[Center][img]https://i.imgur.com/iN4aAHz.png[/img][hr][hr][b][colour=6f4a50]Event:[/colour][/b] A Game of Chicken [b]|[/b] [b][colour=6f4a50]Location:[/colour][/b] Wánggǎng, ReTan[hr][hr][h3][url=https://youtu.be/q9_3k_9NCDw]♫[/url][/h3][/center]
Maura and Kaureerah - who definitely aren't fighters, find themselves up against Lady Matsuhara, who seems to have been revived by forces unknown. How can this be? Do they stand a chance? The unusually large chicken on Maura's lap lets out a cluck.

Kaureerah's eyes were wide and bugged out. [colour=DEB887]"Yoo..."[/colour] She trailed off, taking an unsteady step back. [colour=DEB887]"Yoo were dead."[/colour] It was her and Maura here at the dinner table, with Lady Matsuhara. As everyone else had rushed off to go pound each other in senseless violence, the Nikanese tyrant had stood, grabbed her own head, and twisted it back around until it sat normally on her shoulders. She glared at the two lesser mages coldly. [colour=000000]"Wouldn't be the first time."[/colour] Then, she shrugged, demeanour shifting

Kaureerah shot a glance at Maura, and then another about for any help. The two of them were alone against this monster, and she was no fighter. She knew it. She was no fighter.

Maura tilted her head to the side as she positioned herself slightly in front of Kaureerah, protectively. [colour=C0C0C0]“This is the second we know about, but even an Arslan has nine lives.”[/colour] She sat there casually, petting the chicken on her lap, her fingers stroking along its feathers as if it were a cat.

[colour=C0C0C0]“Listen,”[/colour] she directed her gaze toward Lady Matsuhara, [colour=C0C0C0]“You've been brought into a trap, and the combined strength in this room doesn’t even match what the twins are keeping behind the scenes.”[/colour] She sighed and looked to the side, [colour=C0C0C0]“You've already died twice in the last 24 hours. We don’t even know how many times you can do that, but you should seriously consider trying to get out of here and get back to Nikan. A meaningless death here wouldn’t further your aims and that of your nation.”[/colour]

She refocused her gaze, [colour=C0C0C0]“Kaureerah and me are not here to fight, and we're not going to stop you if you run. Even if you choose to fight us, we are simply a distraction, a delay while those over there finish up their fights and come for you next. You achieve nothing as a result.”[/colour] She reached out with her hand as if to offer a handshake from a distance, [colour=C0C0C0]“We are not the strongest, but we are the smartest. So take my advice and flee while you can.”[/colour]

[colour=000000]"You know, you're not wrong,"[/colour] the black-cloaked woman admitted. [colour=000000]"Though there's a great deal of information that you lack, of course."[/colour] She shrugged. [colour=000000]"The truth? I'm not in this to overthrow a government. If it happens, so much the better. My nation is safe from their relentless predation for the time being. If it doesn't then I'm in this for myself, and I'm gonna get mine."[/colour] She made a move towards Kaureerah, but the eeaiko was quicker. She whipped out her lute and slid her fingers down the strings, creating a most unpleasant sound. [colour=DEB887]"Fauck auf, beetch."[/colour]

The horrible wail hit Lady Matsuhara and forced her to cover hear ears, but a counterfrequency came out to neutralize it. [colour=000000]"And that's why I want you, girl."[/colour] She shook her head. [colour=000000]"You have no idea the power you're tapping into, but I [i]do[/i]."[/colour] She turned to Maura with an offer. [colour=000000]"What will it take for you to give up your tool here and help me secure her? I can give you much, and I happily will."[/colour]

Maura felt her eyes widen at the request, surprised, and shook her head in disappointment as she moved her hand to reassuringly place it on her friend. [colour=C0C0C0]“Kaureerah is not up for trade; she is priceless.”[/colour]

She smiled for a moment, [colour=C0C0C0]“Besides, her friendship is freely given only to those worthy, and you have been found wanting.”[/colour]

She moved her hands together as she began to cast binding magic, the air growing thick with mist that billowed out. The precipitation left thick water droplets on everything it touched. The ground became wet, and the droplets began to fall like rain within the mist.

[colour=000000]"So be it,"[/colour] Lady Matsuhara grated. [colour=000000]"And here I thought you were open to offers. I could, with a snap of my fingers, have the holds of your entire fleet of ships filled with ten-kanmi."[/colour] She shook her head.

A lance of ice shot out at Kaureerah, looking to skewer her through the midsection. The ice melts in midair and resolidifies into a dozen razor sharp shards. They come barrelling back at the Nikanese.

Lady Matsuhara melts them and disperses them into the damp air.
Kaureerah tries again with a chemical attack, looking to create an illusion.
Chicken releases its first Primoridal Cluck. It grows. It is now rather heavy on Maura's lap.

Lady Matsuhara rubs at her temple and dispels the sophomoric effort.
She sees absolutely no threat in Maura and continues to toy with the increasingly anxious Kaureerah.
She attempts an internal chemical spell on the Eeaiko.

