Fandom Faerie Core - In Character Thread

[Ehb]

The children were not exactly trained in the ways of capturing any sort of animal out in the forest. Their discussion making it a bit clear - so much so that Pete's very straightforward plan remained the most likely option. From there it was decided that Akane, who outwardly looked the most harmless out of the bunch, would be the best candidate for bait, to attract the mysterious creatures to her.

"You kids ran into that clumsy ole' Pooh? That's... odd." Pete voiced out thoughtlessly.

Cyra raised the point that the creatures knew the forest better than them, and were likely to approach them from unexpected directions. To this, Pete nodded.

"I guess you have a point. I've almost had them a couple of times but they'd dart off before I can give chase. But! With the lot of us working together we should be able to block them off together. One good shot from my net slinger and they'll be tangled up 'n going nowheres. Anyway, enough dilly dallyin'. There's not much food to camp out any longer so we're gpnna need to make the rest of the time we got count if we don't want to start livin' off leaves."

Indeed, time was of the essence, and daylight was running out.
So, the children set off, with Pete's lumbering self trailing a ways off so as not so be so conspicuous.

As the children walked about, their 'plan' became a bit more defined.
Akane would lead the way to make contact. Then, while she was distracting it, the trailing children and Pete would surround it's escape route and then rush in and catch it!


Even by suppertime, the children had found that they were practically walking in circles, feeling like they were recognizing certain trees and rocks they had passed by before.
Akane, who had been leading the way... she wasn't the one walking them in circles was she? Though could they really blame her?

Karyra
In any case, Akane needed to not walk in circles as much. Thus, it seemed like a good idea to maybe just go through a line of bushes just to try to change up the path a bit.

First one through that line of bushes, Akane, now with some leaves in her hair was going through so blindly that she almost bumped head first into....
Akane?

The two practically scared each other! Jumping away from each other.

"Eeek! Who... who are you supposed be!?"

Rithas EbonChevalier Emiya Shin LowD
The children trailing behind heard Akane's voice and began to rush to go through the bushes to see what she had just ran into. Instantly, the found two Akanes standing on the other side.
This... this looked about what to expect from the Woozles they had been hearing about all this time. This was it, this is who they needed to catch with their nets!

But... which one was the actual Akane!?
Oh well! They needed to act fast or else the Woozle, Heffalump, or whatever would get away!

INFORMATION:
Roll a Two Sided Die to catch the Woozle!
1 = Get a hold of the Woozle!
2 = Ends up capturing Akane!

 

[Rithas]

Ehb EbonChevalier Emiya Shin LowD Karyra

---

Has this entire day and night just been walking in forests? Trying to find Hoshino, forest. Going with Pooh to find his house, forest. Trying to find Fatuita, forest. Going to find a Woozle, forest. When this was all over (And she would make sure this was over once they found Hoshino). She was going to spend a week in a nice open field or just in the middle of town. Yes, a good urban enviroment. She didn't want to see another tree for a while...

Cyra groaned internally as the 'hunt' continued. What if there just wasn't any Woozle's to be found. Could they just paint Pooh in stripes and pretend that he was one. She was sure he wouldn't mind.
But they continued, nevertheless.

At a certain point, Cyra was ready to sigh loudly in discontent. But she was stopped as Akane found....

Akane?

This was getting out of hand, now there's two of them!

Well, this wasn't exactly how she had planned this to go. But it did very sneaky, classic Woozle behaviour. Probably.

Okay, how were they gonna figure out who was actually Akane. Her synapses (she learned that in a book) fired rapidly as in these brief moments before action were required. There was two options to pick with all the nets-

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaait a second!

They had more nets then Akanes!

"JUST THROW THEM AT BOTH OF THEM!"

They could just figure out after both were in the nets. With like...a stick or something.
She was sure Akane wouldn't mind being caught in a net twice in a hour.

Picking randomly, Cyra yeeted a net at one of the Akane's. Trying to trap she(it?) down.

 

[EbonChevalier]

Hours of stalking through the bush had left Karam's feet sore. He was also pretty sure he'd worn out the sole of his sneakers. He was also more than sure his body had burned through all that camp food Pete had brought. The hunger set his mind to wandering.

'When we get back home I'm getting a burger bigger than my head at the plaza. A good food coma should be a good cap on this adventure. We catch the Woozle. Find Hoshino. Go home and have a celebratory feast. Will burgers, fries, and the sweetest milk- '

Akane's screaming killed his train of thought and he came rushing to help.

Only to find two Akane's!

The strangeness of the situation surprised him to stillness.

'What do I do!' He thought.

But Cyra's simple but useful spurred him into action.

"This has got the be the first good idea you've ever had!"

Karam shouted as he fired a net at the untrapped Akane

 

[Ehb]

Encountering two of Akane after coming out of the bushes, the children, weary of the apparent trickery of their prey, instantly came to the conclusion that one of the two Akane was likely a fake! Indeed, the deceitful Woozle was probably trying to cause mischief by trying to get the children to cast a net and capture one of their own!

