Owner Pose
Amanda Sefton It's the sound, really, that alerts them to the danger. From a distance, it whistles like the song of a bomb dropping from the sky. Soon, though, that whistle becomes deeper with layered reverberations. More like the song of a whale crossed with the roar of a lion, all mixed through a flanger and set to reverb. Amanda looks up from the book she was looking at. "Oh, bollocks," she murmurs, setting it aside and conjuring her runic-armoured leathers around her. "Brunnhilde? Are you in? Up for a spot of exercise?"
Brunnhilde "Huh? Whazzit?" The ex-Valkyrie's head raises up from the nest of her arms. Her hand still cradles a mostly empty bottle of brown liquor. It's probably whiskey, but she can't quite remember. She looks around blearily. "Did you say something?"
Amanda Sefton "Spot of exercise," the sorceress repeats. "Hear that?" The whistleroar has grown louder, overlapping. "Remember how I told you there are sometimes interdimensional beasties that like to swing by for a bit of sport? Now's your chance to see them." And probably fight at least one of them, unless she misses her guess.
Brunnhilde Brunnhilde drains the remaining liquor -- not whiskey, something cold and sweet, an ice wine made from nothing in the Nine Realms. She sets down the bottle with a thud. After cracking her neck and settling her shoulders, she strides out to meet Amanda while stretching her wrists.
Amanda Sefton Amanda takes the other woman's movement as an affirmative. She waves her hand to allow a door to form, and leads her outside. Might as well try to defend the library *before* the things enter it.

In the sky, a cluster of shadow can be seen blotting out some of the weird twilight that marks this half-realm. The creatures that approach appear to be a strange cross between dragonflies, winged serpents, and maybe some sort of cat like thing. Their cries echo strangely and they flicker with eldritch light, lightning flashing around them as they come.
Brunnhilde Curling her hands into fists, Brunnilde stares out at the strange beasties. A smile pulls at one corner of her lips. This should be fun.
Amanda Sefton As if in the tight formation of a fighter squadron, the trio of beasties sweep in low over the horizon. Coming on fast, their whistling cries grow louder until they're right on top of them, the sonic force of the screams making the ground beneath their feet tremble. Amanda rises up in the air, surrounded by eldritch energy that both shields and supports her. This realm is made of energy she captured and channelled. That makes it hers to command. But the most she might hope to do is keep things in one piece. Turning them back, however, is more than she can accomplish alone.

The foremost of the creatures opens its jaw and spews a great gout of electricity that crackles over the stones of the library building, causing wards to flare and magical defenses to trigger. A second one squeals and aims a green glob of some sort of disgorged substance toward Amanda, while the third dives down toward the top of the building to land upon a castle-like parapet.
Brunnhilde Brunnhilde dodges the electricity blast, coming up from her roll to leap on top of the library table. From there, she jumps even higher, aiming for the beastie, landing between its spines. Wrapping her legs around its neck, just under the throat-sack, she pulls one arm and proceeds to pummel it right behind the eye. The creature bucks and screams, but the valkyrie holds on tightly to one of the spines in front of her. "Bad beastie. No books for you."
Amanda Sefton Amanda dodges the glob, streaking higher up into the air. She brings her fists together and fires a blast of eldritch energy at the creature as it circles to try to take her again. It roars in pain as the blast rakes down the side of its neck and over the back of one wing, leaving a trail of reddened flesh just from the concussive force.

The creature on the parapet starts trying to dig through the stone beneath its claws, spitting lighting over the rock until it glows.

But the creature Brunnhilde rides begins corkscrewing through air in its effort to dislodge her, flying close to the building, perfectly willing to try scraping her off.
Brunnhilde Brunnhilde hunches close to the spines, refusing to be dislodged. She continues to punch the creature in the head. "You're overdue, beastie. And the fine is pain."

The one liners are *terrible*, but she's too drunk to care. She grins and giggles, tightening her knees against the its throat, impinging on its airways. The notion that if she manages to cause the creature to lose consciousness they both will plummet into the stone floor doesn't seem to occur to her. Or if it does, she doesn't seem to care.
Amanda Sefton The one liners *are* terrible. But they do amuse Amanda. Then again, she's used to Kurt's banter, so... Yes. Experience. She dodges again as the critter she scored globs more green crap at her and tries to use the distraction of that to swoop down on her. She curls her body into a ball and lets herself drop beneath its line of flight. Its claws reach to try to grab her. Those claws clack through thin air as the acrobatic mage redirects her flight to spiral around its tail. Her fists come up and she fires another eldritch blast, this time raking down its belly. It screams and banks away once more.

