[ With that loud, sick cracking noise, the fight begins. They all knew it was coming, even though nobody could say exactly how the Pleroma would start their assault, but a surprise attack against Misa from way afar is not the sort of... hard, almost cruel action that Howl would have expected from the Pleroma. He spares a minute checking over her, and after determining that she's relatively alright — their multiple healers should be able to take care of the wound — he turns his attention to wherever the shot came from. Misa is in no condition to come with him, and so, it lands on his shoulders.
The unnatural silhouette of Howl's transformed body is perceptible, even from far away. Deep black and ragged around the edges by countless rough feathers, it starts as a winged inkblot rising from the roof of the jail and climbs in altitude with shocking speed. He's looking for the source of the shot by baiting it to try attacking him — and it seems to work, although the fireballs he coaxes from the sniper's hiding place are not the same as the projectile that struck Misa. Howl serves in a tight circle, easily dodging the fireballs as he watches a winged creature flee from the same window that the blasts emerged from.
It occurs to him immediately that this is a ploy to distract. Flapping his wings hard, he watches the small dot flee eastward and struggles with his next course of action. Leaving the interloper alone is an option, but surely, they will simply double back and fire more attacks at them. This would put not only Misa's safety at risk again, but the security of the entire building.
But, with unknown Aion having taken to the air, Howl has the clear advantage. Even with the double dose of caution and humility that his defeat by Estinien months ago had given him, he feels confident that he can prevail in an aerial fight. After a moment of decision, Howl's enormous black wings tuck backward into a dive. He's swooping fast and hard toward the small winged figure, set to precisely intercept it like a bird of prey snatching a sparrow mid-air. Halfway into the dive, he finally recognizes his target for what it is — a swan — but he knows that cannot be all there is to it, even as he reaches out with both enormous talons to strike. ]
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The unnatural silhouette of Howl's transformed body is perceptible, even from far away. Deep black and ragged around the edges by countless rough feathers, it starts as a winged inkblot rising from the roof of the jail and climbs in altitude with shocking speed. He's looking for the source of the shot by baiting it to try attacking him — and it seems to work, although the fireballs he coaxes from the sniper's hiding place are not the same as the projectile that struck Misa. Howl serves in a tight circle, easily dodging the fireballs as he watches a winged creature flee from the same window that the blasts emerged from.
It occurs to him immediately that this is a ploy to distract. Flapping his wings hard, he watches the small dot flee eastward and struggles with his next course of action. Leaving the interloper alone is an option, but surely, they will simply double back and fire more attacks at them. This would put not only Misa's safety at risk again, but the security of the entire building.
But, with unknown Aion having taken to the air, Howl has the clear advantage. Even with the double dose of caution and humility that his defeat by Estinien months ago had given him, he feels confident that he can prevail in an aerial fight. After a moment of decision, Howl's enormous black wings tuck backward into a dive. He's swooping fast and hard toward the small winged figure, set to precisely intercept it like a bird of prey snatching a sparrow mid-air. Halfway into the dive, he finally recognizes his target for what it is — a swan — but he knows that cannot be all there is to it, even as he reaches out with both enormous talons to strike. ]