664 10/12 4:38 (Autumn, Day, Midrar's Capital, Sabel's Home)
Despite Sabel's upmost efforts, including swinging her glass-like sword at her, Amber was still able to climb the stairs thanks to judicious use of her Form: Living Flame Skill, shifting from a solid state to a fluid one an instant at a time, dodging her strikes while avoiding damaging the house with her heat.
And thanks to a mix of her physical abilities and careful use of Air-Attribute Sorcery, the Phoenix was able to maintain her lead over the Human despite the lack of concrete information on the habitation.
Luna, following behind, watched carefully, ready to intervene if necessary, especially considering how Sabel was instinctively Channelling both Luna's Bane and Rebellion through the glass-like greatsword.
After all, those Effects were too dangerous for everyone to be careless with.
Mafel instead kept careful watch around them, her Twinned Shell a breath away from manifesting around her if needed, only a thread of her attention remaining on her squabbling Mates to enjoy the sight.
Despite her every effort, Sabel's soon found herself being suppressed by the Phoenix's own counterattack, the Phoenix expertly taking advantage of her Unique Arma to block the Human's weapon safely while using her much greater physical ability to exert pressure on the lower Ranked individual.
The blonde's curved sword clashed again and again into the black-haired one's own weapon, Amber overcoming the difference in skill between the two with sheer physical might, flashes of crimson gold searching for any opening, forcing Sabel to remain in the defensive.
Panels of solid light formed in Amber's way, not futilely trying to stop the blade itself considering its natural ability to partially ignore Resistances, but instead formed around Amber's arms themselves, disrupting her movements much more effectively.
Yet, despite that, Luna was able to see how Amber was still accelerating ever so slightly in her assault, keeping her speed and strength right on the edge of what the Human could handle, a way of keeping her distracted.
Distracted enough that Mafel could simply go up to what she guessed was her room if she was to judge by the name and flowered sword engraved in a mix of gold and silver on its wooden surface, casually pressing one hand against it before opening it.
Sabel's eyes widened immediately, turning towards the Spectral Elf just in time to see her enter in her bedroom. "No, wait!" The black-eyed one disengaged immediately from the blonde, leaving behind sharp pane of Light-Attribute Mana to stall her for an instant longer.
The Human rushed towards her tallest Mate, trying to stop her.
Yet in so doing, she left herself completely defenceless.
Pale arms enveloped her waist, stopping her mid-air and trapping her against a much more imposing presence. "Let me go! This is cheating! It's unfair! You can't team-up against me!"
The Human's desperate protests, accompanied by a subconscious release of her Rebellion's Anti-Skill Effect, met only amusement from the Lunarian, the white-haired one firmly holding onto her Mate thanks to her might, greater in comparison with the swordswoman even while unenhanced by her Skills.
"How cute." Amber joined them, the last embers of her flames having finished incinerating Sabel's distraction and so winking out of existence, not waiting for an instant to tease the struggling one, her fingers repeatedly poking her cheeks. " What do you say, dear, giving up?"
The blonde's fingers retreated, dodging the bite that the writhing one launched with a giggle, black eyes trying to gleam threateningly. "Never!"
Sabel tried to escape from the confines of Luna's arms, failing repeatedly and, upon seeing how Mafel was slowly opening the door to her room, finally decided to resort to her most dangerous move.
She looked up, her teary eyes meeting with Luna's own, her arms rising to gently encircle the Vampire's neck before pulling herself up slightly.
Despite the Marks and every single one of her Senses, Luna was still surprised upon feeling the soft touch of a pair of lips on her own, surprised long enough that Sabel could wretch herself from her hold, rushing to stop the Elf, her mind too distracted by the possibilities of the future to properly reflect on her actions.
As the Phoenix watched her surprised, she was just in time to observe Sabel crashing into Mafel, the two ending up on the ground in what would have been quite the painful impact if Amber didn't intervene with a small gust that softened their fall.
