Without hesitating, you yell, “Halina, let’s go! Everyone else, step back!”
You sprint forward, Halina right behind you.
The Grimm, unsteady on its feet, snarls weakly at you.
You leap towards its face, stretching your shield-arm towards the Grimm. You activate the Dust crystal at the shield’s core, then unleash a gout of flame from the shield. It gushes over the Grimm, disorienting it. But then everything around you glows with a soft lilac light. You feel your momentum halt, reverse, and you’re dragged backwards at a rapidly-increasing speed.
You’re hurtling through the air, and then you realize that Halina has used her Semblance on your entire body. You’re flying towards her, but just as you’re about to collide, she sidesteps out of the way and cuts off her Semblance. You fly past her, picking up speed, and then-
You see her grit her teeth and set her stance, and then she shouts as she triggers her Semblance again. She yanks you back hard, reversing your direction, tugging you through the air back to her.
As you pick up speed, you realize what she’s doing.
You hurtle back towards her.
At the last moment, she once again sidesteps you and cuts off the connection, hurling you back towards the Grimm at a speed you could never have achieved on your own.
You ready your blade-
You’re about to strike the Grimm like a bullet-
-and you plunge your blade and body forward, piercing right through the Grimm in an explosion of lilac light, flame, and shadow.
You corkscrew and slam into the ground on your feet, flame dancing along the trail of your trajectory.
Behind you, the Grimm erupts, spitting globs of shadow into the air.
The husk of its body collapses and dies, dissipating into the ether.
There’s a brief moment of pure, impossible silence-
-and then everyone erupts into cheers as you and Halina drop to the ground in triumphant exhaustion.
The new girl approaches you, smiling and shouting along with everyone else. She reaches out her arm to help pull you up, and you wrap your arm around her shoulders, letting her support your weight. Xia and Ulrich are both supporting a rather-battered Metim, and Pallav is helping Halina to her feet.
You all gather together, laughing and chatting eagerly.
“Your blocks during your duel with the Grimm were pretty on-point, dude,” Xia says to Metim, playfully slugging his shoulder. He rolls his eyes, but there’s a genuine smile on his lips. “-and when you dodged through its paw, that was like, I thought you were dead!” Halina exclaims to Pallav, who inclines his head in thanks, while Ulrich says, “Yeah, I mean, his timing gets better and better every year-”
The new girl turns to you, grinning, and says, “And how about that last attack? That was pretty flashy, wasn’t it?”
Halina laughs and joins in, saying, “Okay, maybe we were a little extra-”
“Yeah, but it was definitely worth it,” the girl finishes. “Really smart use of your Semblance, I think.”
“Wait, I’m sorry,” you say, turning to her. “We haven’t met-”
“Oh, I’m Ghislaine,” she says, smiling. “Corouille is my last name. Are you one of Xia’s friends?”
“Oh, uh,” you say, unsure of how to answer. Xia cuts in, lending you a hand. “Nah, we just met. I don’t think I’ve even seen you before?” She ponders, turning to you.
“No, I’m a new transfer to Aphelion,” you say, beginning to realize exactly how many times you’re going to avoid explaining your background to other students.
Ghislaine and Xia look surprised, but Ghislaine doesn’t press you for details. Instead, she says, “Oh, sure. Xia and I have been in a few classes together-”
“And we’ve helped each other train in combat classes,” Xia finishes, grinning.
“But that might end this year, if we’re placed on different teams,” Ghislaine quips.
“Teams?” You feel a brief flicker of worry in your gut, cutting off the glow of triumph. It really begins to hit you that you’re going to have to embed yourself in this school, in established groups of friends, in classes where teachers and students already have a working dynamic.
“Yeah,” Ghislaine says, shrugging. “Aphelion tries to make us more attractive to Huntress academies by having us form teams, since that’s what they do, I think.”
“And...how do they form teams?” When you ask, your voice is quiet.
“Probably based off how people have interacted in the previous years,” Xia says. She looks at you knowingly. “I wouldn’t worry about it, if I were you- I mean, when you fight with teammates by your side, you kinda all come to trust each other pretty quickly, you know? You’ll be alright.”
“Especially after all of this,” Pallav calls out, gesturing with his hand towards the scorch marks that you’ve left on the trampled field.
