Patrollogs
Tabithas Ghost Banishing 241014
On a tumultuous afternoon at Arkwright Cemetery, a group led by Tabitha grapples with an unexpected surge of dark, demonic forces. The air fills with the scent of brimstone and black mist, coalescing into menacing, horned creatures with red eyes. As these apparitions begin to solidify their threat, the group springs into action. Nico considers physical confrontation, while Novel gleefully anticipates the battle. Irene, despite her initial fear and unfamiliarity with magic, steps up to support the team, suggesting they might need more firepower. Tabitha, with practiced calm and a hint of resignation to the unfolding chaos, prepares her arsenal of herbs and spells, signaling the start of their spectral skirmish.
The confrontation escalates quickly with the appearance of a massive, sword-wielding smoke demon. Nico and Irene physically engage the creature to protect Tabitha, allowing her to continue her ritualistic chanting and blood sacrifice. Novel, embracing the chaos, battles the swarm of smoke demons with fervor, his blade cutting through them only for them to reform. Amid the fray, Tabitha remains focused, her spellcasting reaching a critical climax as she declares her blood a sacrifice for the safety of her companions, binding the malevolent spirits. Just as the air grows thick, stealing breath from the lungs of the living, Tabitha's spell culminates in a powerful expulsion of magic. In a moment of climactic release, the smoke and demons are vanquished, leaving the graveyard peaceful once more, their unity and tenacity having turned the tide against the darkness enveloping Arkwright Cemetery.
(Tabitha's ghost banishing)
[Sun Oct 13 2024]
On the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery
It is afternoon, about 58F(14C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds.
There is the sudden smell of brimstone that fills the area, and along with a rising, black mist: smoke, coiling along the surface of the graveyard. It seems to form strange whorls and shapes, and as they draw close to %n they begin to look more and more like creatures -- horned creatures, with red eyes full of menace.
Nico rolls his shoulders, shaking his head. "Eh, copper's close enough to iron..." His gaze suddenly snaps towards the spirit, raising his fists. "Or not. One of y'all, figure out how we're getting rid of it. Worst to worst, I can be a body."
Novel answers Nico with a firm, "No, you'll just end up shooting me in the back, you asshole. And that happens to me often enough." He waves energetically at Tabitha. "Hey, Tabi!" And then he steps up to... talk to her bodyguards?? There's a whole complicated thing of hand gestures, slapping, and fist bumping and a huge frin from his features - and then, glee, as he draws away. "Oh, fuck yes. Something for me to actually FIGHT."
The sight of those horned, red-eyed creatures has Irene visibly spooked. She backs up a little closer to Novel, rubbing her hands up and down her fuzzy maroon arms. "You know, umm ... maybe a rifle wouldn't be a bad idea? Whatever that is looks ... Well it doesn't look normal, does it?" She glances over at Novel to check. "Is that normal?"
Tabitha chuckles faintly at herself, an upnod given then Novel and his companion, Irene. "He is an awful driver," she agrees. She pulls out a bag of goodies from her tote. A leather pouch full of pleasantly smelling herbs. It at least helps to cover up some of the brimstone. "Oh... another one of these...." She mumbles, "Perfect."
Some figure forms in the smoke: tall, it has twisted horns and red eyes. It levels a gnarled finger at Tabitha, beginning to chant in an unknown language as the air begins to crackle with magic. Immediately, Tabitha can feel something like a vise closing on their heart.
Irene stares towards the demonic figures in the smoke with abject alarm, raising her thick, dark eyebrows. "What the fuck," she states. "Umm, what do we do? I don't know any magic! Someone tell me what to do? I'll listen this time."
"It is not normal. It is not just a manisfestation of someone's soul. This ... lacked a soul in life." Tabitha points at someone in return and calls to the Maiden, Mother and Crone. But the words are crushed from her lungs and she stumbles backward, then down to a knee. Wheezing she says. "Two... two can play that game."
"It is not normal. It is not just a manisfestation of someone's soul. This ... lacked a soul in life." Tabitha points at the demon in return and calls to the Maiden, Mother and Crone. But the words are crushed from her lungs and she stumbles backward, then down to a knee. Wheezing she says. "Two... two can play that game."
