END OF ARC 1: DAY 171-172 BATTLE

[asgardmods]

[At dawn of Day 171, the battle begins again. It's the same as before, only both sides' troops are better organized. The first day will go badly: losses will be heavy, as the forces of Asgard as their allies seem overwhelmed by the numbers and ferocity of their opponents. The more battle-ready gods themselves can be seen openly on the battlefield today (Thor, Heimdall, Baldr, & Freya as melee. Loki, Sigyn, & Hel as mostly-unseen magical support. Freyr is still on a boat.). At night the battle pauses for a few brief hours, only long enough to bring in the wounded and the dead.

However, on Day 172, things begin to look up again. Another wave of reinforcements arrives, this time a large army of mostly human but partly elven forces, along with a few leaders who can quickly be pointed out as gods. This new army helps turn the tide, and this day goes well for the "good" side (though only by a slim margin).

But it still isn't over. In fact, it seems like it could draw out for a long time, until every bit of Asgard's side is destroyed.]


[ooc note: this is the catch-all log for Days 171-172 (Nov 8-11)! It includes the battle, but can be used for anything going on in the city, for medics, etc. Anything that isn't in the shelter can go here.

The shelter log is here. The Day 173 downtime log is here. Please be sure to include the day/time of day in the subject line of top-level threads. Also, be sure to have read the entire plot post.

There is a timeline of all important posts in the ooc comm here. If you have plot questions, please submit them to the plot post so everyone else can get the answers. Thank you!]

Comments

172 Evening

[samantha_grey]

[Some people never learned when to quit while they were ahead. Castiel had helped her get free of that damned lamia, and she was still out here. She wasn't exactly 'leading' the group of vanaheim soldiers, but she was fighting alongside them at the moment when they engaged one of the more unified hit-and-run tactics groups she'd seen in the latter part of the day.

It wasn't like the giants had routed. the fighting was still hot and heavy, and it had been far from going the defender's way. Still, after that dragon, things had gone at least marginally better. This group, though, seemed different when the battle was joined.

Seeing the first of them, one of the frost giants, Samantha popped the cork on one of her little yellow bottles. She hadn't used one yet today, and the juice seemed a good idea while she got her blade at the ready.]

Hey ugly.

[showmeanguish]

[They've been fighting for hours straight, after taking only a short break mid-day. Vanitas' unit is dwindling, though not by as much as it should be: he still has 40 strong.

The Giant looks at her, before it turns and brandishes a large halberd her way. If she wants to fight, she's definitely got one. There's no reply back, before he charges.]

[samantha_grey]

[She didn't want to use her powers. The oily feeling that crawled along her skin right now was too strong. If she had to she would, but for now she had a few tricks up her sleeve. He was bigger than her, and wielding a weapon with some reach to it.

Good. That tended to make even the stalwart a little cocky. When he charged, she held her ground until the last second. Her hand spun to the side while she expected the bladed axe of the weapon to maneuver, chain whipping from her kusari-gama in an effort to catch the haft of the weapon and wrench it from its expected path, while her other hand shot out and slashed with sickle.]

[showmeanguish]

[He definitely was cocky. Both Frost Giants were still standing, when only the fodder had been reduced (which was reasonable, but this one also didn't seem to be particularly cunning either).

The chain manages to halt his swing of of, at least, though his grip tightens to keep it. And that costs him, because while he's trying to wrench his weapon back, the sickle catches him across the bicep and chest. With a small roar, he finally tugs hard back on his weapon and rights himself with a small stumble, but the open gashes are going to slow him down.]

[samantha_grey]

[The wrench drags her in particularly close. As the defenders from Vanaheim were trying to hold the others off, Samantha knew she had this one mostly to herself. She pulled her knee back and gave a vicious knee strike straight for the bastard's groin while her tail lashed out.

It wasn't very strong, but that little thing had a way of taking people by surprise. If he wasn't paying attention, he might find himself tripped or at least confused. In the meantime, though, she used one hand to untwist her weapon and the other to punch at the gut with the haft of the sickle.]

