So, Emerath had signed up for the defense effort, but now what? His skills were still very minimal, and he wasn’t sure how much help he’d actually be. Perhaps it was time to show what he could do by clearing out some of the roaming monsters on the walls? With that in mind, he set out to talk to the guards. It took a few before he found one that wasn’t too busy organizing the defense efforts to point out a few goblin camps and wolves dens that could use some clearing. Simple enough, right? But he didn’t think that it would be something smart to do alone. Determined, Emerath started talking to other defenders, but seemed to be meeting with little effort. At this point, he didn’t even care if he met with someone as green as him, so long as he could at least try. But he would not be deterred. He would find someone to help him clear at least one goblin camp before the defense if it... well if it killed him. What a way to go. Death from exhaustion instead of goblins. He hoped he could find someone before that happened. Someone had to not be too busy.
Curiosity plagued Comet's mind; hands shaking while tightly wrapped around her bow and an unrest settled that had her legs jittery. Signing up for Eastwatch - upon Quinn's subtle request - meant that she hadn't had to the chance to venture into Southwatch's territory nor get to spend time inside the wall while preparation commenced. Quite honestly she had no interest in consoling the people while war went on. It'd be a boring task with little to no glory other than healing. There was a reason she strayed away from restoration-type magics. Overall an interest made itself prominent regarding Southwatch's team and potential location difference. If one thing's for certain its Comet's pure love for exploring and observing even the slightest of foreign areas or discovering new aspects of an old one. The pink-haired woman crossed the imaginary line the divided the East and South. Her tracking, albeit being only basically trained, picked up faint traces of identified foes nearby. It seemed that those who were scouting or guarding heeded no warning as their attention lay on the events of the future rather than present. What would happen, what to do, who should take up arms and defend or heal or hide away; yet they risked themselves by the chance of further invasion by that of the creatures alongside whomever attacked with weapon crafted by human or other odd races within Terrasphere. Not that Comet didn't like the other side for whatever reason. She simply happened to notice a sort of ignorance run through that of the few people ignoring an imminent danger. She focused on improvement. Combat. A bow drawn and blue eyes sharp with a fire of passion aflame, pink hair slicked back, Comet set out to hunt down these creatures and rid of their presence for her own personal benefit. However, before complete and whole focus could be set into motion, she became distracted by a roaming player. His head full of red locks caught Comet's eye out of her peripheral vision almost immediately. She felt compelled to inquire into his current intentions though once nearby - his words directed towards fellow defenders of the South - they were obvious enough. The strange male seemed set on clearing out the threats previously detected by her weak ability. Awaiting his walking away from the majority of other players; she would then approach and offer a remedy for his want, "We can clear out nearby animals, together, if you want. I've been told I make a good partner," she slid her bow back into place across her torso, to seem less intimidating, and smiled that practiced smile of a beauty queen. "I heard you talking and wouldn't mind a little target practice." no caution need, she reminded herself, the two were on the same side of the war.
