Birthday Cup: Alma/Lea vs. Ramza/Crowe

Just as Alma had feared, another attack was soon to come, and barely a moment had passed after she put her Stoneflesh into place when a ball of flame struck her from behind, exploding over her flanks. It burned, but her spell eased off most of the impact, preventing the scene from before from being repeated. When the effects of the strike passed, another wave of her crook conjured up another Cure spell for herself, restoring what few burns were in place before another orb hit her, this time scalding her with another blast of lightning just as viscous as earlier. Being prepared for it, though, Alma didn't let herself be stunned by the spell. She gritted her teeth while the magic ran its course, then employed Cura once more before her legs could give out. What she didn't know was what her ally had just begun to do. In fact, only Ramza seemed to catch it, standing up between the two and putting his arms out. In the moment, Alma nearly wound up for a swing in her panic from him having come so close, but stopped when an Explosion went off behind him. Alma could tell in an instant just how much force the swordsman must have taken, being so close to a spell she assumed had come from the red one, who'd proven to have some volatile magics already. Then, she noticed that, even in such proximity, she had felt only the winds it spurned. She took in his stance and their positions and realized in then: He'd stood up to defend her. That wasn't quite right. They were supposed to be opponents, as she was aware.

When he looked to her, it only came off as more strange. He was clearly trying to confirm that the spell hadn't hit her, but even for a generous sort, such actions made little sense. Just who was this person, then, and why did he care like this?

Alma saw him turn and collapse onto his sword, and considered offering a healing spell, but she knew her reserves were drained at the time. Had she another few seconds, she could have tried something, but her attention was pulled away by a cruel reminder of how karma worked when her other opponent's knife sank into her back. On instinct alone, Alma turned away from the men and tried to move away from her attacker, but something was wrong. The rush from earlier, that endurance and swiftness she'd felt, the need to move in the moment of panic- It was gone. All the adrenaline that had helped her to do what she had thus far had drained from her in the pause, and she could feel the change immediately. The wounds from before, though restored, still stung with a phantom pain, and the new cut in her back was worse. Meanwhile, all her limbs were burning from her exertion, and her movements suddenly felt sluggish as compared to when she was baiting the assassin's magic. Even if she tried to retaliate, it would probably be a slow enough movement that a trained fighter could avoid it with no effort at all. Her advantage was gone, and her luck had been spent. She was still standing, but Alma felt she'd already lost as she shambled right a few paces to try making some distance from the other fighter, crook at the ready to try defending against the attacks that were sure to come.

Alma's Party

Alma (WHM)
(Aeropool){SPENT} (WALL){SPENT}

Lea (KBLD)
(WALL){SPENT}

Enemy Party

(KO) Ramza (SQR)
(PhysCode){SPENT} (WALL){SPENT}

Crowe (KNGSGLV)
(PhysCode){1} (WALL){SPENT} (WALLBnd){SPENT}