the mods need croissants to properly slapé the hos (bw_mods) wrote in blurred_war, @ 2010-07-31 21:08:00 |
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BLAST the AUSTRIANS to HELL (BAH) [ 01 ][ 02 ][ 03 ][ 04 ][ 05 ][ 06 ][ 07 ][ 08 ][ 09 ][ 10 ][ 11 ]
BATTLING CONTINUED Algernon Longbottom (3), Gwen Morgan (6) How was it? Charmaine had asked. Exhilarating, Gwen had answered after a moment’s consideration. The mock battle had been one of the most singularly thrilling experiences in Gwen’s life, in no small part because it was different from anything she’d ever attempted before. In some respects, it was not unlike a Quidditch game; teammwork was key, leadership was essential, and good strategy spelled the difference between a winning team and a losing one. Unlike the sport to which she’d pledged her life-long dedication, harm was not merely incidental – it was certain. In spite of her father’s extended service overseas, the notion of deliberately striving to hurt other human beings was still foreign to her. The military had been wise to ease them into it; by establishing numerous safety pre-cautions and limiting the available spells, they gradually acquainted them with violence, thereby reducing the likelihood of a catastrophe on the battlefield. It was a calculated approach that even Gwen, a four-year would-be enlistee, could appreciate. And yet, nothing could ever fully prepare you for the horror of battle, as evidenced by the bile that rose up her throat when the camp descended into chaos. On some level, the sound of the battle horn cry was a relief; the recruits had been on pins-and-needles ever since the news of the Austrian trap had reached their ears. She was at once grateful for the end of the torturous waiting game and apprehensive of the bloodshed that awaited her. Not four months ago, she had been hit by a bomb that left her broken and bleeding in the school infirmary for days on end. Today, she had no assurance that she would not meet the same fate, if not an altogether more dire one. None of this stopped her from mounting her broom and answering the call of duty without an ounce of hesitation, no matter the danger that awaited her. Once a Captain, always a Captain. "Longbottom!" She called out when she caught sight of the familiar figure in the air, intent on taking advantage of their long flying history together. The clever wheels of her mind were swiftly set into motion, processing the battlefield as she would a Quidditch pitch and just as quickly determining the optimal course of action. Soon, her hand was on his shoulder, her voice echoed in his ear, and her eyes settled on the Austrian nearest to them. "Blast him to bits," She ordered him sternly. "I’ll cover you." Without waiting for a word of acknowledgment, she zoomed downward at lightning speed, only to level a Gouging Hex at the Austrian from below. If she could keep his focus off of Algie – thereby freeing him to best put his extraordinary Dueling skill to use – victory seemed all but assured. Algie, truth be told, was thinking of home. Not of necessarily being home, but of the people waiting for them. He had been thinking about what his parents might say to him now. We are proud of you, he could hear them say. Algie could also imagine them saying that they were disappointed that he had left to fight, that he should have stayed in the comfort of his own home. Algie shook his head quietly. He would not be able to leave his friends behind, that was for certain. The thought persisted for a brief moment until he realized that he was staring at a tree a few yards away for no particular reason. It was a lonely tree in a small clearing; however, a ring of plants had grown attached to it as if they were supporting the tree in its upward endeavor. It reminded him of friendship, it reminded him of Quidditch, it reminded him of Hogwarts. A small smile stretched across his thin lips. All of a sudden, the battle horn sounded. His smile faded into a solemn, almost angry gaze as he jolted up to check his surroundings. Algie had no time to be frightened. Any ounce of fear had been transformed into a nervous itch for battle. He managed to get on his broom surprisingly quick, rising dozens of yards above the ground for a start. He heard a familiar voice yelling his name. It was his captain, Gwen. They had a long history of working together, so this time would be no different. The touch on the shoulder was welcome, he turned his head slightly in her direction. "I thought you would never ask." He simply smiled at her request, putting one hand firmly on his broom and brandishing his wand in the other. Although Algie overheard some of the Austrians yelling to each other in a different