“Let’s just savor this for a bit, yeah?” Xia says, nudging you with her elbow.
“Can we savor this as we start walking to the campground?” Metim interrupts, continuing, “Some of us are a little more ragged than the others, and would prefer to reach our goal before any other really fucked-up Grimm show up.”
“Alright, alright,” Ghislaine says. “Let’s all head up together, then.”
Everyone turns, ready to resume the last leg of your journey. As you start walking, Halina steps quickly to your side, just like she did at the start of all of this. She smiles brightly at you, and in an uncharacteristically quiet voice, she says to you, “Hey, Ceri? Thanks for trusting me at the end, at that last moment.”
You nod vigorously, bouncing your curly hair around. “And thanks for trusting me at the beginning, when I jumped into your fight.”
She stops talking for a second, then she looks up, towards the sky. “You know,” she says, slowly, “I’ve been worrying about this year. About what comes after it, too. But, after all of this, I feel- I feel like I’m starting it the way we’re supposed to.”
“Yeah,” you say. “I feel like I have a bit of a direction now.” A bit of a direction, you think, and some people who know your name.
“By the way, Ceri?”
“What?”
“I have a good feeling about the team thing, for what it’s worth,” she says, turning to look directly at you.
You give her a little laugh, and nod. “I think I feel the same, Halina.”
You continue your walk, together.
By the time you all reach the campground, the sunset is streaking across the sky, smoothing crisp orange hues along clouds immersed in pink. There are dozens of students laid out in front of you, in various states of repose- some are napping, some are striking up conversations with strangers, some are boasting of their exploits, some are tending after wounds or weapons, and some are just staring skyward. Everyone is waiting for the event to officially begin, for your instructors to arrive.
As you stand at the periphery of the campground, Pallav and Ulrich turn to face the rest of you. “Well, everyone,” Pallav says, clapping his hand on Ulrich’s back, “it’s been a pleasure, but we’re supposed to meet up with some friends.” The rest of you nod, quiet, and you feel like there’s sadness lingering in the air- the imminent departure means that your group has served its purpose, and will now disband.
Ulrich is looking at his feet, but Pallav keeps talking. “This turned out to be more than any of us bargained for, in a great way, you know? I’m sure we’ll see each other soon- seriously, I don’t.... even though we just met, I don’t want us to just all drift away.”
Ulrich looks up. “Yeah. We’ll, uh, we’ll keep an eye out for all of you. We’ve got your backs, especially if we end up in classes together.”
Pallav smiles. “Exactly. All of you, take care, and see you soon.”
You all wave, murmuring goodbye as him and Ulrich walk away, picking their way through the crowd, in search of their waiting companions.
“Well, we’re all free to go wherever we want, then,” Xia says, looking at Ghislaine.
Halina speaks up, saying, “Then, do you mind if I go check in on a couple of friends? I mean, if anybody wants to come with me, I’d be glad to introduce you!”
Ghislaine shakes her head. “Xia and I were gonna catch up a bit, so we don’t really want to join another group, you know?” Xia nods in agreement, but then Ghislaine looks at you. “But if anybody else here wants to chill with us, that’s also cool.”
You look at Metim, who just shrugs. “Quite frankly, I’m so tired, I could just sit right here and be happy. That being said, if you don’t mind, I’m willing to tag along with you, Ceri. It isn’t like anybody’s waiting to see me.”
You tilt your head and consider.
Who do you want to spend a little more time with?
1. Go meet Halina’s friends, and bring Metim.
2. Stick with Ghislaine and Xia, bringing Metim.
3. Just plop yourself on the floor with Metim.
Vote on what to say here!
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John expects reality to conform with his symbol language. A tree in a kid’s yard MUST have a tire swing to be authentic (1927). “A fire BELONGS in a FIREPLACE” (1950). “ A father without a pipe is like a strapping roughneck without a toothpick. That is to say, HE IS A RATHER PISS-POOR EXCUSE FOR A ROUGHNECK IF YOU ASK ME.” (1970)
The meta-textual winking in the comic is a distraction. When John knocks over his Nana’s ashes, John understands his mistake to be a “virtual certainty” (1953) because he views the event to be the actualization of a cinematic trope. That is a character moment. That is how John sees the world.
