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Post by norimo on Aug 20, 2016 19:18:18 GMT -6
While Delphi had been morbidly curious by the woman's words, a low growl echoed throughout the courtyard causing a shiver to send up her spine. The horizon line in the distance that once gleamed now had a amalgamation of whirling silhouettes that twisted and writhed against the sun. As she watched the shadows dance in their horrific rendezvous, her body froze in time. While her eardrums rang with the panicked cry of her beating heart, her chest felt hollow and wrought with pain as though her insides had ceased to function. They were near. Although her brain had willfully partook in the distractions the chatter provided, it was all an act of folly. Turning away one's cheek from the terrors that followed never halted them in their tracks regardless of whether or not one chose to mute the footsteps in their mind. Wide-eyed and fists clenched, Delphi stood on the precipice of fear as she forced her knees to lock in place as to not crumble under the weight of her own trepidation. However, as they poured through the castle's yard, the pointed-ear woman had fearlessly pounced into the fray as she conjured frost from her fingertips. Delphi yelped upon seeing a swarm grow ever nearer to them, only for Raei to slice through a portion without so much as batting an eyelid. Their allies were sprawled across the gate, springing into battle almost seamlessly in her eyes. With such courage, this surely couldn't have been their first encounters had it? Her pupils wandered down to the wand pinched between her fingertips... But it's mine. Never had she been sent to heal on the front with the rest of Loukios' forces, but rather was urged to stay behind and have her injured subjects delivered to her. Being thrust into her first battle without the company of Loukios' clerics had rendered her a coward. If she was going to survive this, she had to attach herself to someone strong. She focused her gaze on Raei and then to the swarm. While the icicles shot through the conglomeration, a hefty chunk still thrived. It hadn't appeared as though it was a result of the woman's lack of skill, but perhaps the range they were at. If they could regroup with the others...
((kisaka)) "R-Raei!" Delphi had nearly choked on the name, "I'll cast a barrier around us, cut through them and regroup with whoever you see fit!" Admittedly, Delphi had little understanding of what dictated true strength among the recruits, perhaps another combatant could judge more accurately with their own eyes. She swallowed hard, before her lips parted, " Avis caveam!" she sharply flicked her wrist, ending the motion in a swirl as the runic circle formed above them- enclosing them in a dome as they traveled. |
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Thorns
Aug 20, 2016 19:38:10 GMT -6
Post by zenguardian on Aug 20, 2016 19:38:10 GMT -6
"You should be good to go!" She cheered. "You have my thanks, yes!" Nursery Rhyme said as he shot back into the sky. With the Wind's Melody now hastening him, he was now able to channel light beams from the Storybrooke much quicker than previously. Under normal circumstances, Nursery Rhyme would let the lasers charge before firing in order to increase their strength and effectiveness by making them bigger, but the Titan's Chorus negated those additional steps by allowing him to launch stronger shots without lowering the rate of fire, though they were quite small in diameter. Taking advantage of his flight, Nursery Rhyme soar over the Thorns, blasting them from above with several pinpricks of light, his flow only being disrupted when he flew too close to the ground as a Swarm obscured his vision. A root burst from the ground near him, swatting him out of the sky like a fly, clearly ignoring the presence of its allies. He skid across the ground for many yards, the root obviously taking great advantage of its target's small body. Nursery Rhyme landed right in-between a trio of three Stingers, the large creatures stalking closer the longer he stayed there on the ground. He quickly sat up, noticing his storybook was gone from his possession and right in the path of one of the stingers. "NO!" he shouted as he dove for the book, snatching it away just seconds before the Stinger's sharpened foot pierced the artifact. Nursery Rhyme was grazed by the foot, drawing blood from his cheek, but otherwise quickly recovered. He was relieved to be back in the air, keeping the book well out of range of the thorns below. He incinerated the cluster of Stingers with a large light beam before moving on to another group. Panna surveyed the area, scoping out a pair of archer's parapets as well as other forms of high ground, any of which would serve him accordingly. He then turned to Pema, "I'm going for the high ground. I'll support everyone from there!" He called out over the roar of battle and then turned to the eastern parapet, jogging towards it. Nursery Rhyme noticed Panna run off alone towards one of the barriers surrounding the keep. He soon made his way over to the older man, providing aerial support as the thorns made the lone traveller their target. "Panna! Where are you going?" |
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Post by Evan on Aug 21, 2016 5:47:01 GMT -6
Anden struck down a few more of the oncoming attackers, then positioned himself sideways against the charge. With his sword pointed still toward the thorns, he took a stance almost like a sprinter, and then activated his innate magic for the first time. With a simple release of energy he filled himself with forward momentum, throwing himself into a massive lunge which carried his blade through at least a dozen thorns on the front line. The fighter quickly reoriented himself and searched for another clear path to travel. Within seconds he had found one, and performed the same maneuver in a different direction, this time landing himself in the center of the intruding crowd. He had downed nearly two dozen by this point, but they were quickly replaced as more and more poured into the courtyard.
