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Post by Briar on Jul 17, 2021 17:00:43 GMT -6
Briar almost didn't believe what he was hearing at first. He could see in the assembled crowd that there were quite a few creatures, most if not all of them bigger than Rhys. Bigger didn't necessarily mean more powerful, and Briar had been at Gracehaven long enough to understand that Noa's favorite creatures were all heavily modified monstrosities... and as his familiar, Rhys wasn't really an exception. In fact, given their magical bond, Rhys most likely had even more potential at his disposal, to help make up the difference with his smaller size. But the fact did remain that there was only one of him, and he wasn't very large.
Fortunately, possibly for everyone involved, no one seemed to take the bait. Briar could see one person approaching, attempting to shove Noa back with both hands, only to meet with some kind of resistance. Briar frowned; was that some kind of magic too?
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Post by Noa on Jul 18, 2021 15:56:34 GMT -6
The Mammalian recoiled as if struck, eyes wide. Noa's eyes were just as wide as he blinked. The shimmering shield dissipated, and soon it was as if it had never been there. In its wake, the shock on the Mammalian's face gave way to a deeper scowl, though there was an undercurrent of real fear beneath it now.
Funny. Had the lightning not been enough to scare him before? Noa would have thought that little display would already have made it abundantly obvious what he was, but... Well.
The Mammalian collected his Vulticus and beat a retreat, not even bothering to say anything as he left. The rest of the crowd had already dissipated, and now it was just Noa and Rhys left standing in the spot where they had been assembled just moments ago. Noa stared down at his hands. He hadn't conjured the shield himself -- at least, not consciously.
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Post by Briar on Jul 18, 2021 16:01:00 GMT -6
It must have been. Noa was capable of a great deal, but almost all of it was magic, either his own or that of his familiar. For a moment, Briar thought something else might happen... but the Mammalian who had attempted to approach Noa was hastening away from him. Tension that Briar hadn't even been aware that he was holding eased, and he breathed out a long, slow breath.
Yeo-reum made a low, disapproving grumble, though whether he was expressing his distaste for Noa or whether he had been hoping for more was hard to say. Briar was still looking on, a slight frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. At this distance, it was hard to tell, but the way that Noa stood there, staring at his own hands... Rather than the callous, indifferent air he usually projected, he looked more like a lost child now, uncertain as to what to do with himself.
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Post by Noa on Jul 18, 2021 16:05:26 GMT -6
He knew that it wasn't Rhys either. Rhys had his own magic, both the kind that other creatures were capable of and the kind that came from their bond as mage and familiar, but this wasn't it.
It took him a moment to identify what it was.
An old charm -- one of the first that he had learned, back when he had been just a child. His family hadn't allowed him to begin working with nodes until much later, but there were a scant few things one could achieve without it, including a shield that drew on the user's own energy...
... that would only erect itself under duress, when the user believed themselves to be in real danger.
He sighed. "This should have been beneath its notice." A lone Mammalian man, unarmed -- what could such an individual hope to do to the likes of him?
But no, he thought; he was done with this place, and this night. It was time to head back.
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Post by Briar on Jul 18, 2021 16:13:48 GMT -6
... No. He must have been imagining things. This was Noa -- and Briar reminded himself firmly of the things he had seen in that house, the things he had seen Noa do. If he had managed to disperse a crowd like that here, there was good reason, and even if he didn't know what he was doing, that didn't change the fact that Noa was a monster among men.
Still, it seemed that the fight, or whatever it was, had gone out of him for the night, and he walked off in the direction of the path that would lead him back to Gracehaven.
Yeo-reum looked at Briar, a wordless question in his gaze. Briar shook his head. He wasn't going to follow. He would have to go back himself eventually, but he wanted to stay out here a little longer. He wasn't sure why, exactly, but Yeo-reum was satisfied; the Tat, at least, never needed a reason to avoid Noa.
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Post by NPC on Aug 1, 2021 19:01:58 GMT -6
Congratulations, you've successfully completed the quest! Your QP will be added to your bank and your prizes will be sent out shortly.
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