language, it was not hard to pick out his name: Marko. Algie lurched forward on his broom as Gwen made an attempt to hex their target. Just as Algie was getting ready to cast a spell at Marko, he heard a blood-curdling yell. He felt a powerful force push against him, sending him and his broom backwards. Another Austrian, Klaus, had barreled into him and now Algie was locked in combat with him. Algie tried to get a grip on his wand, although he felt it slipping in his grasp. Algie wrestled with the Austrian, finally being able to get his wand in place. "Aguamenti!" A jet of clear water burst from the tip of his wand, dousing Klaus in the face. Klaus’s grip on Algie weakened enough to allow the boy to kick him square in the chest but not before the momentarily-blinded Austrian lobbed a few Slicing Hexes in front of him, hoping Algie would be hit with one of them. Algie did not have time to dodge. He felt hot, knife-like cuts slice across his abdomen and his arms, tearing through his clothes like a knife through butter. Warm blood was seeping out of his new wounds, which caused Algie to writhe in pain while trying to hold steady on his broom. Much to her satisfaction, their strategy proved fruitful – at least initially. Ill-prepared for the underhanded assault, Marko’s gaze instantly darted to the crafty witch beneath him. His delayed reaction time resulted in a hit, albeit an indirect one. Unintelligible swear words emanated from his throat as a large hunk of flesh was carved out of his arm, prompting him to clutch at it instinctively. With Marko’s attention diverted, it was the perfect opportunity for Algie to blast him to kingdom come, but for the boisterous interruption of one of the Austrian’s comrades. Gwen’s eyes shifted just in time to catch her friend’s counterattack; to her relief, the powerful jet of water allow him to regain the upperhand and deflect Klaus’s opening assault. In a less dire circumstance, she would have stopped to relish his technique, but Marko quickly reminded her that she was not a spectator. The momentary distraction left a hole in Gwen’s defense, which the Austrian quickly capitalized on. Owing to her sharp Quidditch reflexes, she very narrowly avoided an unfamiliar beam of black light. She had absolutely no clue what the spell would have accomplished if it had hit his mark – and, given the circumstances, no desire to find out first-hand. Recovering from her temporary loss of composure, she soared higher in the air, resolved to keep Marko from sparing so much as a thought for her otherwise-occupied ally. By focusing her efforts on incapacitating her foe, she would relegate him to a constant state of defense, thereby shifting the risk of harm from Algie to herself. She was loath to admit it, but this Austrian wasn’t a bad duelist at all. When she shot off an Incarcerous, he barrel-rolled out of the way. When she leveled an Obscuro at his head, he looped out of the way. In more peaceful times, he wouldn’t have been a half-bad Quidditch player, but his minutes were numbered. For every dodge, Gwen had a swift-counterattack, continually proving her mettle and demonstrating precisely why she had been long favored for a spot on the Holyhead Harpies. As a methodical Captain, she knew when to act and when to bide her time. She knew that an opening would inevitably arise; it was just a matter of remaining trained on her target until it did. Sure enough, a belated dodge on Marko’s part offered just such a golden opportunity. "Glacius!" She yelled, but instead of attempting to freeze her opponent, she targeted his broom. Much to his bewilderment, frost slowly spiralled outward from the point of impact, enveloping the wood in an increasingly thick coating of ice. It undermined his grip and impeded his movement drastically, leaving him vulnerable to attack. Were she glory-hungry, she would have seized the opportunity to maim her enemy unrecognizable. Unlike some of her compatriots, however, Gwen fought for life and liberty rather than fortune or fame. "Longbottom, now!" Klaus was nowhere to be found. Algie’s eyes were now misty with tears of pain, scanning his surroundings while holding his abdomen with one hand and his wand weakly in the other. His breathing increased rapidly to the point where Algie had trouble looking for Gwen in the fray. For a brief moment he thought he was going to faint, but he heard a voice cry out. He awakened from the daze and leveled his wand towards Marko, towards his broom-end in particular. Marko was fumbling, trying to get away from Gwen but in the end he could not dodge Algie. His wand shook, the long gash in his arm weakened his focus and his aim. Algie breathed and the wand stood still. "Reducto!" he