Remedial Lessons for the Ace Tactician? "The Worst Partner Yet!"

"I'm just getting a feel for it." Millie explained, casually moving under a branch. "If I need to throw the blade, I'll need to take your weight into consideration to get a good aim. And that bad feeling may have something to do with the Kishin Egg. If it's got night vision we may get screwed over staying here, but anyone can guess that much." She sighed, looking around as she passed through a small clearing. It couldn't be THAT far into the woods if it was preying on the locals.

"No... It's more than just that." Ace really wasn't too sure what he was talking about, but he certainly knew he was uncomfortable about this island in general. "Let me know if you see anything off. I'll watch your back for you. If something sneaks up on us from the front, I'm really not gonna be happy with you."

Millie nodded, holding the weapon at an angle that Ace could maintain a clear view behind her from. "In that case, I'm trusting you. Don't get me killed, hm?" She joked, carefully taking a small hop over a fallen log. She wasn't too worried, but if he had a bad feeling, it wouldn't hurt to stay on guard.

"Hmmph." Ace scoffed at Millie's joke, trying his best to display his attitude through his reflection in the blade while still monitoring their rear. "I can't let you show me up. If anyone's gonna screw up first, it's you. So don't bother worrying about me."

Millie grinned playfully. "I'll hold you to that." She retorted, wandering deeper into the forest. Occasionally she'd have to move over or under things, but it was't that big of a direction change.

Ace leered about the trees above them, making sure to pay extra attention to anything above them. "I know we left in a hurry, so I don't expect you to have any in-depth knowledge, but do you know anything about this island? I spent too much of my own time gathering resources because I was planning on doing this alone, so I couldn't research the mission detail as much as I normally do."

Millie sighed. "No, I didn't bother checking anything out. I figured they'd tell us more than they did. Obviously I was wrong." She answered. In all honesty, she wished she had at least gotten a map. Maybe then they'd know where they were going. Whatever though, they'd be fine so long as they didn't wander too far in.

It was strange, really, how amidst their conversing and seemingly aimless exploring, neither of them noticed how completely and utterly silent it was. Not even the sounds of birds calling or foliage ruffling could be detected, even for the predators of the wilderness. Some ten yards off, however, one could, if they possessed the ability, detect a strange, corrupted being.

"Millefolium. I don't feel right. Stay cautious." Ace's eyes narrowed and he coiled his chain around Millie's arm, ensuring that she wouldn't drop him if something happened. There weren't many more words, but he kept his sight dead-set on the area behind them, almost as if he were expecting something to sneak up on them at this point.

Millie gave a light nod, a curious look crossing her face. "Think we're getting close then?" She questioned, taking note of Ace's chain wraping her arm. It was probably just him being cautious. He didn't seem like the type to scare that easily. Or was he...? Maybe he was only mean because he was actually afraid a lot...? That would mean he might not actually have anything against her... That had to be it. Now she'd figured him out!

They were walking right into the midst of the creature's hunting grounds, knowingly or otherwise. The silence, by this point, had engulfed the area so thoroughly that it was impossible to not notice, the closer they got, the way the foliage would randomly move, only to suddenly freeze as if sentient. By now, they had made it deep enough into the forest that parts of it were almost completely shrouded in darkness, the treetops piling and interlocking together in such a way that they effectively roofed much of the area. The limited light made the shadows more eerie, seeming to move more than the occasional wind could possibly have caused.

Ace's wavelength buzzed a bit, as if it were trying to actually reach his Meister now. "I think we're already there." He scanned the area behind them again, making sure there wasn't anything there, then tried his best to ignore the random bush movement. The mission called for only ONE Kishin Egg, right? If it were moving multiple things at once, it had to be some sort of trick. That or it could move even faster than Ace, in which case attempting to track its movements wasn't worth the effort, and they'd simply have to fight blind.

"Get in a tree. We need to have a high ground. Don't stop moving." His words weren't much like speech, more like instructional dialogue. It was like Ace was there, but his mind wasn't. It was obvious that he was trying his best to analyze the situation.

Millie nodded, making her way into the nearest tree. "There was more than one bush moving, do you think the school's information was faulty? This might be more than one..." She questioned him, trying to use the tightly packed branches as a kind of cover while she weaved through them. Perhaps this was a bad idea? It seemed like Ace could handle himself in a fight, so if there really were two, maybe it would be better for them to split off...?

By now, the strange soul reading was only a few feet from them, stemming from a particularly strange looking tree. It was shorter than the others, with the base of it's trunk seeming split, the leaves atop it shifting and moving on occasion, something that could not be attributed to even the wind, as there was no breeze this far inland already. The closer they got, the stiller it became, until they got perhaps a little too close. In a sudden flurry of movement, something coiled itself around Millie's ankle, holding tight and yanking her back to the forest floor. A series of angered hissing followed, and when the pair looked up, they were greeted by the sight of the tree in question slowly beginning to shift in place. The trunk separated into legs, stepping down from stump they feet had effectively rooted themselves to previously. Slowly, the bark seemed to recede from the feminine figure, retreating down to encompass, chiefly, just the hips and below. The skin it revealed was a natural, though almost sickly yellowish green. As the bark moved, it encompassed the creature's breasts, stopping it's retreat at the arms, which seemed to be only tree branch in appearance, and the hairline. The arms were perhaps thinner than they would have if they were mere flesh, the fingers elongated and sharpened to points. The hair however... the hair was the really strange part. It seemed to move, wriggling and coiling around itself, hissing all the while, with the occasional section extending and... snapping at them.

ooc:
Inspiration

Ace's chain unraveled from Millie's arm and straightened defensively, to protect Millie while she got to her feet. Sure, he didn't like her much, but Ace was still her Weapon, and so it was his job to protect her should she need him to. "Step back and assess the situation. We need to figure out what exactly we're dealing with. We can avoid its attacks while gathering information." Ace couldn't help but find the figure a bit alluring, although it wasn't in the same way as Ophidia. It felt more... natural, whereas Ophidia's charm felt invasive. "I still have that uneasy feeling too. There's more to this than meets the eye."

