video > text; un: white_lotus

[pummelling]

[Happy.... approximately.... 1 in the morning, Team Ophelia. The video greeting the network is tough to make out, but the faint cries of insects in the dark, otherwise still night seem to indicate that Kung Jin's outside. A small oil lantern near his feet bathes him and the farmhouse he's sitting in front of in a faint orange glow.

Anyone looking carefully will also spot a young boy in his mid-teens, head bobbing occasionally into the side of the frame as he nods in and out of sleep. Jin glances over at him, rolling his eyes.]

Hey, team.

[Jin settles forward in his seat, fiddling with his robe and continuing in a low whisper.] Some ronin geniuses, on both sides, are trying to overtake farmhouses in the Flowerlands and convert them into makeshift bases. If you're still up and not too far, I'm gonna need some help keeping watch out here.

[Jin's shrugging out of a sleeve, now; the fabric slips from his shoulder to hang loose at his waist.]

The farmers aren't exactly equipped to deal with this alone.

[Right on cue, there's a rustle of definitely not cicada-noise in the background. Jin's eyes narrow. On his way to notching an arrow, he swats the kid beside him in the shoulder with the longbow. (He comes to with a snort, looking around wildly and brandishing the farmer's scythe he has gripped tightly in both hands.)

He pulls his arm back, muscles taut and steady as the bowstring that's a second from letting loose--

annnnd he switches, abruptly, to text.]

And you might want to make it snappy.

Comments

[pummelling]

[By the time Inuyasha's in the mix, Jin's only picking up on the network sporadically, due to... you know... everything being h e l l tbh god help them all. (The kid's long gone, having chickened out and ducked back into his home to fortify his mothers' doors.) But he eventually catches him on his jewelcomm's feed, and the frantic cacophony of battle seems to echo as their feeds pick up near-identical sounds from different directions.]

Think I can hear you, Inuyasha! I've moved to the next farmhouse, they're starting there! Look for the ronin going down in--

[Jin strings his arrow, the tip shimmering with a halo of blue magic...]

--now! [and lets it fly loose. His aim's true, and there should be a sea ronin not far from Inuyasha's left who goes down, wounded but only stunned by the arrow.] Look for my staff, the eyes glow red! [Sure enough, there's a pair of gleaming red dragon's eyes shining a short distance away from him too.]

[boxedcrook]

[There's no way Tessaiga will transform in the middle of all of this. The only thing he can do is use the regular blade to ward of offenders on both sides of the battle and try instead to protect farmers, civilians.]

Don't get cocky and kill them!

[For lack of better, he grabs a fistful of ronin clothing in the front and suplexes them over his head onto the ground about the time Jin releases the arrow. Not only is he a dog, but he's also a demon. Both ears swivel, focusing the arrow's whistle, and his eyes easily catch the domino pile, then the staff. Red eyes? DEMON.] What the--

[He ascends to an adjacent roof. Sure enough, there's Jin.] I see you! [And Jin can probably spot his dumb ass in bright red robes, yelling at seemingly nothing when he's talking through the beads around his neck.] Behind you!

Some are coming over the hill!

[pummelling]

[It's very, very hard to miss the bright red idiot yelling into the open night air-- especially when he's standing on top of a building. It's a huge distraction, enough that Jin lowers his bow to stare.]

You're seriously in bright red when we were supposed to be stealth?

[That's all the time he's got to complain, though, and the glow of the top of his bowstaff swerves: if not for Inuyasha's warning, he'd have gotten jumped by a woman just behind him. He clocks her upside the head, his staff sweeping under her to knock her into the dirt.

There's not enough coming up over the hill to be completely unmanageable, but...]

I'll thin 'em out. The arrows I'll use won't kill. [He gives the man atop the roof a nod, then notches another arrow.] Then I'll follow you to the front lines. Sound good, chief?

[boxedcrook]

Who said anything about stealth, huh?! [If there's one person out of this whole team that hasn't even heard of stealth, it'd be Inuyasha. Why be sneaky when you can just run in and swing your stick?] Just keep them from killing any of the farmers!

[For a minute or two, he watches Jin in the distance just to make sure he won't have to leap in to the rescue. Seems decently equipped.] It's Inuyasha. Fine. Hurry up, would you?

HEY! [He doesn't mean for it to be in a comm, but what can he do. From the roof, he springs up into the air, and his descent is strangely slowed, giving him enough time to toss his arm back and sweep his claw down as he starts landing faster.] Iron Reaver Soul Stealer! [The ground splits into four tumultuous rows, knocking apart two clashing ronin and flinging them a few yards away.]

I'll meet you there!