isleofavalon | [closed] we were at the table by the window with the view

[When she mentions that Izuku can't help but nod. There's so much injustice in it. Cruelty. Poaching is cruel and often leaves animals hurt and suffering. It's nothing like proper hunting. Izuku's fists clench and he's glad he's run into someone who might be able to stand on his side.]

Right... If we find them. We should be careful around them, we don't know what kind of weapons they'll have.

[She looks capable so Izuku doesn't think she might just be a civilian. Most people living in Avalon so have some power in magic, too.

But just as he finishes that sentence he does notice the strange rustling noise too. He looks up, startled. The weak whinnying continues and Izuku takes a step that way. Before going towards the bushes.]

Is that...?

[Well, it's clear that if Unicorns do sense virgins, it's worked!]

[In the shadow of the bushes is a spot of white and a glimmer of gold. Bright blue eyes look up at Izuku helplessly when he wanders through, and its tail flicks weakly when Tifa comes up behind him. The sight makes her heart wrench with sadness, turning her stomach over when she sees most of its golden horn missing, and even more when she realizes something else.]

... It's just a baby.

[Her voice cracks as her heart shatters into a thousand pieces, and she very delicately steps around Izuku to get a little closer, careful not to snap any twigs under her feet or rustle the bushes too much. She can see small pools of blood where it had been shot with an arrow in its leg, and that only makes the anger rise within her even more. These goddamn poachers... They'll get what's coming, but first...]

We need to get that arrow out.

It's ...!!

[Oh no. The scene that unfolds is horrific. The small magical creature is barely able to limp forward out of the bushes. Somehow it must have been able to sense the goodness in them or at least their good intention if it meant to come towards them. Most wounded creatures wouldn't have done that.

Izuku goes forward, any sense of nervousness he had before gone as his instincts come into play. He drops to a knee just as the baby unicorn collapses and he catches it in his lap.]

I'm not a healer- Or have that much medical training yet... But from what I know it could be more dangerous if we remove the arrow without knowing how deep it's gone. It could cause more bleeding or cause it to bleed out.

[In most cases he's taught that if you have some sort of piercing (like an arrow or a knife) it's actually better to leave it in. Like a plug. Until proper medical attention can be found...]

But I can do this for now to slow the bleeding.

[Izuku's hand flickers over the wound. Instead of alchemy Izuku seems to use a flicker of blood magic. The blood starts to slow like sap. But he doesn't trust himself enough to do more than that right now.]

Can you... help me bandage it?

[The sight of the arrow is horrifying, now that she has a clearer picture of it as the unicorn collapses into Izuku's lap, and for a moment, Tifa freezes on the spot, memories of—no. Now isn't the time to be remembering things. She furiously shakes her head, pushing the thoughts back, and rushes forward, trampling all over the bushes on her way over, and she falls to her knees.

She looks around furiously for something to bandage it with, but with them being surrounded by forest, there isn't much in the way of anything she can use, so... time to improvise.]

Gimme one sec. [Tifa kicks off a shoe and slides one of her socks from her leg.] They're compression stockings so they should be able to hold long enough for us to get it some help.

[Bringing it up to its leg, she pauses.]

Could you hold it still? This might hurt...

[It's a little alarming when she starts taking off her long stocking but it's smart! He quickly nods and does his best to hold the little one as still as he can in his lap.]

That's good, it should be able to work at least long enough for us to find proper help to get the arrow removed and stitched up.

[He's nervous but he wants to do right by the little unicorn. It seems to sense that, as magical creatures can do, as it looks up at Tifa and then to Izuku with pleading wet eyes. It lets out a soft and weak whine.]

... Whoever did this... I'm going to find them too.

[She tries not to let that whinny pull at her heartstrings, so she doesn't look down at the unicorn when she can sense it looking at her through the corners of her eyes. Instead, she focuses on its leg, and with a deep breath, she starts to wrap the sock carefully around the wound.

It stirs and kicks gently, but nothing that either of them can't handle.]

Shh, it's okay. We're here to help.

[Her brow furrows with concentration when Izuku makes his declaration, and she can feel the simmering rage inside her begin to boil.]

They could have just left it after they took the horn, or finished the job...

[What kind of cruel person would leave any creature in misery like this?

With one final tug, she secures the makeshift sock bandage in a knot. The unicorn whines again, and rests her head up against Izuku's chest, staring up at him through glassy, tearful eyes.]

There. That should keep the bleeding at bay for now. But... we really should find those poachers before we take her back.

[Izuku nods. He thinks he's done a good enough job with his blood magic that the blood flow should be slow enough to buy them time. The baby unicorn might get sleepy but at least like this they have a fighting chance.]