A shining beacon of light presented itself in the way of a pink haired woman, who seemed well content with the idea of fighting together against the threat that everyone else seemed too busy to acknowledge. What a shame for everyone else, but at least now he had a partner. Emerath smiled and gave a bow, before remembering his first meeting with Solaria and offered his hand to shake, "I'm Emerath, it is a pleasure to meet you miss...?" But regardless of if she would return with her name or shake his hand, he would continue with, "Target practice and an added defense preparation. It certainly wouldn't hurt to make the trip easier for our team to progress. Are you a part of the Southwatch team?" Emerath supposed it mattered not, because they were all ultimately fighting the same war. But it didn't hurt to know his possible teammates in the upcoming fight. Either way, Emerath shrugged and made his way to the wall bridge, leading across the moat with his new partner in tow. He looked out into the rocky wilds of Southwatch, and folded his arms across his chest. "I suppose I should let you know, I'm still fairly new to this game. I'm a melee fist fighter, with some tinkering capability. Though I feel like for our purposes the melee fighting will be more important than the tinkering. Though I've been surprised before." Emerath chuckled lightly before looking back to his companion, "Any requests on where or what to fight first? I'm all ears. I figured I'd go after goblins, but I'm open to any dangerous beast that won't immediately rip me in two just by looking at me." @Comet
All too used to formal exchanges Comet stretched out her hand and returned the shake heartily, as if the two were longtime friends. The influence of a handshake probably meant little to nothing in-game. However, on the outside regardless of gender her parents ensured she could deliver a perfect first impression. One of the important factors being a memorable handshake of certain tightness, form, and length. Worry coated her heart during the exchange that ended so quickly she felt winded. With a deep breath she retained her persona and tucked a lock of hair behind an ear, smiling. "I'm Comet," she responded with a seemingly eager friendliness lacing her tone. Listening, rocking to and fro on her heels with a sort of excitement to show off her skills, Comet felt as if Emerath would prove himself a worthy partner. A rare expectation from her skeptical self. He had immediately accepted her offer and held an aura of both kindness and ambition. The latter had her intrigued rather than the former. "I agree. We should get rid of any extra threats before the battle starts," she paused, glancing over her shoulder out of a mixture of habit and nerves, before turning her attention back to the red-head. "I actually signed up for Eastwatch! But I couldn't keep myself from checking out the other side. I'm sure that's understandable," the last statement stiff and wary, a prepared defense for her actions. Following Emerath without a word, hands folded before her in contrast to a hunter's wicked expression, Comet scouted the landscape for the creatures meant to be slayed. "I was curious about what weapon you use. I haven't seen someone like you before, it's pretty cool~ Who doesn't enjoy kicking some butt up close and personal?" she hinted towards herself with a chuckle before inquiring, "Tinkering? Another thing I haven't heard or learned a lot about yet. You should tell me about it. Or show me. Whatever comes first," a quirked brow proved her interest in the topic of tinkering. It happened to be true that she never looked into the Mastery completely but the thought of obtaining it one day lingered in the back of her mind. From time to time she pondered upon the subject yet always seemed to drop it. Perhaps this time would be different with another person to keep her focused. "Goblins. Those midgets, from what I've seen, are chaotic and relentless. Anyone who steps near their territory gets a taste of their power. In large groups they deal some good damage." pulling her bow back into her hands, mind set on the task at hand as well as her companion, Comet readied herself for an impending battle with the tiny creatures that she despised. @Emerath Katou