Novel flashes a grin at Tabitha and Irene, "I know!" And then he's lunging right at the twisted forms, his feet thud-thudding across the grass and then launching himself off the brimstones to tackle the figure. He disappears into a wrestling form of mayhem and violence, briefly freeing Tabitha. There's a glittering flash of a knife. "Just fucking - keep them off while she does her magic shit to get rid of them!" Though it seems he's having trouble as sometimes his blows land, and othertimes he just passes through them.
Nico shifts in front of Tabitha, unsure of whatever the spirit is doing, exactly. "When in doubt? Body-block the one who seems like they know what they're doing, so they have time to work." He speaks to Irene, though his gaze is on the goat demon thing.
Irene watches Novel charge into the smoke and brimstone, but she does not follow him quite that far. She stays back, staring in alarm. Nico's words register a few seconds later, and she hesitantly approaches someone with her arms spread out, trying to serve as a body-shield against the soulless spirits that have been named. "Are those ... are those demons?" she asks, in a subtle Hispanic accent.
From her knelt position, blocked some by Nico now, Tabitha pulls out a blade and jams it into the soil so as to start carving out a runic symbol into the earth. "When I begin to chant, I want you to repeat it with me. For the time being, if you know of any prayer, for protection, I suggest you start saying it now," she says to Irene and Novel, raspy as her breath was forced from her. She's pale from the heart palpatations.
Irene watches Novel charge into the smoke and brimstone, but she does not follow him quite that far. She stays back, staring in alarm. Nico's words register a few seconds later, and she hesitantly approaches Tabitha with her arms spread out, trying to serve as a body-shield against the soulless spirits that have been named. "Are those ... are those demons?" she asks, in a subtle Hispanic accent.
From the smoky mist, a circle of hooded figures seem to approach, chanting in unison. At first, they seem to be living people, but as they draw closer to Tabitha it becomes clear they are smoke monsters themselves. They reach out as their chants increase in volume, and it is as if they are sucking the air out of the lungs of everyone present.
Nico nods sharply, wincing as he takes some of the ghost-based cardiac fuckery, a hand coming to his chest. Taking three sharp breaths, he glances over her shoulder long enough to nod to Tabitha. "Got it." Refocusing on the spirit, he speaks to Irene again. "Questions later, fucking goat thing now. Stay behind m- Throw something at those fucking chanters! Novel... Do your thing." He doesn't seem to have noticed Berlin's entrance, evidently already in three places at once, mentally.
Tabitha wets her lips and nods to Irene. "Yes. It was probably a servant of Legion when Legion tried to put its claw around Haven... Nasty little thing too." She watches Novel run right into the brimstone and inhales sharply. "I would ask for its name, but they are never very forthcoming." The last of this is said like her air is running out of her lungs and she struggles to get air. But even though she's unable to speak further, she continues to carve a circle, then a pentacle within, "Set something of yours at each point," she requests those who are present.
When Tabitha says to pray, Irene looks between her and the others with some measure of reluctance, but she dips her head to signal her assent. Her prayers are not spoken out loud, but in her heart. She silently moves her lips, and clasps a hand over her chest, where she seems to be gripping something. Anyone who's particularly perceptive, paying close attention to her for whatever reason, might notice a sterling silver chain wrapped around her neck. The pendant it bears is hidden under her jumper, and she keeps it there, gripping it through the fabric. She prays fervently, closing her eyes briefly, until Nico offers a change of instructions. Nodding her head, she looks around for something to throw, finds a stone, and hurls that towards the shrouded figures.
Novel cuts the through of one smoke demon, brawling in it and out. His body appears and disappears, a surging, cutting thing, a contrast of color in the splash of darkness. Far from being upset, though, he seems to revel in it, not needing Nico's further encouragement with a maniacal grin spread across his features as his weapon dances in hand. Slash, slice, some demons and entities and hooded figures being cut down, only to join the smoke and re-form elsewhere. A gagging noise, a choking, gasping, even as he plunges his blade again into another figure, causing it to collapse.
Berlin has just left a Sunday archives session, spotting the group on the hillside and deciding to venture closer. When he sees Tabitha drawing, and Novel seeming to fight the air though, he pauses. Deciding to think better of it. He gives his head a little shake, not venturing closer and disturbing whatever is going on.
A hot wind blows through the cemetery, and with it comes sibilant whispers in the ears of Tabitha and all their companions: they promise depraved, decadent desires fulfilled, and for a moment that's all anyone can focus on.
