RP:Between the Bard and Me

Summary: Alex and his pets manage to find themselves in a chilly situation with the Frosty Knight.

Sage Forest

Alex seems to be carrying on a conversation with himself as he moves through the thicket of Sage Forest, an open palm held out on either side of him to brush the lush greenery as he advances though not entirely alone, he's accompanied by a small brown and white rat perched upon his left shoulder who's whiskers flick with every word. The human's voice is hard to make out as he seems to be muttering and humming at the same time and the flora surrounding him perks up and sprouts to life with each step he takes. His apparel isn't much, a simple white shirt covered with a leather vest and a pair of worn pants that barely reach his tattered sandals that bring him to a halt when he suddenly hears and odd crunching beneath his feet. Falling silent those blue eyes of his drop to find the source of the odd sound to be a fresh coating of frost covering the blades of grass beneath him and a lofted brow is offered to his rodent companion who responds only by grabbing his lips with his adorable little pink hands and placing several kisses upon his mouth which the bard takes as encouragement to move forward. The chill of fall was finally being felt in the Kelay region but nothing like this, Alex soon found himself surrounded by frigid temperatures and specks of snow and ice littered everything around him, leaving him a little confused and a lot scared.

The bard and his fear was strong enough that it could be smelled by any predator for a mile away. There was only one predator, however, that prowled this part of the forest right now. The rest knew better. This was her territory; damn all the elves that thought this was their home. She'd found this bard, and weirdly enough, she carried a tiny rabbit with her. Its leg was bandaged up and it actually looked cared for, a strange thing to see with someone like the undead. But, he wouldn't see her just yet, she'd continue to stalk him, keeping hidden behind the trees. As she got closer, the cold would worsen for the human, and the blood in his veins slowly freeze. Not enough to kill him, but instead intended to slow him down. She inspected him and his tiny pet from afar, her own letting out a shiver and a squeak.

Alex ventured further into the woods despite the nagging voice in the back of his head that pleaded for him to turn and run. His already pale skin begins to turn white and his teeth chatter in a fierce rhythm that causes his song and the blooming it caused to cease all together. The rodent scurries up to nestle against the human's neck as he comes to a complete stop and crouches down while wrapping his arms around himself for warmth, the fog of his breath thick as he shakes violently. "G-g-g... g-go on 'mus" he orders while extending a hand to the ground allowing his companion to take off for safety, the bard knowing something was amiss but unsure of the severity his travels may have caused. Alex remains stationary now as he awaits his fate, those sterling blue eyes of his swarming the immediate area between rapid blinks before he falls onto his side.

Jhaelyn continued to close in on them, her footsteps as silent as a rat--er, mouse. The elf finds her way up to the bard as he begins to fall over, the rabbit left to sit on the ground for now. It hops over to Rattimus, greeting it in it's quiet critter language that rabbit's knew so well. The death knight, however, as sweet as she is, kneels beside, moving to cradle him in her arms. "Oh my," that haunting voice of hers slips out from between blue lips, "You poor dear. Poor, tender morsel. You're so cold and alone." A finger bends, moving beneath his chin to lift his gaze to her own. "Don't worry. I'll save you, young one." Alex probably wasn't going to be saved though. He'd likely get bit if he didn't do something very soon.

As Alex lay shivering on the cold frosted ground begging for warmth in his head, his lips try to move to scream but nothing can be said from the constant chattering of enamel. The fluttering of lashes creates great difficulty in examining the shadowed figure before him though he imagines something dark and vile and his deep fear of vampires consumes him as he's left to wonder just how pointy the creature's teeth are. The small rodent hoisted from the earth into the arms of an undead as cold as ice suffers from no such blight and releases three screeches that don't seem to signal anything but fear but this notion however is quickly dismissed when the ground beneath their feet begins to vibrate and the sound of leafs being crushed and bark being torn from trees fills the air as something storms closer and closer to the quartet. Just as Rattimus scurries to escape the woman's hold by biting the finger she's placed beneath his chin and then leaping to the ground below, Adagio makes his appearance by slamming into the large base of a tree sending splinters flying to the ground as the twelve foot long dire bears eyes shoot to the downed bard and then lock with the undead woman in a feral stare. His gaping maw releases an ear-splitting roar and saliva flings towards her before he's barreling closer and closer, the rodent wise enough to grab hold of bundle of fur from his leg as he makes his way past and with Rattimus climbing his leg, Adagio aims to slam into Jhaelyn and send her flying across the forest with brute force.