The crowd of stingers seemed surprised by Anden's sudden presence, as they had been targeting Pema. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, Anden prepared a more difficult spell. Igniting two sets of momentum in opposite directions, he exploded into a spinning motion, which carried his outstretched sword through any beast within its deadly radius. Green, blood-like fluid spewed out of the slain creatures, saturating the ground.
"Keep it up!" Anden yelled over the deafening sounds of combat. "We can do this! ... We have to!"
For now, the group seemed to be holding back the attack, but the thorns inched forward every moment, and would surely overwhelm the team in time. With a few roots already having breached the perimeter, now the seeders were also catching up. The sounds of multiple chemical reactions painted the near horizon as the slower creatures at the back of the charge began to fire their heavy projectiles over the walls. For now there were no more than a dozen shots, but before long there would be several dozen raining down. With the back line of thorns virtually untouched, the ranged plants would give hell to the survivors.
Meanwhile, a small bud began to bloom off to the side of the gate - a surely unimportant detail compared to everything around it.
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Thorns
Aug 21, 2016 18:43:42 GMT -6
Post by cassiroll on Aug 21, 2016 18:43:42 GMT -6
" OI!! WOULD YA KINDLY FUCK OFF!!" She shouted. Her 'ponytail' split open as though it were some sort of plant, revealing rows of gargantuan teeth. With the swarm completely encompassed by the mouth's range, Poppy chomped down, trapping the little bastards inside and quickly dissolving them with the mouth's acidic saliva. With those minor pests gone, the mouth fell back into place, hitting the bard and causing her to stumble slightly from its weight. Realizing that she'd let a moment of anger reveal a secret she'd been hoping to keep as long as she could, especially given people would hunt her kind for these 'second mouths,' Poppy froze in place and turned to look at the fighters, hoping nobody had seen what she'd just done but knowing that's likely impossible. Leander stared in shock as Poppy's 'hair' opened itself up like a venus fly trap, snapping at the encroaching swarm before closing back up and slapping into her back. He would have continued to stare, uncertain about whether this new ability made Poppy friend or foe based on her reaction to revealing this secret, but he had limited time to think as more thorns gathered closer, a few roots springing up and causing him to stumble backwards to avoid their whipping appendages. Deciding to be more optimistic, since infiltration of an enemy this early on would likely be their downfall and he didn't want to consider this, he scooped up the bard like he had when first meeting her, making her to lock her legs firmly around his neck. It was up to her to hold herself there, however, as he would need his arms to fight. "Keep that...thing closed!" He ordered, a shiver running down his spine at the thought of the second mouth latching onto him so close to his head. "Play what you can and tell me if you see anyone that needs help!" She can't run away if she's up here... |
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Thorns
Aug 21, 2016 22:41:38 GMT -6
Post by MonkeyandMooseInc on Aug 21, 2016 22:41:38 GMT -6
Leander stared in shock as Poppy's 'hair' opened itself up like a venus fly trap, snapping at the encroaching swarm before closing back up and slapping into her back. He would have continued to stare, uncertain about whether this new ability made Poppy friend or foe based on her reaction to revealing this secret, but he had limited time to think as more thorns gathered closer, a few roots springing up and causing him to stumble backwards to avoid their whipping appendages. Deciding to be more optimistic, since infiltration of an enemy this early on would likely be their downfall and he didn't want to consider this, he scooped up the bard like he had when first meeting her, making her to lock her legs firmly around his neck. It was up to her to hold herself there, however, as