TANGENTIAL: In the living rooom, John comments that he should “exhaust all possibilities before plunging into a DAD encounter” (1979). This is the attitude of a gamer finishing every quest in the game before facing the final boss. Earlier, John took the time to inform us that pipes are his dad symbol. So when the final boss on LOWAS is in a lair covered in pipes, we can see that John's very concept of ultimate conflict involves confronting his dad.
This attitude is stated most concisely at the fireplace: “As domestic myth of unaccountable origin holds, a home borrows the spirit of the flame for as long as it makes a guest of it” (1950). For John, there is an essence of flame, an idea of flame, that is eternal. Every fire John has seen is simply an instance of an ideal fire-object burning away in the elsewhere. This is essential Plato’s theory of forms, but in the language of a kid who thinks movies reveal that higher reality.
I’m grappling with what this implies about putting the bunny back in the box. Dave’s gift introduces the word “authenticity” into the story, and putting the bunny back in the box clearly takes on a ritual significance for John. I don’t know what the ritual means though.
The boxes themselves tell part of the story. Jade sends her rabbit in a green box -- a dead ringer for the Perfect Generic Object, marking its contents as a fundamental idea, an indivisible unit of reality. Yet Jade’s package contains the most complicated version of the rabbit, augmented through several iterations.
Is the augmented rabbit closer to it’s essential symbolic reality? Does it mean a complex idea becomes basic over time? Not sure, but I’ll keep an eye out.
You consider your options with care. After weighing the outcomes of each choice, you realize that it would be best to go with balanced teams. There are too many unknowns in the fight ahead to commit to a more one-sided plan. Better to engage it first, to learn something about it, to actually comprehend how it fights, than to just to dive in.
You turn to the others and say, “I agree with Halina- we just don’t know enough to commit ourselves to a narrow approach. We’ll go in teams of two.”
Everyone nods their assent. After a brief discussion, you form teams to complement each other’s offense and defense. Pallav and Ulrich, who are old friends, stay together. You team with Halina, so you can guard her with your shield if need be. Metim teams with Xia, so he can pepper the Grimm with shots while Xia moves in to engage. Everyone nears their partner, confirms the plan, and then you set out.
It isn’t long before you can make out the Grimm on the road ahead. It still appears to be sleeping, but thanks to Halina’s intervention, you’re expecting it to be awake. You motion with your hands for the party to split up- you and Halina take the center, Pallav and Ulrich take the left, and Metim and Xia take the right. And, after everyone nods in agreement, you all burst apart. You dash forward, shield held aloft, Halina a few steps behind you.
You’re not surprised when the Grimm springs to its feet. But, damn, is it large- it is somewhere between a lithe Goliath and an over-sized Ursa. And it looks wicked- it has jagged, curling spurs of bone jutting out as ridges over its eyes, veins of red luminescence running along its back, and a barbed, pliant tail. It dives forward, then rears upwards, and snarls ferociously at you.
You keep charging.
It runs at you.
You have to keep charging.
Its mouth opens as it lopes closer.
You have flashbacks to earlier.
It leaps, raising its paw.
You raise your sword.
The gilded woman’s presence suffuses you with heat.
The Grimm’s claws come downward to rake you mid-stride-
You dig into the ground and shout, and with a titanic swing you launch an arc of fire at its paw.
It yowls, leaps back, and Halina leaps clean over you. She spins in mid-air, a barrage of knives flying from her hands and sleeves. The Grimm flicks its tail too fast, deflecting the knives. Halina drops to the ground, to her knees, then twirls into a standing position, hands and eyes glowing lilac. The knives fly back to her, but she continues her spin and slingshots them right back at the Grimm. It bats at them, but some sink into its paw. Halina beckons to you, yelling, “Come on!”
You sprint forward at the surprised Grimm. Halina dives in close, drawing her claw-like daggers from within her coat. The Grimm swipes at her, but she ducks and rolls, ending her roll under its body. She slices at its legs, and it tries to leap backwards, but Metim and Xia are already in position, and Metim is placing his shots carefully at the Grimm’s exposed back.
It whirls to face the new threat.
