begins to flow around both of her hands as she keeps her hands on her weapons, ready to draw in an instant. "Figurin' they can go talkin' to him through the bars if'n they come'long nicely."<br> <br>The heavily armored badger stops as Angus starts to speak to him. He pauses for a few moments to consider staying, and shrugs. "Sure, why not? I guess it's prob'ly too late for me to stop sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, now." he answers with a chuckle as an echo of dark math shimmers down his armor. He turns on his heel and steps back towards the gathering. "Really though, if I'm gonna continue getting involved with this kind of thing, you could at least offer me a job in the guard or something like that." Cedric says, only somewhat jokingly, to the noblefox.<br> <br>Clank, clank, clank... The tower shield continues to collide with the floor in all of its annoying glory. Of course, he didn't expect them to come out and say the truth, but he could at least continue helping in applying some heavy pressure. The lion decides to play along with the whole angry justice feline, even if he really did want it deep down. Just not much of a violent person in the end unless it was forced. With his spear wielding hand, he bangs the shaft of it up against his shield, shiny and sharp tip waving in the air while a gentle growl bellows from his throat. "Ya can try an' push it off all ya like lads, but who ya foolin' right now? I saw what yer gang did, an' they spent some good time behind bars an' they knew they'd get killed fer messin' up. O' was it a coincidence they jus' so 'appen to 'ave the same symbol ya do?"<br> <br>Daniel decides that it would likely be best for everyone if he stayed behind the scrapwood. Given the heavy clank of armor, and a few somewhat familiar voices, it's likely that a few people from Firmament had come by to deal with the issue going on. Unfortunately Daniel himself was unsure just what the issue was, having not been focusing on the beating from before. And it didn't help him at all that he couldn't see either. However, from what he grasps from the voices speaking, someone was getting run in by a couple of thugs and the ones in the armor were trying to put a stop to it. He decides to take a risk, hearing a variety of voices, some farther away than other, he assumes those are the voices of the armored people. Rising slightly from his cover, he attempts to get their attention and points off to the south, hoping that he can alert them that a couple of their numbers could flank around to the back and catch the thugs off guard. He just hopes he hasn't stumbled out too far from his cover.<br> <br>The eagle squints at Dio and better covers himself, a symbol slipping beneath fabric. He looks to Arimia and thinks for a moment, before asking "Can I get some of that?" he says pointing at the stuff. The roach and terrier look to eachother, the other two members do very little at all, not even blinking as they watch the others. "Hey pal that's really annoying, knock it off." the dog says to the lion finally, Johnny has pulled away and rounded the corner. "They're nuts, and I've got to check on somethings." he says as he moves off, one of the group moving to follow him, a orangutang with an eyepatch and a look of malnourisment. The roach takes an interested look in Daniel but says nothing but "Got an eyesore." to the others. The dog continues to Dio and the others, saying "I"m positive we have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, and I don't think it's neccessary for us to be going behind any bars." In the distance, along the road of the alleyway a bright glow can be seen, Johnny making his way towards it.<br> <br>Arimia watches and listens to the goingons, an ear flicking. "No," she says, a simple reply to the eagle's question. She takes a long drag from that smoke, then blows the resulting smoke in his face. "You may not personally have done any of that, but it seems you know somethin' about it. If that symbol your feathered friend there is tryin' to hide is any indication. An' you can either go with the brat over there, an' give answers to the guard, or I can get the answers myself. An' I ain't so concerned about the morality of my methods of doin' so." She flicks an ear and says, "Brat. You wanna send one of yours after the rat to make sure they don' get overly affectionate with him? Or you want all of yours here to handle these while I go?"<br> <br>Angus nods to Arimia, tapping Kalt once more to point in the direction of the rat before murmuring. "Play nice. As to who gets those fine, foolish, brawlers well. I could always look the other way, and ignore the screams." He flashes them a toothy smile, his right hand resting on the grip of his Rapier as he smiles to Cedric. "If you don't mind log hours, boring work, and annoying citizens I'm sure that we can make a place for you."<br> <br>Kalt watches Johnny and the orangutang take off rounding the corner, her tail flicking in tense aggitation before she's tapped ont he shoulder and given her instructions. Her lips pulling back into that coy grin as she flicks the sword's sheath away and places her hands across it's hilt in a carrying hold so it wouldn't get in the way of her moving. "Yes'sir, I'll go playin' bout as nice an' such as they act." As soon as she's finished speaking then she drops low before dashing forward... Moving in a path to pass by the group, and if they didn't interfere, make her way quickly around the corner to follow after the rat.