The bite to her finger didn't exactly phase her, but leaves her to say 'Oh." in disappointment. And then, the bear made itself known. "I see. You want to play, don't you?" Splinters fly past her; some miss while others marred her pretty face, leaving streaks that don't offer a drop of blood. As the bear starts his charge, she draws her sword, twirling the broken greatsword's hilt between the fingers of her left hand. Her right arm raises swiftly, however, choosing to not use her sword quite yet. Dead, cold fingers reach upwards like a claw as her appendage rises from her side, the cold that had plagued Alex mysteriously vanishing, leaving the bard to thaw. As the frosty magic is sucked back up by Jhaelyn, she unleashes it in the form of a huge seven-foot wall right in the bear's path. Like the skilled swordswoman that she is, she doesn't just stand around waiting aimlessly; instead, she adopts a defensive stance, the remnants of her sword angled in front of her and her heels dug into the ground in case the bear should not crash right into the wall.

Adagio is fast but he is not graceful, the bear slams into the wall of ice with full force causing it to crack and quake but not give way. The bear is laid out with a serious headache while Rattimus scurries from one ear to the other trying to get the giant oaf back on his feet. Meanwhile on the opposite side of the wall and laying behind Jhaelyn, Alex has suddenly found himself able to move and he wastes no time shuffling around the frostbitten grass to get himself on his feet and he turns to stare at the defensive undead. It's still a struggle to keep his eyes open but after rubbing the back of his hands on them multiple times he finally makes out the figure before him and while it's no vampire he goes ahead and chalks off zombie on his list of things that terrify him. The fear is so very apparent in his eyes until he spots the wall and a mat of brown fur sticking out from behind it, as he pieces together what's happened the fear turns to something very rarely seen in this frail human - anger. The bard's body language shifts from cowardly to direct and as his jaw falls open allowing a very low baritone voice to escape from it and echo out around the forest and the earth beneath them to shake violently as he builds momentum. Chunks of the ground separate themselves and rise to levitate all around the duo and when he's seemingly satisfied Alex suddenly changes his tone. The low hum like singing is quickly turned into a banshee-like screech that rings out violently enough to feel like the inside of your head is splitting right in half and the earthly debris begins to pepper the undead woman relentlessly.

Jhaelyn was shaken a bit, hands moving to cup her head as the screech penetrated her eardrums. She was no longer of the living, but those damned elf ears of hers were still quite sensitive. She might not be able to hear for awhile, but she'd still be able to sniff out that little bardic morsel. The debris flies at her and she takes every shot head on as she slips past the bear and the wall, pushing through the noise and rocks that came her way. The earth that pelted her chipped away at more of her armor and it all threatened to break entirely to leave the female naked. Not like she'd care anyway; she wasn't going to get cold. Her sword is drawn again, the broken weapon pointed in Alex's direction, her magic focused on the broken blade, using it to channel the cold directly at him. That blood-freezing magic he felt before would be directed at him again. It'd start at his feet and work it's way up his body, inside as well as out as frost littered Alex's form and slowly turned to ice.

Alex was relentless in his cry but his efforts seemed meaningless as the attack failed to halt the approach of the undead woman, instead simply stripping her of her decency and revealing all her natural dead glory. In most cases, Alex would likely turn red in the cheeks and have a sputtering mind but this was no normal circumstance and the human was still alight with anger. As Jhaelyn closed the gap and drew her blade, Alex inhaled the cool air deep into his lungs and then in a single powerful burst shouted loud enough to hopefully propel the woman away from him with great force just as the magic begins to connect with him.

Unfortunately for Jhaelyn, she's not quite able to stand up to such a thing. With being trained so little in the ways of her current magic and the only magic she'd actually been up against in her lifetime was typically that of necromancers and the like, such a violent scream from Alex propelled her backward into her own ice wall. First, her body connects into it with such a tremendous force that it breaks away at the ice wall itself. Whiplash comes moments later as the back of the undead woman's head hits the ice with a sickening thud. Slowly, she slides down the wall and hits the ground, crumpled over onto herself. The poor bard is left with three options: Kill her now, try to help, or flee with his life and that of his companions before she regains her senses.

Alex feels a rush of adrenaline and satisfaction as he succeeds in knocking the undead woman away in what is likely the most powerful display of his voice to date. As she slams into the wall his brows furrow and he swallows the lump in his throat with clenched fists, the sight of Adagio slowly coming to reminding him what drove him to such great lengths in the first place. His strides toward the woman are quick and when he reaches her crumbled body he pulls a dagger from his belt and holds it to her throat while jerking her chin to force her to face him. He isn't sure if she is conscious or not and frankly, he doesn't give a damn, "If you -ever- harm one of my babies again I swear to Xalious and all things holy that I will wear your skin as a suit." He makes his bold claim through gritted teeth and then spits in the face of the deceased woman before rising up to his feet and providing a solid kick with the bottom of his boot square onto her nose. He then makes his way to Adagio and makes sure the bear is alright before leading him and Rattimus deeper into the woods and away from the woman with a light limp.