Halina goes to give chase, but the tail comes streaking down to strike her- and you dive to her side, trying to deflect the attack with your shield. The tail clatters off of the shield, but it comes back down, once, twice more. You’re trying to hold the shield over you and Halina, trying to block, your eyes trained on the barbs- and then the Grimm whips around again, batting you aside with one paw and knocking Metim to his feet with its tail. The tail wraps around his leg, then the Grimm swipes you so hard you’re bowled right over, knocked off your feet.
Xia jumps in, and she’s deftly swinging a weapon that consists of a copper ball attached to a lengthy rope. She casts it away, then snaps it back, windmilling the copper head to smash into the Grimm’s tail. It twitches and releases Metim, Xia throws her leg up, allowing the rope to catch on it- and you take the moment to scramble back to your feet. Xia’s technique is mesmerizing, but you have to move.
The demonic tiger is fighting all of you at once. Even as Xia snaps another arcing attack at the tail, a paw comes in to swipe you again. You duck in time, but then it kicks up a small wave of mud that splashes along your visor. You can still see just enough to watch the Grimm deflect Xia’s next attack. Metim uses his quarterstaff to parry a couple of swipes from the tail to defend Xia, who focuses on regaining the momentum her weapon needs. And then the Grimm pounces on Halina, catching her in its paws. You shout and start running, but someone sprints past you in a flash- Pallav.
Pallav is glowing green, and there’s a sigil traced along the back of his duster. You whirl around to see Ulrich chanting, his eyes trained on Pallav. There’s a scrap of paper floating in front of Ulrich, and it is glowing green with the same sigil that’s on Pallav.
You turn to Pallav again, in time to see his spear transform and extend. And then he leaps forward, slamming the extending spear into the ground, using it like a vaulting pole to launch himself upwards.
He sails clear over the Grimm’s back, his spear beginning to retract again, and then you hear Ulrich shout. Pallav freezes in mid-air with a flash of green light, then he’s launched downwards, right at the Grimm. He plunges his spear into the Grimm’s back.
It drops Halina, arches its back, and buckles, trying to shake Pallav off. Pallav grabs one of the beast’s bone crests, then his spear retracts further, transforming into a short, dense blade. He starts swiping at the Grimm, pushing off from the crest he’s clutching.
“Metim, Xia- move in, cover me!” You shout, running towards Halina. She’s on the ground, dazed, and Pallav won’t last up on the Grimm much longer. You hear Metim snapping his weapon through another rapid transformation, and he fires off a few shots at the Grimm’s legs. Its tail, about to clobber Pallav, whips around to strike Metim. Xia’s ready to defend, though: she winds her weapon around her leg and casts it with a kick, striking the tail head-on.
You hit the dirt by Halina, pulling her to her feet. “I’m alright,” she splutters. “My Aura’s holding, but, I’m just a little shaken!”
You hear a shout, and a few yards away, Pallav is sent sprawling and splashing into the mud. The Grimm turns its full attention on Metim and Xia, who are solely focused on parrying it. Xia dances backwards, keeping her weapon swinging in a steady rhythm, casting the hammer at the tiger’s tail whenever it draws close. As the Grimm goes to close the distance between them, Metim, teeth barred, is forced into a flurry of motion.
He reforms his weapon, parries a swipe, breaks his weapon, twists away from the Grimm’s snapping jaws as they come in for a chomp, point-blank blasts its face, snaps his weapon together, jabs its neck, deflects the other paw, breaks his weapon, releases the blade, slices the paw as it comes back, spins, shoots at its face in a desperate attempt to drive it back, and he’s bellowing wordlessly, he can’t keep up, and Xia’s swearing-
Ulrich dives in, swinging a mace with a head composed of whorl of a Dust crystal. He bashes one of the oncoming paws away from Metim, then he throws a scrap of paper into the air and whacks it. Beams of light burst out of the paper, shredding it, then extending and enveloping him, Metim, and Xia. The Grimm slams the light-turned-cage, but the bars hold. Ulrich plucks another scrap of paper out of his bag, then throws it into the air. It ignites, and the light-cage bursts apart. The beams stream outward, then curl back around and wrap themselves around the Grimm’s front-right paw, dulling its claws.