Emerath looked over his shoulder at his companion as she responded to all of his comments and inquiries. His eyes looked over her bow, and he remembered Rodger, another companion archer he had befriended. Seemed to Emerath that archery was a popular method of fighting in Terrasphere. Made him wonder if perhaps he had selected the wrong combat Mastery. But then he remembered punching a wolf square in the snout, and how good it felt, before coming to the conclusion that he was on the right track. But she seemed interested in the tinkering, and so while they scouted around for some goblins to slay, he explained, "I've been working on a few traps for tinkering. Some flint and steel fire traps and some oil balloons. Realistically they work together, if placed in close proximity. Someone steps on an oil balloon and blows it up, and then the flint and steel light it on fire. Presumably also the enemy, but it depends on how well I set up the oil traps." Emerath shrugged as he pulled his iron knuckles onto his fingers and flexed them to get them settled for comfortability. He crouched low to the ground as they came over one of the rocky outcroppings, seeing some goblins camped out in the canyon below. "I don't think it's wrong to want to help out the other side of the defense. Perhaps when all is said and done, we can go take a look at Eastwatch and clean up some of that too." He kept his voice to a low whisper, before pointing at the goblins in their little camp. It appeared to be a scouting camp, with two goblins sitting next to a fire, and two of them watching out along the canyon path in each direction. The one looking towards them had its eyes scan upwards, and Emerath pulled himself back from the ridge to keep out of sight from the creature. "Looks like four goblins," Emerath whispered, "do we have a plan of attack? Should I just jump down and you cover me? I don't know if I can take the damage from all four, but maybe if you take out the far one, I can get the jump on the one looking in our direction. Just let me know when to jump if you're on board with that plan." @Comet
The image painted in her head of the usefulness tinkering could bring, especially alongside her hunting mastery, and managed to pin a note with Emerath's words in her brain for future use. It'd been the unique idea of a fire trap that finalized her interest in eventually picking up yet another skill. Once the first three are mastered, she told herself, there's room for more to utilize. "Seems a little messy don't you think?" she joked with a mischievous grin curling her pink lips. A bear trap or so would be clean and quick. However, a trap meant to harm the enemy with fire happened to be a perfect alternative to magic in Comet's eyes. She'd never been fond of using magic herself, and sometimes saw mages as lower than herself, but certainly knew of the powerful things users were capable of. "I wouldn't mind luring in an animal or two one day to test things out. Sort of like a prototype. If you're interested," With iron knuckles that caught her eye, the pink-haired woman wondered what Emerath could do to not keep her attention on him and him only. Instinctively she crouched upon spotting the enemy. Instead of replying to his comment regarding Eastwatch she nodded with an immense determination to keep the walls safe. That, and the thrill of hunting always gave her an adrenaline rush that surged through her veins and boiled the blood. Lips pursed, nostrils flaring, Comet already had her sights set on the goblin camp - forming a multitude of either brash or quiet methods to begin attacking - before her companion pointed them out. A faint glow in the cheeks showed an utmost appreciation for the fact that he hadn't gone off without her. For once there would be a chance to have a sort of power within her hands: even if that power is shared. She plucked plans from her thoughts and came to a conclusion that wasn't all too bad. At least not enough to embarrass her. As nervous for failure and degradation as the young woman was on the inside she remained a stoically brave heroine on the outside. "Let's take your idea and go from there. The active scouts are most important to get, first, because they'll be the ones to signal a warning if we're caught. Who knows if there are more goblins out there, yknow? I don't wanna risk a mass attack; so we should get the upper-hand by being quiet. Like you suggested, I'll take out the far one while you're on the other. Then I'll come in after you're done when you give me a signal or something," she gave him a thumbs-up. "like that. I'm not exactly great at close combat but I can manage. Two-on-two sounds fair to me. Just try to stay quiet, okay? I know I already said that but it'll make things easier on us in the long run. I thought goblins were larger in numbers when together... there's this bad feeling in my gut. Is that okay?" a subtle form of confirmation would make her feel better thus she asked as if the dominant one. As a Rogue user she had little trouble with what was asked of. But Emerath being a melee hand-based player had her nerves stirring up quite a bit. Still, the pink-haired woman had a faith in the ambitious red-head who'd impressed her fairly well so far. This faith laced itself in her very words and body language - though Comet would never directly admit to this out of her natural wariness around others.