We'll find a place where we can let her rest safely. Then let's find them before they can do any more harm. I'm guessing if this one is a baby... the mother might still be around. Or it's ...

[It's already hurt- or dead.]

We have to be careful. Can you fight? Or protect yourself?

[He doesn't want to do this alone. But he doesn't want her to get hurt either. So it's best to know more about his new teammate.]

[If anything, these poachers had better find a way to protect themselves, especially if they catch them in the act. The thought of its mother being out there somewhere, looking for her baby and hiding from the poachers breaks her heart, and if they can help reunite them before any more harm comes to either of them, then she'll be glad for it.

With a pet on the unicorn's side, she rises to her feet and tugs on the ends of her gloves.]

Yeah, I can handle myself. You?

[Tifa figures he can if he's out here, but if it comes down to it, she can—and will—protect him, too.]

[Izuku will nod and make a very careful motion of picking up the baby unicorn in his arms and moving her to a small grove of comfortable and soft wildflowers. Hopefully hidden enough that no one else will come trampling this way.]

I can. I can fight.

[The woods are darker and eerie up ahead. But just the right place for poachers to be lurking. He's not sure rare unicorns are but that's his best guess.]

If we stay together we have a better chance in case they try to ambush us first.

[The unicorn looks up at them both again through its pleading eyes, and Tifa presses a finger to her lips as if it can understand that it means to keep quiet, but... it might? It lays its head back down into the wildflowers, nose twitching at the sweet scent before it lets its eyes close. It's nothing to worry about—she can still see it breathing steady now that it's found a safer place to rest.

Tifa, on the other hand, is already stepping into the trees, towards where the shadows are darkest.]

Well, they'll have another thing coming if they think they can ambush us.

[She's not much of a tracker herself, but she isn't unobservant either. The telltale signs that several people have been through here, off the beaten path, is there—bushes have been rustled, leaves shaken off their branches, and the dirt is scuffed and kicked up all over the place. Someone has definitely rushed past this place.

But what's more: there's the sound of something crackling not far off. Something like... a fire? Did these jerks make camp out here? How long were they planning on staying in the woods poaching unicorns!?]

Right.

[Izuku nods quickly, his expression schooling into something serious again. They have to push forward now. If they are going to save any other unicorns from getting hurt then they have to stop the poachers before they can make more tracks.

Izuku hangs low and listens in the direction of the crackling. It must be a campfire. And if they listen quietly they might even hear the slight murmur of drunken talking.]

That way.

[He keeps his voice quiet. It looks like they are going to be the ones to get the ambush first.]

Let's sneak in closer and see what we can see. If we can confirm it's them, we'll stop them right here.

[Into the darkness of the trees they go. Izuku will be cautious and careful. Don't step on any loud twigs along the way. What a great way for him to brush up on his stealth anyway.]

[The slurred shouts get louder as the two of them sneak in, Tifa coming in from behind him and glancing over her shoulder every now and then to make sure no one's followed their tracks here. She's careful not to make any noise as she tiptoes through, and when they come to the outer ring of bushes around the camp, she kneels low to the ground to listen.

"I think this's times for celebration...!" One of them raises a bottle of beer in one hand, and a fair-sized burlap sack in the other while he laughs through his slurred words. "Y'know how much money we can get for all these!? A lot of money."

Others follow suit, raising their beers.

"If we can find the mom, then you know we'll be in for a big reward. Too bad that bitch ran off before we could get her."

...

Tifa presses her lips together, gritting her teeth, and using all of her strength not to leap in right this second and beat them all into the dirt.]

Think we found our guys?

[The conversation is harrowing. Izuku clenches his fists in anger. He whispers carefully back to her.]

I think so. The good news is... They might be intoxicated.

[Beers and celebration make for stupid and slow. Izuku nods.]

If we take them down before they can get to their weapons we can detain them without any trouble. Are you ready?

[Izuku is so ready to PUNCH. He looks up. Marking his route mentally. He also very carefully makes some alchemy rope out of a nearby branch on the ground and offers it to her should she want to use it. Izuku is going to use his to restrain them properly.]

I'll take the ones on the right if you go left.

[She does take the rope that's offered to her as a precaution, but she isn't sure she'll need to use it when she's finished with them.]

Got it. On three, we'll go in at the same time, okay?

[She would run in fists blazing if it were just her, but this way is safer. One person going in ahead means they might get a jump on the second. So, she begins her countdown under her breath, but the moment she reaches three, she's leaping out from the bushes and taking the ones on the right. She counted five of them, but a sixth will come out of the tent when the commotion starts, armed with a crossbow.

