North growls a curse under her breathe as she sees the creature, which didn't seem to notice her. East was busy rolling on the ground, oh yeah and the smoke seemed to be avoiding him, but that wasn't important or anything.
"A cursed one, smoke curse," North growled as she lunged forward, trying and failing to grab the smoke creature, going right through it.
The creature screeched again, flapping it's wings as it lunged at Churrio again, since all of her attacks went right through it it didn't seemed afraid of her, quite the opposite in fact.

Will instantly felt better when Azrail healed him, smiling a bit and hugging him still. He didn't know much about fire, but to him it wasn't something to be afraid of, but that might have been the fact that fire actually helped him not freeze and also the fact he couldn't be burned. Smoke on the other hand, was bad.

(Very bad. Because I am mean to myself but also nice. Thanks =3, but it's not that amazing! I don't set impossible goals, I just mean to myself TwT)

Churrio backs up, almost tripping over someone. Possibly East, but quite as possibly Azrail, North, or Will. Churrio falls before apologizing to whoever she had tripped over. She didn't understand why she couldn't hit it but it could hit her and she didn't like it either. She liked actually being able to defeat and kill and squash her enemies. On the ground, she wasn't as good at fighting as when she was in the sky. However, the sky was polluted and she was already so dizzy she couldn't see straight. The world seemed to be tilting and whirling even when she was flat on the ground.

Azrail smiled back, feeling better when he was with Will. He noticed Churrio getting beaten up by the smoke creature and he began to go away from Will to try and help Churrio. He didn't think about it, he just went when he saw someone in danger, knowing he had to help her.

(Very relatable.)

East yelped as Churrio tripped over them, making him tumble onto his back and squirm like a caterpillar. He sticks his tongue out at the smoke monster, which didn't seem to want to get close to East, like it was scared of him. He hugged Churrio when she apologized, mostly because he didn't have to worry about a smoke demon trying to attack him.

Will watched Azrail, knowing he just wanted to help. The thing was, the thing now not seeming interested in Churrio, decided to attack Azrail instead. He jumped forward, wings flaring as he hit the creature, hand going straight through it. It didn't flinch at all, going on the offensive against him and Azrail.

(Very =P)

Churrio almost lashed out at East when he hugged her since she was having trouble seeing and breathing and doing anything in general and she was afraid that East was the smoke monster. After realizing it was East holding onto her, she apologizes again, this time for almost hitting him. She hugs him back, calming down. Her feathers were still fluffed up and she occasionally snapped her beak together in a threatening way.

Azrail flinches when the smoke beast came for him and Will jumped in front of him to help. Azrail wished he could be in two places at once. He wished he knew how to stop the smoke being. He wished for a lot of things, but some things he just couldn't have. He hesitates, torn between helping Will fight the monster or helping Churrio. He was terrible at fighting so going to help Churrio seemed like a better option. But Will was his boyfriend and he didn't want him to get taken or hurt again. He was frozen in place as his mind stalled when faced with the choice.


Riley walked through the castle to try and find Austyn. He hadn't seen the group in a while and he thought if they were successful they'd leave the castle. But he hadn't spotted anyone he knew leave and so he was getting nervous about his friend's welfare.

(Yup yup yup.)

East didn't seem to mind her, the smoke disappearing around him. He seemed cheerful, standing up and hopping around her in an adorable way as he patted her feathers.
"Find a way to beat the smoke," He said cheerfully as he hopped around, before tripping and falling into Churrio, before hopping around again like nothing had happened.

Will put up his arms as the beast attacked him, leaving nasty scratches on him. He didn't seem that fazed, freezing the ground and trying to trap the thing in ice. It didn't seem pleased by that, swooping down and picking him up again. Will flapped his wings, breaking free as he flew away, landing back safe on the ground.

Tippy was staring at nothing. Then his eyes darted over to Riley and he jumped before calming down as he realized it was his friend. He gave a small wave as he stood up and stretched, letting out a small yawn.

