Shifters

Tomb Raiders

Beads of perspiration trickled from Elle's forehead all the way down to her base of her neck as the skeletons advanced towards them. Glancing at her openly concerned companions, Elle racked her brains as she struggled to come up with an adequate solution. Eyeing both the enemy's incredible numbers as well as the menacingly, newly-sharpened weapons within their grasp, Elle nervously brushed a waterlogged strand of hair to the side as she came to terms with their dire situation. 

'Looks like this is as far as we go,' she muttered inwardly, taking an involuntary step backward. 

Bumping into Josh as she backtracked, a look of surprise momentarily crossed her face as a faint energy resonated with her currently sealed aura. Staring at the boy, Elle was startled even further as his expression, as opposed to the one he wore mere moments ago, was now that of a calmer individual. Before she could question his sudden change in attitude, Josh slipped a hand into hers, sending an incredibly chilly yet comforting feeling through her entire body. After repeating the same actions with Patricia, the boy mumbled something under his breath before shouting a garbled language unbeknownst to Elle. 

Without skipping a beat, a sudden pop resounded in her ears as what felt like a tightly sealed locked was abruptly forced open. Startled by the sudden burst of her own aura, Elle reflexively pulled away from Josh, who in turn tightened his grip. 

"Don't," he said reassuringly as he held onto her, "It won't work if you let go!"

Giving him a look that screamed, 'We'll talk about this later,' Elle turned her attention to the enemy as a new fire blazed within her heart. 

"Well well well," she replied, green aura emanating from her body as an extreme scent of Spring filled the room, "Suddenly, your little brigade here doesn't look all that tough."

Raising her left hand, a wave of green energy washed over the enemy vanguard, immediately dismantling the foremost skeletal soldiers into a pile of bones. Instantly recognizing her as a threat, the soldiers withdrew, making way for their ranged combatants to take control of the situation. Momentarily caught off guard by the presence of archers in such a confined space, Elle hurriedly conjured a wall of vines as coated thickly in what appeared to be gnarled patches of tree bark. 

Shielding them from the onslaught of arrows, Elle looked past Josh as she addressed Patricia, "Are you just going to stand there?" 

Confused by the sudden admonishing, Patricia's words clammed up inside her throat as struggled to respond. 

"I can't hold them for long," Elle replied, noting her confusion, "But luckily I won't have too for much longer as long as you free the powerhouse right behind you."

Grasping Elle's words as she spoke, Patricia turned to face Joana as aura now flickered gently over her fingertips. Maintaining contact with the boy, Patricia lowered herself into a stooping stance, softly humming a dark melody. Swiftly switching from a wordless tune to that of a poem-like verse, chills ran through the three interconnected companions as the room's temperature plummeted almost instantly. 

"What's happening?" Josh questioned, noticing the change.

"It's starting," Elle replied as several skeletons began hacking away at their protective shield, "I'll try to buy as much time as we need," Elle continued, "However, I can still feel most of my energy slowly being restricted once again."

"Then let's hope this doesn't take too long," Josh said in response, watching attentively as Elle shored up their defenses with a new entanglement of bark-covered vines, "Isn't there any way we can strike back?" 

"A counterattack is definitely possible at my peak," Elle replied, sweat dripping profusely down her forehead as she spoke, "However, I'm not at one hundred percent, am I?"