Tifa kicks at the fire, sending embers up at the newcomer to bat him backwards enough that she has the space to take down the other two on her side—one with a knife, the other a broken beer bottle that crashes against a nearby tree when it's knocked from his hands.

"The hell is this shit!?"

They don't put up much of a fight and Tifa is able to make quick work of hers, but the problematic one is definitely the one with the ranged weapon that he's started to load while the pair take the rest of his comrades down—]

"Damn it all!"

[Izuku is following her count as well. With a sprint he bursts out on his side and ambushes the three that are caught like deer in headlights. They scramble for weapons and to defend themselves but Izuku is faster than they are. Nothing works better than a pinch in a fight. They are completely taken off guard. Izuku punches the first one hard in the side of the head and bounces out of the way of another attack. He slaps his hands together and throws them outwards which makes a crackle of metal form from the ground that erupts and knocks the other two.

The ranged weapon isn't something they can stop right away. The man curses loudly and the snap of the crossbow goes off. The arrow whizzed and connects into Izuku's right shoulder.]

Auggh?! Tch-!

[Blood splatters and pain flashes across his eyes. He grabs at his shoulder and grits his teeth. Eyes connecting in a menacing glare at the armed shooter. Izuku inhales and steps towards the man, about ready to leap at him.

But the blood that seeps from Izuku's new wound? Instead of dripping down his arm the blood seems to start floating in the air. In little spheres of red that vibrate strangely in the air... Blood magic...?]

[She hears the arrow, and then the gut-wrenching snap that it makes when it hits its target. She'd been in the middle of knocking one unconscious, her foot connecting with his face to take him to the ground where she pins him to make sure he's down, but her priorities shift to Izuku at his shouts.

Jumping to her feet, the man snaps his armed crossbow to her, and Tifa has no choice but to freeze. She's quick, but not quick enough to outrun an arrow at point blank range...

Her eyes dart across the camp to Izuku, and widen when they spot the small balls of... blood?]

You okay?

[They're going to have to think of something to get out of this, and she's already looking around for something they can use as a distraction... The fire again, maybe? Or... whatever it is that Izuku is doing? She has no idea.]

Gnh-!

[... The pain is searing in his shoulder. He's not sure why it hurts more than a regular wound does and that makes him look up at Tifa with an unsure stare. He doesn't answer her because he doesn't want to startle the man holding the weapon up to Tifa's face.

His eyes dart from the man to her and to the last man also watching them in a steadfast showdown. Think, Midoriya Izuku, Think...!

The searing pain gets worse. Suddenly the blood seeping from Izuku's shoulder starts to congeal like clay and Izuku jolts painfully and grabs at it. The blood morphs and changes and spatters outwards into spikes.]

Agh- No! Hnhn--!!

[The blood is soon so out of control that it looks like bloody tendrils are flying out of Izuku's shoulder!! The men gasp and turn to him in shock!

... Well. That's a distraction. A bad one.]

[Well, that isn't what Tifa expected. Both her and the poacher watch in horror at the long arms of blood that burst out of Izuku's shoulder, but she snaps out of it much sooner than he does and snatches the opportunity to take him down in his stunned, frozen silence. Ice bursts forth around his hands and knocks the crossbow out of it, an arrow flying loose and grazing her arm as she leaps over the fire to land a roundhouse kick to his face. It knocks him off his feet but not unconscious, but she's already turning back to Izuku as more ice forms around the man's ankles, pinning him to the spot.

Rushing over, ignoring the man for a moment, she grabs hold of Izuku's arm and tries to shake him out of his shock.]

Hey!

[Her voice is firm, stiff when she calls out to him, trying to keep him grounded. Magic going haywire isn't new to her, but this magic? This is...]

You need to stop this. Now!

[Easier said than done, she knows, but if he doesn't... What's going to happen?]

[With the poachers taken care of thanks to her at least Izuku can focus on this issue. With a grunt, he tries to pull himself back a step. The bloody tendrils of magic swirling like whips in the air from his magic. Blood spatters and Izuku growls in pain while still trying to grip his hand over the open wound to stop the bleeding.]

Ahgg-!!

[She grabs him and Izuku nearly rips himself away from her with a jolt. Not wanting the magic to somehow hurt her while he can't control it.]

Tifa-san! Watch out- I- gnn...! I don't know how to- S...!

[Pain sears through his body like liquid fire. It feels like his own blood is turning into pure magic inside of him or something...]

I need to... Get it out!!

[A spatter of blood sprays across Tifa's face, and she only flinches for a moment before she's looking around them for something—anything—to get this magic to stop, as if she'll find what she needs in the middle of a poacher camp in the woods. All her eyes see is a whole lot of nothing, so she'll need to think of the next best thing to do...