It snarls and tries to chomp on Ulrich, but Metim’s quarterstaff forces its jaws back. It swipes at them instead, batting Xia aside. It twists to avoid Metim’s gunfire, then whips its tail and knocks Ulrich’s mace clean out of his hands. It brings the light-enshrouded paw to bear on Metim, whose shots bounce ineffectively off the barrier that had just protected him. Metim is bowled over, and you can hear a sharp report from his Aura, indicating that he can’t take much more.
The Grimm arches its back and roars at the sky.
You turn to Pallav, shouting, “Reform the groups- get over to Ulrich and get him on his feet!”
He dashes off, and you turn to Halina. “Can you-”
“I can- I’m ready,” she says, her brow furrowed.
“Follow my lead,” you say, “and go for its eyes when it turns!” You run after Pallav.
The Grimm turns to face the three of you. It swipes its dulled paw at Pallav, dead-on. You go to shout, but he doesn’t even move. One second, the paw’s about to clobber him, the next- his entire body flickers, and he passes through the paw unharmed. It must be his Semblance, you think. He shouts with the strain of using the ability, but keeps running. The Grimm, baffled, can’t turn to him again, though- you’re coming right at it.
You have just enough time to see Pallav slide to a halt alongside Ulrich, grab him under his arms, and hoist him to his feet. Then, you focus on the Grimm.
You light your shield ablaze, then chuck it at the beast’s face. Surprised by the fire, it stumbles, takes the hit- and just as you expected, the shield glows lilac and rebounds away, back to Halina. You snap your sword in two, then dive at the dazed Grimm, slicing at its underbelly as you run underneath it. You keep running, between its hind legs, and reach the side where Metim and Xia are.
They’re getting back on their feet when the Grimm turns to face you, but you shout, “Scatter- get Ulrich to launch me on go!”
They dash away as the beast rushes towards you. Both your swords aflame, you lunge and slice at its paws, forcing it to step back. You hear a burst of gunfire- weakened as he is, Metim is lingering nearby, trying to distract the Grimm. You hear Xia bellow, “Ready!”
The gunfire stops, and the Grimm darts forward, ready to pounce on you like it did to Halina.
You brace yourself, then shout, “Go!”
The Grimm’s body looms over you, about to drop.
And something crashes into you-
You’re blasted forward-
Underneath the Grimm-
-and you slam face-first into the dirt.
You stagger to your feet, dazed, your Aura weakened. Turning, you see Ulrich rolling in the dirt by you, clutching a scrap of paper. “You tackled me?” You’re shouting, dumbfounded.
“Hhh- winded,” he wheezes. “Can’t just- hh- launch, not how- hh- Semblance works.”
The Grimm, a fair distance away now, is just staring at you, nonplussed. Then, a series of glowing purple darts slice into its snout. Before it can whirl on Halina, Metim and Xia jump in, distracting the beast yet again. You look for Pallav- but he’s already here, kneeling by Ulrich, hoisting him up again. “Sorry, yeah,” Pallav says, “he’s a little useless sometimes, but you can take a real beating, can’t you, pal?”
Ulrich grunts vaguely in response.
“Anyway,” Pallav continues, “I got him now, so don’t worry- just go.”
You nod, then hurry back towards Halina, who’s waiting for you to turn the Grimm before she attacks again. As you close the distance between you and her, she tosses your shield back to you, shouting, “Here!”
You snap your blades together again, equip the shield, and pop out the concealed blade. Xia and Metim are hanging in there, but they’ve completely given up on attacking. They’re focusing solely on dodging the Grimm’s strikes.
“Everyone,” you bellow, “get back!”
You point the shield’s blade at the Grimm, then focus your mind on the Dust crystal at its core. The gilded woman aids you, and the shield pulses with heat. It launches an undulating globule of fire at the Grimm. The fire connects, splashing over the Grimm, and it howls and retreats from all of you.
You pump your fist and shout, and Halina dashes forward, ready to attack while the Grimm is blinded. She leaps, casting dagger after dagger at the Grimm’s snout. It is too disoriented to block, and each of her throws hits home. The Grimm, its strength finally flagging, roars in defiance. Halina lands and begins to use her Semblance to call her daggers back.