he would need his arms to fight. "Keep that...thing closed!" He ordered, a shiver running down his spine at the thought of the second mouth latching onto him so close to his head. "Play what you can and tell me if you see anyone that needs help!" Poppy was surprised as she was suddenly hoisted up onto Leander's shoulder's, the girl quickly locking her legs together as not to fall off and looking at the giant questioningly. Upon hearing his comment, her face ignited into a red blush. "OI!! What do you mean 'thing!?!?' " She shouted at the giant, arms flailing angrily. "That's one of my mouths!! Not just some random 'thing!'" Poppy crossed her arms and looked off in the distance, clearly aggravated with Leander's poor word choice. From up here, however, she could see just how dire the situation appeared. The group hadn't even made a dent in the thorns' numbers and the creatures only seemed to continue to pour onto the battlefield. There weren't enough warriors here to take on this entire army. She felt dread begin to fill her stomach once more, but put on a brave smile and grabbed at Leander's hair. "Hey! Put me down!! I need to fight off these thorns too! I don't have any other songs to help you guys out right now, so the least I can do is fight until the Titan's Chorus and Wind's Melody are up! I need to do something!!" She shouted. |
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Post by VirusHasBeenDeleted on Aug 22, 2016 9:49:05 GMT -6
`As Storm Saw Nyle Light Up The Swam That Surrounded Knight She Sighs In Relief And The Stared At Nyle In Amazement At What She Could Do "Ahhhh That Was So Cool Ny-" She Was About To End The Sentence When Nyle Interrupted Her As Nyle Said This Storm Fly Got Hit In The Face At The Facts She Was Saying, If She Wanted To Live She Couldn't Get Distracted And Must Fight With Everything She Has Got To Protect Her New Found Family. "Mm, Your Right Nyle, I Promise I Will Look At My Surroundings More. Knight Help Us Up, Lets Show These Thorns What We Are Truly Made Of!"  As She Said This Her Eye Started To Glow And Marking Appeared On Her Face While This Was Happening Knight Picked Up Storm Fly And Placed Her On His Other Shoulder That Wasn't As Hot. "Knight You See Them Stingers And Seeders. There Just Coming In At The Gate Now. Lets Use WindSlash On Them Ok." She Turned And Smiled At Knight. As Soon As She Said That Knight Picked Up His Sword And Swinged It In A Slashing Way And Created A Large Gust Of Wind That Cute The Thorns That Was Heading Inside. "Ahh Thank You Nyle It Would Be Very Appreciated." She Smiled Down At Nyle And Then Commanded Knight To Charge Towards The Gate So They Could Get Closer To The Battle, As Knight Charged She Summoned Knight A Shield That Was The Size Of His Body To Help Protect The Two Of Them. Storm Looked Around To See If Anyone Need Any Help But To Her Surprise Everyone Had Buddied Up And Was Protecting One Another. It Was A Sight That Warmed Storms Heart And Made Her Fight Even Harder Than Before. "Lets Destroy Theses Thorns And Have Dinner Right Nyle?" She Started To Giggle. |
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Thorns
Aug 22, 2016 21:48:33 GMT -6
Post by cassiroll on Aug 22, 2016 21:48:33 GMT -6
Poppy was surprised as she was suddenly hoisted up onto Leander's shoulder's, the girl quickly locking her legs together as not to fall off and looking at the giant questioningly. Upon hearing his comment, her face ignited into a red blush. "OI!! What do you mean 'thing!?!?' " She shouted at the giant, arms flailing angrily. "That's one of my mouths!! Not just some random 'thing!'" Poppy crossed her arms and looked off in the distance, clearly aggravated with Leander's poor word choice. From up here, however, she could see just how dire the situation appeared. The group hadn't even made a dent in the thorns' numbers and the creatures only seemed to continue to pour onto the battlefield. There weren't enough warriors here to take on this entire army. She felt dread begin to fill her stomach once more, but put on a brave smile and grabbed at Leander's hair. "Hey! Put me down!! I need to fight off these thorns too! I don't have any other songs to help you guys