It's a magical Kiricorn, Gayle! (Twins, Ema/Lani)

It had been a very, very long time since the twins had gone on a hunt, but their wonderful little tutorial guide had apparently spoken to Gayle once more. Nonie still hadn't heard from the strange blue butterfly, herself, but she was more than willing to keep her blind faith in her twin. As such, they had learned of a kirin that was in South America that would help them in their wonderful soul-eating quest to be the very best! This monster soul was planned to be for Gayle, to give her some cool new advancement in her ability charts, upping her stats for whatever their final boss was going to be. So far, Nonie, at least, wasn't sure what that final boss was going to be, but spoilers would make the game far less fun!

Once they had landed, Nonie continued to tag along behind Abigail as her standard player two, not responding to much of anything or one unless specifically addressed. She didn't like talking. That was for the main character to do and she was just a follower. Still, she was the one that had the map and when they finally made it away from the airport and started following the waypoint, she was happily humming and dance-walking lazy circles to their destination.

Gayle led them happily through the mist of the rain-forest, following the blue fluttering creature before her. It had asked them to follow it, or at least asked Gayle. Gayle, being the overly attached sister she was, had brought Nonie along for the game. After all, how was she supposed to score the high score without her teammate.

As Gayle padded along through the thick jungle she would occasionally look around to make sure that both her sister was still here and the target wasn't. Soon, the butterfly flew off over a medium sized valley deep within the forest. A waterfall ran in, causing a river to split into a pond in the middle, creating a lush garden of small plants in the shadows of the trees on the cliffs above.

Not far off, a small blonde fox let out a gentle yip, hopping down the side of the cliff carefully, another blue butterfly on it's head.

Nonie did not ask any questions as she moved along, eventually marking where they were on her paper map before putting it away. Peering into the clearing behind her sister, she held the other girl's shoulders and blinked, observing the area with genuine, gentle curiosity. "What's this level called?" She asked Gayle, a joking question that was intended to ask who their target was. They were like real monster hunters! ....Without cats. That was a sort of depressing realization.

Gayle glanced down into the valley. It didn't look like there was much a way out, though it was unlikely that Gayle had noticed that or cared. She just seemed to be looking for a good way into it, as the drop looked plenty dangerous. Below them, even a few trees paled in comparison to the walls of the cliff. She tirned her head slightly to the side to look at her sister hanging over her shoilder.

"I think the butterfly mentioned a Kirin or something? If that's the cass, I bet it's down here." Gayle answered, finally deciding that the best way to go was to just go down. She knelt by the side of the cliff before placijg a foot testingly on a small shelf. Before too long, hand over foot, she was climbing down the wall.

Elnora cast her a curious, if somewhat bored look, wondering why she, of all people, was taking things so slowly. Taking a quick look around, Nonie leapt into the air, aiming for the ground below and transforming mid-fall. In doing so, she landed with her sword point in the dirt, a less than subtle sound that still was far safer than the risk of crashing down the cliffside. Shifting back to her human body, she brushed the dirt away from her body and held her arms out, silently requesting that her sister simply jump, be it as a weapon or human.

Right. They were made of metal. They didn't have to worry about that . Pushing herself from the cliffside, Gayle made a leap into the air, following Nonie's lead. She transformed, clattering aginst the ground before casually shifting back. "I forgot we could just hit the ground like that." She mentioned between a stretch before heading after the fox towards the pond.

Assuming that the fox was their guide or just happened to be going in relatively the correct direction --- or else why was Gayle following it --- Nonie padded along after her. She held her sleeves close together, trying to fend of insects that seemed well in favor of making her into some sort of meal. The weapon very much did not appreciate that. As they continued on, however, Nonie began catching sight of something darting around, making its way to the pool. Moving away from the two of them, she peered into the side clearing with wide eyes, pushing her head back to catch a better view. "Gayle!" She whisper-shouted to her sister, beckoning her over with the waving of her hand and too-long sleeve, "It's a magical Kiricorn, Gayle!" She said, louder, in a harsher whisper than previous, trying to contain her excitement without giving away their position. Sure enough, in the clearing before them was a one-horned Kirin, earning itself the title of "kiricorn" in Nonie's eyes.

Gayle didn't pay much attention to the tug until she heard the hype in Nonie's voice. She didn't get to hear that often, and it was good to know her twin could still get excited over things the way she could. She moved her eyes to follow Nonie's line of vision, resting on the magnificent one-horned Kirin. "A Kiricorn, huh?" Gayle whispered back, wondering how to approach it. Animals were jumpy, and she didn't want it to get aggressive until they got a good hit in... or worse, have it flee. "It's so pretty... In order to outshine the sun, first I gotta outshine this, right? You're stronger than me, so let's sneak up and get a solid hit in on a leg so it can't run..."

It wasn't common for Gayle to spit her plans out. Usually this level of communication was reserved for co-op games. However, Gayle saw it fit to treat this like an actual boss in a video game that required tactics and cunning. She held a hand out towards Nonie, beginning to glow with a light yellow light.