Nico reaches down, untying his shirt from around his waist and letting it fall in a pile behind him, conveniently positioned in front of the uppermost point. "Tab, do your thing." He leans down, whipping a rock like one would a grenade at the line of smoky chanters. He pauses as a rush of depraved emotions flow through him, damn near visible across his face.
"Had I known that it'd be this..." Tabitha says to Nico, "I would have said yes, get your rifle, there Sammie." She finally stands, and after cleaning her blade free of soil, she cuts through her hand, letting the scent of the blood and the sacrifice of it draw whatever of the demonic forces she can. The blood drips into the crude runic carving she'd made. Novel continues to hack and slash through the beasts, only to find that they just form again, despite his efforts, and luckily for Irene, whatever it is she is whispering has kept her safe-ish.
The promise of decadent desires has Irene suddenly blushing, but still she prays. She finds another stone to throw, and pushing aside these dirty distractions, she hurls this one too, at the back of demonic shadow creature. "Not today, Satan," she tells these sexy spirit seducers.
Nico squeezes his eyes shut for a long moment, letting the emotions run their course, before he snaps his gaze back to the chanters. "You might have a point there, fuckers, but... Fuck off!" Another rock is sent spiraling after the first, doing little more than making the man feel a little better about it.
Novel does not seem to mind. In fact - at those whispers, there's a sudden vigor. A violence. The gnashing of teeth, the grip of hand, the grappling of nonexistence flesh, a terrible glee filling his features as he tumbles and rolls and gets involved in that crawling smoke that surrounds and chokes, as he makes no efforts to resist what he feels. And, if someone gets in the way, they might also get a knife.
"I should have known..." Tabitha says, her breath no longer breathy as if ripped from her, but for much less apparent reasons. She shakes her head, trying to clear the cobwebs from it, from the evil whispers of the demons, and ... well, who can say, but her, and she is not! "I had a dream this morning. Legion is still creeping around the edges of town. And I won't stand for it!" She shifts her weight, and is eyeballing Nico for a few long seconds.
Out of the smoke charges an armed and armored warrior, spun out of black mist. He is dressed head to toe in archaic plate armor, wielding some huge, two-handed sword as black as his armor. With a roar, he rushes at Tabitha, swinging the sword in some attempt to cut off their head.
Nico barrels forward at the charging warrior, meeting it's charge with his shoulder. A hand comes up, clamping onto that sword arm, and driving it off-target. "Oh no the fuck you don't! Spooky fuck!" Whether or not he's actually doing anything to it is entirely up for debate, but knocking it off course and keeping it distracted seems to be good enough for him, "Right here, dickhead!"
Irene, who had been sticking closest to Tabitha as a shield amid all this chaos, now opts to try and charge the armed and armoured warrior, throwing herself full-bodied into the black mist with a hazy, incomprehensible battle-cry. From underneath her jumper, she draws a hidden knife. Why she hadn't used it before is anyone's guess; it appears to have been a last resort, which she deems that this situation calls for.
Tabitha shrieks suddenly when the smoke demon charges and tries to cut off her head. She raises her hands up as if that is going to save her, forearms.... Good call! Of course, there is no lasting damage though there is some ghostly remnant of where a brimstone sword had made contact. She lowers her arms then and makes a fist so that her blood drips again between her fingers. There is a low chant from her, deep and dark, dark as the smoke that envelops the team. It is only for the assistance of Irene, Novel, and Nico to distract that she is able to refocus. She opens her eyes to look at each, those words rising in volume, in determination. "I will not fall into the trap and call on Lucifer. I will not request Bezelbub. You can not trick me again!" Again, and again, and again.
Novel is right ontop of the warrior in a heartbeat, the blade cascading through the air, attempting to clamp through it's back and fall through. Slashing, slicing, dragging the warrior down as Irene and Nico get in the way while his own blade is lodged into a sensitive armpit. The three of them, working together, making the warrior struggle, writhe, before collapsing back into so much smoke with the rest of the group. Instead of looking stressed? He looks delighted.
With a howl, some kind of winged monkey-demon swoops down near Tabitha, its body made of living smoke. It's all grasping claws, striking hard to leave psychic scars that hurt like deep slashes. Other monkeys attack anyone nearby, with similar screeching, rending claws.