[showmeanguish]

[The kick doesn't do much--he is a Giant after all--and just gets her a slight grunt. The tail though does confuse him a bit, and leaves him open for that punch.

That gets another, more pained grunt as he stumbles back a few steps, one hand protecting his belly from another strike. He has his weapon freed, though, and swings it toward her head. But it's a high aim, and more split-second and retalitary than calculated.]

warning - this could get violent/gory folks

[samantha_grey]

[Right up close like this, short-hafting a Halberd could be a risky prospect. Trying to strike someone who was almost on top of you was always dangerous and with the slowness of the strike, she dropped to a knee and moved to the side to get out of the strike's way.

As for her hand, though, she turned the haft in her hand and struck with a raking blow. It dragged the edge of the sickle along the abdomen. She was not playing nice with this slash at all.]

[showmeanguish]

[The effect is rather immediate, and Samantha will find blood gushing down her weapon and over her hands. The Giant roars in pain, and drops down to a knee again, wrenching away and trying to keep his side from splitting all the way open.

It's probably a useless effort. But in a split second, there will be another problem on Samantha's hand.

A black-enshrouded figure suddenly appears from the Giant's back, carried over by some sort of serpentine shadow that dissolves mid-air. And then they're falling towards her, sword held down in a plunging position as he lets gravity pull him straight for the girl's head and chest.]

[samantha_grey]

[There was something familiar about the figure, but that wasn't anything Samantha could really put her finger on right now, and nothing she wanted to worry about with a strike coming down this close. She rolled, spinning to break away as quickly as possible and sending one of the Vanaheim archers topling in the process. He started getting to her feet as she rose, grunting and moving to a new position.

There was blood running down her cheek from a shallow gash along the cheekbone. An inch more and that would have been a lethal strike. The shadows made her eyes narrow. It wasn't the first time she'd seen their powers on an enemy. It was the first time she'd seen Hel's.]

Looks like I caught somebody's attention.

[She started to get to her feet, warily watching him and beginning to spin her chain.]

[showmeanguish]

[Yeah, it definitely would have been. He lands hard, sword tip piercing the ground, body curling a little to take the force of the impact. But then, he straightens and yanks his weapon out of the mud and blood mucking the terrain, bringing it high and point-forward in a very distinctive fighting stance.]

Hope it's what you wanted.

[He knew the damage was bad, but he couldn't afford to lose one of the Frost Giants so easily. And as he guarded it, there were already two lesser giants breaking away to aid it.]

[samantha_grey]

[She snorted. That statement wasn't even going to earn a response. What she 'wanted' was the last thing she was going to talk about with whoever this was. Their voice, again, had a familiar feel. She still couldn't place it, and shelved it for another day. But she'd been spilling all kinds of crap to relative strangers, and there had to be a line drawn somewhere.

The guy holding a sword across from her seemed a good choice as far as that went.

Her eyes flickered, catching sight of them attempting to bring their fellow back, away from the fighting. She frowned. It wasn't as if he would be the first man she'd ever killed. It wasn't as if she couldn't kill to protect herself. There was still a bit of doubt in her eyes.]

Tell you what, you back your men off, I toss that one a poultice so his guts don't go everywhere, and you and me settle this like grown up mature little murderers. That work for you?

[The people around her looked surprised, though a few seemed relieved. The Vanaheim troops she was with were about half as many as his troops. The odds didn't favor the whole fight going in their favor even with her powers.]

[showmeanguish]

One-on-one?

[He makes a small, amused noise from beneath the helmet.] Fine, it's your call how you wanna die.

[And with that, the shadow beneath her feet surges up into a wolf-like head and torso, fangs and claws snapping and raking at her.]

[samantha_grey]

[She snarled, lunging again to the side to get distance. There were thin marks where it had struck. When she got to her feet, something whipped out of her satchel. A small cloth packet, it lay on the rocks just behind him. She had made an agreement, and that was the size of it.