yelled, half-choked with pain. A light shot out of the tip of his wand and hit the tail end of Marko’s broom, blasting it apart with concussive force. Marko lurched forward with the blast, his clothes torn to shreds, screaming unintelligible words as he fell to the ground. Within moments, Marko was yelping in pain on the ground, holding his side. Algie sighed heavily, holding his wand arm with his free hand. He let out a wince of pain, he felt his clothes wet with blood. He managed to grab of the broom with both hands while cupping his wand in between his fingers. The sounds of battle were still going on and they were closer than ever. He felt a rush of wind behind him, which made Algie maneuver his broom around only to be faced by Klaus, who had a angry, dark look in his eyes. Klaus silently raised his wand and Algie saw a flash of orange light. He felt like he had fallen into the ocean but when he felt himself not coming up for air, the reality of the situation rushed back into his head. Klaus was hovering a few yards in front of him, wand raised in concentration. Algie grabbed his throat while trying to keep himself afloat, he even tried to cast a non-verbal Stunning spell but failed miserably. Where was Gwen, where was anyone to help him? He wanted to cry for help but all that came out was a few choked gasps for air. He felt his eyelids getting heavy, he needed to breathe. At the sound of the authoritative Reducto, Gwen's heart leapt to her throat in anticipation. There was a chance he would miss and her dogged efforts to distract Marko would prove for naught, but even in the haze of blood and smoke, she had faith in his ability to prevail. In a fateful second, the Austrian's frozen broom was shattered into a thousand pieces, leaving its pilot with little choice but to spiral into oblivion. Instantly energized by a gratifying sense of triumph, Gwen surrendered to the urge to pump her fist in triumph. They may have only defeated a single opponent, but surely it was an encouraging start and a good omen for battles to come. With the return of a beleaguered, but by no means incapacitated foe, such hopes soon proved far too idealistic. The blood in Gwen's veins ran cold at the sight of Klaus, prickling her arms with goosebumps and filled her with a bone-chilling sense of imminent dread. To her horror, her fears proved founded; Algie had no time to defend himself against the flash of light and Gwen had little time to think before he was choking to death. The malicious spell wasn't completely unfamiliar to her, but she hadn't had nearly enough experience with it – or watching her best friends suffocate – to think of an effective magical counter in time. Pure adrenaline and terror took hold, sending her barreling recklessly toward Klaus at full speed. From a stance of self-preservation, it was phenomenally stupid, but Gwen had never been a narcissist. All she could see was Algie clutching desperately at his throat and Klaus staring at him with his murder in his eyes. She had no choice. It was no decision at all. The impact was more brutal than she expected, bone cracking sickly against bone as fractured arms encircled the shocked Austrian. She succeeded in severing the orange stream, but at a devastating cost. Her broom snapped in two, soundly smothering all hopes of regaining her balance and flying away from this in one piece. With the wind knocked out of her, she barely had the breath to scream as they fell, grappling futilely for purchase on Klaus's body until gravity parted them and nothing but air met her bloodied fingertips. Time stood still and then turned to dust, flesh and cartilage no match for the dirt and rocks that crushed her body and turned her vision black. His eyes were getting tired, he could feel them closing. Algie saw a blur cross his peripheral vision but he could hardly think of anything except trying to breathe in. All of a sudden, Algie felt the invisible vice grip on his throat release causing him to gasp for air. As soon as his vision stopped swimming, Algie saw Gwen and Klaus falling towards the ground. "No! Gwen!" he said, voice now raspy and hoarse. He tried to stop the fall with an Immobulus but all that came out of Algie’s mouth was a fit of coughs. She crunched into the ground, Algie could hear the sickening sound which made his stomach jump into his throat. He canted his broom downwards, his wand shaking against it from the gashes on his body, the pain had subsided but it still hurt. He managed to make it to her broken body, toppling from his own broom while it was still a few feet in the air. "G-Gwen." he said, looking over her once, twice. No response. "Let’s get you - stay with me, Gwen. Stay with me... please?" he