out right now, so the least I can do is fight until the Titan's Chorus and Wind's Melody are up! I need to do something!!" She shouted. "Hey--ouch!!" Leander tried his best to keep his voice lowered as the bard grabbed at his hair. It was clear he'd aggravated her, but what else was he supposed to think when it looked like she'd been concealing some sort of plant species?? At least with the Rude Plant Lady she didn't hide it like it was some secret. Everyone knew what she was. Why did Poppy feel the need to hide this if it wasn't for a sinister purpose??? He had little time left to consider these questions, and certainly no time to ask them before Poppy's next set of words sent a shiver up his spine. "No!" He declared, hooking one hand around her ankles in an attempt to prevent her from wiggling free. "If I put you down, you'll just get hurt! You are a bard, Poppy. Leave the fighting to those of use who have more practice." He swung swiftly with his boulder, cutting through the stems of the roots that were closest to them. A handful fell to the floor and writhed before going still. "Poppy, you are more useful alive. But if you give me a reason to put you down, I will. So far I haven't seen enough to trust that you can protect yourself." |
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Thorns
Aug 22, 2016 22:00:53 GMT -6
Post by MonkeyandMooseInc on Aug 22, 2016 22:00:53 GMT -6
"Hey--ouch!!" Leander tried his best to keep his voice lowered as the bard grabbed at his hair. It was clear he'd aggravated her, but what else was he supposed to think when it looked like she'd been concealing some sort of plant species?? At least with the Rude Plant Lady she didn't hide it like it was some secret. Everyone knew what she was. Why did Poppy feel the need to hide this if it wasn't for a sinister purpose??? He had little time left to consider these questions, and certainly no time to ask them before Poppy's next set of words sent a shiver up his spine. "No!" He declared, hooking one hand around her ankles in an attempt to prevent her from wiggling free. "If I put you down, you'll just get hurt! You are a bard, Poppy. Leave the fighting to those of use who have more practice." He swung swiftly with his boulder, cutting through the stems of the roots that were closest to them. A handful fell to the floor and writhed before going still. "Poppy, you are more useful alive. But if you give me a reason to put you down, I will. So far I haven't seen enough to trust that you can protect yourself." "No!??!" She shouted. "I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much!! OI!!" She scowled as Leander grabbed both of her ankles his meaty hands and attempted to pull her legs loose. "I'm useless up here!! And you're at a disadvantage if you're only using one arm!! I don't NEED protecting, I can protect myself!! I have plenty of practice fighting! Just... not in YOUR way! My songs effects have 3 minutes left, TOPS! I'm more nimble than you and can get around the battlefield faster to play them for everyone!" Poppy once again tried pulling her legs free of the giant's grasp, pushing her hands on his head in an attempt to free herself. "There are too many thorns for even ONE of us top not be fighting, so I need to help out in any way I can! Even if it puts me in danger!!" |
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Thorns
Aug 23, 2016 1:38:09 GMT -6
Post by cassiroll on Aug 23, 2016 1:38:09 GMT -6
"No!??!" She shouted. "I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much!! OI!!" She scowled as Leander grabbed both of her ankles his meaty hands and attempted to pull her legs loose. "I'm useless up here!! And you're at a disadvantage if you're only using one arm!! I don't NEED protecting, I can protect myself!! I have plenty of practice fighting! Just... not in YOUR way! My songs effects have 3 minutes left, TOPS! I'm more nimble than you and can get around the battlefield faster to play them for everyone!" Poppy once again tried pulling her legs free of the giant's grasp, pushing her hands on his head in an attempt to free herself. "There are too many thorns for even ONE of us top not be fighting, so I need to help out in any way I