Cyra's big brain move was to cast a net on both of them and sort out the rest later!

She threw her net at one, Karam, eager to get this hunger inducing side-trek over with, also threw his net!

To everyone's surprise, the nets both landed on the same 'Akane'!



Pete, finally catching up to the children beyond the bush, walked up to see the kids' handiwork. They had captured a girl who had the exact same likeness as the girl who had shot ice-water at him earlier at the camp.

"Y-you guys!? Why did you do this?"

Whomever was under the net had literally the exact same voice of Akane. The utterly similar resemblance and sound was off-putting enough that some of the children were even feeling a little guilty, it felt a little bit like they had actually caught the wrong Akane.

Nonetheless, Pete was very pleased with the progress the children had made so quickly. He had spent days combing the forest for a woozle and came up with nothing. But now, not even an hour of having these kids scour the forest and they had actually caught something? It seemed like the information about those creatures being fond of children was true after all.

"You kids just found a woozle this fast? I shoulda just run a camping trip for an orphanage if I knew it would be this easy. Heheh..."

Pete took no time to tie up the Akane trapped in the two layers of net. He lifted their catch triumphantly, his taller stature hoisting her up into the air.
Again, seeing 'Akane' curled up, tangled, and visibly uncomfortable as she whimpered at her own misfortune again gave some of the children some uncomfortable feelings that they might've just done something bad. This vibe did not go noticed be Pete, who gently put the tied up Akane back onto the ground.

Rithas EbonChevalier Emiya Shin LowD

"Right, so I'm understanding that the Woozalump just tried to trick you into thinking they were that girl who standing there but uh... How are ya sure that the girl here isn't the ACTUAL real girl who was with ya's?" Pete asked, surprisingly being considerate in that moment.

 

[Rithas]

Ehb EbonChevalier Emiya Shin LowD Karyra

---

Okay, clearly people did not understand the idea of throwing the nets at 'everyone'. Hence the nets being thrown at, in fact, one exact person. But the chance of both their nets hitting the same Akane. Well, that's like a one in two chance. Or one in four? Quickhand possibility tables were still a little struggle for her. The point being since she got the one she went for and the other also got the target - and factoring in the statistic that she was never wrong on physical actions. It was certain that this Akane was the right Akane. Or wrong Akane. The right Akane being the wrong Akane. The wrong Akane being the Right Akane. She was also directionally on the right. So the right Akane was the right Akane who was not in fact Akane and that was what made it right. The left Akane then being the Akane that was righ-

"Don't worry Pete. The solution is simple." Cyra picked her stick up off the ground. "If the free Akane is actually the Woozle, it would probably try to dip at the moment. So that's one thing. But also, the real truth teller here is that-" The girl started walking forward with the stick pointed at the trapped creature. "I'm gonna start poking this thing in the face. So it has two options, either it can remember what food we found out I'm allergic to last week or it realises that it doesn't want to be poked in the face anymore and just give up the disguise."

A large grin came over the girl. Twisting the point of the stick in her hands. As it got closer and closer to the (fake) Akane's face.

"Here comes the sharp stick. Pokey~ Pokey~"

 

[Emiya Shin]

Ehb Karyra Rithas LowD EbonChevalier

---

Ruka once again, stood silent throughout the interactions with Pete, and the discussion about capturing a pair of Heffalumps and Woozles. She was not exactly the tactically inclined type, at least for this one. She was largely nodding and listening to the discussions. Before she knew it, Ruka was already holding a net with the others, trying to catch a Heffalump or a Woozle. The girl was still clueless, as she had absolutely no idea on how those things looked like. It felt like she was trying to look for something nondescript in a stack of hay. It was a slog for Ruka. She was even planning to slack her pace, until the group of children found 2 Akanes (or was it Kipo) doubting each other's presence.

The reveal was once again, stunned Ruka. It was long enough for Cyra, and Karam to throw their nets on one of the Akanes. The spunky girl could only blink at how fast both Cyra and Karam was, entrapping one of the Akanes that they considered as a Woozle. She was finally awake from her daze, when Cyra decided to poke the entrapped Akane (or was it a Woozle at this point) with her wooden stick until it gave up.

She quickly yelled at Cyra, with her hands outstretched in a typical emergency stop sign.

"Stopra! Why don't we just ask what's her name?! Or anything related to the Orphanage?!"

 

[Karyra]

Ehb Emiya Shin EbonChevalier

---

The forest was huge. She was surprised that such a place could be so colorful and bright. Just waiting was an exercise of watching the leaves dance, the bright green contrasting to how the leaves looked at home. Probably. She'd have to compare when they got home.

As she walked over to grab some leaves to compare later, she bumped into someone. "Oh I'm-"

Her apology was cut off when she saw her own blue eyes staring back at her. Akane blinked owlishly before yelling and another net hit... the other Akane. Oh thank goodness that she wasn't netted again. That was awful the first time.

