fictionalized | log; welcome to roland, morgan

[One of the Hidden Elites stares, before pointing a knife in their direction.]

Haa? What the hell are you talking about? You and that girl looking to be fucked too, brat? If not, then stay out of our—

[In a flash, Zohra takes out a hidden dagger and throws it at the man, piercing through his neck before he can finish that sentence.]

Hey now, hey now, don't you know you shouldn't be so crude in front of women like that?

[And as he withdraws another dagger and the Hidden Elites ready themselves, the signal to Morgan should be clear.

Time to fight.]

[It's clear enough.

In a way, Zohra's actions surprise her, if only in their cold and brutal ruthlessness. But another part of her, the larger part, is admiring just that. Zohra's strength and abilities are a definite asset when it comes to battle, and Morgan won't ever regret that.

And thus it is that she takes a page out of his book. Knowing from him that magic that doesn't require an incantation or the drawing of a magic circle is unheard of in Roland, and thus Morgan spreads open her spell tome and launches an Elfire spell right into their midst.

The element of surprise will only work once--she wants to make it count. And thus there's a sharp grin on her face as she casts, despite the tenseness of the situation.]

What the—!?

[And indeed, it catches the Hidden Elites off-guard, as one of them is caught in the fire. At that, Zohra grins, and without wasting any more time, he withdraws another dagger and rushes in.]

Let's go!

[He and Morgan are outnumbered, yes, and the Hidden Elites are far from pushovers—and sure enough, despite their shock, they quickly regain their bearings—but he knows that they can do this.

After all, he's the genius who went up against over a hundred soldiers alone and survived—and she's the one who won the right to be called his rival.]

[She follows easily, because they're paired up now, and that necessitates working together and in tandem. But she's automatically registering the people before her as they rush in, analytically taking in their weapons, strengths and weaknesses. Most seem to prefer sneaky weapons, unsurprisingly; she doesn't see any axes.

And thus, without the assistance of the weapon triangle, she sticks to spellcasting.

She whips out her thunder tome; elfire is stronger, but she prefers thunder and its surprising jolt. And so she charges after Zohra, sticking close behind him, and fires off rapid spells as she watches his back.

And she can't help her victorious crowing as she scores a particularly good hit.]

Checkmate!

[Zohra lets out a low whistle at that, though he can only spare a moment's worth of attention.]

Who the fuck is this bitch—!?

[Given the number of opponents, casting magic is inefficient for Zohra. As fast as his spellcasting is, his opponents aren't nearly stupid enough to give him the time for that, so he might as well not risk it, especially when physical combat has always been his specialty either way. Fortunately, he can leave the magic to Morgan as he moves with his dagger, trusting her with his back.

Still, as he clashes with a Hidden Elite, without looking back, he asks Morgan—]

Think we should give them a chance to surrender?

[And watch his back she does, viciously so, in fact. For the most part she manages to keep any who approach far away with her barrage of spells. When one does get close enough to strike at her, she lifts up her tome, allowing it to take the blow. She couldn't dodge, as she is protecting Zohra's back, but the tome does well enough as a makeshift shield.

The dagger bites into the cover deeply, but in the next moment, even with the position of the book so awkward and unconventional, Morgan is firing off a Thunder spell right into his face.

She shakes off his screams, glancing over her shoulder with a smile that is cheerful and bright and utterly out of place in this situation.]

If they waaaant to! I don't mind tying them up tightly and leaving them all in awkward positions!

[sparkle sparkle]

Ah, well, I don't have any rope on me, unless you do. But...

[He manages to hit a pressure point of his opponent—might as well avoid killing them if he can.

Then, to the other Hidden Elites in the room—]

Hey! Do you sorry bastards have any idea who I am? No? Well, I'm sure you've at least heard of me: the sole Hidden Elite whom the country sent over a hundred assassins after, only to end in the failure?

[There's a flash of recognition in their eyes, at which Zohra grins.]

And I'm sure you've already seen this girl's magic—ah, how scary, she's so fast, how do we defend against that? you must be thinking, right? Then run away. Take your friends here and run now, unless you want us to shatter your precious pride into pieces!

Ah, shame. It would've been good fun.

[For such a nasty comment, her smile and expression are perfectly benevolent. She holds her spell tome loosely now, because Zohra's scare tactics are working brilliantly, and she doesn't sense much aggression left. Of course, she's absolutely prepared to launch another spell at a moment's notice--

But for now she's smiling, because they stopped the bad guys! That's something worth being glad over.

(It helps that Zohra basically has complimented and cared for her more in the past thirty minutes than he had in their entire stay at Haven.

That helps.)]

[As the Hidden Elites falter, Zohra takes that time to quickly draw a magic circle—for Izuchi, specifically.

Behind its glow, he continues to grin.]

Well? I'll give you five seconds.

[They glance at him, at Morgan, at their unconscious (and at least one dead) comrades, before they finally seem that it isn't worth it.

Picking up their allies' bodies, they leave the room.]

[As soon as they vacate the room, Morgan breathes out a sigh of a relief that she didn't even realize she was keeping in.

And she slumps a little, flipping over her spell tome to peer at the deep gash in the cover, if only to have something to do while she catches her breath.]

[Meanwhile, Zohra, still seeming fairly at ease, picks up the torn clothes off the ground and hands them to the women.]

Well, here you go. It's fine now.

[He may or may not have been looking slightly at Morgan as he said that last bit.]