Pallav rushes in, backed up by Ulrich. The former stops short, takes aim, and hurls his spear at the Grimm’s flank, The latter throws several scraps of paper into the air. They all burst into flame, but their ashes multiple and condense, forming several shadowy clones of the spear that Pallav just hurled. Pallav plucks two of the spears from the air, one for each hand, and the rest of the replicas revolve in the air and drive themselves at the Grimm.
Metim and Xia have circled behind it, and they attack its legs as it tries to bat the spears away with its tail and paws. The Grimm lunges at Pallav, trying to snap its jaws on him, but Ulrich swings his mace in a vicious uppercut, slamming the Grimm’s head back.
This is it, you realize. Everything’s coming together- you go to throw yourself in the fray as well-
-and someone runs past you from behind, sprinting forward towards the Grimm. It isn’t Halina- Halina is still behind you-
-the Grimm rears itself up, trying to rally, and spins to face Xia and Metim, the ones with the least Aura left to defend themselves. It raises its unhindered paw all the way, preparing to crush them-
-and the person- a girl- blasts herself upward, light glinting off of her gold and white armor. She brings a broad blade to bear, and resolutely slashes the Grimm’s paw.
The Grimm roars, and when the girl lands on the ground, a severed paw hits the ground beside her.
It immediately dissipates into shadows, and the Grimm topples over.
You pull up short, but she turns to you, and yells, “Finish it!”
The Grimm totters to its remaining feet, hardly any strength left.
And the realization hits you- this is it. You can give this fight, this victory, this moment to anyone. And they’ll never forget it.
Who will you choose?
1. Team A- You and Halina.
2. Team B- Metim and Xia.
3. Team C- Pallav and Ulrich.
4. Team D- The girl.
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You give it a moment of thought, but when you make your decision, you have no doubts. “We should fight,” you say, your voice clear. Metim shakes his head, and Ulrich shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Xia, however, clenches her fist in triumph, and yells, “Yes!”
You smile at her exuberance. “You’re right, Xia- we shouldn’t just leave that Grimm there, where it can eventually take someone else by surprise. We know about it, and we can handle it, so it’s only right we deal it.”
“You can’t be certain that we can handle it,” Metim says, his voice devoid of its characteristic mischief. He’s just cold now, and the difference is stark. “Fighting is always a gamble, and it isn’t even one that we have to take. Don’t you remember? We were given another way, an emergency number to use in precisely a case like this. Why risk ourselves when we don’t have to? Don’t be foolish. Reconsider.”
Pallav steps forward to back you up. “Xia and Ceri have been considering, and, you know, I think I agree with them.”
“C’mon, Metim,” Halina interjects. “This is like a chance for us to show what we can do! That’s half the point of this whole hike anyway, isn’t it?”
You nod in agreement, then pause for a second as you try to figure out what to say. You think about how you felt as you came here to Caelis, about how you felt as you began the hike, and about how you felt when you chose to help Metim and Halina. Slowly, the words come to you, and you give voice to your heart.
“Yeah, it isn’t just about pride. We can prove ourselves here, you know? We can prove that we’ve taken our training and studies seriously, that we’re ready to join the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses. That we can and will make a stand at times like these, that we can defend others on our own terms, by own hands! This is- this is like our statement for our last year.”
He looks at you, locking his eyes with yours. Then, he says quietly, “You don’t need to do this to prove that you belong at Aphelion.”
You’re taken aback, unnerved, but nobody else even notices his words- they’re too busy sounding their agreement with your proclamation. Metim bows his head to you in assent, conceding the argument, but you know that he’s not pleased with the outcome. But everyone else is impressed with your little improvised manifesto.
“Now,” Xia says, a grin on her face, “let’s figure out how we’re gonna take the Grimm down.”
“Well,” Ulrich says, sounding only a little fretful, “first thing’s first- it was asleep, so we can get the drop on it.”
“Alright, scratch that, it’s feigning sleep and we almost fell for it,” Pallav says through a chuckle. “Nice catch, Halina.”
“Then our approach should be cautious,” Metim continues, his voice still sharp.
“But we still have to be prepared to press our advantage, since we’re still surprising it,” Xia rebuts. “We need to be in position, in formation, ready for a hectic brawl.”
“Okay, okay,” Halina nods, rubbing her hand above her lip. “Then, what’s the best way to form up to fight a giant predatory cat Grimm?”