However, they had no way of proving that the non-netted Akane was the real Akane. Cyra, in true Cyra fashion, decided to poke the other Akane in the face. Akane failed to understand the logic, why would that prove that was the fake Akane? Then again they really didn't know much about Heffalumps or Woozles. So maybe that would prove something?

Thankfully, Ruka had a better idea than poke it with a stick and pray.

"I'll answer all the questions! I think that's a better way. Ask me anything!"

 

[EbonChevalier]

@Ebh Emiya Shin Rithas

'Why did me and Cyra have to catch the same one?'

He thought as he looked at the predicament before him.

Two Akane's but only one was the real one.

Karam glanced between both Akane's as he thought of something only the real one would know.

He paced about casting suspicious glances at both of them.

"Alright, only the real Akane would know the answer to these questions. First. What do I do when I go to town almost every day? Second. What's the name of our big sister? And third. What's the name of our hometown?"

 

[Ehb]

Cyra's rather crude solution to identifying the real girl from the woozle through poking the one they captured was a little too much for him. He stepped forward, swiping the stick that Cyra was getting ready to start prodding into their catch.

"Now hold on there! That's a little too crazy a solution there, little girl!"

The other children too, were not as keen to wanting to immediately resort to violence. Even if one of the 'Akane' may have been a so-called Woozle, or Heffalump, it didn't mean that it was really necessary to start hurting it (or the real Akane for that matter) in order to identify it as person (or creature)! As such, the children started to ask the two Akane questions. A woozle who had only just now took Akane's form may be able to copy the appearance of someone perfectly, but that didn't mean that they could copy the other one's memories too!

Karam, embarrassed that he ended up throwing his net on the same Akane despite the plan clearly being to throw nets on both, asked three questions:

What he did when he went into town from the orphanage every day.
The name of their big sister.
The name of their hometown.

In that case, yes. Only the actual Akane would even have an idea how to answer any of those questions. After all...

EbonChevalier
"You used to go into town to perform for the townspeople at market square for munny."
"Hoshino liked to call herself our big sis and she always got distracted really easily!"
"...and we really lived in the Old Manor in the forest outside Twilight Town!"

Rithas
The netted Akane, then turned up to look at Cyra, clearly distressed.

"And... I never really paid attention to you at supper because you look really scary when you eat, Cyra! I'm sorry!"


The netted Akane answered everything without an ounce of hesitation at all. Simply beating the unetted Akane to the punch, when it came to answering the questions. And, judging from the slight pause among the children in simply taking in what had just been said, her answers were... not just completely wrong, either.

Pete then looked at the children.

"Right uh... so which one of them is real, then? The one standing here said she'd answer the questions but the one in the net answered right away!" Pete scratched his forehead with the stick he confiscated from Cyra. "Augh! This is getting kinda confusin' here ya know!"


Karyra Emiya Shin LowD
It really sort of was getting confusing, Not just for Pete. Not just for the children either. But also Akane. How did the girl they caught, the 'woozle' know those things?

It felt like if this uncertainty continued, it was possible that they were going to have to capture both of the Akanes present in order to figure things out. The Akane that had yet to answer had to now make up for the fact that she hadn't answered yet, or the children had to find some way to see further through what could've been a ruse of some sort!

Was it even a ruse though?


Who was even the real Akane??

 

[Rithas]

Ehb EbonChevalier Emiya Shin LowD Karyra

---

"R-Rude!" was all Cyra could say as Pete snatched the stick out of her hands. She wasn't going to actually poke it in a hurtful manner. At least at the start!

While the others also devised (somewhat less physical) to give definite proof of success. Which Cyra didn't really need. So...
!!!
The captured Akane answering all the questions to a level of accuracy (for most things, she'll get to that later.) Certainly gave some unease to her chef-d'œuvre.

"Oh wow thanks Pete. You're really giving a helpful contribution to this!" It was becoming even clearer that this guy was looooosst without her help. He'd been trying to catch them and yet did not know about the ole memory trick. They didn't know about this whole memory trick either. But it wasn't their job here now was it. Thankfully, unlike bumbling Pete. Cyra was proactive not reactive. Loser.

Yes, sure. This was possibly a tricky situation for someone who was unsure of themselves. But since Cyra had unwavering confidence that she was dead-set right in this matter despite any evidence to the contrary. It took her little time to detach from this minor hiccup and delve into another method of proving her net picking genius.

Okay, so explanation for how it responded. Well, if it could copy appearance. Then at that point it wouldn't be too far to think that Woozle could read memories from that which it copies. Bah, big deal? Bet it couldn't finish the mega super steak challenge. But just cause it could do that doesn't mean it was exactly a replicant. Because if it was, it would join their merry band. Then they would have a whole extra Akane to bring back home. And that couldn't be a bad thing!

Cyra chewed on a loose lock of hair amidst the confusion.

If you remove what can be. What remains can only be what is.
She had read that in a detective book.
She had heard that in a detective book.
To be perfectly clear she had been read that out loud in a detective book by Hoshino.

What? Is it too much to want to be able to give live reactions to being rea-
Ah.

