Entwined | 𝘠𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘤

Frosty Ferocity

Briars wiped out from her hilt as Charlotte ran to the brink of the forest. Braiding ten vines together, she flung a massive whip into the first wave of icy behemoths.

Yami's sword flashed as he cut through the rest of the hulks of ice, taking down three at a time. Their round heads were easy enough to knock off the rest of their bodies, but within seconds another wave replaced the first.

Six mages should be enough to take on a small army and Charlotte was hardly breaking a sweat, but what worried her was the missing piece. Who was behind this attack? The golems were animated, brought to life with mana, but who's?

Her questions didn't have time to settle before she was forced to focus on the battle field. Shards of icicles pelted them, forcing her to dodge as well as parry. With Sol at her side and Tess at her back, holding back the onslaught was manageable, but they weren't gaining ground either.

Not that gaining ground was their objective, to do that they'd have to mow down the forest or risk being blindsided. They came here to protect the village and its environment, she wasn't about to leave the place in shambles.

Her briars stretched and thickened, thorns sharpening as frustration welled up inside her. She didn't need to hold back against heartless monsters. One after another she slammed them into tree trunks, smashed them to bits against each other, and tossed them in the sky like missiles.

Nothing would get past her.

A sharp tug from her left dragged her away from Sol. Casting a quick look towards the unknown force, she saw a golem had wrapped itself in her briars, then ran into the forest with her attached on the other end. Sneering, she cut the strand of briars loose and sent another to crack the golem's head open.

The two halves fell to the snowy earth with a thud, rolling a few feet before reaching a lifeless hault. She turned her attention back to the focal point of their spearhead defense, aiding Sol where the golem's icy armor was too thick for her earth magic to penetrate.

The unnerving sound of groan and a roar rocked the forest, sounding from her left side again. Reluctantly she turned to deal with the issue, coming face-to-face with the same golem she had just destroyed. Now its head was larger, wrapped in an additional layer of snow and frost. The briars she had wrapped around its chest were now frozen solid, adding to its defense.

The golem launched a fist at her upper body, speed defying its bulk. With fast thinking and reflexes, she tightened her vines around a nearby golem and swung out of reach, yet further into the fray. A fireball singed the hair of her arm right before it melted the joint of the golem she used to escape.

"Watch out!" Magna called a second too late.

"Char!" Sol echoed.

Charlotte didn't have time to reply, ducking as a bullet of earth pierced the golem's newly created weak s­­pot. Nifty, but I'd rather not experience their combo first hand.

She ran away from the line of trees, not defending, but instead focused on the behavior of the golems. Just as she suspected, each time a limb was severed it rolled off, only to gather another layer of snow and reattach its owner. When two golems were crumbled near each other, they combined, creating a larger, stronger opponent.

Calculating the speed of recovery and recombination, she didn't notice as a barrage of icicles descended from above. The clink of metal slashing ice snapped her attention to her right, where Yami shattered the icicles and a nearby golem in one swipe.

"What do you see?" he huffed between broad strokes of his sword. Despite the cold, sweat dripped from his forehead.

"They don't die from dismemberment. We need to find the mage." Her words were almost drown out by the rumble of more golems, larger and thicker than the first, as they came at them both. In wordless coordination she raked her vines across the legs of the new wave, tripping them so Yami had an opening to cut through their midsections.

She already knew what she had to do— her magic was suited for open spaces, while Yami's would fare much better in the dense trees. She had to find a way to hold the front line while he went in search of the mage, hiding like a coward behind their creations.

"The others are holding their own," Yami shouted over the chaos. His eyes drifted to hers for a second before being drawn away again, but it was enough for her to hear his unspoken question. Can you take over for me?

Of course, taking over for Yami was the equivalent of being three mages at once. Charlotte was a captain herself, but not all the captains were Yami's equal in prowess. If she couldn't be of use to him now, she'd never be able to look at herself again.

Conviction bolstered her and in a burst of defiance she whipped her briars out, knocking back the larger golems. Except, with that power she should have sliced through them, sent them flying at the least, but they only staggered back before trudging onward.

She grit her teeth and produced as many vines as she could, drawing from the last of her mana reserve. At this rate she'd only be able to maintain her strength for a half hour, tops. The rest would be up to Yami to end this.

"Charlotte." Yami's call pierced the rumbling of the battle and the chastisement from her inner voice.

Focused solely on proving her strength, she didn't waste the energy to respond and stepped backwards towards him, her vines wrecking any golem that stepped close.  She would be enough.

"Trust me," Yami shouted, his sword flashing as it flew above her head and taking out the approaching golems. The next thing she knew, his lips were on hers.

A/n: Ahhhhhhhhh!!! What's happening herrrreeee? What I wouldn't give to see this in the anime.