Under the stunned gazes of Luna and Amber, the Human pressed down against the taller one, forcing her to remain under her, and in so doing away from her room thanks to her much higher physical ability, unthinking of their currently very compromising position.
Before Sabel could rejoice at having stopped Mafel, she felt through her Mark the emotions coming from her three Mates, a heavy mix of amusement and a much more intense emotion.
She barely had time to squeak out in alarm before a pair of very warm hands firmly grasped on to the underside of her arms, near her shoulders, pulling her slightly upwards and then entrapping her mid-air, the Human being left defenceless, especially considering how Mafel soon took her revenge.
Pale hands closed around Sabel's legs, more precisely around her tights, helping in both immobilizing her and guiding her to her previous room, where Luna was eagerly awaiting them.
At seeing and Feeling her Mates, the Human could only offer a token struggle, her face rapidly starting to burn.
-
664 10/12 8:42 (Autumn, Day, Midrar's Capital, Sabel's Home)
Luna watched the ceiling of their current room, resting after the efforts of the last hours, enjoying the feeling of her Mates sleeping against her, Amber and Mafel using her shoulders as pillows while Sabel laid down upon her chest instead, the four covered only by her Sunless Mantle.
Sighing gently, the Lunarian luxuriated in the way her Astral Ichor flowed within her body, sign of the way that her Soul adjusted slightly more to her recent changes than before thanks to Amber's use of Energy Siphon and her own Enhancement: Soul working overtime to repair her Soul Strain.
Shaking her head briefly, Luna enveloped the four of them in her Will, intent on suppressing the escape of light and Energy from them.
Once certain her Mates would remain sleeping, she triggered her Sunless Mantle's ability to Cast a Spell that she knew twice, one after another, her now familiar Domain activating and being kept carefully away from her Mates, Astral Ichor condensing into more liquid Orichalcum within her veins.
Satisfied, Luna relaxed back in her new bed, closing her eyes and joining her Mates in their sleep.
After an hour and a half, enough for her Reserves to be mostly Restored, the Lunarian felt a shift around her, immediately waking back up and being able to see her Amber slowly doing the same, her ability to recover quickly being more than evident.
"Good morning." She whispered softly, careful not to disturb neither of her Mates, her more exhausted one, Sabel, and the one that most disliked ceasing to sleep, Mafel.
"What morning, in a couple of its the Sun will fall down." Amber sleepily responded, careful of keeping her own voice down, and causing Luna to softly breathe out in amusement, observing the two Charges once more stored within her Sunless Mantle.
After all, the Artifact generated a Charge at the end of every hour, independently of when precisely the last was consumed.
The Phoenix felt the soft, feathered blanket above and below her stiffen for an instant before calming back down, a brief moment that signalled her use of its ability by Luna to, once more, Convert more Astral Ichor into Orichalcum, surpassing the 4% Mark without feeling any significant change.
'I suppose that possessing Astral Ichor instead of blood has its disadvantages.' The Lunarian lamented to herself in her thoughts, shaking her head before turning her attention towards her awake Amber, feeling her body press even more against her own.
"How much longer do you think they will sleep for?" The blonde asked softly, leaving small bites against the white-haired one's shoulder.
"Considering we are both awake... At most one hour. Well, if Mafel doesn't continue to sleep like a rock." Luna's answer caused a snicker in the Demonic Phoenix.
"I suppose so." After a sigh, she became serious at once. "Be careful. I don't think everything is clear when it comes to you."
"I know." Luna revealed some of her Rings, their gems dull at the moment, sign of the absence of her Familiars. 'It's why they are burrowing in the shadows around us. Extra protection.' The last was only sent mentally, her Will even while unconscious subtly embracing them.
"Let's hope we won't need them." She let out, her eyes moving to rest upon Sabel, the real reason she didn't want anything going wrong yet feeling down to her bones that something will, very soon at that.
Her Mates really were a magnet for disasters, the Phoenix thought to herself, wilfully ignoring that Luna took care of a Dragonoid cult so that she could resolve her own grudge with a certain, for now still dead, Dragon.
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