<br> <br>"Ah... well, you had me up until 'annoying citizens'." Cedric says with a mock frown. "Well, I guess if nothing else turns up I'll have to hold you to that." he says, frown replaced with a grin. He looks off in the direction that Kalt is running, and then back to the others, getting on his guard and ready to draw his spear from behind him at a moment's notice.<br> <br>Being told to quit his banging, Dio makes it even more annoying by really scraping the ground with his shield, trying his very best to stir suppressed emotions to light. "Ain't no need to lie anymore lads," he says, watching the fellow try and hide his symbol. "No foolin' anyone 'ere I'm afraid. Best to just start talkin' business now an' save everyone the trouble ' talking 'ere 'til we grow old." The lion watches Johnny and another walk off, looking a bit concerned, especially after witnessing a mysterious light. "'ow strange... Wonder what's with the light. Wouldn't the rat lad be tryin' to 'ead somewhere more safe?"<br> <br>Daniel smiles slightly as his efforts seem to do /something/, drawing footsteps towards him. Lighter footsteps, likely the one that was being pushed against the wall, but the moment the mouse hears a second set, he quickly ducks back into the shadows behind the scrap wood, trying to hide himself like he had done before. After a moment, a third set of footsteps rushes passed him, making him close his eyes, expecting it to be one of the goons that had found him. The mouse boy's lips were pursed as he expects the pain of a fist, or a hand grabbing at his fur, but he gets nothing instead, opening his eyes and listening closely around himself. He heard voices to his right and voices to his left... but who was good, who was bad?<br> <br>As the group splits The eagle groans and looks around the corner after the two, the roach moving to see whats going on before he curses profanity to himself. As soon as he stops the eagle bolts, and the roach takes off in a different direction, leaving the dog alone with the remaining group. He growls and calls out "You cowards." as he moves towards the alley exit casually, stopping at the edge if he's not stopped before hand. "So lets see..... I'm not going to live very long either way, being around you folks is like poison." he says with a laugh. "Either of you offer me a reason I should come with you?" he says, shaking his head to the lion. "Cause even if I knew something it wouldn't be said here." Off on the street, a small three being parade moves along, the orangutang reaching out and grabbing Johnny as he reaches the source of the glow which prompts a dagger to stab one of the hands, a fire has been set to one small home, and a group of beings outside are busy standing around outside, most of them armed. "Oh Johnny, it's a sad sight aint it? It looks like someone were doing something hazardous and this here home of a few noteable beings in your life went up in flames. It's very serious in there, and we're doing all we can to elp out you know, magic and lookin for signs of survivors. Say, did you think about that thing we asked you?"<br> <br>Arimia tenses as everyone seems to start moving, her odd eyes flicking from one being to the next. As the eagle bolts one hand disappears uner her cloak, emerging with a macabre bow crafted from bone. Her other hand pulls out an arrow, quickly placing it to the string and drawing back. Then the arrow is released and flying toward the eagle, though it wasn't aimed to be a killing blow. Not directly, anyway, but the poison on her arrows may change that. Once the arrow is loosed, without even waiting to see if it hits, the pink raccoon's hand disappares under her cloak again, pulling out a dagger with a darkened blade. "Someone get after those two," she says, in a tone not expecting argument. She starts toward the canine. "The reason you should go with 'em? Because if you don', I chase you down and take my time cuttin' pieces off. Eventually I'll start askin' questions as well, but for the first while I'd jus' have fun. An' you know? I'm rather bored. Right now, I'm hopin' you try to run."<br> <br>Angus cocks his head to the side as everyone starts bolting, he claps a little for Arimia as she takes down the Eagle before speaking to the canine. "She is right you know." He looks to the eagle, before turning back to the source of the glow. Before heading in that direction at a light sprint, leaving the eagle where he was for now to see what was going on.<br> <br>Kalt is doing her damndest to try and figure out a way to solve this with angus' instructions... Although, that's pushed farther back as she sees the fire. Her eyes going wide before a savage snarl escapes her and her hands reposition themselves on the hilt to ready for a devastating sweep, the edge of the heavy blade igniting with bright white creator's fire mixing with dark math designed to sap the energy of it's victims... And then the flash of a dagger, and the sweet sickly scent of blood fills her nose... Her lips pulling back into a dark and savage grin then as Angus' instructions fall out of her mind completely. "YA'LL BEST GET IN THAT HOUSE, YOU AIN'T GONNA LIVE OUT HERE!" She almost howls out to the group standing infront of the house, before she plants her right paw in the dirt and swings her body around to allow greater momentum as she'd go slam the sharpened edge of the two handed sword into the orangutaun's knees in a clear attempt to 'cut him down to size'...