said, softly. It was a question that he didn’t know if it would ever be answered. Gently putting his arms underneath her head and thighs, he cradled her in his arms for a moment before lifting himself into a standing position. Through the pain in his throat, the pain in his abdomen, the pain present throughout his entire body, he began walking forward thinking of where he wanted to go. He turned on the spot and with a loud crack, Algie and Gwen were gone. Hector Dagworth-Granger (4), Cuthbert Mockridge (3, running), Elsie Prince (5) It wasn’t often that Bertie actually wanted to be disappointed but he had to say that he’d wanted to be disappointed about all the rumours of Austrians surrounding the camp waiting to attack them. He wanted it to be untrue and feel all deflated and disappointed and annoyed. Because the rumours were very, very true and he was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was only a Fifth Year... now a Sixth Year and he was only sixteen and he didn’t know anywhere near enough to think he could fight right here and now. But that wasn’t going to stop him. He knew he ought to be getting to shelter - he was here to do Internal Communications for goodness sake - but with every running in various directions he felt he ought to be running towards the Germans or Austrians and fighting. Which is why his first move was to pull out his wand and run towards the perimeter of the camp, his eyes alight with determination and anger and the sensible part of his mind yelling at him to stop being so stupid. Elsie had been hoping, praying, practically pleading to have more time before she had to be in the battle field. Days of pouring over dueling notes, practicing, and drilling would not be enough to hold her own against the Austrians who had been training for years. However, her prayers were left unanswered and all too soon she found herself on the edge of a battle she couldn’t escape. She stood, feet apart, jaw clenched, and waited. She wasn’t sure if it was correct to charge or to wait, and just as she was about to make her decision, Bertie came sprinting up along her right side of vision. "Bertie!" she cried out, flinching as a bomb came crashing down a few hundred metres away. She shielded her eyes from the flash and took off sprinting to meet him. She could see movement, the flashes of spells as they were spent in the air above them and she could smell the burning from the bombs that had already begun to fall. It was an overload on her senses, but she pushed forward. "Bertie! Wait! Don’t go sprinting off alone!" Hector had taken cover the second that the camp had been stormed. Expecting him to fight him way out of this or be of any use as anything other than a human shield was ridiculous and even as a newly recruited member of Active Duty (a laughable one, at best), Hector had no interest in throwing himself into the fray. That was until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, two in blue in the mess created by the falling bombs. Catching a snatch of a voice that he recognized, Hector tore himself away from the side of the building to catch Elsie on the shoulder in an attempt to stop her charge. At least, until he noticed that it was Bertie rushing headlong into the chaos. A half muffled curse and a glance spared at Elsie later, and Hector was taking off after him as well. Three for the easy pickings were exactly what Ludwig Fuher had been waiting for. Barely out of his teens, he wasn’t exactly the most experienced individual on the battlefield, and while these were still children, anyone actually prepared to fight back with any amount of gusto were the people that he was looking to avoid. Which was why the redhead running straight at him with two equally as feeble and frantic looking individuals at his heels was the opportunity that he had been looking for. Without an amount of hesitation, Ludwig raised his wand and fired an Impedimenta at Bertie in the hopes of slowing his charge or any potential retreat that he might have in mind. Bertie didn’t even see the spell coming at him. Whether that was because the spell was well disguised by the general chaos or, more likely, because of Bertie’s complete and utter inexperience in all matters battle-related was really rather irrelevant when it hit him and sent him sprawling onto his face, his wand skittering out in front of him. Someone less... redheaded might well have taken that as a sign to leave matters to those more experienced but not Bertie. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the dirt and bruises he’d just earned and scrabbled after his wand. The moment he got his hands on it, he cast a very poorly aimed Furnunculus at the Austrian who had attacked him. Viktor Bauer was annoyed. He considered himself one of the elite of Grindelwald’s forces and here he was being reduced to attacking children. He knew he was worthy of more than this and yet here he was, proving his worth against children instead of the proper British forces. Still, if that was what he was ordered to do, he would do it, irrespective of his personal irritation. Perhaps if he did well here, he would be placed in a proper unit and given tasks commensurate with his abilities. It was with that comforting thought in mind that Viktor pointed his wand at the girl behind the redhead and cast an Incarcerous. Elsie, desperate to keep Bertie from getting himself hurt or worse, cast a loud, "Protego!" However, her reflexes not being quite as good as other duelers, Bertie was already on the ground by the time she had cast. She almost swore outloud when her Protego bounced a spell aimed at her back at the caster. Suddenly she wasn’t protecting Bertie, she was being attacked. Attacked. She saw Hector coming up on her left and felt at least somewhat better. Though inexperienced, the greater the number, the greater their chance of success. Also a greater chance of their failure, but she didn’t allow herself to think that. She spun, changing her angle and faced the Austrian who had attacked her. It seemed like hours had past since he cast his first spell, but she knew (somewhere in the back of her mind) it had only been a matter of seconds, if not less. "Obscuro! Expelliarmus!" She didn’t run toward her attack her, nor did she run away, but she firmly planted her feet, ready for whatever the bastard sent at her. Hopefully. Jäger had been heading into the main heat of the battle when he had to make a detour due to the Austrian bombs that destroyed his path. As he made his detour, he saw two of his own dueling three stragglers. Mere children, but he didn’t like the odds of three against two. Something he had learned very early on was that you never trusted what you saw. Someone who looked inexperienced could be a lethal dueler. He curled his lip and cast confringo at the ground in front of the last of the stragglers, blowing a crater into the ground and throwing dirt, grass, and other earthly sediments everywhere. He followed it with a quick Stupefy and then sprinted forward, ready to finish the job. Pathetic. Ludwig threw up a shielding spell just for good measure, but the hex bounced off the edge of the shield, nowhere near an area that might have actually ended up hitting him. Maybe he had picked too easy a target but all the better for the rest of them. Aiming at the redhead's ankles, Ludwig fired off an Incarcerous followed by an Expelliarmus aimed at his wand hand. Restrained and unarmed, he wouldn't be a threat. And then he could move on to helping dispatch the other two Brits. They had run headlong into a real battle. Bertie was down, Elsie was desperately trying to protect herself and get the upperhand, and the explosion of dirt, rock, and grass in front of him was enough to cause Hector to instinctively throw himself back, flat onto the ground, his heels skidding into the dirt to keep from falling into the void left in the explosion. The stunner luckily soared right over his head, but the pound of feet echoing on the ground alerted Hector to the fact that he wasn't out of the woods yet. The list of combat spells that they'd learned over the years in duelling ran through his head, but Hector knew all too well that he was not fit to try and battle it out that way. So instead, he leveled his wand at the ground beyond the hole, casting an Aguamenti followed by a Glacius charm, creating an ice slick directly into the hole that his opponent had already made himself. Bertie wasn’t expecting the Incarcerous at all and the ropes quickly wound themselves around his ankles, sending him toppling to the ground yet again. Not such a bad result when a second spell went whizzing through the air where he had been standing but the falling itself had winded him badly and the ropes were getting tighter and tighter around his ankles and that hurt! He made a small sound of pain as he pointed his wand at Ludwig and tried a Bat-Bogey Hex. This time, since the hex was one Bertie personally found hilarious, he was far more accurate. He then turned his wand on the still-tightening ropes and desperately worked to free himself. "Help?" he said as he worked, knowing that Elsie nor Hector might be too busy to assist him. Viktor threw up a shield and watched with a snide smirk as the spells the girl had cast smacked into them. Ha! See? He was so much better than these puny English. Then again he was facing a mere girl so that was no great surprise. He narrowed