Spirit of the Woods

Broken Quiver

Broken Quiver

Lungmen

Firewatch twirled her blade in her hand as she strode towards the frontline. The lines of Rhodes Island and Reunion laid stagnant as nobody could make a breakthrough. Twirling her blade, she grinned as the sounds of metal and weapons grew louder. She pumped her energy into her legs and reached the battle in mere seconds. "Get ready!"

"What?" Jumping over the defenders, she charged Kaze and before she hit the ground, released an arc of wind into the Reunion soldiers. The force sent the people closest to it flying backward, leaving a clearing, allowing for Firewatch to land and continue the attack. She charged forward, cleaving through the bodies and blades of soldiers as operators followed close after her. Annihilating another swathe of grunts, Firewatch stopped in her tracks as she anchored herself and dug her blade into the ground, causing a corona of energy to form in front of her. It wasn't a moment too soon as a purple bolt shattered across her protection, leaving lines spidering across it.

She glared through the cracked visage at her attacker and pointed Kaze at him. In front of her, standing in the opening, was Faust, readying his crossbow. "You're mine!" She charged through the hole she cut into the enemy's line. Reaching the open ground between them, the Reunion captain fired a barrage of bolts toward her. She pivoted and twisted her body, weaving through the storm of attacks while destroying the shots that would hit. Firewatch quickly advanced through the onslaught of attacks trying to close the distance. Faust grunted as his attacks seemed to have little effect on the elafian. Changing tactics, Faust turned invisible right in front of her eyes. Firewatch stopped where she was. It was stupid to chase someone she couldn't see. So she stood still, waiting for any signs of where he was. As she concentrated her hearing, she heard the familiar mechanical sounds of a crossbow. Immediately throwing her head back, she watched a bolt blaze past her and crater a wall. Following into a cartwheel, she regained her balance, and she swung her blade in the direction she was attacked, unleashing another gale of wind.

The attack soared across an empty clearing before it impacted against what seemed like nothing. Faust quickly became visible to the human eye as he winced in pain. Firewatch frowned as she observed the damage. The captain was unhurt by the wind, but a large scar covered the bottom of his crossbow. He must have used it for protection. Faust checked the mechanism of his weapon and loaded a bolt. It still worked. Sighing in annoyance, she ran forward again, hanging Kaze in a low stance. The sniper didn't bother to cloak again and stood his ground.

Firewatch looked in suspicion at her opponent's inaction. As she drew closer, warnings in her mind flared as Faust pulled out a small remote and pressed a button. In a split-second decision, she stopped her attack and jumped to the side. In an instant, her original position was enveloped in a cloud of dust. Covering her eyes, as the debris blew past her, she saw multiple large bolts impaled where she was. She stared at the surrounding roofs and saw what had fired them. Surrounding her, three turret ballistas aimed down, already reloading. "Cheating already? How cheap." Firewatch taunted, "You're not the only one with tricks up their sleeves." She twisted her hands on the handle of Kaze and her eyes ignited yellow. "Try to keep up..."

Faust didn't wait for a second before ordering his turrets to fire again. Kicking off the ground, Firewatch shifted to the side, letting the shots fly past her. The ballistas reloaded and fired again, only for Firewatch to dodge it again. Skidding across the ground, she dodged another purple shot from Faust. Grinning, she dusted off some debris from her shoulder. A vein popped in Faust's forehead.

He aimed his crossbow at her with one hand. "Do you think you're invincible now, huh? We'll see about that." Grasping the remote in his hand again, he pressed another button. Firewatch watched the turrets around her as the sounds of mechanical whirring filled the air. That was not good. Out of nowhere, the turrets began firing at a rate unlike before, almost like a machine gun. Scrambling as shots landed beside her, she took off into a powered sprint as she took in her situation. With the number of bolts filling the air, it was only a matter of time before she gets hit. Stopping on a dime, she did a backflip over an attack from Faust. As she soared through the air, she observed the turrets and spotted something curious. The turret's ports were open, allowing steam to escape. Their mechanisms were releasing all the pent-up heat.