Irene had charged in to assist in defending Tabitha, knives out; but with Novel and Nico rapidly joining the fray to defend the witch, the raven-haired gal evidently thinks the better of it, and slips her knife back away. Perhaps no one noticed it amid all the chaos? She's got quick fingers. She instead uses her body, first to try and pin the warrior, then to secure its legs while the men handle the bulk of the dirty work.
Novel is distracted with his own unleashed barrel of monkeys, howling, "FUCK YES," And grimacing in pain and the injuries that he cannot simply ignore like he usually does, slashing, stabbing back, his blade flickering and dancing - his will and decisiveness and belief that the blade can cut, and so it does, rendering them into so much foggy fart clouds that smell quite foul.
Nico lets out a roar as he charges at the warrior, but keeps his eyes around, searching for additional threats. Sure as shit, when the Wicked Witch of the West summons the flying monkeys, he starts to call it out... But bites it off, seeing as Novel's having entirely too much fun. Yeah, better just to let him handle it. And so, he repositions himself in front of Tabitha.
Tabitha ducks when she is attacked by winged monkeys in some horrific rendition of Wizard of Oz, slashes showing up on her skin in thick red lines, but there is no blood. She gasps, and tears up. "Leave us be." Leave /her/ be. That is really what it is, isn't it? "I'll... never..." Never. What. It is not said. But she then slams her palm, wet and slick with her blood, down into the center of her crudely carved pentacle. "I give my blood as sacrifice that no one here will be harmed. I bind thee! I bind thee! I bind thee!" Spoken in threes. Maiden, Mother, Crone.
From the smoky mist, a circle of hooded figures seem to approach, chanting in unison. At first, they seem to be living people, but as they draw closer to Tabitha it becomes clear they are smoke monsters themselves. They reach out as their chants increase in volume, and it is as if they are sucking the air out of the lungs of everyone present.
"Ah!" Irene lets out a pained yell. It's not from the violence, but from the screech of those flying, smoky monkeys. Covering her ears in pain, she starts to back up from the fray, choking, coughing, gasping for air. "I can't ... breathe ..."
Tabitha's face pales again once the air begins to be sucked from the room, her stomach sinking inward and, where they showing, pressing against her ribs. She struggles for a breath, hand now at her throat, as the beasts try their damnedest at trying to stop her from completing her spell. She claws at her throat a moment, leaving a streak of her blood across it.
The smell of smoke seems to peak, and then, with a rush of magical power, it's gone. The smoke monsters in the cemetery disappear, banished -- fading away as wisps of mist in the air around $n.
The confrontation escalates quickly with the appearance of a massive, sword-wielding smoke demon. Nico and Irene physically engage the creature to protect Tabitha, allowing her to continue her ritualistic chanting and blood sacrifice. Novel, embracing the chaos, battles the swarm of smoke demons with fervor, his blade cutting through them only for them to reform. Amid the fray, Tabitha remains focused, her spellcasting reaching a critical climax as she declares her blood a sacrifice for the safety of her companions, binding the malevolent spirits. Just as the air grows thick, stealing breath from the lungs of the living, Tabitha's spell culminates in a powerful expulsion of magic. In a moment of climactic release, the smoke and demons are vanquished, leaving the graveyard peaceful once more, their unity and tenacity having turned the tide against the darkness enveloping Arkwright Cemetery.
(Tabitha's ghost banishing)
[Sun Oct 13 2024]
On the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery
It is afternoon, about 58F(14C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds.
There is the sudden smell of brimstone that fills the area, and along with a rising, black mist: smoke, coiling along the surface of the graveyard. It seems to form strange whorls and shapes, and as they draw close to %n they begin to look more and more like creatures -- horned creatures, with red eyes full of menace.
Nico rolls his shoulders, shaking his head. "Eh, copper's close enough to iron..." His gaze suddenly snaps towards the spirit, raising his fists. "Or not. One of y'all, figure out how we're getting rid of it. Worst to worst, I can be a body."
Novel answers Nico with a firm, "No, you'll just end up shooting me in the back, you asshole. And that happens to me often enough." He waves energetically at Tabitha. "Hey, Tabi!" And then he steps up to... talk to her bodyguards?? There's a whole complicated thing of hand gestures, slapping, and fist bumping and a huge frin from his features - and then, glee, as he draws away. "Oh, fuck yes. Something for me to actually FIGHT."