She laid a hand out to the free Akane. "Don't worry Sis. We don't need another net."

Cyra bent over and grinned. She raised a finger, she shook it once.

"Mistake number one. Trying to copy Akane, now you just look adorable. Adorably wrong!" A second shake of the finger. "Mistake number two. You honestly think I'd believe the very girl who viciously attacked me with a spoon to defend her pudding would be afraid of my eating? My eating inspires hope and courage amongst the youth! Akane watches with eyes wide open to understand best technique!" The real Akane wasn't so sure about that but it seem best to let Cyra tell this out. "And also it was a very bad allergic reaction sooo~ I choose to believe that Akane would not hurt me emotionally with her negligence like that to forget such an event."

"And!"
A third shake of the finger.
"Third of all. Your grammar." The others had a doubletake at that, what exactly was Cyra of all people about to say about grammar?

"Used? Did? Liked? Paid?" She made sure to annunciate each word well. "Why exactly are you phrasing these things that once happened and not the very things that are? Eh? We've only been stuck here for like a day! We still live in the manor! Hoshino is still clumsy! Karam still performs! That's not what we were, it's what we are! Not even that depressed horse would change tune so quickly! Almost like someone. Or something! Is just listing off things that are in the memory without any context! The evidence proves this - " Cyra tapped the 'Akane' on the head lightly. "The Woozle is...You!"

"Now if the free and real Akane wants to give a celebratory water splash or just general applause from you mr.Pete it would be appreciated."

Her genius terrified her sometimes.

 

[Karyra]

Ehb EbonChevalier

---

Okay. Easy questions from Karam. Akane opened her mouth to answer, but Fake Akane knew all the answers and said them faster.

Akane blinked owlishly. How...? "How did you know all that...?" Akane began to ask before the Great Detective Cyra announced that the net Akane was definitely fake.

Cyra was right of course. Akane nodded, she was going to go home. Where her parents were waiting for her.

"But... Cyra she was right on all the other questions. How would a Woozle know all that? We just got here. We mentioned Big Sister Hoshino, but... we never talked about what Karam did in the square. Mr. Pete, did you learn something about Woozles and how they would know all this?"

Did they read minds? Akane got close to the other Akane, inspecting the fake's face as if she were studying her magic books. Should she also poke it with a stick?

"How did you learn all this...?" Akane asked, not expecting an answer.

 

[EbonChevalier]

Ehb Rithas

Karam was racking his brain to figure out a way to prove that Woolze was lying.
When again to his surprise Cyra had another good idea! And made some fine points!


"Yeah! YEAH! That's right!"

Karam pointed at the netted "Akane" accusingly and answered the real Akane's question.

"Woolze's must have some mind-reading power to go along with shapeshifting! It must have just read our mind expected us to just go along with what it's said!"

 

[Ehb]

Pete too, was also having trouble trying to figure out all this double nonsense. It was quite true that the girl that they had caught and the girl that was not caught looked like near identical clones of one another. But some sort of intrigue of this nature looked like something that was right up the Woozles' alley. This was obviously a trick of some sort! And it was working pretty good too! Trying to decipher who was the 'real' Akane and who was the 'Fake' one even though he'd just met her was several orders of magnitude in the realm of very hard to decipher.

The rambunctious and rude one was very sure that the one under two layers of nets was for certain the woozle that they were supposed be trying to capture. Apparently the netted girl's answers being very much in past-tense, and the fact that she didn't know what exactly the food it was that caused her an allergic reaction recently.

Karam too, was fully confident that they had caught the Woozle, and that it had gotten it's accurate answers from it's supposed ability to read minds.

The un-netted Akane approached this scenario with a sort of mild wonder. Confident that the netting would do it's job, Akane looked closely at the face of the other Akane. It was like she was looking at herself in a mirror. The double's face, upon looking at the un-captured Akane, had a clear look of shock, and of dread...

"You look just like me." Said 'Akane'.
Her words sounded honest.


"Okay, so we've confirmed it. The girl we caught IS the woozle then!" Pete said as he hoisted their captured Woozle over his shoulder. "Right! Good work team!" Pete then turned around, luckily, he had been lurking these woods for so long for the woozles that he knew the way back to camp. Perhaps they'd be able to get going tomorrow morning.

"Let's get a goAAAAAUGH!!!"
"DEEP FREEZE!"


Pete's large body - half of him frozen to his net shooter, collapsed onto the ground.
No way!
Ice Magic!?

Their captured woozle fell to the ground in a heap. It rolled around, as it tried to free itself.

"What are you lot doing!? We can't let her get away...!" Pete yelled and wiggled as he tried to break through the half of him self that was iced over. "Ow! My back! So COLD!"

The children were faced down with the Woozle, and as they saw in their own eyes, it froze a hole side of Pete's large frame. But it wasn't the time to be amazed though, the had to capture the woozle before she could free herself! Acting on instinct, the children surround the Woozle Akane, they were going to hold town her nets from all sides so she wouldn't be able to get out or freeze them like Pete had been.

But that plan became invalid rather quickly.