Anyway, if anyone asks what happened, don't mention this girl, all right? You owe us that much. Just tell them that Zohra Rom saved you all. The marquis's in my debt now—make sure that's clear to him. I'll be calling in this favour sometime.

[Though the reason for keeping Morgan a secret has nothing to do with any of that, even if it might seem like he just wants credit for all the work.

He then turns to Morgan.]

Let's go.

[...oh. Zohra is simultaneously reassuring her and taking care of her, and she knows it. She's alert enough to realize that. And she appreciates his efforts quite a bit.

So she smiles weakly, because she knows that in some way, his keeping her a secret is his way of keeping her safe. She knows Zohra well enough to know that by now.

...So she nods and follows him, clutching her battered tome close and smiling.]

Where are we going?

[When they're out of hearing range of the women, she asks, more out of curiosity than concern.]

[He stops at a window, which he opens, letting the breeze in—though it should be clear as he steps on the windowsill as to what his intentions are.]

My business is done here, so we're heading to my place. It's not like I can really take you anywhere else at this time of night...

[Oh. She does understand his intentions, and she is quick to step up to stand right behind him, peering out the window. There's a certain spark in her eyes, despite the tenseness of the situation; it's clear that the prospect of the jump excites her, rather than scaring her.

So for a moment, she lets the breeze ruffle her hair, before she finally grins and nods.]

You're the expert! I'll follow you.

[She's always been good at taking joy from small things.]

All right then.

[He grins at her, before quickly drawing the circle for Kuen before jumping out the window. As he lands, he turns around, checking to see if she's made the jump—]

[She follows quickly, biting back any sound in her excitement. Her circle is significantly neater, and though she still requires the incantation, she only says it quietly.]

What I seek is the falling flash--Kuen.

[It catches her easily, and she lands beside Zohra with a bright beam; she can't help but feel proud whenever she gets his magic right, and this is becoming effortless.]

[He gives her a silent thumbs up, beaming back, before glancing up at the moon and then ahead.]

Ready to go, then? It's a bit of a walk. Ah, we'll also have to sneak by the security, since I don't have a good explanation for who you are and why you're here...

Edited 2013-07-05 04:25 (UTC)

[Morgan nods quietly, smiling at him and his thumbs up. The encouragement is nice, and she's feeling exuberant enough from the thrill of using Kuen that she's got plenty of energy.]

We'll manage all right. I'll keep up for sure, you can depend on me!

[Honestly, at this point, doing anything but following Zohra is so far from her mind that she can't even imagine it.]

Heh, you'd better! Well, this kind of thing is my specialty, anyway.

[And with that, he moves silently once more, expecting Morgan to follow him. He keeps close to the mansion, scanning the surrounding gates as he moves along and looking for a good place to go through, especially since he'd rather not just kill all the guards.

Well, once upon a time he would've done so without hesitation, but once upon a time, he lived by a very different mindset.]

Mm.

[She's quiet, aside from that soft agreement, not only because the situation demands for quiet. There is a lot on her mind, because there is a lot Morgan is learning from this sudden trip into Zohra's world, and...she appreciates it. No matter how scary it has been, she appreciates it just for these glimpses into what Zohra really is like. Not that he ever lied, per se, but seeing him carefully avoiding killing the guards, and spotting her to make sure she isn't discovered...

Well, it paints a very different picture of Zohra.

And perhaps she can see that "potential" Pia was talking about.

So she does follow, and while stealth isn't really her highest skill, not like the assassins, as a tactician she's not too encumbered by armor and certainly can walk quietly. By following Zohra's path, she doesn't do all too badly, and at the very least, they don't seem to be attracting any major attention.]

[Soon enough, he sees an ideal location—or at least ideal it can get. Few guards, and no one else facing that particular spot, so if they move quickly enough...

Beckoning for Morgan to follow him, he moves closer to the fortress walls, before drawing the magic circle for Bakushu and quietly chanting:]

What I seek is the light field: Bakushu!

[As the rope of light forms and clings to the wall, he holds his hand out for Morgan to take.]

[She follows quickly, and takes his hand with an equal lack of hesitation.

She definitely needs to learn this spell; it's usefulness can't be denied.

But for now, she just takes his hand and wraps an arm around him, because you can't be picky about physical proximity when you're trying to wrench two people up to the top of a wall.]

[He then chants the second part of the invocation, as the rope retracts, taking them to the top of the wall with a slight jump.

Without wasting a moment, he lets go of Morgan as soon as she's above a surface and rushes at the guards, knocking them out before they have the chance to notice them or, for the ones who immediately did, make any noise.

Sparing Morgan a glance, he then jumps off the other side of the wall with a quick invocation of Kuen, expecting her to follow again.]

[This is definitely Zohra's domain, and his efficiency is impressive; Morgan simply follows as best she can, taking a short breath before following him with that jump.

It's honestly a good think Kuen comes easily now, because there is no time for doubt; but then again, Morgan has never suffered particularly from doubt or humility, and thus she doesn't need to hesitate in following him, landing lightly on the ground beside him a brief moment after he does.]

[As she lands, Zohra grins at her, before again beckoning for her to follow as he runs in the opposite direction of the mansion. The hardest part is over now, but it never hurts to put in more distance.

Once they're suitably far away enough from the mansion, he lets out a light laugh.]

All right! That went pretty well, I'd say.

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