John Hirsch would be fantastic here [WRATH]

[truebornbanacek]

Caleb'd lost track of Selene and Grif somewhere in the middle of the party, and when he heard and saw exactly what was going on, he made a break for it. His first priorities weren't staying with a group; his first priorities were to find his girlfriend (Selene) and the person who probably had the most guns (Grif). (Not that these really needed

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[turnabout_fey]

Unfortunately, the person who is approaching isn't either of the people Caleb is seeking. In fact, it's probably the least expected person to show up in this crazy mess. Mia, for the most part, has been a silent observer to this entire ordeal, favoring the whole sneaky mentor over making a scene.

Of course, she's not about to let Caleb get eaten or mauled by a bear, so the first course of action is to give him the distraction he so desires. While hiding behind a nearby tree, she picks up a decent sized rock and throws it at a patch of grass a good distance away. Hopefully, the rattling noise will give him the necessary time to react or counterattack.

[truebornbanacek]

The dire bear's attention is diverted towards the rock for a fraction of a second (it's a rather large fraction, though), and that's all the time Caleb needs. Normally, when fighting dire bears (with other people), the idea is 'someone else distract it while Caleb stabs it in the face

[turnabout_fey]

Mia, meanwhile, is actually watching Caleb's wonderful display to blade-wielding from a distance. She isn't about to approach him until combat resolves, after all. Once the bear meats his demise at the hands of a blade to the head, she walks out from her hiding spot.

And, for the record, she doesn't look like a bear or a familiar face...yet.

Instead, Caleb might find himself staring at a woman, clad in a leather biker jacket and skirt, along with a rather plain black motorcycle helmet. In her gloved hand is a metal briefcase, which leaves one to wonder what's inside. The only thing that might stand out is the familiar yellow scarf and a blue stone around the woman's neck.

"...It seems like I came at a good time. Better late than never, I suppose."

[truebornbanacek]

"...and who are you?" Caleb's cautiously optimistic; it sounds kind of like someone he knows, and has a few familiar things, but he's not totally sure. His hand slightly tightens on the vibroblade, though he does flip it off; it doesn't look like she's armed and the blade still cuts even with the power off, just not to the same extent.

He's heard about Battle Royale, and he knows that this is something at least similar. She might be someone hostile, after all. It's better to be safe than sorry.

[wonder_bunni]

(ah, I see. i'll delete my other post)

[honoringblood]

Ash had slipped away from the campfire - he figured being in a group that large would attract all sorts of unwanted attention from whatever was wrong with this forest. The entire place sets his teeth on edge, nevermind his reactions to some of the 'people' around that got pulled into this.

He's sheathed his sword to take stock of everything else on him, which amounts to a small dagger, a few coins, his apparently useless PINpoint, and his clothes. Just his luck for this to happen when he's not in his armor and doesn't have the usual compenents for spell-casting. He grumbles mostly to himself in annoyance... and runs into the dead bear because he's not looking where he's going. Good job!

[turnabout_fey]

"...?" Mia is quick to react to the newcomer, glancing over at the man who stumbled upon the deceased bear. She steps back a few feet, cautiously watching the newcomer, while exchanging a glance to Caleb here and there. Not knowing this person doesn't help, and quite honestly, it'll be hard for her to trust anyone new currently.

"Who are you?"

[truebornbanacek]

Caleb is also giving no signs of recognition, and he turns to look at Ash, nearly lunging at him. Okay, he might not be hostile. Yet. That's the only thing that stops him from coming at him with a vibrosword.

"Wh--" and then Mia steals his question. (Presumably she's better at this questioning thing, being a lawyer and all that.) There's a definite guardedness about Caleb's body language, though - he doesn't trust random people in this setting, with good reason.

[honoringblood]

Ash pretty much doesn't know anyone here, and his last few encounters haven't gone well, but Mia and Caleb don't make him too nervous, so he decides that his best bet is being cordial. If nothing else, he knows he's outgunned.

He straightens up and takes a single, slow step back from the bear, and keeps his hands away from the broadsword strapped to his back. "My name is Ash. Ash Halla-Barra." He's been using his dad's surname a lot more these days and it feels appropriate.

[one_drafted_man]

Bears may not be the worst thing, but there're always more of them. There's a sound of commotion nearby, leaves rustling close by, followed by a few meaty thumps and metallic scraping noises. The leaves rustle again as another thump heralds a dire bear bursting into the clearing and collapsing on the ground. Heavily battered-looking on the arms and head, the bear is nonetheless still alive, and appears ready to get back up again and attack whatever had roughed it up

[truebornbanacek]

And as the action moves to this thread, Caleb is too busy going 'oh hey there's Grif, oh hey more bears'. This could be kind of a problem.

The vibrosword's already out and flicked on as he comes running up to help Grif. There's no need for the SRM launcher on dire bears, especially when he's got someone as well-armed and well-armored as Grif there. "We should have this under control - don't waste ammo," he calls back to Mia. As for Ash, Caleb is just going to hope that he's not going to use this time to put a knife in his back. It's a calculated risk.

[turnabout_fey]

"If you say so. I'll stay out of the way, since I don't really want to get blown up or mauled by a bear today."

She takes the initiative by backing up a good distance from the future battle sight. The spear from before gets unfolded and connected, and occasionally Mia glances between the three men. She also makes a mental note to strap the gun holster around her waist, in case if she really does have to use it.

For now though, she'll let Grif and Caleb start the battle, unless she needs to rush up to the front line.

[selene_bhaal]

The bears certainly seem concentrated in this area - what could be described as a late Fourth of July show suddenly lights up near the group, and shortly after, another bear bursts through the trees, singed, smoking, and on fire. Driven mad by pain, it roars and prepares to charge at the group, when there's a flash and the bear is engulfed by flame. The burning corpse drops to the ground, revealing Selene standing behind it with her hand raised, slightly disheveled and singed but with a determined look upon her face.

[ None of you saw anything! ]