The Akane in the net formed a circular barrier around herself. It breaks apart with force directed out in all directions. The children are softly pelted with shredded bits of destroyed net.

So this was it, huh?
They were going to need to take this Woozle in by force!

Instinctively, the children armed themselves with sticks and small branches. They weren't exactly the same thing as struggle weapons, but they were going to have to make do!


"L-let me go!" The woozle pleaded. "I'm really sorry but I can't let myself be captured by you al!"

Meanwhile, Pete was rocking back and fourth with muffled grunts in the background but was otherwise chilling out by force.

Pete had promised the children that he would help them get back home to Twilight town in exchange for helping him capture the woozle (or heffalump) so he could finally stop camping out in this forest. The children had no intention of wandering around in these weird woods for any longer than they already have!

Who would make the first move?
'Akane' would.

Spoiler

LowD
From the palm of her hand, a construct of ice formed, and it shot out...
The ice magic struck Melio square across the chest, his upper body down from his neck was practically caked in ice, and he started to tip over from the added weight! With the ice on Melio, he couldn't take any further action just like Pete!

They had to stop this woozle parading as Akane!



Rithas EbonChevalier Karyra Emiya Shin
Information: Defeat the Fake Akane!

Spoiler: 'Boss Encounters'

In your journey, you and your friends will occasionally encounter tougher than usual foes.

Their toughness will sometimes be expressed in their ability to perform actions against you at a higher frequency than normal!

Work together with your family to defeat these foes!

 

[Emiya Shin]

Ehb Karyra Rithas LowD EbonChevalier

---

Ruka merely observed the situation with how Cyra, Karam, and even Akane herself tries their best to point out which one was the Woozle between the two Akanes. To the spunky girl's surprise, Cyra actually acted beyond her age! She listened in awe with how Cyra deconstructed everything, before her words were followed by Karam, and possibly the real Akane herself. Ruka waited impatiently, until Pete managed to confirm that the one that was in the net was indeed their target. Of course, or perhaps, as expected, the Woozle was not going to let itself captured. It promptly froze half of Pete's body, freed itself from the net that was covering its body, and lastly launching another ice element attack to Melio.

Well, that was one fast Woozle for sure. Heck, Ruka was unable to do anything on those successive chain of events. But at the very least, she managed to grab herself a wooden stick.

There was only one thing Ruka can do in this situation, and it was something that she proclaimed she was pretty good at.

"Sliiiiiiiiiiiding Daaaaaaaaash!"

She promptly charged at the Woozle as fast as her legs could carry her, before she abruptly leaped forward, and did a sliding attack with her legs towards the Woozle, in hopes of taking the being offguard.

 

[EbonChevalier]

Both Pete's and flash freezing happened before Karam could move an inch.

And it was only the shock of seeing the large cat man partially frozen on the ground that spurred him into action! He grabbed a branch light enough to wield, but heavy enough to be a struggle hammer substitute.

Spinning on the ball of his right foot he built up momentum. His right hand grasped his branch in a firm but loose grip. When he finished spinning his eye's where on the prize of the Woolze!

'I'm sorry about this!' Karam thought. 'But I wanna find Hoshino and go home!'

The branch flew from his grasp in a spinning motion. With the force and angle, he threw it at it was sure to come back to him like a boomerang.

"STRIKE RAID!"

 

[Rithas]

Ehb EbonChevalier Emiya Shin LowD Karyra

---

The congratulation on her genius was to be expected. Not even a tricky wizzy woozle could squirm out under the weight of her words.

Which is why when the woozle went to freeze Pete, Cyra frowned more at something interrupting her parade then anything else.

Cyra had the urge to point out that suddenly everyone felt the need to have a stick in their hands. Oh wow. It was almost like she was a genius who thought ahead on these sort of things. Gosh, thanks for the acknowledgement guys. What's that? You'll follow anything I say after this? Great!

Okay, so the Woozle seemed pretty determined to not be captured (But who was al?). Fair enough. Cyra couldn't help but feel if the Woozle could display this level of ice magic that maybe it would have been better off just doing that in the first place. It also occurred to Cyra that she was glad that she did not ask to show the difference between the two with magic.


What was with this continued habit of saying their attacks? Where were they finding the time to name them in the first place? She really needed to sit them all down after this and tell them to stop doing that. Karam, Ruka, Akan- well actually it was the Woozle who was giving an name to an attack...

Hmm...This thing really could copy every attribute....
Bleh, this was hurting her brain. Best to not think about it much, right?

With her fellow party members flying in with various tiers of success. Something inside her told her not to attack immediately. So, what else could she do?

Melio was forced to be a popsicle at the moment. But aside from being more moist then he would have liked certainly. He didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. So sure, she could save Melio. But the last time he was free to attack he gave Cyra a mild concussion. So instead....

Pete in his struggle to get free of the ice could suddenly see a shadow of a rowdy child over him. "Eh? And I thought you were supposed to be helpful! Come on Pete, don't let your pride be attacked by that Woozle!"