his eyes and decided that there was no point playing around and that it was time to end this so he could move onto more challenging opponents. He pointed his wand at Elsie and barked, "Confringo. Incendio." Elsie, though standing at the ready, was not prepared nor aware how to block the two spells heading toward her. In a moment of shere panic, she froze, and the first spell hit her square in the chest. She went flying backwards, at the very least 5 metres, and landed hard on her back. She heard an echoed crack and knew, instantly, that at least 2 of her ribs were cracked. The extraordinary pain confirmed her in-field diagnosis, and she found herself lucky only in the fact that the second spell went flying past her and slammed into a tree behind. It burst into flames, but at least she wasn’t bursting into flames. Somehow, amid the pain and the roaring sounds of battle she heard Bertie’s cry. Her eyes, wet with tears from the pain of her ribs, spied the ropes wrapping around his legs, and with a focus that even she could not believe, she cast Diffindo at the ropes, her accuracy somewhat shocking given everything else. However, she couldn’t revel in that as she had an Austrian bearing down on her, and she cast a finger-removing jinx, followed by a jelly-legs -- two rather juvenile spells, but ones that came quickly to her pain-riddled mind. Painfully, she pushed herself to standing and tried to make her way to Bertie. Jäger sneered at the child’s attempt to trip him up and merely stopped running before the large ice slick that had been created for him. He hissed an incarcerous to tie up the child, and then saw as not too far behind the English brat a tree burst into flames. A sinister grin slipped across his face and he cast a quick set of spells that separated one of the burning limbs from the tree and sent it flying at his opponent. With his disarming spell having gone sour, Ludwig had been prepared for another spell to come his way, but the timing had caught him off guard, his shielding going up a second too late that the hex hit him square in the face. The flock of mucus bats that assaulted his face provoked Ludwig to raise his hands in defence, wand waving aimlessly over his head as he fired off relashio after relashio to try and dispurse the creatures. Finally getting enough room around his head to cast the counterspell, Ludwig's attention snapped to the girl coming to the redhead's aid, a glare infusing his features. How dare she meddle in things that were not her concern. Firing off a slicing hex her way, Ludwig turned his attention back to the redhead, casting a volley of stunners towards him in the hopes that one of them might hit their mark. The expression that crossed Hector's face as the Austrian stopped in his tracks was one of annoyance more than fear. "Oh, come on!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. This was worse than duelling class. Even when he used things that he could work, everything seemed to be against him. The incarcerous spell fired at him just made things all that much worse as his attempt at a depulso fell flat, only deflecting the ropes by a hair, causing them to snag his ankles rather than his leg. Scratching at the ground, kicking his legs to try and get free, the branch caught him by surprise, the momentarily contact with his skin searing until a quick flame-freezing charm knock it down to a tickle with only the ghost of former pain and a few first degree burns. Shoving the branch to his side, sitting up and lashing into the ropes with a diffindo, Hector scrambled to his feet. They really had to get out of here. Bertie’s eyes widened when he saw Elsie get hit and the a nearby tree burst into flames. This was far too much, far far too much. Elsie’s Diffindo went wide but it didn’t matter. The panic and fear that had finally overwhelmed Bertie’s recklessness had given his aim and spellcasting a bit of a boost and he finished cutting through the ropes just in time to see the volley of sparks coming towards him. He didn’t bother to try and fight them, he simply scrambled out of their way then got to his feet... only to promptly fall over again as his ankles shot waves of excruciating pain up his legs. He glanced over his shoulder at the Austrians and got to his feet anyway, hobbling painfully over to meet Elsie. "Let’s go!" he said, his eyes as wide as saucers now absolutely, completely and fully aware of just how much he wasn’t cut out to be a soldier. He looked over at Hector. "Hector! Let’s get out of here!" Viktor grinned when his first spell struck the girl but he was disappointed when that meant that the second missed. Still, he’d had some success and he was filled with triumph as he batted