“Oh, oh!” Ulrich jumps in, saying, “Well, we could try what I was saying before- like baiting, but with groups instead. Like, we have a group of three, a group of two, and then our hardest hitter-”
“That’ll almost certainly be Xia,” Metim interrupts. “I’ve seen her in training before.” Xia flashes Metim a thumbs-up, and Ulrich continues.
“So, you three,” he says, gesturing at you, Metim, and Halina, “and then Pallav and I, and then Xia alone. The two groups will focus on distracting the Grimm, needling and harassing it with whatever ranged weapons we have. The goal is to open up Xia’s opportunities to crack in for as much damage as possible. How’s that sound?”
“Sounds like it might leave Xia a little overexposed, though,” Halina muses.
“Yeah,” you go to contribute, “that plan’s probably good for maximizing our offense, but that kinda makes it all-in. And that’s alright, but we should definitely think about our other options too.”
“What about this,” Halina says after thinking for a moment. “We take it a little more slowly? We can do three teams of two- we’ll still be pretty mobile, and it’ll let us react more to the Grimm, instead of just attacking it. The partners can protect each other, so it could be good? Especially since we’re not taking it by surprise, you know.”
“I dunno,” Xia replies. “Isn’t that a little too balanced? Let’s just all split up. We’ll communicate and everything, and splitting up makes us really mobile. It’ll split its attention between all six of us, opening up a lot of chances to attack. But, I guess those attacks won’t be as effective, since they’ll all be separate.”
“And if it’s faster than us?” Metim asks. “If it outlasts us, it’ll pick us off one-by-one, and the others won’t be able to do much as that occurs. Better to split into two groups of three. We focus on defense, we protect each other, we take less risks.”
“But if we don’t take it down quickly enough,” Pallav replies, “then we give it too much time to strike back.”
Everyone falls silent again, thinking over what to say next. You haven’t said too much yet, so you should carefully weight each option over in your head before recommending one plan over the others.
Which approach will you recommend?
1. Have Xia focus on attack.
2. Create balanced teams.
3. Split up and prioritize mobility.
4. Form two defensive teams.
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You give it a moment of thought, and then you decide to keep your distance for the time being. You’re going to follow them, though, since they could turn out to be useful. They’re still a ways ahead, so you try to pick up the pace a bit. As you get closer, their voices come into earshot again. That’s about the right time for you to duck off the path, you think. You edge behind a clump of trees, just a bit off the path, and begin to follow them, taking care to stay unseen. You pick your way around clumps of mossy roots and burgeoning tree-ferns, all the while keeping an eye on the road. As you close the distance between the two people and yourself, you arc off a little further into the rainforest. You slow down, and then you manage to get a good look at the one who’s speaking a little loudly.
She’s on the shorter side, with neck-length hair that fades smoothly from black to blonde. You feel like she’s a little overdressed for the climate, since she’s wearing a tall, well-worn beanie and a stiff wool coat, both of which are smoky silver in color. She’s also wearing a pencil skirt of a darker gray, finished with black tights and thin-heeled black booties. If nothing else, you’re impressed by her dedication.
You can’t see the other one too well from your position. But, at this distance, you can listen in on their conversation rather effectively.
“I’m pretty sure we’ve been in the same class before,” the well-dressed girl muses to her companion. They must not know each other too well, you think. You slow down, straining to hear the other’s response. But the other one is speaking lowly, so you only hear the girl’s next response.
She gives a little laugh, sounding cheery. “Heh, that’s how I felt last sem, during my history—”
You miss the next few words, focused as you are on navigating through the edge of the rainforest. Then, you hear the other’s voice, low and ever-so-slightly sardonic. “Well, doesn’t that sound like my kind of poison?”
You can almost hear the grin on the girl’s face as she responds. “Oh, speaking of poison!”
“The cafeteria food?” The other responds quickly this time, their quiet voice underpinned with mischief.
“Yeah! I heard that, this year, they’re finally changing the food company they use.”
“Maybe I’ll bother to dine in the cafeteria sometime, then.”
“Oh, you don’t eat in the caf? No wonder I haven’t seen you around much! What do you do for food, then? Do you go into the city often?”