But, now that they were down to it, she wasn't going to play nice in response to this. Her hand stooped whirling the chain and instead her fingers wiggled up, threading the metal between thumb and palm. Her will was reaching out, trying to seize up his body while she gritted her teeth. She had a feeling he could still control his little pet even without his body, but it was worth a shot.]

[showmeanguish]

[One good thing about Kaz using his powers liberally on him... Vanitas had had plenty of practice blocking it out or minimizing it's effectiveness. He could feel his limbs stiffening, and while it was a little harder and slower to move them, he definitely was far from seized up. Not unless she hit him with Level 3.

And he did still have control over his creature. Big as a lion, and righting itself after missing her jugular. It pivoted on it's monstrous paws, and lunged again, coming at her from the other side.]

yep, the little witch got approved for 3

[samantha_grey]

[Samantha's fingers clenched into a fist when she saw him still coming. There was familiarity in that sensation, in the force of her will against his. She didn't have Kaz's practice, but she definitely had grown at this point and was wielding powers on par with the spider's. It would be something to warn him about.

Trying to keep him at bay left her open to the creature. She felt it barrel into her and a rake of the claws sent blood spraying from one arm. She worked to maintain focus and snarled at the thing, slashing with her blade. She'd never actually fought one of the shadow-wielders, so she couldn't be sure attacks would harm their toys.]

Didn't... know ... shadow wielders worked for the frost side. You're good.

oh snap

[showmeanguish]

[It's definitely slowed him down, and Vanitas isn't trying to attack her, personally. His tactic now is to try to further break her concentration so he can move freely.

The wolf makes no sound when it's hit, and there's no blood, but it does go reeling back a bit from the blow. It's not enough to destroy it, but it's shape distorts a bit on that side, before it comes back in and goes for her leg.]

There's a lot your side doesn't know. [Like how some of the Travelers had been enlisted onto the giants' side.]

[samantha_grey]

My side? The things you don't know about me could fill volumes.

[She snarled, pulling back as she felt the thing tear a rake down her leg. That broke the concentration that he was seeking, though at that same moment, she reached up with both hands to put some force into her strike and aimed a downward blow towards the creature, trying to rake the sickle from where the shoulders met through the thing's shadow before hoping to roll away.

Her leg was on fire, but she didn't hiss. Physical pain was nothing new to her, and the way she glowered at them both showed it.]

[showmeanguish]

Hnh. [The shadow creature bends with her strike, very unlike a normal animal, but then it's head separates and it dissolves into whisps of black.

That's one down, but as soon as she wins that small victory, Vanitas is rushing for her. And with her concentration broken, he's moving fast and agile, going for her right on the heels of her roll with a slash of his sword.]

[samantha_grey]

[The kama was up like a bolt of lightly, neatly positioned in the blink of an eye, almost as if she'd expected him to come. Admittedly, the way she parried looked like she'd expected a piercing strike, and so there was blood dripping down her side as she crouched and took a half step back. She was growling at Vanitas, close enough for the sulfur to practically reek in the air.

She needed got out of here. She'd hurt his toys, not him, and she knew it. Using the grip at her weapon to keep his blade locked for a critical second, a fang showing.]

Don't know if your side's holding back tricks or your a traitor, but I've got a news flash if you're a turncoat.

Your soul's tied to Hel same as mine. What happens if she goes down?

[She reached down an brought up a wad of paper. She snapped it and a brief, small flash of light from the contact paper went off right between them while she timed the closure of her eyes. It was a really cheap parlor trick, even for a stage magician, but the flash might disorient him just long enough for her to lunge back and make a break for it in the chaos.]

[showmeanguish]

[He's pressing back against their locked weapons, smirking beneath his mask.] I've got a backup.

[But then his vision goes white, and he makes a small, surprised sound before backing off. His weapon's still raised, other hand in front of him defensively. It takes him several seconds to blink away the spots in his eyes, and when they finally clear he discovers her gone.

Cheap parlor trick, indeed. But he's not upset, just a little disappointed he didn't get to kill her.]

T'ch. [Turning back to his unit, he instantly calls for a brief retreat, so they can recoup their losses and see if the Frost Giant can be saved, or if he's a lost cause.]