It pauses, looking confused.

From behind you, Casey whispers.

"This little girl lives with her grandmother, who is a redoubtable lady.  She cleans thoroughly, and each cleaning is a mental act of imposing order, and claiming territory, which makes it hard on the delpin.  Plus, she is a godly woman, and very strict, so much so that her grand daughter only has access to delpins of anger, and not those that often.  All other delpin fear to enter this house."

When Casey talks, his words bring the Dresden files books to mind. These people are making a home out of a house, and it makes it hard for delphins to enter. But not impossible.

I keep looking at the delphin of anger in front of me. "You're not invited into this home, delphin. Leave now." I take a step toward the delphin, then another, to see if the delphin gives any ground.

Snarl...

Lunge, and you bat aside the smoking black claw, but then other comes in to your chest, and you kick out desperately, denying him a solid strike, but still it scrapes across your ribs.

Black and white spots flare across your vision.

It chortles in malicious glee.

I try not to make any sounds of pain when I'm struck, and raise Rascal for another try. "Let's do this, Rascal."

This time, I focus on dodging. This delphin has a longer reach than I do, especially with the backwards sword grip. If he makes another swipe at me, I try to duck and roll beneath it, putting as much force in my legs as possible at the end to jump hard and slash the delphin up its belly.

A thrill runs through you, and the pain goes away.

1@1 Remove Pain for Duration of Combat. Magic.

The delphin comes in overhand, terrifying, his eyes burning, and you duck to the side, and slash out. He hops one footed back, but not quite close enough.  The edge of the tip of Rascal flies past his belly, and keeps rising, and kisses his arm, and a flash of blue light fills the room for a half second.

His arm hangs down which is surprising as you just barely touched him.  He's hanging back.

He's disabled, then. I keep Rascal raised to deflect if he attempts to use his other claw to attack. "You were a challenge with two claws, but with only one you cannot win. Leave now, delphin, and do not return to haunt this child, or I will make sure here and now that you will never return to harm another."

He refuses to back up....

I sigh, but there's no backing down from this fight. "So be it..." I whisper.

Then, I charge him, keeping rascal ready to parry if he swipes at me with his other set of claws. I'm going for his legs primarily, though, to take them out from under him and finish him once he's on his belly and an easier target considering our disparate heighths.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:11, Mon 08 June 2015.

You slide in low,  block his overarm strike, and realize at the last second that he was faking it with his other arm, but he's too slow, and the claws slip past your nose, but as you try to get Rascal down, he gets tangled up in the claws he parried.

Now you're face to face, and he head butts you...

I'm realizing all to quickly in this fight that this isn't some game. It felt so easy with the first dolphin but this one means business. I refuse to let go of Rascal and bring my left hand to try and punch the delphin in the face to give me a second to fall back.

Worst case scenario, Casey is always here, and he'll know what to do. In the mean time, though, I want to think to Rascal again, Rascal, how can I fight this delphin? It seems to be more practiced in violence than I am...

Your punch allows you to disengage, and he growls at you.  It sends tremors of fear up your arms which tremble responsively.

Magic. You are loved by the child in the bed, and that gives you a pool of mana you can access. Rascal replies. Or, well you cut him once. Do it a couple more times, and then defend.  He will bleed out eventually.  Or be forced to retreat back to the Shadows Inside the Closet.

Understood. Let's finish this...

His claws have been the primary form of attack he's used so far. He's quick, too, but I've been able to respond to even his quickest, unexpected attacks, so I reassure myself that I have speed on my side and a weapon that is this delphin's bane.

Therefore, I focus on defense but I move toward the delphin. My plan is to let him waste energy attacking me this time, and if I see an opening of a second, I'll try to slash his gut. If no such opening comes after three attacks he makes, I watch his fourth carefully and attempt to slash at the incoming claw with Rascal.

+@1 mark to Combat Analysis or similar skill.

Yes, he very much favors his claws.  He's willing to use other methods, but given a choice, he goes for the claws.

He comes in with a stupid attack, and you slap it back, and riposte so quickly that he has to dive backwards rolling over in a reverse somersault to get clear.  And when he's back up, you see you pinked him in the gut.

He runs for the Shadows.

+@1 Sword use.

Rascal is chortling in your head, and the Teddy Bear is throwing you up in the air, and the little girl smiles in her sleep.

OOC: Let's call it 1@6 for Combat Analysis now (video games?) and 1@6 for Sword now too (I have experience with the epee and larger swords). Does that sound good?

IC:

I revel with them, especially when I'm suddenly airborne. I let out a too-cute laugh than I expect to, and look at the little girl. "Casey, can the children sense the delphin when they approach?" As I stare at her, I realize that there are few things as beautiful as what I'm watching now, as the girl sleeps peacefully.

OOC: Just fine.

IC: "Not always. Some children are more sensitive, others are deeper sleepers.  I heard tell of one little boy that the delphin stopped visiting because even when they stood on him, he refused to be affected by them because he was sleeping so deeply."

Indeed, your heart goes out to her.

And as dawn comes, you find yourself seperating from your teddy bear body, and Casey finding himself a good place to sleep as he yawns...