The sight of those horned, red-eyed creatures has Irene visibly spooked. She backs up a little closer to Novel, rubbing her hands up and down her fuzzy maroon arms. "You know, umm ... maybe a rifle wouldn't be a bad idea? Whatever that is looks ... Well it doesn't look normal, does it?" She glances over at Novel to check. "Is that normal?"
Tabitha chuckles faintly at herself, an upnod given then Novel and his companion, Irene. "He is an awful driver," she agrees. She pulls out a bag of goodies from her tote. A leather pouch full of pleasantly smelling herbs. It at least helps to cover up some of the brimstone. "Oh... another one of these...." She mumbles, "Perfect."
Some figure forms in the smoke: tall, it has twisted horns and red eyes. It levels a gnarled finger at Tabitha, beginning to chant in an unknown language as the air begins to crackle with magic. Immediately, Tabitha can feel something like a vise closing on their heart.
Irene stares towards the demonic figures in the smoke with abject alarm, raising her thick, dark eyebrows. "What the fuck," she states. "Umm, what do we do? I don't know any magic! Someone tell me what to do? I'll listen this time."
"It is not normal. It is not just a manisfestation of someone's soul. This ... lacked a soul in life." Tabitha points at someone in return and calls to the Maiden, Mother and Crone. But the words are crushed from her lungs and she stumbles backward, then down to a knee. Wheezing she says. "Two... two can play that game."
"It is not normal. It is not just a manisfestation of someone's soul. This ... lacked a soul in life." Tabitha points at the demon in return and calls to the Maiden, Mother and Crone. But the words are crushed from her lungs and she stumbles backward, then down to a knee. Wheezing she says. "Two... two can play that game."
Novel flashes a grin at Tabitha and Irene, "I know!" And then he's lunging right at the twisted forms, his feet thud-thudding across the grass and then launching himself off the brimstones to tackle the figure. He disappears into a wrestling form of mayhem and violence, briefly freeing Tabitha. There's a glittering flash of a knife. "Just fucking - keep them off while she does her magic shit to get rid of them!" Though it seems he's having trouble as sometimes his blows land, and othertimes he just passes through them.
Nico shifts in front of Tabitha, unsure of whatever the spirit is doing, exactly. "When in doubt? Body-block the one who seems like they know what they're doing, so they have time to work." He speaks to Irene, though his gaze is on the goat demon thing.
Irene watches Novel charge into the smoke and brimstone, but she does not follow him quite that far. She stays back, staring in alarm. Nico's words register a few seconds later, and she hesitantly approaches someone with her arms spread out, trying to serve as a body-shield against the soulless spirits that have been named. "Are those ... are those demons?" she asks, in a subtle Hispanic accent.
From her knelt position, blocked some by Nico now, Tabitha pulls out a blade and jams it into the soil so as to start carving out a runic symbol into the earth. "When I begin to chant, I want you to repeat it with me. For the time being, if you know of any prayer, for protection, I suggest you start saying it now," she says to Irene and Novel, raspy as her breath was forced from her. She's pale from the heart palpatations.
Irene watches Novel charge into the smoke and brimstone, but she does not follow him quite that far. She stays back, staring in alarm. Nico's words register a few seconds later, and she hesitantly approaches Tabitha with her arms spread out, trying to serve as a body-shield against the soulless spirits that have been named. "Are those ... are those demons?" she asks, in a subtle Hispanic accent.
From the smoky mist, a circle of hooded figures seem to approach, chanting in unison. At first, they seem to be living people, but as they draw closer to Tabitha it becomes clear they are smoke monsters themselves. They reach out as their chants increase in volume, and it is as if they are sucking the air out of the lungs of everyone present.
Nico nods sharply, wincing as he takes some of the ghost-based cardiac fuckery, a hand coming to his chest. Taking three sharp breaths, he glances over her shoulder long enough to nod to Tabitha. "Got it." Refocusing on the spirit, he speaks to Irene again. "Questions later, fucking goat thing now. Stay behind m- Throw something at those fucking chanters! Novel... Do your thing." He doesn't seem to have noticed Berlin's entrance, evidently already in three places at once, mentally.