Elnora took the hand she offered without really looking at it, clutching the hand as it shifted from human to weapon form hilt. She stared out at the creature before her, assuming, perhaps rightfully so, that the butterfly would not offer her aid in the same way that it offered it to her sister. Moving away from the noisier foliage, she kept her eyes between her feet, looking down at each step, and the majestically magical creature before her.

The beast had yet to notice their presence, or if it had, it simply had not reacted to them, as of yet. Nonie wasn't about to question what good fortune they seemed to have, moving closer, inch by inch, to the beast, aiming to startle it from behind and hopefully do some serious damage to at least one of hits legs. Hopefully, between her strength and the speed of Gayle's blade, they'd be successful, but she still relied on any advice Abigail could give her while she snuck close, dodging twigs with every step.

The mighty Kiricorn didn't seem to notice the two, stopping to graze near the pond. The clear skies reflected off the water in calm manner as tension grew in the air. The girls stalked their unsuspecting prey in silence. Nature to be the sole witnesses of the struggle, losing could mean death for either party. The moment wan near... A battle of monsters had begun.

Gayle couldn't help but wonder if it was really okay to hunt this majestic beast, but it was too late to turn back now. Gayle held her breath as Nonie took the final approach, waiting for impact. In a test of speed, even Gayle paled in comparison to this... hopefully Nonie had strength on her side. If things got too tough, maybe they could fuse so Gayle could lend Nonie her agility.

Being the only one of them technically currently breathing, it seemed that she'd be the one literally hold her breath in the face of danger. Perhaps, one might think, the intention was to make it even harder to detect her. In the agonizing seconds that lead up to her finally reaching an appropriate range, Elnora very honestly looked like she was turning purple. Even still, she managed the strength and aim to target the majestic beast with a quick, double-handed swing of the blade at the backs of its rear knees. Since she was going for a stealthier attack, it seemed best to hit it hard and try to cripple the creature before it could lose them both.

The creature staggered forward as the golden broadsword dug into it's leg. It made a nimble leap away, facing the two as the sky turned grey and it's body sparked up. The landing was a bit rough, and one of it's hind legs was lifted slightly off the ground immediately, a sure sign that it had been wounded. Hopefully that would be enough to slow it down. The mighty beast gave out a horse-like roar before pointing it's horn at Nonie, a bolt of lightning moving in a straight line towards her, damaging the ground as it did so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gayle let out a relief sigh as she felt the impact against the creature's leg. With a slightly more intense glow from the blade, Gayle happily exclaimed; "We got it!~", perhaps celebrating too soon. No matter, it would make the fight easier regardless of the outcome. As long as Nonie could take a little lightning they'd be fine... right...?

Nonie's eyes, usually half-lidded, opened wide at the sight of the attack. Working in a split second, unable even to have the chance to celebrate with her sister, she dodged to the left, further into the clearing and in a roll. The move wasn't flawless by any means, certainly clunky, but it was enough to save her, at the least, the brunt of the damage. Her hair probably wouldn't fare as well. I don't think the kiricorn likes us. She thought towards her twin, breathing heavily, now.

Nonie was indeed lucky, as the bolt moved past her, leaving an ashen black line of dirt parting the grass. Heavy static filled the air as the attack ended a few meters further and the Kirin kicked at the grass with a foot, threatening to charge as it stared at the girl, as if awaiting her next move.

Gayle died down a bit, realizing that Nonie was in actual danger. That wasn't just a little lightning. That was real, high voltage, lightning. If Nonie got hit with that, it could be bad. If they were lucky, a hit would mean a lot of pain, if they were unlucky it could mean cardiac arrest.

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Not exactly in the mood for either of those options, Nonie too to dashing into the treeline, creeping in the foliage as she tried to keep her eyes on the creature. Even impaired, it had to have much greater speed than she did, but the Hunter's Sword certainly didn't want to test the theory, now after that attack. If she could mount it then she might stand a better chance, but she'd either need higher ground or to be able to pole vault with her sister to accomplish that. Still, she passed the idea on to Gayle in the form of a single-word question: Ride?

Gayle immediately caught on, looking around for something to help set the idea in motion. She could kick off a tree to elevate to a branch, but Gayle wasn't sure her sister had the mobility for acrobatics. Perhaps something more simple... There was a small cliff nearby, so perhaps if Nonie could get enough of a lift, she could do it... Then it's be as simple as getting the Kirin near the cliff.

Meanwhile the Kirin continued to fire off bolts at any sign of movement in the forest, but seemed to be one or two steps behind Nonie each time. It seemed to want to keep it's distance now that it was injured. Flanking would be the ideal option, but that would leave both girls unarmed, meaning they could only deal minimal damage. Perhaps a frontal assault? Though that may scare it away....

Without the sisters actively communicating their thoughts between them both, Nonie was clueless as to the various goings-ons in her sister's head. Still, she saw the same cliff that her twin had noticed and opted to try to use Gayle's weapon form to pole vault herself up to it. It wouldn't be easy, but it was better than being fried but magical horse lightning. Picking up as much speed as she could, she ran until she looked to be close enough for the attempt, planting Gayle's Sun Blade tip into the ground and leaping for the cliffside. With the momentum, she pulled the blade out in an arc, aiming it with a downward thrust at the cliff so that she could lodge it in and pull herself over, if she was too short in her leap.