<br> <br>Being clad in heavyish armor doesn't seem to slow down Cedric too much as he, without hesitation, gives chase to the fleeing roach being. Though he'd probably be a little faster without all the metal, he seems to be gaining on his target without much trouble. Cedric shouts to his quarry tauntingly as he runs, "Running away is only gonna make it worse for you when I -DO- catch you!" The badger growls as he leaps forward in an attempt to tackle the being to the ground when he feels he's close enough. Whether or not he successfully catches the roach remains to be seen...<br> <br>Dio watches everything suddenly split off, peeking over his tower shield. It seems mostly everything was being handled quite well, but one thing remained. Smelling some smoke, the lion heads towards the burning building and observes the beings hanging outside. Perhaps they wouldn't mind too much if a crazy lion took a peek inside. He straps the shield upon his back to help if someone tries to shoot him and runs through some fire math to assist in keeping the flames off him. "Anyone 'live?" He shouts out, looking frantically and hoping his fire magic holds.<br> <br>Daniel continues to listen to the sounds of voices around the area, pale, milky eyes darting around nervously as he sits in his little hiding place. He doesn't seem to have been located yet, and he plans to keep himself like that. That was, of course, until he smells something. His nose picks up the scent of burning. A familiar scent to him, of course, having once been a fire mage. His heart skips a beat as he realizes it must be one of the homes that he was hiding between, and putting two and two together, it must have been the home of the smaller creature. He couldn't let something like this happen! Standing up and brushing the tattered remains of his cloak aside, he takes in a slow, deep breath, his eyes closing as he tries to block everything out. The noises of running and the beginnings of combat, the smell of burning wood... he tries to focus on his magic, what he taught himself and learned from his teacher. Exhaling, he raises his arms in front of himself, then off to his sides, most likely giving away his position, but he didn't care at this point. He was focusing on every body of water he could locate. Fountains, puddles, ponds, even the contents of his waterskin. Anything that he could manage, he would use to try and douse the flames.<br> <br>The roach groans as he just avoids a tackle, diving out of the way for cover at the last second before he attempts to keep moving. He looks back at Cedric and says "I'll be honest, you're fast for a big lug." The eagle is down, grasping at the arrow wound as he tries to pull it out. The dog remains with Arimia, frowning as his words "I'll go with you." are cut short by a departing group. "Ah.... Piz." the dog says before he looks to Arimia. Kalt hits home, crippling the orangutang with their blow, which prompts the weapons that are out among the group in the street to point at her. As Dio reaches the burning building he is fired upon by a crossbow from behind. Johnny has his knife in hand but doesn't move to attack the group, instead moving to the building he calls out "Get yer asses out here." to which there is no response. This seems to anger the rat who curses to himself. Daniel's magic doesn't find much in the way of plumbing, fountains, or anything but small collections of rainwater, due to the low conditions of shanty town.<br> <br>Arimia flicks her ears as everyone else heads off, lips parting in a wide and altogether wicked grin. "Tell you what. If you're a good puppy, I'll play nice." She gestures with the hand holding her dagger toward the eagle. "Gather up your feathered friend and we're gonna head over to that light everyone is so eager to get to. Try runnin'... An' I get to have fun." That vicious grin turns to a scowl as she says, "An' if that's another damn fire I'm gonna seriously hurt some folk. Idiots always try settin' fires here for one reason or another. They jus' don' get how quick it spreads among the shanties."<br> <br>Angus blinks as he rounds the corner and notices the burning blaze, and the fools pointing weapons towards Kalt. "Well, this just keeps getting better." He mutters as he reaches down to rest on the handle of his pistol, looking over the situation with a dry glare. "Where did Dio run off to?"<br> <br>Kalt her movements seemed fluid after the sword had made it's work of the orangutang's knees, the blood trailing down it quickly burned away or seeming to disapeer. Her normally brown eyes seem a dead set red as she stared at the six pointing their weapons at her, idly licking her lips as she drops down low and spends a moment to coat herself in a hazy shade of darkness that worked to only aid her in defense, the dark shade flickering occassionally with the same bright fire of the creators that had coated her sword. Though, once her hex was in place she was off again, charging at the nearest of the group as she jumps slightly to bring her heavy two handed sword down in a powerful ark at their head! If she had heard Angus' question, or registered dio running inside it seemed impossible to tell as she seemed off in her combat lust.