Tabitha wets her lips and nods to Irene. "Yes. It was probably a servant of Legion when Legion tried to put its claw around Haven... Nasty little thing too." She watches Novel run right into the brimstone and inhales sharply. "I would ask for its name, but they are never very forthcoming." The last of this is said like her air is running out of her lungs and she struggles to get air. But even though she's unable to speak further, she continues to carve a circle, then a pentacle within, "Set something of yours at each point," she requests those who are present.
When Tabitha says to pray, Irene looks between her and the others with some measure of reluctance, but she dips her head to signal her assent. Her prayers are not spoken out loud, but in her heart. She silently moves her lips, and clasps a hand over her chest, where she seems to be gripping something. Anyone who's particularly perceptive, paying close attention to her for whatever reason, might notice a sterling silver chain wrapped around her neck. The pendant it bears is hidden under her jumper, and she keeps it there, gripping it through the fabric. She prays fervently, closing her eyes briefly, until Nico offers a change of instructions. Nodding her head, she looks around for something to throw, finds a stone, and hurls that towards the shrouded figures.
Novel cuts the through of one smoke demon, brawling in it and out. His body appears and disappears, a surging, cutting thing, a contrast of color in the splash of darkness. Far from being upset, though, he seems to revel in it, not needing Nico's further encouragement with a maniacal grin spread across his features as his weapon dances in hand. Slash, slice, some demons and entities and hooded figures being cut down, only to join the smoke and re-form elsewhere. A gagging noise, a choking, gasping, even as he plunges his blade again into another figure, causing it to collapse.
Berlin has just left a Sunday archives session, spotting the group on the hillside and deciding to venture closer. When he sees Tabitha drawing, and Novel seeming to fight the air though, he pauses. Deciding to think better of it. He gives his head a little shake, not venturing closer and disturbing whatever is going on.
A hot wind blows through the cemetery, and with it comes sibilant whispers in the ears of Tabitha and all their companions: they promise depraved, decadent desires fulfilled, and for a moment that's all anyone can focus on.
Nico reaches down, untying his shirt from around his waist and letting it fall in a pile behind him, conveniently positioned in front of the uppermost point. "Tab, do your thing." He leans down, whipping a rock like one would a grenade at the line of smoky chanters. He pauses as a rush of depraved emotions flow through him, damn near visible across his face.
"Had I known that it'd be this..." Tabitha says to Nico, "I would have said yes, get your rifle, there Sammie." She finally stands, and after cleaning her blade free of soil, she cuts through her hand, letting the scent of the blood and the sacrifice of it draw whatever of the demonic forces she can. The blood drips into the crude runic carving she'd made. Novel continues to hack and slash through the beasts, only to find that they just form again, despite his efforts, and luckily for Irene, whatever it is she is whispering has kept her safe-ish.
The promise of decadent desires has Irene suddenly blushing, but still she prays. She finds another stone to throw, and pushing aside these dirty distractions, she hurls this one too, at the back of demonic shadow creature. "Not today, Satan," she tells these sexy spirit seducers.
Nico squeezes his eyes shut for a long moment, letting the emotions run their course, before he snaps his gaze back to the chanters. "You might have a point there, fuckers, but... Fuck off!" Another rock is sent spiraling after the first, doing little more than making the man feel a little better about it.
Novel does not seem to mind. In fact - at those whispers, there's a sudden vigor. A violence. The gnashing of teeth, the grip of hand, the grappling of nonexistence flesh, a terrible glee filling his features as he tumbles and rolls and gets involved in that crawling smoke that surrounds and chokes, as he makes no efforts to resist what he feels. And, if someone gets in the way, they might also get a knife.
"I should have known..." Tabitha says, her breath no longer breathy as if ripped from her, but for much less apparent reasons. She shakes her head, trying to clear the cobwebs from it, from the evil whispers of the demons, and ... well, who can say, but her, and she is not! "I had a dream this morning. Legion is still creeping around the edges of town. And I won't stand for it!" She shifts her weight, and is eyeballing Nico for a few long seconds.
Out of the smoke charges an armed and armored warrior, spun out of black mist. He is dressed head to toe in archaic plate armor, wielding some huge, two-handed sword as black as his armor. With a roar, he rushes at Tabitha, swinging the sword in some attempt to cut off their head.
Nico barrels forward at the charging warrior, meeting it's charge with his shoulder. A hand comes up, clamping onto that sword arm, and driving it off-target. "Oh no the fuck you don't! Spooky fuck!" Whether or not he's actually doing anything to it is entirely up for debate, but knocking it off course and keeping it distracted seems to be good enough for him, "Right here, dickhead!"
