Sophis Containment || Final Mission Thread
tobenobility:
As a direct contrast, the scion of House Aegir was entirely excited about the task in front of him. (He was also currently looking like something of a walking armory, as he had a plethora of various weapons stored along his body and jangling almost hypnotically with his movements – two swords, two lances, a bow, and a set of gauntlets) was entirely excited about the task in front of him. Did fighting off the littler turtles mean that he didn’t get the glory of slaying the monster? Sure, that was true. But that wasn’t the point! There were much more important things that they had all been sent for, and Ferdinand felt that he would fulfill these things by protecting the village from those smaller turtles.
And that’s why Ferdinand simply could not believe what he was hearing from one of the others that had been assigned to this team – Takumi of Hoshido, if he recalled what he had heard correctly. Shocked and very much appalled, Ferdinand stood up (briefly grunting as he did) before crossing his arms and looking at Takumi.
And that’s when Ferdinand started talking.
“What the ‘hell’ is this?” The way Ferdinand said “hell” was awkward and unfamiliar, “Your talent being squandered? Your time being wasted? Do you not understand why we are here?” Ferdinand stood up even straighter now, and some serious energy crept into his words. “We are not here to simply put notches onto our belts and claim the glory of a kill. We are not here to merely sharpen our weaponcraft, either. We have been sent to this corner of the world – much as the others have been sent to other corners – because there are things that endanger everyone!”
“The monsters here endanger those at… well, it may not be your home, I suppose, but they endanger the people of the place you have come to study. But it is not merely that, though, you see…” Here, Ferdinand gestured back in the direction of Thurii Village. “Sophrosyne endangers the people of Brigid. Everybody in that village is put into danger by that thing, and we are here in large part to make sure that they do not fall afoul of a horrific fate that they do not deserve. We are here to protect them! And that is why we are here to fight the… Sophis, as we are calling them. if we were not here, the turtles would swarm far less encumbered over the shores, and they would make it to the village. Horror would result, Takumi.”
“It is… thoroughly irresponsible and callous to complain that you are tasked with helping to keep them safe. I could not call myself a noble if I did not act here to protect these people, and I do not believe that you can call yourself a royal if you do not feel that same responsibility, whether or not they are your people. Indeed… this is what any good person should do.” He turned towards Morgan, now. “Accordingly, I will be heading to the frontlines, Morgan. Thank you for your work in strategizing for us. Now, as I am skilled with multiple melee weapons, I fit there strategically as well – and to demonstrate my commitment, I will go now! Do not worry, though, as I do not intend to engage in full until we are all joined. I will merely pick off stragglers.”
And Ferdinand headed in the direction of the beach – standing on a small hillock, he pulled out the bow that he had received from the clerics of Garreg Mach. He was not as skilled in the art of the bow as he would perhaps have liked, but it would still harm little to use it now in the preliminary stages of the battle. And indeed, the turtles were starting to gather on the shore. It was early, now, as the bulk of the combat had not begun, but some of Sophrosyne’s spawn had begun to crawl up onto the beach, and Ferdinand did not think it would be long now before battle came in full. One or two of the smaller turtles had begun to wander off – pulling back his bowstring, Ferdinand sent an arrow in its direction with a thwip, hitting it in the shell and slowing it immensely… but not killing it, at least not immediately, though the Beacon Bow’s blessing brought it to a halt shortly thereafter. Ferdinand frowned… he could stand to do better than that.
Almedha watched Ferdinand storm off, then turned to Takumi. “He does have a point,” she said. “The purpose of fighting is to protect people, isn’t it? We need an archer on this team for reach and accuracy--the smaller monsters will be harder to hit and keep track of. In some ways, they may be more dangerous than their mother! Are you scared, Takumi? Is that it?” she teased him with a smile. “Here,” she offered, holding out her hand for the young man to take. “I will protect you.”
She looked at the tactician. “Morgan, put me next to Takumi. I’ll watch over him,” she said with a wink, to show that she really meant I’ll keep an eye on him, “and while he snipes those heading past us toward the villages, I’ll smash any that get close to him.”
Leaning closer to Takumi, she whispered, albeit not very quietly, “And if Sophrosyne tries to flee to the ocean, we’ll stop her together.” More loudly, she added, “Come on, it’ll be fun!”
@thievingstalwart