<br> <br>Cedric growls, pushing himself back up to his feet and continuing his single-minded pursuit of the running roach being. The failed attempt at tackling him and the being's  taunting just enrages him even further as he draws his spear while chasing the roach down. "You can't escape! I could do this all day." the badger calls out with a snarled tone in his voice, not showing any signs of slowing down or relenting just yet.<br> <br>Clank! A crossbow bolt heads for Dio's back, only to run into his large tower shield and drop upon the floor. Getting out may prove to be tough in this case, but one has to be brave! Leonine! He looks around desperately, trying his very best to discover anyone alive. Unfortunately, it would appear the flames have already claimed a good number of lives. But one seemed alive, if heavily injured and more than likely unable to move on his own. "I'm comin' fer ya, lad! Yer gonna be okay. I'll carry ya outta 'ere." Getting close to the heavily injured being, he attempts to carry him out into the streets, along with putting his back towards the crowd outside once he gets to the door.<br> <br>Daniel was a little disappointed with how little water he had managed to collect from the area. Still, what water he had, he was not going to waste. Once he had finally managed to get it close enough to more directly control, he gets a good flow going before throwing it at the house. Hearing it impact and sizzle against the raging flames he withdraws what hadn't evaporated, bringing it back to himself for another round, whipping it against the house to sooth the heated air. He repeats this again and again, unable to put the fire out, but definitely diminishing them some. With that done, he emerges from the wood and run towards the sound of burning flames, resting his hand against the wooden wall before he finds a door, following in after the lion he didn't even know was in the building. Soon he hears the sound of metal and what seems to be groaning. He'd been using his fire magic to guide flames away from himself, but if someone was barely alive, they needed it a lot more than he did. The feeling of oppressive heat surrounds the mouse as he feels the flames close in on him, but he pushes through. This isn't the first time in his life he's been burned! He focuses on keeping the lion and the person he was carrying safe.<br> <br>The dog sighs and nods, moving with the raccoon to grab the eagle. "I'm gonna get killed." he says very openly. Struggling the fat terrier works to move the tall rugged being along. One of the beings casts a rather simple but effective fire spell upon Angus, not following it up with anything they seem to expect him to keel over. Kalt's blow hits home overtop one of the beings heads, and they drop to the ground bleeding as their head is smashed in. This prompts two bolts to fly as the remainder of the group scatters. "None of you own Shanty town, thats us, you'll be sorry." one of them says as they divide. Daniel manages to provide excellent cover for Dio, who in turn manages excellent defenses against the fleeing foes. Johnny takes chase after one of them, stowing his knife and opting to leash an arrow in their general direction, not quite hitting his intended mark where he'd like on the run but lodging it comfortably in the back of their arm instead.<br> <br>Arimia replies in a simple and matter of fact manner, "Most likely." She follows the terrier along toward that burning building. When she's close enough to see that it is, indeed, burning she lets out a low growl. "If you had something to do with this fire, say it now, puppy. 'Cause if you lie, then when I find out, I'll make you hurt in ways  you ain't even thought possible." Her eyes dart around and she lifts a hand, moving it in a quick gesture. Shadows seem to gather, then shoot out  from that hand, spreading and coiling toward two of the running figures, striking them with the intent of pain and confusion. "No. If Shanty Town belongs to anyone here, it's me!" Then she looks around to try and find the inevitable crowd of onlookers. Spotting a young boy watching she yells out, "You there! Start hauling in buckets of water! Get anyone else you can to help! Unless you want the fire to spread and burn half the town down! Again!"<br> <br>Angus draws his pistol, taking aim at the nearest target before he notices the flames speeding his way. HIs eyes grow wide in surprise as it sets his cloak alight, his armor taking the brunt of the blast. Quickly he drops to the ground, rolling to put the flames out as he tears at the clasp of his cloak, casting the burning fabric away as he moves to stand once more, smelling of burnt fur as he grunts a little in pain.