If Melio could be freed from the Ice. Then there was no reason that Pete couldn't be freed from it either! This bumbling fool must be some use in combat. (And if not, well. Cyra and the group were never in any danger from him in the first place.)

Cyra raised her stick high.

And smashed down on the Ice around Pete's body. Hoping to free him for use in the fight!

 

[Ehb]

Cyra earned the 'Improvisionist' title!

Seeing Pete fall over to the side half-frozen drove home the fact that this woozle was not going to be captured quietly!

Karam and Ruka launched attacks. Karam imbued a humble wooden stick with power and threw it like one of his familiar moves. His aim was true. The airborne spinning stick struck into the false Akane. However, the ad-hoc weapon could not handle the magic force for long, it blasted apart soon after hitting it's target. This was to the children's advantage, however, as it also pelted the woozle with some wood shards as well! Karam found himself reaching out to find a nearby replacement, he found one quickly and re-armed himself.

As for Ruka, she chose to rely on her own body. Attempting a sliding dash maneuver at the Akane - following up Karam's successful hit! She was practically running after the stick that Karam had thrown!
But Akane could see Ruka charging towards her, once Ruka committed to her strike, Akane hopped over her... and Ruka kicked into a dive - straight into a thicket of bushes!

"Augh! A stick Karam? Really!?"
The woozle, Mimicking Akane's voice sounded convincingly inconvenienced.


Cyra, the group's current de-facto leader, weighed her options. While the children still outnumbered the woozle, there was still an issue of both Melio and Pete having been disabled by 'Akane's' ice attacks. Indeed, even though this counterfeit was only mimicking their friend, it somehow seemed to be really good at using the kind of magic she used!

In any case, Cyra came to the conclusion that they were going to need every advantage they could get in order to come out on top.

For that reason, instead of freeing Melio, she opted to free Pete who was iced on the ground. Moving over to him. she smacked the ice with her stick... though really most of the damage came from her fist smashing onto the ice itself. Owch. But ultimately, the ice did shatter from that hit! Pete was freed.


"Ooh! Thank you kindly! Maybe you aren't just some mindless brat like I originally thought, kid!"

Wasting no time, Pete stood himself up and grabbed his ice encased net gun, and takes aim at the fake Akane!
Squeezing the trigger... the net gun fires, sending out shards of ice that had froze in the gun... but the net itself still worked as intended!
The woozle was again, caught up in the net!

But not for long!
Once again, the woozle formed some sort of barrier around itself. The net expanded... and just like before, she she blew that barrier around herself, the net shredded!


Rithas EbonChevalier Karyra Emiya Shin LowD
Even though that did not completely recapture the woozle, it still took the party's foe time and energy to free itself from the net. The children were able to launch another round of attacks without the Woozle acting against them!

 

[EbonChevalier]

The woolze was imprisoned again and Pete was freed, but who knew what other tricks it had. Karam for one wasn’t willing to find out. So as soon as he was armed he got to work in getting them more help. “Let’s get you out of that ice Melio! We need all the help we can get!” Jumping up he slammed his stick on the ice covered parts of Melio’s body. His stick flowing with the power of mummy and treasure! “Come out gold!” LowD @Ebh

 

[Rithas]

Ehb EbonChevalier Emiya Shin LowD Karyra

---

Cyra gave an eyeroll at Pete's backhanded compliment. Here she is being an helpful genius and yet he still has the cheek to say something like that. At least her efforts came to fruition as Pete immediately came in handy in terms of helping with the woozle. Trapping it at least temapory. But it wasn't going to be long till it broke out again. Clearly it's use of water magic was worth well. Even more then Akane? Or was the girl hiding out on some of her knowledge. If so, Cyra was proud of her.

But given the actions taken against the Woozle already, and it's apparent skill at basic ice magic. Well, she supposed the fight had to continue...

Quick to take advantage. By the time the Woozle had broken out of it's cage, Cyra was already there to take a snap shot at it as she sprinted past the foe. Twirling with flame as she kicked out at the Woozle's legs. Trying to take it's feet from under it.

 

[Ehb]

Rithas EbonChevalier Karyra Emiya Shin LowD
Karam's wooden stick shined brightly as magic was imbued into it. This stick flew with a most dangerous sort of vigor right at Melio - who was for but a moment left unsure as to whether this flashy and possibly devastating looking strike would either help him out of his icy straitjacket, or strike him at full force and transmute him into Munny. Karam's strike lands square onto Melio's ice, shattering it in spectacular fashion. His sides for a moment trickled down a few fleeting bits of money that came down onto the grass along with shards of ice that quickly evaporated. Though the ice cold touch of his former venture still left some of his exposed skin feeling numb to any sort of feeling, but only momentarily.

Melio was freed, and now able to assist his frieads in this struggle against the Woozle posing as Akane!


Cyra was still acting fast and mercilessly - with Pete freed, she re-engaged the Woozle. Though this Akane imposter had better magic than it's direct copy, the children and Pete still outnumbered it. Already imbuing herself to launch a fiery attack at the Woozle, Cyra pressed her still potent aggression to launch a direct attack before the woozle could try to retaliate. Cyra acted so quickly that even Pete was still rummaging around trying in vain to find another net to shoot.