can! Even if it puts me in danger!!" Leander sighed, knowing that at least in terms of his fighting being slowed by her struggling, she was correct. He gently unhooked her from his neck and set her back on the ground, but with a scolding tone in his words. "Don't do anything rash," He pointed at her with one massive finger. "Remember, you are more valuable alive than dead. Call for help the moment you need something and one of the fighters will hopefully hear you." He furrowed his brow at her, uncertain of what else to say. Battles brought out the worst in people. He'd have liked to get to know his allies more, but he'd been too preoccupied with the Plant Lady. Oh well. If they all survived, he'd make an effort to speak with these people on less violent terms. For now, he turned his back to the bard and lunged forward, making himself relatively light before crashing into a group of stingers with three times the normal amount of force someone his side would normally produce. Their moment of confusion at the sudden push gave Leander enough time to smash them to pieces. He took in a deep breath, surveying the area. He probably couldn't pull off that trick again he realized, as he noticed the massive group of stingers that had their eyes on him. "Fun times ahead," He muttered, taking a defensive stance as they started to surround him. |
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Thorns
Aug 24, 2016 23:28:56 GMT -6
Post by MonkeyandMooseInc on Aug 24, 2016 23:28:56 GMT -6
Poppy was shocked, and somewhat nervous, that her words work on the giant as she found herself being placed on the ground. She could have done without the parent-like scolding, but she knew it came from a good place. Poppy smiled at Leander and nodded, before turning towards the hoards of thorns continuously advancing. She steeled her demeanor as she got into a running stance. This was it. This was her chance to prove she isn't JUST a bard in need of protection. She's a capable fighter! She's worthy of being around these heroes!
Poppy grinned confidently as she quickly played The Blizzard's Ballad for herself, taking note of her mana consumption and swallowing hard. She wouldn't have time to charge up her mana like she normally would in the midst of battle. It was bound to get dicey. Once the spell took effect, Poppy noted the pain in her leg had disappeared for the time being and grinned. Now there was no holding back. The bard burst forward into the fray before spinning as quickly as she could, using her second mouth as a club and sending several stingers flying off in multiple directions.
Other thorns began to take note of Poppy's new aggressive presence and began to counterattack. A large stinger attempted to sneak behind Poppy and jab her in the back, to which the bard split open her gargantuan mouth and bit the beast clean in half, throwing its carcass into the battlefield and sneering at the other thorns which quickly approached. One stinger made a jumping attack towards her, but was shot out of the air by what appeared to be a coconut or seed of some sort. Poppy was puzzled for a moment, before remembering what kind of thorns were capable of firing projectiles. She nervously turned towards the direction in which the shot came from, noting several other large projectiles falling from the skies.
Poppy breathed heavily as she began sprinting towards the wall into the thick of the thorn army, knocking any stingers and swatting swarms away to the best of her abilities while she had this numbing spell active. She took little notice of the cuts and tears in her clothing and skin as she continued making a B-Line towards the back line. Those Seeders would raise hell if they weren't dealt with soon. Something the bard was all too familiar with. She quickly resorted to biting the stingers in half and letting the acidic saliva do the work rather than simply swatting them away, hoping that somebody would take notice of her action and use it as an easier path towards the back.
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Thorns
Aug 26, 2016 14:51:59 GMT -6
Post by Kisaka on Aug 26, 2016 14:51:59 GMT -6
(Im sorry I havent replied yet. I will later tonight though!)