<br> <br>Kalt stands tall as her target dies, the first bolt hanging too wide to strike her... Though the second passess right by her unprotected head, cutting into the fur and flesh to let a small line of blood come forth. The act seems to renew her ambition as she sprints after the remaining two fleeing opponents, her right hand moving to quickly snag the hand axe on her hip. The blade of the axe alighting in creators flame, as she leaves the larger sword behind lest it work to help slow her down right now. Vaulting over the two tentacled persons, and ignoring the one johnny was chasing, she seemed dead set on catching up with the other two and giving them a intimate meeting with her axe and fists.<br> <br>Cedric has somehow managed to catch up to and capture the roach he was chasing, possibly by tackling him to the ground. As it is, he has the tiny roach man securely pinned underneath him and all his heavy, heavy armor. The badger rises a little, but still keeps some of his weight on the other being. "Alright. Now you're gonna tell me all about you and your little friends. And if you don't tell me everything, I'm going to make you tell me." Cedric says in a low growl to his captive. "And it's not going to be pleasant if I have to make you talk, do you understand?"<br> <br>Dio looks over his shoulder and witnesses the flames fanning further from him, helping his escape. While he would like to say thanks, it's best to get safe first and then exchange pleasantries later. Looking out into the streets, he's pleased to see the people who shot him have scattered and are on the run. He takes the opportunity to switch his soul gem to something more medical related and settles the poor rat down. "It'll take 'while fer this 'ere gem to give me the information I need to really heal ya," he says, pulling out a dulling potion and holding it to the injured being's lips, "So this should 'elp ya 'til I can really fix ya up a bit."<br> <br>That was, unfortunately, the limits of Daniel's capabilities, so once they were out of the building and the mouse manages to pat whatever flames were on his body out, he darts off back into the darkness, most likely to look for other sources of water that he could use to help put the flaming building out. When he finds that he has unfortunately extinguished every puddle available, and the poor locale ensuring that there was no plumbing available, Daniel was running out of options. Sadly, he'd only try to grasp at the clouds, hoping that he could coax down the clouds in liquid form, knowing that no such thing would be possible. Once he finally gives up, he returns to the side of the injured man, assisting Dio in any way he could, be it extinguishing flames or providing medical help. Sure, he wasn't a doctor, but he could certainly be used to prop something up!<br> <br>The canine shakes his head, the eagle groaning. "I was just told by boss to keep Johnny busy while his "gang" was taken care of... we didn't start the fire." he says in a timid voice as they approach. Two of the running are victims of a dark plague, stopping as they look rather confused about everything. The boy nods, looking overe Arimia before he runs off. The roach is flattened out good by the heavy badger, collapsing under the weight he muffles something out before he shuts up. Johnny drops his bow for a moment as he whips out a pistol and shoots the being that Kalt is pursuing, the one he shot not slowing their escape. This allows the fox the chance they need to catch them, if they will take it. Daniel and Dio are above the body of a thighless mouse, the legs cauterized.<br> <br>Arimia grunts and says, "For your sake, you'd better be tellin' the truth." She glances over at the two she'd hit with dark magic, and seeing them still out of it, turns her attention back to the burning building. She shakes her head slightly before calling out, "Burned brat! Gather up those two who are standin' around over there! An' send someone to get more water hauled out here." She turns her odd eyes back to the terrier. "I'm gonna find out who it is what thinks they can do shit like this in my town." She offers the canine a wicked grin and says, "So, puppy. Let's talk about your boss. Give Arimia a name for who she's going to be hunting."<br> <br>Angus brushes off a few embers and rolls his eyes as he walks over to the two hit by dark magic. "Yeesh, couldn't even ask nicely." He murmurs as he grabs them both by the scruff of their necks. Looking up he watches Kalt go after the straggler, shaking his head as he starts to move to get some beings to help.<br> <br>Closer, closer yet... And then finally the shot rings out, and her opportunity comes! The Vixen grinning darkly as she pulls her Axe back and closes the remaining distance, before swinging wide to try and burry the axe's head into his back... Hopefully snagging a hit to their spine, though to be fair anywhere would most likely sate the hungry Vixen as she seemed to revel in finally getting the target!<br> <br>Cedric sighs and eases off the collapsed roach, and stands up. "Damn... there goes my fun." he says, disappointed as he crouches down to pick up the hopefully unconscious being and attempt to carry him over his shoulder as he heads back towards where he left the others.