the first of the girl’s retaliatory spells away. His pride and hubris however meant that he didn’t see the second spell until it hit and his legs suddenly turned to jelly underneath him. He coloured the air with foul language, mostly directed at himself, and ended the spell with a Finite. He then glared at the girl as he pointed his wand at her and shouted, "Ossisverso!" Elsie wasn’t paying attention to the Austrian attacking Bertie anymore, just relieved that her jelly-legs had hit the one attacking her. The slicing hex skirted across her face, leaving a knife-like slash across the apple of her cheek. Her hand went up to her cheek and she looked down at the blood, strangely disturbed by it simply because it was her own rather than blood in general. But then the thin, dark blue stream of light slammed into her left arm and it was pain unlike anything she had ever known. The scream that was ripped from her lungs was involuntary, and everything went white for a moment as she tumbled to her knees. Her ulna began to twist and crackle as the bone wrenched in opposite directions. She managed to come to her senses somewhat and shot off four haphazard stunners toward the Austrian, not knowing if she was anywhere near him, but just wanting the pain to stop. She didn’t even hear the cries of her comrades around her, but knew that if she didn’t get out of here, she was going to die. A snort of laughter and Jäger was making his way around the frozen crater in the ground. Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Saevio Verbera. He was cocky and the spells weren’t even cast well. The three little English children were scared and starting to scatter, and Jäger wanted nothing more than to physically feel his opponent’s life disappear under his hands. Any other time, Hector probably would have ended up dead. In duelling class, they were forced to stand and fight, to take what was being dished out no matter whether they could take it or not. Turning and running had never been an option, but right now, it was one that he took gladly, especially when his wand was ripped out of his hand. Flattening himself on the ground to avoid the stunner, Hector was crawling towards his wand when he something large connect with his back, sending him flying forward, head over heels and face into the dirt. Several simultaneous cracks and crunches in his face, shoulder, back, and chest as well as the blood that was now coating his face left Hector baffled and lightheaded as he groped under his back for his wand. Landing on it could hardly have been good for it, but it still seemed to be on one piece at least. Swimming in his vision, Hector pushed himself to his feet and ran, determined to get back to the camp before any hope of retreat was cut off. Elsie’s screams ripped through the fog of his mind, though, forcing his attention back towards her and the Austrian that had his wand trained on her. With a swish and a flick, several of the rocks littered across the ground levitated into the air only to be followed by an Oppugno and set rocketing towards the Austrian’s head. Ludwig scoffed. It was just like a Brit to run, taking lessons from their French cousins, no doubt. With a sneer, he raised his wand, uncaring of the fact that Bertie currently had his back to him, and fired off a slicing hex and an incendio at him before flanking him with a volley of blasting curses. Bertie never saw the slicing hex coming because he was too busy staring at the screaming Elsie with utter horror as her arm just twisted so unnaturally. The hex hits him hard in the left shoulder, opening up a deep slash and throwing him forward onto the ground. He cried out in pain and he was horrified to find he could feel the blood flowing from the wound. He yelped again when a tree not far from he and Elsie suddenly burst into flames from the second spell that had been aimed at him. He’d had enough. He didn’t care about the Austrians anymore though he took one brief moment to cast a poorly aimed Stupefy in their direction. He’d been so stupid even to come out here in the first place. He got to his knees and looked over at Elsie, suddenly wishing he could apparate. But he couldn’t so he pointed his wand at her and in a shaking voice said, "Levicorpus." He figured that if the spell worked, he could grab her floating body and just drag her out of her and hopefully Hector would help. Viktor was feeling triumphant. He would have a great victory against these weakling English and he would be reassigned to a better unit, he could see it now. In fact he was so busy seeing the elite unit he would be assigned to that he almost missed the rocks that were flying towards him and he barely got a shield up in time. Even