The response comes just as quickly, but the words fall a little more flatly. “Only when I’m in the mood to throw away money, which happens more often than you might expect.”
“Wow, what? How do you not like Caelis City!? Maybe you should try to explore more, don’t you think? This is our last year here, after all!”
You can’t hear the other’s response.
The girl continues, saying, “Wait, I just realized— where’d you grow up? I mean, I’m from Mistral, like, way south of the capital, so Caelis kinda feels like home, in some ways.”
You miss the other’s response, but so does she.
“I’m sorry?”
“Vale.”
“Oh, Vale! I have some family that lived in Vale! Well, I have a pretty big family, so there’s a lot of us all over the place, heh. What about you? Is your family still in Vale, or did they come to—”
She suddenly falls silent. You stop short, wondering what happened, and then you hear a faint swish followed by a sudden thwock as a flash of silver goes sailing over your head. Your heart is pounding, and you press yourself against a tree and slide downwards into a crouch. Before you can think further, the quiet one calls out to the well-dressed girl, saying, “What did you see?”
“No,” she says, her voice firm. “Heard— something distant, but getting closer— clumsy and large—”
And then, a few yards away from you, an Ursa and three Beowolves come crashing through the underbrush, pursuing the two that you’ve been following. The girl immediately dashes forward to intercept the Grimm, plunging her arms into her oversized coat. Without turning around, she calls out to her partner, saying, “Hold the bear!”
Her sprints forward after her, and you catch a glimpse of him as he breaks away from her path. He’s holding a misshapen quarterstaff, but he twirls it and suddenly snaps and transforms it into two separate weapons: a stout baton and a long-barreled revolver. He snaps off a few tightly-aimed shots at the Ursa, and then he twirls the baton again, and a small blade springs out of one of its ends.
As the Ursa charges towards him, he ducks back onto the path, leaving the Beowolves for the girl. She slams into the first of the wolves, her arms a blur and her hands flashing with reflected light— one second, she’s slashing at it, and then she leaps backwards and hurls a number of daggers at the wolf. It stumbles further away with each impact, and then her hand and eyes glow a soft lilac and the daggers rip themselves out of the Grimm’s torso and return to her outstretched hands. As the other two wolves leap at her, she launches herself into the branches of a tree, gathering herself before she can continue her assault.
You grip your sword and shield, and you feel the presence of the gilded woman rush to the forefront of your mind. Neither the Grimm nor the two students you’ve been following have noticed you. This would be the opportune moment to jump to their aid, potentially earning their favor if you can help ensure a safe victory for the two of them.
On the other hand… they seem to be capable of cleaning these stray few Grimm up themselves, and they can always signal for emergency aid if they’re really in danger. Should you really insert yourself into this battle and make yourself vulnerable? Should you leave them and keep heading towards the campgrounds, so you don’t get caught up in potential series of Grimm attacks?
Aid them.
Continue onward.
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Hussie is a good magician, in that he knows how to make you not see things. He plays with his symbolic representation of characters (a twirl of the cape!) and his awareness of the fourth wall (a spin of the hands!), and he does it so often that jokes seem to interrupt the reality.
I gave an example in the previous post: John comments that knocking over his grandma’s ashes was a “virtual certainty” (1953). This is not simply an example of the author being trope-savvy -- the author’s narration is intertwined with the voice of the character being controlled. The commentary reveals that John expects the symbol language of movies to play out in real life.
Another good trick: the first time Rose appears, she hides her unfinished gift in the closet. A reader command pokes fun at her: “>Rose: Stroke writing journal and mutter, 'My precious...'” (2120). Rose retorts via the narration: “You would only resort to such an embarrassing activity while no one was watching!!!” (2120). The joke is that Rose knows the audience is watching her! But if you ignore the meta sleight-of-hand, you find out that Rose is immensely paranoid and constantly feels like she is being watched.
Tangential: In accordance with his schtick, the first Dave joke involves irony! Dramatic irony. Finding apple juice in his closet, Dave informs John that “its like fucking christmas up in here” (1925). Without having met Dave, this sounds like a comedic hyperbole. The second layer of the joke (accessible only through knowledge of Bro’s abuse and time travel) is that Dave is being completely sincere.