Emerath listened to her breakdown and finalization of their plan, fixated on the goblin that was staring at them, with them just out of its view. "That all sounds like a plan," Emerath confirmed with a thumbs up of his own. So now the hard part, considering how to take down the goblin without alerting him of Emerath's impending pounce. He didn't seem likely to stop staring at them anytime soon. It was sure that there was something behind the rock he was looking at. A scout's instincts, and they weren't wrong. This game was certainly full of surprises when it came to the AI. But that was fine with Emerath in the end, it all just meant for a better challenge, and one that he would relish once the ball got rolling. What fun was playing a game if it was always easy, eh? And so, Emerath continued to ponder the predicament. A rock wouldn't do, that would be too obvious of bait. But what if it was something incredibly out of the ordinary? Like a balloon filled with oil, perhaps. That would warrant investigation by the scout, and he wouldn't be likely to alert the others for something so strangely not harmful. So that would be the plan. While still laying on the rock, he turned his body sideways to pull one of the smaller balloons from his belt. It jiggled with an almost excited glee that an inanimate object otherwise shouldn't have in Emerath's hand. As if it knew its purpose had come. He looked to Comet and whispered, "I don't know exactly where this is going to land, I'm going to throw it blind, give it a few moments to get the scout's attention and confusion, and then pounce. That's your cue to fire on the other one." With his final points tacked onto the plan, Emerath began to count down, "One... two... and three!" And his arm swiveled, launching the jiggly container into the air, and down to the ground below. Emerath heard the satisfying slap of the balloon hitting something solid, and then the splorch of oil pooling around the area of landing. Mentally, he counted to ten, before shifting his body in one smooth motion into one that a swimmer might take before diving into a pool at the edge of the cliff. He flashed a smile back to Comet before saying, "See you down there!" in a harsh, excited whisper, and then dove off the cliff. As expected, the goblin had taken the bait, and was sniffing at the oil, and even had some on its fingers as Emerath flew through the air towards it. It had just enough sense to turn back to look at its impending doom before Emerath was on top of it. A hard crunch could be heard as Emerath slammed his knuckled fist into the creature's skull, straddling it upon landing. And just for good measure, he slammed his other fist into it, just to be sure. The creature was limp, and Emerath quickly grabbed the body and slid behind a nearby rock, just as one of the goblins at the fire turned its attention to the spot where he had landed. He gave a signal up to Comet, who could hopefully see him, hoping that the goblins at the fire didn't notice the blood or their missing comrade before Comet could do her part.
Watching Emerath go to work only brought more curiosity into Comet's mind. He had interesting ways of dealing with things. Out of the box ways, and that created a deeper appreciation for his creativeness within the pink-haired woman. Emerald eyes shimmered with admiration. He had confidence that she could only crave. An inner desire to express this wish nearly reached the surface, but she pulled it back. They were only strangers. She had to remind herself of this fact. Just met, in fact, and were teaming up to stop goblins. Not to... become friends necessarily. Though she'd love to sit him down right now and inquire about all the thoughts he had about tinkering random items or further battle techniques that was impossible. They had a mission to finish - all fleshed out in preparation. Surely the goblins would be taken care of so the walls could be safer. And it'd be because of them! Comet wouldn't dare ruin a future's victory with such distracting, wishful thinking. Her attention returned to the red-head who'd only just set off the oil balloon. Who jumped without so much as a second thought it seemed. The pacing of her heart picked up; beating so rapidly and so forcefully that a swelling grew within her chest derived from anxiety. Fortunately the jump had only been the beginning of an attack. She almost yelled out at Emerath with slight annoyance mixed with humor. But the goblins would hear, and their plan would be foiled if any further noise was created between the two. A step or two taken back to conceal her figure atop the cliff commenced before Comet truly pulled her weaponry out. More than ready and able as a fighter she aimed for the campfire. Hopefully, aims would be precise and quick. Quick enough to go for both goblins without stirring up trouble with any others nearby. One arrow pierced an unsuspecting back. The goblin fell, but clattered against the pit and got the other to turn around. It panicked, flailing about in shock. She whistled instead of giving a thumbs up this time. Warning Emerath of a scout - the fourth goblin - turning the corner to inspect the fire; this would have the red-head facing another enemy and he deserved some form of caution. The whistle served as a more noticeable signal with its high pitch and unique tone: undoubtedly Comet. The pink-haired woman stood straight up on both legs. Without hesitation she struck the goblin running to ring a bell that would most likely attract other allies nearby. An arrow clipped its shoulder, and another followed shortly after to finish the poor thing off. Well, not poor in Comet's eyes because she believed they were absolute nuisances. A smile adorning her face, long locks slicked back, long legs carried the successful Archer over the edge of the cliff. How Emerath had done that? It both shocked and surprised her. Comet felt stuck up there alone. The goblins fell too easily... she wasn't sure that they were completely alone but planned to share these worries with the red-head whenever he returned.