<br> <br>"Good job with those flames, lad," Dio comments as he sets the dulling potion down. Looking at the leg, he grimaces under his breath, but at least it's cauterized. "Best I can do fer 'em is patch 'em up a bit and help dull the pain. Hopefully 'ell make it out alright. Could probably get 'em on' o' those limbs ya can make. But that's the lad's decision." Reaching into his coat again, he pulls out a small box and opens it, revealing a small kit of basic herbs and bandages. He begins applying them to the burned areas, along with using a bit of fire magic to help warm the muscles and dull the pain.<br> <br>The "doggy" frowns and says "I'm so dead... Joshua.<br> <br>Johnny says, "ooc Mispos!"<br> <br>Daniel smiles a little bit as he nods his head, proud that he was getting praise. His lessons certainly payed off, no matter how long ago he got them. He's been practicing to make sure they don't degrade at the very least. "I do the best that I can, when I can sir." The mouse says proudly, blinking his eyes as he hears the requirement of a fake limb. "Oh man, he lost a leg...?" He assumes leg since the term 'get them on' was used. You can't very well get on your arms unless you were hand-standing, but if you needed to do that, why not just get legs too? Now he was confusing himself with his assumptions, shaking his head and squishing his lips off to one side. "R-regardless... at the very least, he's still alive and well for the most part."<br> <br>The "doggy" frowns and says "I'm so dead... Joshua." He rubs his head and urgs to himself as the falcon pushes up and pulls out a dagger, moving towards the dog. The being Kalt was chasing is now dead, his spine severed he falls to the ground. As the rest of the beings are rounded up, a bunch of folks come by with water, working to put the fire out. Johnny stows his weapons and moves to the rat, looking him over then Dio before he looks to the building. "Were any others alive?" he asks in a flat tone.<br> <br>Arimia flicks an ear and says, "Joshua. That's a start. You're gonna tell me so-" As she speaks the wounded, feathered one starts to move, her own dagger bearing hand flicking out. "Much more than that, in time." Her movements don't even cause her to hesitate with her words as that dagger easily disarms the bird, by cutting off it's fingers, then slices a thin red line up along it's arm, before the blackened blade burries itself in the avians neck. Drawing the dagger back she casually wipes it on her cloak as she says, "Because Shanty Town is mine. An' I won't have this sort of behavior. Go sit down like a good puppy until I'm ready for you." That done she calls out, "Brat! You can have the others. The puppy is mine." She kneels down by the, now collapsed, form of the bird and searches it's belongings until she comes up with the symbol it had tried hiding before, holding it up once it's found. "But search them for these first."<br> <br>Angus waves his hand dismissivly. "I figured as much Arimia." Turning he tries to get Kalt's attention, wanting her aid in dragging the few prisoners back as he grabbed his charred cloak....A trip to the tailors was in his future it seems.<br> <br>Kalt pants as she stands over the now dead man, putting her axe back along her hips before dragging him back to the others by his leg. She's quick then to dump the body as she moves to pick up her axe, her eyes back to their natural blue as she moves to Angus to help him with what survivors were present.<br> <br>Cedric finishes up and brings the roach back with him and sets him with the rest for the others to deal with, before heading back to the main city to get some much-needed rest.<br> <br>"Ain't too sure," Dio claims, finishing up his roadside doctoring and standing up. "Did the best I could for 'em. Might wanna put 'em in the church fer awhile, make sure nothin' else is wrong with 'em. I ain't sure if his leg will be workin', but we'll find out later." Bending down, he picks up his kit and slips it back into his coat. Hearing someone else address him, the lion turns around and starts dusting himself off a bit. "I... I'm sorry, lad. This was the only survivor I could find," he responds, words laced with an apologetic and sad tone.<br> <br>Daniel dusts himself off as well, grimacing a little bit as he finds a few more holes in his tunic than there were before. Pretty soon he'd only have a bunch of rags, and he very well wouldn't find much modesty in that, now would he? Sighing a little, he stands up, finger still hooked idly in one of the holes, lips squished off to the side in a 'what am I gonna do' kinda face. He might not be able to see himself, but that doesn't mean he should just strut around like this for everyone else to lay their eyes upon, it was rude. Too bad his instruments broke, otherwise he'd probably get himself a spot on one of the street corners playing his little ukelele again.<br> <br>The rest of the dead outside all have the same symbol, the dog shutting up as the falcon is killed, he sits quietly. The fire is slowly worn away, the damage isolated o the structure and just surrounding it. Dio's words strike Johnny and in return he displays a mix of anger and sadness. As the fires die down Johnny looks inside for a moment before he comes out and rubs the back of his head. "Hey Twee we'll find you a way to walk again, after I bury everyone." he says. Once the fires are out the town folks disperse, leaving our heros to deal with the remainder.