"Why don't you? It seems to avoid..." Churrio is interrupted with a violent coughing fit. She hugs herself until it subsides. She looks at East and then at the smoke being. "It avoids you. Can you scare it off?" Her feathers were very fluffed up and her eyes were dull and unfocused. She closes her eyes and clicks her tongue softly to herself. She didn't feel well enough to make another move.

Azrail heals the scratches on Will's arms and then runs to Churrio, taking a few moments to figure out how much damage was done and how much he had to help. His cold hands shocked Churrio, but she saw Azrail was just trying to help and, after a minute, the bird was able to breath correctly again. She tried to get to her talons again, but Azrail forces her to sit back down, focusing on healing her completely before allowing her to plunge back into the fray of a battle. Churrio waits rather impatiently, snapping her beak together as she watched the smoke creature pick Will up. When Will escaped again, Azrail had finished healing the worst and most of the little wounds.

Riley waves back. "How's it going?" He asks Tippy. "Want me to take watch? It'll allow you to take a rest." Riley notes, heading over to Austyn and picking him up, cradling him. Austyn hums happily and shifts to hug Riley, who was always warm. Riley smiles, chuckling slightly, and sits down.

(Me: My worst fear! Ahhhhhh! My brain: What are you talking about? Me: Long replies TwT, very long replies... my nightmare xD)

East stared at her, confused, "Scare it off?"
He wasn't scary and he knew that. Even North was scary and she was just a block of ice. West was even scary even though they were trapped for a long time. And the smoke thing was scared of him? That made zero sense to him, since he was the youngest and non-scariest here (or so he thought). He kept hugging Churrio as Azrail healed her, hoping everything would be fine.

Will hisses at the smoke creature, mostly because he was starting to lose strength. It wasn't because he had been hurt or was bleeding. He just mentally was exhausted, because he felt like he was powerless, like always. It was a horrible feeling that tore him up inside. He glanced at Azrail, eyes glowing dimly in a tired way, he was so tired of always fighting. That's when the thing attacked again and he folding his wings around him to block the attack and getting severely injured in the process.

"I don't rest. I'm fine," He said, though his voice sounded raw and emotionless, like he wasn't really in the mood to talk or interact with anyone, "Just waiting for the bad, that's all I can do."

(... *nervous chuckle* Sorry, I got a bit carried away, perhaps. Um... I can write longer if you want? I mean, shorter? I can do shorter...)

"Well, if you're not scary... Perhaps give it a hug or something?" Churrio suggests. She shoves Azrail aside, wanting to get back to fighting and helping Will defeat the smoke creature.

Azrail feels slightly hurt when Churrio shoves him away, "Fine, if you get hurt again, don't bother me. Go ask someone else." Churrio's shoving him away gave Azrail time to dash over to Will's side and pull him away from the fighting smoke thing. Azrail healed him as he gave Will a big hug, whispering words of comfort and hope.

"You sure? Ok. I'm sure Austyn would make some comment to look on the bright side." Riley chuckles, falling silent. If Tippy didn't want to interact, Riley would understand and leave him alone.

(Shorter please, brain breaking... being dumber =P)

East nods hesitantly, looking unsure but willing to give it a try if it meant helping Will. He steps forward, the smoke clearing around him like he was the plague or something very scary.

Will ducked under an attack, barely dodging it. He prepared for the next attack before suddenly he got pulled away from the creature. He yelped in surprise, calming down when he realized it was Azrail. East used this moment to tackle the smoke thing, which he was able to touch. It screeched in pain, withering in her grasp.

"I'm fine, just not doing so well," He admitted with a sigh as he gestures for Riley to sit next to him, "Not all curses are physical, some effect other things and that's what makes it the most dangerous."

(Ok! ^w^)

Churrio was glad East was willing to try to help. She claps her talons together in excitement when East manages to touch and tackle the smoke thing.

Azrail hugs Will, healing him as they stand away from the fighting. He hums quietly and rocks slightly back on his heels.

Riley accepts the invitation and sits next to Tippy. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry..." He says quietly. "Is there a way to reverse it?"