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Thorns
Aug 28, 2016 15:46:30 GMT -6
Post by funnybunnyjay on Aug 28, 2016 15:46:30 GMT -6
Panna surveyed the area, scoping out a pair of archer's parapets as well as other forms of high ground, any of which would serve him accordingly. He then turned to Pema, "I'm going for the high ground. I'll support everyone from there!" He called out over the roar of battle and then turned to the eastern parapet, jogging towards it. Pema looked at Panna and replied by nodding in approval. The stone monk faced the Thorns and continued to slash at them, but this time he chose to fight more defensively to avoid being attacked from behind like last time. The Thorns became too large in number for Pema to push them all back. All he could do now was stall the Thorns from getting to the keep until his allies could take out more of them. Pema could hear the roots coming and avoid them, and the swarms could hardly do any damage to him at all, but the stingers and especially the seeders proved to be a problem for him. He used sound magic once again, but this time to communicate with his teammates so that they could all hear him without any issues. Pema said to all of his allies "There are seeders in the back firing powerful projectiles. The seeder's defenses are strong, so I'm not sure if ranged attacks will be effective against them. It might be best to have one or two of our fighters sneak around and flank their forces from behind to destroy the seeders up close. It's a risky plan but I think it's a risk we'll have to take, because at this rate we're not going to last much longer." Pema then blocked a seeder attack, but was pushed back by it's overwhelming power. Every seeder he blocked would make him significantly more exhausted. Only one or two more seeder attacks would be enough to break down his defenses completely. |
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Thorns
Aug 28, 2016 17:16:45 GMT -6
Post by titee on Aug 28, 2016 17:16:45 GMT -6
Panna looked upward at Nursery Rhyme, his progress slowing as he did so. "Eh?" He scratched the side of his neck and then looked between the barrier and the other combatant. To them, he could have looked like deserter. What that what Rhyme saw him as right now. Panna coughed- a nervous tick- and his cheekes flushed as he readied his explanation. "Why you see, I was looking to get some height over the thorns. And I reckon that's the place to do it."
A seeder's shell launched over the wall, landing just spaces in front of Panna. He jumped out of the way before checking to see if Nursery Rhymne had been damaged by the shot. "You get hit? That's why I want to get over there."
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Thorns
Sept 1, 2016 13:39:10 GMT -6
Post by funnybunnyjay on Sept 1, 2016 13:39:10 GMT -6
Pema's magic started running low, so he could no longer produce the sound needed to keep all of the thorns attention on him. Little by little the thorns started to ignore him and move past him to attack the others, and Pema was growing tired and weak. He then heard an attack coming from the distance. A seeder that stood far away was firing a giant projectile straight at their healer Delphi. Pema wasn't fast enough to block it with his giant sword, but he jumped in front of the attack without hesitation hoping his stone body alone would be strong enough to block the attack. Without saying a word Pema took the hit to defend Delphi and...
Pema was defeated and disaster struck.
 Taking a direct caused the projectile to veer off course, but at the cost of having the entire right half of his body completely destroyed. Pema could no longer stand, and with so much of his body destroyed his stone body could no longer function properly. Now his sound magic stopped working entirely and without Pema to slow them down the thorns were free to rush in. A wave of thorns rushed into the inner walls and trampled over Pema as if he were nothing more than a lifeless pile of rocks, completely ignoring the stone monk now. The thorns could move to any part of the inner walls and attack anyone they wanted from almost any angle. Pema was slowly beginning to lose consciousness, and could tell that death was at his doorstep. As the life began to fade from his eyes he reached for his teammates with the one hand he had left, hoping to crawl towards them. Pema needed to be healed immediately, but no healer in their right mind would get close enough to heal him because of how many thorns were trampling over his body. Saving Pema seemed hopeless and in that moment Pema thought to himself "Is this really where it all ends for me? There was so much I wanted to learn. So much I wanted to do. At least... I did this for a good cause." |
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Thorns
Sept 1, 2016 14:50:48 GMT -6
Post by zenguardian on Sept 1, 2016 14:50:48 GMT -6
Panna coughed- a nervous tick- and his cheekes flushed as he readied his explanation. "Why you see, I was looking to get some height over the thorns. And I reckon that's the place to do it." A seeder's shell launched over the wall, landing just spaces in front of Panna. He jumped out of the way before checking to see if Nursery Rhymne had been damaged by the shot. "You get hit? That's why I want to get over there." "I understand, yes." He gauged the distance from their current position to where Panna had wanted to go and nodded to the man. He then increased the size of his book and lowered it until it hung over the man's head. "If you grab on, I can get you there sooner than you could walk. Let us work together to take out a chunk of them." Nursery Rhyme could feel the effects of Poppy's song beginning to fade. He'd have to take out many more in the time he had left in order to make the most of Poppy's efforts. |
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