so, he was pelted with a few that got past his spell and he snarled in anger as he stalked towards the children. He would close in and deal with them personally. The distraction of the rocks hitting Viktor released the spell, and her bone stopped wrenching in wrong directions. Elsie made certain not to look at her hand which was at an extraordinarily weird angle in regard to her arm, and Bertie’s spell, though weak, at least got her onto her feet. Pain still coursing through her veins, it also caused her adrenaline to go into overdrive. She took off sprinting, grabbing Bertie and taking off toward Hector. She noticed the blood on the back of his uniform and her training, her real training, kicked in. As they passed Hector (She shouted "come on!" as they did), she slowed ever so slightly behind Bertie and cast Suo Derma. It wasn’t her best work, but it at least would slow the flow of blood until they got to safety. This fight was futile for them, and she was not about to allow any of them to die out here. "East or west?" Elsie breathlessly cried out to them both, "east or west?!" Jäger was going to cast a spell to slow them, but seeing Viktor stalking after them as well simply reaffirmed his own belief that he wanted to end these Brits personally. However, they began to run, quick little bastards, and he swore under his breath, bowed his head, and took off running. He would catch up with them. He wanted the satisfaction of tackling. Pinning. Strangling. He wanted their lives and magic, at the moment, was not going to sate his bloodlust. Hector didn’t hesitate, taking off after the three of them as he tossed a couple Rictusempra spells behind his back, not even worrying about aiming them, as they raced back towards the main areas of the camp. Anything, anything was better than being out in the open, and right now, all Hector wanted was the possibility of not dying. He’d made it this far. He didn’t see why he couldn’t manage the rest of it. Ludwig scowled after the British soldiers. Cowards. Utter cowards. They were all running, and with his comrades following them, Ludwig fell into step as well, chasing after the three young British soldiers with the intent to make sure that it was three less that they would have to deal with next time. "East! It’s closer!" Bertie gasped. He’d decided he didn’t like this war thing at all. His ankles and legs hurt, his shoulder hurt even more though whatever Elsie had done had made it feel a little better and his whole body hurt from falling down. He just wanted to get out of here, get away, except when he looked over his shoulder he could see that the Austrians were following them. That was so unfair! They were running away! Couldn’t the Austrians see that? Why didn’t they go and fight someone else? He kept running... or rather more really fast limping... and pointed his wand over his shoulder at the Austrians, concentrating fiercely and gasping out a Trip Jinx. Viktor smiled cruelly as all three of them English started to run and his comrades joined him. This should be an entertaining interlude before they found more worthy opposition. Elsie breathlessly nodded and turned, pain throbbing throughout her entire body with every hard step on the ground, but knowing that if she didn’t continue to put one foot in front of the other, she wouldn’t survive this battle. She glanced behind her to make sure Bertie and Hector weren’t far behind, and she nearly burst into laughter as she saw the shelter come into sight. But, but the Austrians. They couldn’t be led to the shelter! Just as she was about to turn around to stop and fight, she heard Bertie gasp his Trip Jinx and she glanced over her shoulder to make sure it worked. Jäger was enjoying the run, and they were gaining on the children. What he hadn’t expected though was the juvenile jinx. His feet suddenly skirted out from under him, and he went tumbling head over heels, finally sprawling in front of his comrades’ pounding feet. He winced, knowing this was going to hurt. Either they were going to trample over him, or fall on him -- and it wasn’t going to be pretty. Ludwig didn’t have time to stop. He tried, but he ended up twisted up in his own feet and tumbled down on top of Jager, and a minute later, Viktor piled on top of him. Tangled and struggling, Ludwig shouted, cursed, fought until the three of them had turned all of the rage that had been building from the kids they had been chasing onto each other. Hector exhaled at the sight of the pile of red, groping and fighting, the sound of what he could only assume were foul words hitting his ears as he turned to Elsie and Bertie with a slight laugh, "That. Was lucky."
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