No matter! For Cyra, A flaming and swirling kick would put an end to this, even an improved copy of Akane would still be unable to match her physical prowess!

But then Akane did dodge it! At the same time, she was orienting her hands right at Cyra.

"Why you...!"

In those seconds, ice was forming for an attack to punish the girl who had tried to attack her!

 

[EbonChevalier]

A wide grin grew on Karams face as the ice shattered. Melio was free and they had one more body to pit against the Woolze! In corner of his eye he could see Cyra running toward the Woolze for a firey kick. "A few more hits and it should be down for the cou..Cyra!" He spoke too soon. Her kick missed and the Woolze was going to take advantage of her vulnerability.

"NO ONE ICE'S OUR SISTER!"

As the imposter raised her hands to ice his sister Karam chucked his stick with ever ounce of strength he had. Charged with magic it flew at the woolze and Karam hoped it'd make it in time!
Ehb Rithas Karyra Emiya Shin LowD

 

[Emiya Shin]

Ehb Karyra Rithas LowD EbonChevalier

---

That Woozle was definitely fast for sure, as it skillfully evaded Ruka's Sliding Dash attack! And of course, the spunky girl went straight into a thicket of bushes! The bushes grazed her as she crashed into it, but they were thick enough to stop Ruka from moving. As the others continued to fight on against the Woozle, Ruka tried her best to untangle herself from the bushes as soon as possible. Her dexterity was not the best, and it took a while, unfortunately. By the time Ruka managed to free herself from the bush, Karam had already landed his second attack on the Woozle.

"I-it's not over yet, you stupid thing!"

With the large wooden stick on her hands, Ruka once again charged at the Woozle. She was going to perform another special attack.

"Take this!" Ruka exclaimed, while swinging the large wooden stick towards the Woozle's head. "Stun Edge!"

 

[Ehb]

Rithas EbonChevalier Karyra Emiya Shin LowD
Karam's ice encrusted stick fell to the ground with a thunk, rolling a little to a stop. His throw in order to stop the Woozle from icing Cyra was successful. Much to the annoyance of the caster of that magic.

"Why did you intercept my ice magic!?"

"I-it's not over yet, you stupid thing!"
"Wha-!?"
"Stun Edge!"



Ruka attacked the Woozle, her stick imbued with a bit of static to add an elemental shock to the damage she was attempting to deal. Unfortunately for 'Akane' Ruka had managed to outmaneuver her. The fake Akane let out a weak yelp as she was hit by Ruka's attack. In the end, that attack was enough.

The Woozle collapsed to the ground, some visible bits of electrical static visibly running around her body for a few moments after. She struggled to lift herself up.

Perhaps, having been injured beyond what she could handle, or simply realizing the futility of trying out fight the children and Pete, despite being so horribly outnumbered - the Woozle Akane finally surrendered. Ending the short fight.




With the Woozle now safely in a cage back at Pete's camp, the children felt quite proud of their martial prowess. They had faced off against a Phantom, a Woozle that had taken (and was stubbornly still in the form of Akane), and the very forest itself without much hardship. At this point, it felt like that by working together, they would be able to overcome any obstacle that faced it, simply due to the fact that they were all backing each other up!

In any case, it had fallen dark on Pete's semi-ransacked camp. With the Woozle secured, Pete was doing a little bit of packing up of things he wanted to take back when they left the forest. Sadly, by now nightfall had once again befallen the woods. With it being too dark to navigate, the children didn't argue too much over Pete's decision to wait til tomorrow morning to depart. In any case, with him, they would surely be able to finally leave this forest.

Pete shook the cage that the Woozle was in, just to make sure it was sturdy enough to hold her, and maybe just to gloat a little at the perpetrator that had froze him. He was a little weary that she might decide to start shooting ice again.


. . .


Sitting by a campfire, the children only had sacks and boards to keep the from simply sleeping on the ground.
It was an uncomfortable thought, though some of them did have to sleep on the floor of the orphanage a few times when there weren't enough beds to go around so... it was up to each individual to decide if it was a wooden floor or the ground in the forest that made for worse beds.

There wasn't much left in the way of food to eat - Pete made sure to safeguard anything that hadn't been eaten already. But some of the children were thoughtful enough to snag some familiar edible looking berries from some of the bushes - and curiously enough, one of Pooh's hunny pots seemed to be in the camp, as yet untouched and filled with the delectable substance.

There was still a bit of time before going to sleep for the night. Perhaps it was worth having some conversations around the campfire, to help put together the events thus far?

Spoiler

---

Camp Time
Skits Required to move Forward:
x 1 Skit

During parts of the story, the party will set up camp or otherwise need to rest before continuing onward.

During this time, you can use this period to converse among yourselves through Skits. Complete skits in order to proceed forward with the story. It is the GM's intention to insert these moments to give characters a chance to deepen their friendships during the course of the journey, and maybe get a better understanding of the events that unfold through their journey.