The creature Brunnhilde rides begins to lose altitude, its massive lungs deprived of the full measure of air it requires to maintain flight. Its fellow on the rooftop launches itself skyward, crackling more electrical energy toward both the valkyrie and her reluctant mount. It's not like that electricity will hurt the creature.
Brunnhilde Brunnhilde relaxes her knee's grip on her mount's neck and pulls it's head upward into the path of the electrical arc. It absorbs the brunt of the energy. The rest courses though the valkyrie's body. Her laugh tinges on maniacal. After all, once upon a time she used to tussle with Thor.
Amanda Sefton At least Brunnhilde's having fun.

Amanda gives chase to the creatures that was initially trying to spit on her. She fires blast after eldritch blast over its back and tail, scoring its wings. It spirals higher into the clouds, trying to outpace her. And, indeed, there comes a point when she pauses her ascent simply so she can maintain some modicum of breathable atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the creature attacking Brunnhilde finds its attack thwarted by its flight mate -- not that either intended that. But the valkyrie is strong and has wrestled with gods. That changes the playing field substantially. Indeed, the trio of spitters may just have bitten off more than they can chew with these two small two-legs. Neither are without their resources, it seems.
Brunnhilde "Do you have a stable?" Brunnhilde calls out to Amanda. Can she really be considering taming one of these venomous, electricity spitting dragonfly monsters? She squeezes the creature's airway again.
Amanda Sefton Amanda spirals down, keeping an eye on the clouds above, in case the one she chased comes back. "A stable?" As she nears, the second remaining creature rears up, rising into the air to charge at her. "Ah, bollocks. Piss off, would you?" She fires off another eldritch blast at the thing. It dodges, but also banks away. The sorceress continues her descent. "Don't tell me you want to tame that thing..."
Brunnhilde "I think Spikes and I are coming to an understanding. Aren't we, Spikes?" Brunnhilde asks her mount, relaxing her grip slightly, allowing the creature to breathe a little easier.
Amanda Sefton "Spikes..." Amanda laughs, looking up as the second one comes back around. "Hear that, you plonker? Your mate's done gone native? Care to join him?" She has no idea if Spikes is male or female. Nor does she care. She raises her fists toward the incoming creature. It screeches out a frustrated complaint and banks away again, flying higher into another spiral until both it and the first one are specs circling high above.

"I suppose I can find a spot," the sorceress tells the valkyrie after a moment's thought, half an eye on the specs above. "Meantime, maybe I can just conjure a bit of a hitching pen." Because constructing a stable will take *energy*. And she's pretty sure she's going to need to ward the skyward approach against its fellows.
Brunnhilde "How about that Spikes? Amanda's gonna build you somewhere nice and cozy." The valkyrie scratches under the monster's cheek sac. "How does that sound?"

The creature does not seem convinced.
Amanda Sefton Amanda isn't all that convinced, either. But she's seen stranger things. And it might give Patrick something else to complain-- um... occupy his time with. So, she moves to the wide area to one side of the building and closes her eyes. What follows is a concentrated incantation that eventually manifests a small pen with a stone roof overtop, though the sides are open, if fenced in with magical fencing. It'll be enough to hold the creature for a day or two while she preps a more permanent expansion of the place.
Brunnhilde The valkyrie tugs the giant extra-dimensional dragonfly monster by the spines on his neck. "C'mon, Spikes. Let's try it out."

The creature lets out an indignant squawk. It bucks reluctantly. But it does follow the Aesir's pull on its body.
Amanda Sefton When the creature is settled within, Amanda wanders around to look in at it briefly, glancing to Brunnhilde. "I wonder what it eats." A beat. "Besides us." She glances back to the library. There may, in fact, be an answer in there. Probably in something like Ludlow's Guide to Interdimensional Beasts and How to Avoid Them. Then she looks up at the sky. Wards. She needs more wards.
Brunnhilde "I bet your RoboJeeves could find out," Brunnhilde suggests. She pats Spikes roughly just under the jaw. "Don't get too hungry Spikes. I'd hate to have to put you down. We've only just met."
Amanda Sefton Amanda chuckles briefly. "He probably could. Do you really want him making friends with your new pet? He'll probably teach him all sorts of bad manners." She doesn't specify whom will teach whom.

Her head cants briefly. "I don't mean to pry, but... don't valkyries usually ride horses?"
Brunnhilde Brunnhilde's face clouds to a blankness devoid of emotion. "He died," she says succinctly.
Amanda Sefton "I'm sorry," Amanda replies. And she is, quite genuinely. But she doesn't become maudlin about it, since she didn't know the beast herself and she can tell the valkyrie won't take well to it. "Let's go see what info we can dig up on Spikes, here. Maybe they'll like chips with vinegar better than people?" She grins as she says it, offering it as a way out of the blackness. "I'm not sharing my alcohol with him, though. I'm just saying."
Brunnhilde The valkyrie snorts. "I'm not either. If he wants booze, he'd better learn to like something else."