What is that? What is she supposed to do when there's blood shooting out of this boy like this, tearing his body apart and sending her into an internal panic? No one taught her this when she was practicing her magic...!

These guys are going to have to wait.

Her voice cracks, stiff with the guilt of having to let these poachers go this time. At least they won't be heading anywhere fast, especially as the ice begins to spread across the campsite, trapping them inside it. So quickly that she isn't even sure if she has any control over it anymore.

Doesn't matter.]

Hang on tight.

[She scoops up Izuku in one fell swoop and hurls his body over her shoulder, her hand wiping away the line of blood that splatters across the side of her face, and she carries him out of the camp, away and into the bushes where he'll be safe and can get this under control.]

N-hn??! No-!

[She scoops him up like a sack of potatoes. And Izuku immediately feels the panic rise in his chest. He flails without realizing it. Which makes a painful sear of blood rip his shoulder open even more. No- They can't leave the poachers here. What if they get away? What if they hurt something or someone else-?! Stop-!]

Tifa-san?!

[He'll pull away from her the moment he can get. The intent of trying to get back to the camp if it wasn't for the searing knives of built-up blood magic trying to burst out of his shoulder. Izuku gets an inch before he falls back against a tree trunk with a loud yell of pain.

Get it out... Get it out-!!

Izuku grits his teeth and tries to let out a sharp breath as he channels his magic. More blood tendrils erupt from his shoulderblade...]

[They can worry about the poachers after they've taken care of whatever is happening with him and Tifa's grip only tightens on him until they find a place she can set him down, stopping him with a hand on his chest when he tries to lunge forward, back in the direction of the camp again.

She tries not to be so put-off by the sight of all the blood, not wanting to cause any more panic than there already is. She reaches forward, grabbing his uninjured shoulder, and shakes him gently, trying to pull his consciousness back to the here and now, to this tree he's slumped against, to her face and the dirt beneath his feet.]

Get what out? The blood!?

[She can't help him like this!]

The- magic- blood magic-!

[He snaps his gaze up to her. Looking unintentionally feral for a moment. Izuku's boyish features now a clenched jaw and a pained expression as the magic ravages his body. It hurts like blades are cutting him up from the inside out. The magic trying to spear itself out of his body somehow.

Izuku takes a shuddering breath in and then looks down again. Trying to concentrate on something to pinpoint the source of the magic. The blood is still gushing out of his shoulder but it does seem to be slowing down as the moments tick by. He has to focus on the point. The singular point inside of him...

For a split second Izuku feels alone. Even with Tifa there trying her best to do something and anything to help him. He used to have a voice- multiple voices- supporting him from the inside of his soul. But entering this world has taken them away from Izuku. Now he doesn't know what to do. But he tries to focus. Slowly controlling his breathing and allowing the blood to trickle out until the tendrils soften and fall. Finally, a simple flow of energy and blood seeps from his shoulder and he lets out a gasp of relief.]

... Hgnn... It's ... slowing down.

[She's trying not to panic, keeping her expression taut as she holds onto him, hands gripping his arms to keep him from flailing too much, until it finally begins to slow...

Tifa has no clue what just happened, this being the first time she's ever seen blood magic before, so all she can do when he sighs with relief is stare at him, her eyes wide and brows furrowed. She's not sure she believes him when he says it's slowed down. Sure, whatever was happening before has ebbed, but... will it happen again if he tries to stand?

What kind of world is this that it gives this sort of magic to a kid?

Silence rings in the forest air, the only sound the light tapping of hooves on the ground somewhere in the trees.]

Are you—?

[Tifa looks around, searching for the source, worried that the poachers had managed to free themselves, but she spots it and her question trails off, just off in the shadows, big and bright and white as fresh-fallen snow, her golden horn glistening in the dusty rays of sunshine that filter through the tree canopies above. She's staring right at them, and Tifa nudges Izuku gently.]

... Look.

[He will feel absolutely terrible for putting her in such a situation later on. No one deserves to see someone go out of control like that. He would have been okay with her plain punching his lights out if it got any worse than that. His blood magic has been repressed for some time and since Izuku tends to rely on his alchemy magic more often it seems that his blood magic has built up to a dangerous level that it burst out. He has a lot of research to do now. He doesn't want this to happen again.]

I'm ... I'm okay...

[But he looks up at her nudge. His body stills as he catches sight of something gold. Something that sparkles a shining white.]

It's a ... unicorn.

[A full-grown one is somehow so much more breath-taking. Izuku feels this catch in his throat. Suddenly awestruck.]

[closed] we were at the table by the window with the view

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

we can prob start wrapping this

wrapping! 🎀