Also, remember that Compiling Skits and posting them here in the IC is how to gain points to upgrade your character with new skills when it becomes available!
Also, if you have a character with a Title, you can request to Equip that Title to change their appearance in Illustrations made afterward!

 

[EbonChevalier]

Spoiler: Campfire Cuisine

Karam: With only berries and honey for food it was obvious the kids would need to get creative. Which was why Karam was pouring hunny on his. “Honey covered blueberries! Two great tastes that taste great together.”

Ruka: "Hunny? Where did you even get that, Karam?"

Karam: “It just appeared in a camp.” Karam says before he drops the sticky berries in his mouth. “ munch Can’t turn down good meal, we’ll need full stomachs for the walk back tomorrow.”


Ruka: "It just appeared in a camp? That's pretty magical! Or, was it something that Pooh actually left for us?"

Karam: “Maybe…..” He ate another hand full of berries. “Maybe he used bear magic..”

Cyra: "And bear magic is to magically transport pots of honey to random campfires? I think I prefer harnessing literal fire thaaanks"

Ruka: "Bear magic? That's news for me! I thought Pooh is the kind that loves to daydream. But maybe when he was daydreaming, he uses the so-called bear magic!"

Akane: "I wish I could use bear magic. It'd be so much more useful. Imagine being able to summon hunny on a whim!"

Cyra: "At least we wouldn't be stuck hungry in a forest I guess...."

Karam: “Maybe we can learn it someday? There are some super-powerful mages out there.”

END SKIT

 

[Ehb]

While rather difficult on the cold hard ground, the children were ultimately able to fall asleep. When they would think back on it, they would be surprised at how well the actually were able to sleep that night, out in the forest. But, what ended up being more pressing was where the children ultimately had woken up...



The children woke up in a peculiar place. Not what they were quite expecting...
They didn't wake up in their beds back at the Orphanage, sadly. But while they had woken up in a forest as expected, they were no longer in Pete's camp.

No way! Did Pete just pack everything up and leave them here without keeping his promise!?


The panic of this realization shook off any drowsiness they otherwise would have had in waking up. Looking around, there was no sign of the Camp that they had fallen asleep in. None of the cages. None of the camp equipment. None of the discarded food packaging some of them had helped themselves to. But, when thinking about it, this place was familiar. The field of flowers... the large tree. This place was the Faerie Tree and it's clearing. It was here where they had found Hoshino asleep. So... that meant that they were back home then? Pete did keep his promise!

Still though, something was off. The children found themselves looking around a little...

It looks like mid afternoon. The smoke and the tallest spires of Twilight town appear visible in the distance, peeking through some of the trees. The spire of the Orphanage is Visible too. It seems a little crooked though. Hoshino is nowhere to be found. There seems to be a circlet of flowers at the base of the Faerie Tree. They're wilting like they've been there a while, though.

Actually, curiously enough, the children found a pile of things near that circlet. It grabbed their attention right away. There were their struggle weapons and... Whoa, wait a second!



Rithas EbonChevalier Karyra Emiya Shin
This was Karam's most prized possession!
This other thing was super important to Cyra!
Who left this thing that Ruka loved in this pile!?
Ah... this was what Akane had brought from her original home?
And Melio's favorite book! It was MOLDY!?

The children looked in shock as they found some of their most prized possessions just sitting at the base of the tree like some offering that had been left to weather the elements! They rushed over to look over their precious things.

There was sadly evidence that they had been sitting out here long enough for them to get dirty outside! Though, anyone acutely perceptive noted a turned over tin nearby. It had - at one point - been holding all of these things neatly. Looking over the damage of their precious things. The children had many questions. How did they end up back at the tree? What happened to Pete and the Woozle - was that even real? But maybe the most concerning question was this sense that a certain amount of time had passed since they first came upon this tree looking for Hoshino for what had felt like just a single day.

But then, the children heard the rustle of flowers behind them. Or maybe more accurately, the sound of a stumble.

Spoiler: They turned around...

"Eh...?"

For a moment the children couldn't recognize her. They'd never seen her wear those colors before.
Blue and gold were the colors more attuned to Fatuita.

Those were the colors of The Magus Order.

"What is going on here?"





Cyra or anyone familiar with Hoshino was immediately worried, hearing those words coming from their self-declared older sister's clearly shocked voice.

Everyone had a half expectation that they were about to get scolded for falling asleep under the tree for a whole night - and leaving the Orphanage at night, even though it was in order to find their clumsy sister in the first place. But, they knew their sister well enough. Well, most of them did. At this moment, Hoshino wasn't about to scold them. The truth was...

She was currently identifying them as a possible threat.


The wilted flowers... Their things left in that tin, long enough that they had tumbled out and got beaten by the elements.

Something had happened that night that they came to this tree.

Whatever that was. Right now, Hoshino was struggling to mentally process why four children she knew were already long gone had somehow come back to life. The children had to clear things up with their sister!