I want to see if I can hold onto the sensation that I have in the teddy bear body for as long as I can.

And I ask Rascal, Will I see you and Casey again tonight, when the delphin come again?

After I hear an answer, I don't try to hold on anymore, and let myself slide back into my real body (hopefully). I still need to figure things out locally, and see if I can get in touch with my family back in the States.

You hold but it just slows down the separation until Rascal replies.

You cannot be rid of me.

And then suddenly you're in your own body, which feels strange after so much time as a Bear.  You're outside in the field where you first arrived.  Dew is on your face, hair, and clothes.  The sun has just risen into a cloudless blush of blue.

I smirk at Rascal's reply, and sit up.

The dew on me is a bad sign... I slept out here all night, then. My primary goal today is to clean myself up, and look for some potential work and a roof to put over my head. Last night couldn't have been a dream, but just in case it was, I should treat everything right now the same, with some added precautions.

But my plans require information, so I try to navigate my way to the nearest library or somewhere that advertises free WiFi. I need to do some research on this movement against teddy bears, soup kitchens, and help wanted ads on Craigslist for a start.

You walk several miles through the early morning down winding and curving suburban streets with spacious lots.  You are guided by the occasional 'library this way' signs until you come to a small shopping mart and gas station, almost a truck stop, but with no places for trucks.  There are a half dozen shoppes.

Lotsa Stuff is the largest, and its a department store.  Attached to it like bubbles next to a larger bubble is Food House, a small grocer.  Also Cutt Abel's, a hair salon.  Toy Emporium is there as well. Canadian Baking looks to be a pizza and pastry shop.  Weinersnitzel is an A frame building in the middle of the lot with a hollow space in the center for driving through, and you see it sells hot dogs, and its not open yet.  Next to it is Whipley Downs Sub-Library, about the size of a sixty foot trailer.

The library will be open in an hour.  Lotsa Stuff and Food House are open.  Canadian Baking is wafting out delicious smells of fresh doughnuts and cooking ham that makes your stomach rumble.

You did see a 'Sign the Petition to Protect the Teddy Bears' poster in Toy Emporium's window.

I have an hour to kill. I enter the Toy Emporium.

And while I do, I want to try to reach out to Rascal. He was in my mind last night while I was inside of the teddy bears, and came with me everywhere. Maybe he is still here, somewhere, even if I'm not holding onto him.

Rascal, are you there? I try to think, just to see if I can feel his presence or hopefully get a reply.

You feel drawn to the array of toy swords in knight, ninja, pirate, legionaire, bayonet, space warrior, and lava men types.  One seems to catch your hand, and as soon as you pick it up, you hear Rascal's voice in your head.

Yawnnnnn. Hello, is there monsters to slay? Or are we playing?

You're the only person other than the young guy who's the sales clerk, in the store.  He wanders up to you.

"Can I help you with anything?  We have teddy bears on 25% off for promotion to dry to drum up support for the bears. Every kid should have one.

We also have wagons, um, and rocking horses, and we have daggers and shields to go with that sword.  Or if you want some older, we have model airplanes..."

I notice that I've unconsciously grabbed a lava man sword, gripped backwards. Then, after hearing Rascal's voice, I think at the sword, No, Rascal. I was just checking on you. Get some sleep. and I reinsert the toy sword back where it belongs.

While inside my head, I almost didn't notice the young sales clerk. I address him now with a smile, which isn't hard since I heard from Rascal. "Yeah, I actually had a stuffed monkey when I was younger. Good thing you're doing. The bears can't speak for themselves, so they need places like this to speak for them." I pick up one of the teddy bears.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what I want here, though. I might come back and get a toy store, but I am looking for work so that I can afford more pressing matters like food and finding a place to say."

I shake my head and place the bear back from where I picked it up. I offer the clerk my hand. "Sorry, my name is Kurt. I'm just new to the area-very new, and just trying to figure everything out."

He quirks an eyebrow when you talk about the bears speaking, but after you mention your monkey, he nods.

"I had a Chester bear, just like this one over here." He points to a standard looking bear with a baseball helmet.  "He got me through a lot of thunderstorms, and one camping trip where I was sure wolves were outside the tent."

"My name's Bobby. Um, if you're looking for work, Lotsta Stuff needs drivers and stock guys.  And Canadian Bacon always needs dawn openers because no one wants to walk in the store at five in the morning, and start the place up."

I nod and listen when he recounts his own teddy bear helping him.

Then, I thank him for pointing me in the direction of work in town. "Do you happen to have any leads on places to stay as well?"

"There's a Good Jim campground north of Whipley.  And about two miles toward the City are some apartments.  I live with my parents.  Housing is expensive." He frowns at the last.  "I'd love to move out on my own, but its not like in my father's day.  Back then, you could get four guys and rent an apartment.  Nowadays, the apartment must have a hot tub, and a minimum of a thousand feet, and only married folks or singletons can get an apartment."  He shakes his head.  "My father doesn't understand.  He just remembers how it was when he was a young guy, and beer was cheap, gas cheaper, and no one tried to force you to do things that were good for you all the time....like this teddy bear bill."

He offers you the petition to sign.