Irene, who had been sticking closest to Tabitha as a shield amid all this chaos, now opts to try and charge the armed and armoured warrior, throwing herself full-bodied into the black mist with a hazy, incomprehensible battle-cry. From underneath her jumper, she draws a hidden knife. Why she hadn't used it before is anyone's guess; it appears to have been a last resort, which she deems that this situation calls for.
Tabitha shrieks suddenly when the smoke demon charges and tries to cut off her head. She raises her hands up as if that is going to save her, forearms.... Good call! Of course, there is no lasting damage though there is some ghostly remnant of where a brimstone sword had made contact. She lowers her arms then and makes a fist so that her blood drips again between her fingers. There is a low chant from her, deep and dark, dark as the smoke that envelops the team. It is only for the assistance of Irene, Novel, and Nico to distract that she is able to refocus. She opens her eyes to look at each, those words rising in volume, in determination. "I will not fall into the trap and call on Lucifer. I will not request Bezelbub. You can not trick me again!" Again, and again, and again.
Novel is right ontop of the warrior in a heartbeat, the blade cascading through the air, attempting to clamp through it's back and fall through. Slashing, slicing, dragging the warrior down as Irene and Nico get in the way while his own blade is lodged into a sensitive armpit. The three of them, working together, making the warrior struggle, writhe, before collapsing back into so much smoke with the rest of the group. Instead of looking stressed? He looks delighted.
With a howl, some kind of winged monkey-demon swoops down near Tabitha, its body made of living smoke. It's all grasping claws, striking hard to leave psychic scars that hurt like deep slashes. Other monkeys attack anyone nearby, with similar screeching, rending claws.
Irene had charged in to assist in defending Tabitha, knives out; but with Novel and Nico rapidly joining the fray to defend the witch, the raven-haired gal evidently thinks the better of it, and slips her knife back away. Perhaps no one noticed it amid all the chaos? She's got quick fingers. She instead uses her body, first to try and pin the warrior, then to secure its legs while the men handle the bulk of the dirty work.
Novel is distracted with his own unleashed barrel of monkeys, howling, "FUCK YES," And grimacing in pain and the injuries that he cannot simply ignore like he usually does, slashing, stabbing back, his blade flickering and dancing - his will and decisiveness and belief that the blade can cut, and so it does, rendering them into so much foggy fart clouds that smell quite foul.
Nico lets out a roar as he charges at the warrior, but keeps his eyes around, searching for additional threats. Sure as shit, when the Wicked Witch of the West summons the flying monkeys, he starts to call it out... But bites it off, seeing as Novel's having entirely too much fun. Yeah, better just to let him handle it. And so, he repositions himself in front of Tabitha.
Tabitha ducks when she is attacked by winged monkeys in some horrific rendition of Wizard of Oz, slashes showing up on her skin in thick red lines, but there is no blood. She gasps, and tears up. "Leave us be." Leave /her/ be. That is really what it is, isn't it? "I'll... never..." Never. What. It is not said. But she then slams her palm, wet and slick with her blood, down into the center of her crudely carved pentacle. "I give my blood as sacrifice that no one here will be harmed. I bind thee! I bind thee! I bind thee!" Spoken in threes. Maiden, Mother, Crone.
From the smoky mist, a circle of hooded figures seem to approach, chanting in unison. At first, they seem to be living people, but as they draw closer to Tabitha it becomes clear they are smoke monsters themselves. They reach out as their chants increase in volume, and it is as if they are sucking the air out of the lungs of everyone present.
"Ah!" Irene lets out a pained yell. It's not from the violence, but from the screech of those flying, smoky monkeys. Covering her ears in pain, she starts to back up from the fray, choking, coughing, gasping for air. "I can't ... breathe ..."
Tabitha's face pales again once the air begins to be sucked from the room, her stomach sinking inward and, where they showing, pressing against her ribs. She struggles for a breath, hand now at her throat, as the beasts try their damnedest at trying to stop her from completing her spell. She claws at her throat a moment, leaving a streak of her blood across it.
The smell of smoke seems to peak, and then, with a rush of magical power, it's gone. The smoke monsters in the cemetery disappear, banished -- fading away as wisps of mist in the air around $n.