Droon, showing up because Sov wanted him to, walked from behind Ace, eyeing the tree...thingy with a look of serious consideration, possibly searching for a weakness.
"Yep...I'd bang it." or not. He could just be perving out.
He lifted his arm and changed it to it's blade form with a sharp-toothed grin "But I'm not opposed to waiting until after it's dead to do it! What's the plan Ace?"
Droon paused for a minute "Oh, wait, hey Ace!! What's goin on buddy, haven't seen you in forever!?"

Millie scrambled to try to hook a branch with Ace, but ultimatly made success. She hit the ground, doing her best to struggle to her feet and take a quick step back to gain her footing, examining the creature. This was nothing like the Kishin Egg that she had seen that day... It was so much more threatening. Her next step would have been to form a plan if she hadn't heard the voice behind them. She took a sigh of relief when they mentioned knowing Ace. "Friend of yours...?" She asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the Kishin Egg.

The long, wooden fingers seemed to flex the bark parting at the strangely placed joints, though never seeming to split. The more the egg moved, rolling it's head about it's shoulders, the more it's --- her --- hair seemed to come alive, wriggling and snapping about, trying to elongate far enough to reach the trio, though still roughly a yard off from the mark. A sort broken, rumbling sound came from her throat as the mouth opened, hoarse and yet boarding an eerie combination of a growl and a hiss. Suddenly, the eyes snapped open, scanning the group before locking it's eyes on Millie. She would feel her nerves beginning to seize up, preventing movement in a manner remarkably similiar to sleep paralysis.

Ace probably would have prepared himself to engage in combat, but Droon's overwhelmingly obnoxious voice shot into his ears with such agitation that it literally rippled his wavelength. In order to avoid damaging his partner--and mostly to further showcase his displeasure--he transformed into his human form and began shouting. "Why in Death's name are YOU of all people here?! If Lord Death sent you, then you can turn around right now, because Millie and I most certainly do NOT need your help."

Droon pretended to look like his feelings were hurt, sticking his lip out petulantly "Oh, you're not even happy to see me? Harsh, and I came all this way too."
He gave him a measuring look "Still no souls either, I bet." He says, crossing his arms, same knowing grin plastered to his face, dark eyes shining.
"You should know by now Ace, that I don't go anywhere unless its by my own accord; Death didn't send me."
Suddenly, he grew serious. "You and I need to talk, but first, let's deal with this thing."

OOC: Posting out of order for the sake of finishing the conversation without an awkward break.

Upon the mention of Ace's lack of souls, the Weapon gave a strong glare of distaste and crossed his arms. He considered protesting, but Droon--the joker he may be--was still a face card in this game, and his change in demeanor was important. Ace was curious as to what he wanted to talk about, but the Kishin Egg definitely was more important.

"Right." He nodded. "Hey, Droon. How's about we have a game of tag, huh?" Now the Weapon was in a crouched position, as though he were prepared to take off for a sprint. The disconnect from Millie made him all but completely forget his new Meister even existed. Even if Ace didn't like Droon much, he was definitely capable of fighting beside him when a situation called for it.

What was going on...? Millie felt herself tense up... Was she scared...? No, it wasn't that... She felt heavy... Like she couldn't move... For a moment her eyes studied the Kishin Egg, trying to collect herself... Then something hit her. The intimidating eyes paired with the way it's hair moved and Millie's tense feeling... As soon as she realized what was happening, Millie's eyes snapped shut.

"Don't look her in the eyes!" Millie shouted, trying to warn the other two. "She has a gorgon effect... " She added, making her best effort to flex her arm and see how badly she was paralyzed.

The hissing escalated, and she turned her attention to first Droon, then the closer Ace, leaving Millie with a numbness in her legs that would make it significantly harder to feel them moving, and would, perhaps only for the time being, render them sensationless. A growling erupted from the creature's throat, vibrating the vocal chords and structures of her neck, which seemed to appear more like a tree once again. The creature went into a sprinter's crouch, though it was more animalistic, fingers appearing like nothing more than claws as it lunged, aiming for the silver haired boy.

Droon, grateful for the girl's advice, turned his head giving a sinister grin to Ace "You're it." He said, taking his meaning with a knowing look, before diving into the air and corkscrewing his way into the earth, ready to pop his way out of the ground like a deadly groundhog.

Ace nodded, not worried about the Gorgon. His vision would be far to blurry to be affected. He burst forward at top speed, zig-zagging off of trees like a pinball. Although he couldn't see, he'd memorized the Kishin Egg's location in respect to his own, and after he'd effectively become unpredictable, he made a beeline for the creature. The chain coiled around its neck as he ran past, and the velocity brought the Kishin Egg slamming straight into one of the many trees. "Tag!" Ace would shout, giving Droon his queue to take the stage.