Learning the Ropes [Willow/Devil]

Dogath wasn't about to let Samanosuke's hard work go to waste, as their fierce opponent stumbled back. The longer they kept him off balance, the better their chances of felling him without too much further event. As the young man fought against the Dinalfos, Dogath shrugged off the strap to his cannon, the heavy metal thudding weightily against the ground. Instead, Dogath fished out two cannonballs from his pockets, holding them in the palms of his hands. As Samanosuke's second strike landed, Dogath stepped in, sprinting at the Dinalfos in a dead run from behind.

With a primal yell, he lunged at the Dinalfos, who was just turning around at the sudden noise. The Subrosian's fist was extended forward, as if in attempt to crush the Dinalfos' rib cage with the metal ball. A seemingly ill-conceived idea, thought the Dinalfos, whose lip curled in a sneer. Having already demosntrated his quick reflexes, it was no surprise that he was able to whip around in time--if only barely--gloved palm of his right fist aimed down at Dogath's hand. The Subrosian was yanked down by an invisible force, and yet, he had been expecting this. Using the forced downward momentum, Dogath pushed off the ground, aiming to flip over and apply his heel liberally to the Dinalfos' head.

The Dinalfos new better though, hence he had waited with his other arm, delaying his counter attack until Dogath's assult was over. He raised a forearm up to impede the flow, muscles tensing, preparing to send a strong kick into Dogath's back. Suddenly, blinding pain, as bone shattered and muscle tore. There, that boot, was instead a heavy block of metal, having had been summoned apparently from thin air. Rubsycale staggered back, sucking in a pained breath.

Not even a breath had passed, before Dogath was sprinting straight for Samanosuke's dropped sword. He grabbed at it clumsily in his haste, feeling rock, soil and vegetation in his grasp, but the debris fell away as approached Rubyscale. The hard part wouldn't be landing a blow: no, it was avoiding spearing Samanosuke in the process.

The Dinalfos saw what was happening in slow time, and was desperately clawing up at the Hylian upon his back in an attempt to extricate himself from the hold, but to no avail. He needed something--anything--but with no salvation in sight, and from all appearances no allies left to save him, he did the only thing he could. He had not the time to collect himself, to guard against the pain of tearing his own tail in twain, so the only thing that remained for him was to give himself no choice; he fell forward, bringing all his weight to bear in one last ploy to both shake the man atop him, and give him room to avoid the quickly approaching Subrosian. He screamed out in agony as he fell forward. That was all the chance Dogath needed.

"Time to abandon ship, kid!" Dogath yelled out. He hadn't come up with a plan of avoiding hitting Samanosuke, so he had to settle for the next best thing, and hope the Hylian moved out of the way in time. As Dogath saw even the barest hint of the Dinalfos' choice, he whipped around, his back turning to his foe. With a decisive step back, he flew towards the pair, his Backshift Cape activating. He, too, was now intentionally falling, though upon his own back. He landed hard, his vision blurring and teeth rattling as he skid against the soil: placing him directly below the falling Dinalfos, sword aimed up at the overgrown lizard's heart.

Rubyscale couldn't account for the sudden burst in speed, and though his hands moved to try and redirect the blade, his own momentum and lack of time resulted in his untimely demise. "You still alive, Samanosuke?" Dogath asked, the Dinalfos pinning him to the ground and obscuring his vision.

Dogath let out a sigh of relief: he was glad that Samanosuke had made it out in time. With both of them still breathing, and the rest of their company still alive, it seemed that their mission was a resounding success, despite their difficulties. They'd return to town, a bunch of ragged and wounded adventurers, but they'd be alive. Dogath let out a grunt as the body pinning him was pulled away, helping lift the body as well with a pump of his own arms. Dogath would stand on his feet, looking over at Samanosuke with a grin on his face, though the Hylian would never be able to see it. Brushing himself off, then lightly clapping Samanosuke on the back, Dogath began to laugh, and his mirth was soon joined by the others as they gathered around the two.

"Hell of a fight, everyone." Yousef beamed. Beyond some scrapes and bruises, it seemed that Samanosuke was the only one that needed some immediate attention, and then only because of Rubyscale's sharp talons. The others moved to congratulate Dogath and Samanosuke, but Alia was quick to motion them back from Samanosuke as she pulled out a field kit and began to dress his wounds. She would grin up at him, too, though. "Watching you brought back memories of riding a bucking steer, back in my more wild days on my family ranch." She laughed, shaking her head. "But no, that was a smart move, and you did well today. We'll make sure to find a healer back in Ruto, and get you fuller patched up."

Dogath held Samanosuke's blade back out to him. "So? What'd you think of the job? Care for more?" Dogath asked of his comrade, though he looked back up at Yousef momentarily, who was nodding in approval, before interjecting. "He's right, you know. We're hurting for help, down here in the south, and I think you've more than proven yourself capable. If you're looking for rupees, and more fights, well, we've got plenty of both."

(All done! Here's the quest bureau thread )