Kaureerah is wise to the attempt at mind control, however, and she will not be this bitch's plaything. She uses her attacker's concentration against her and tries an internal chemical attack of her own, dropping Lady Matsuhara to her knees. Kaureerah's heart pounds and her breathing quickens, but the Nikanese rises after a moment. [colour=000000]"Nice trick girl."[/colour] She shakes her head. [colour=000000]"But the gap between us is too great. Paragons know you have potential. If you come with me peaceably, I swear I won't hurt you."[/colour]

Kaureerah tilts her head to one side. [colour=DEB887]"Yoo knoow, yoo doon't reelly scere mee es mauch es yoo used too,"[/colour] she replies, a note of tentative confidence in her voice. [colour=DEB887]"Eye doon't thenk Eye weell."[/colour]

Maura shook her head, [colour=C0C0C0]“We are not Merchants of Death like Ingrid over there,”[/colour] she pointed over to the large Eskandr woman fighting a dragon. [colour=C0C0C0]"She has connections through the Sovereign Pact which has petitioned the Shogun this morning."[/colour]

[colour=C0C0C0]“You have one final chance.”[/colour] She moved her hand into her robe and pulled out a parchment, which she flashed toward Lady Matsuhara. While the writing was a blur, it looked very official with the seal of the shogun on it, like one of many present in the embassy. Then, she placed it on her lap after gently brushing the chicken off it with a few pets. [colour=C0C0C0]“This is a writ for your execution, written by the Shogun himself. Your involvement here has been disavowed, and you are to return to Nikan at once, or be counted as an enemy of the state. There is a bounty for proof of death if you fail to comply. Ingrid is looking to cash in, after she skinned herself a dragon.”[/colour]

Maura used her time to distract Lady Matsuhara, employing her magnetic magic to begin warping the iron around them. Spikes of iron emerged like caltrops, converging from every direction, as if Lady Matsuhara was being enclosed within an iron maiden. The caltrops dug into her flesh, inflicting debuffs.

She was preparing a sneering comment, so intent on her riposte, that Lady Matsuhara didn't see the spikes coming.
They dug into her and she let out a scream. [colour=000000]"Why you vicious little [i]bitch![/i]"[/colour] she screamed.

[colour=C0C0C0]"You don't have to be so [i]prickly[/i]."[/colour]

Kaureerah, despite herself, let out a snort of mirth out from her nose. [colour=DEB887]"Yoo tauk e laut,"[/colour] she said. [colour=DEB887]"Aut oof yoor ess. Taim too breeng thes dreem too laif."[/colour]

The Chicken issues its second Primordial Cluck. An aura of misfortune begins to surround the Chicken, though it doesn't grow any larger.

Maura looked at Kaureerah with a questioning glance, then at Lady Matsuhara, watching as began to start shifting and bending. She blinked for a moment, then a devious smile spread across her face as she began to assist the process. She extended her hands as if manipulating a marionette, imaginary strings attached to Lady Matsuhara's joints. With a forceful clenching motion, she compelled her to bend backwards in an unnaturally sickly manner. Lady Matsuhara may have hailed from the land of the rising sun, but now she was entering a realm where even the sun's light could not penetrate. After a rectal cranial inversion, Lady Matsuhara had transformed into her final form.

She was doing it with intention now, using this type of magic that somehow worked outside of all of the rules that she had learned as girl and was now learning in greater earnest as a woman grown. She channelled the queer combination of both her mirth and her fury at this woman who had so mocked, assaulted, and belittled her and her newfound but very true friend. [colour=DEB887][i]Your head belongs straight up your ass,[/i][/colour] She told herself, feeling the idea manifest. Reality warped to make it so: things that should not have made any sense - that should not have been able to happen - happened all the same.

That mocking face contorted in shock, pain, and fury. Lady Matsuhara bent around in a sickening shape as her head shoved itself up between her buttocks. Kaureerah's eyes widened and she let out a gasp. She wouldn't even wish such a thing on her worst... well, actually, she might. She wasn't above a little bit of vindictiveness.

[colour=C0C0C0]“Did she always look like that?”[/colour] She gazed up toward Kaureerah. the eeaiko grinned. [colour=DEB887]"Feegooreteevely,"[/colour] she decided, [colour=DEB887]"Yes. Nauw her eppeerence metches her weenneeng persaunelety."[/colour]

From the Nikanese came only stumbling and muffled screams. She collapsed in a heap, writhing weakly.

Kaureerah reached a hand out for Maura to take it, smiling. Maura shuddered a moment, [colour=C0C0C0]"Not even a mother can kiss that face now."[/colour] She took Kaureerah's offered hand, and squeezed it three times. Kaureerah squeezed back four. She stuck her tongue out. [colour=DEB887]"Eye lauve yoo moore."[/colour]

Maura pondered, [colour=C0C0C0]“She must have got help in our last fight. For someone so small, she definitely spoke big.”[/colour]

She strode confidently forward, Maura beside her. [colour=DEB887]"Yoo aur auwful,"[/colour] She stated matter-of-factly to her downed enemy. [colour=DEB887]"Baut mai good frend ees raight."[/colour] She shook her head. [colour=DEB887]"Yoo er naut thet straung. Yoo hed help. Whoo ees et? Tell aus end wee maight spere yoor worthless laife."[/colour] She leaned in and whispered in Maura's ear. [colour=DEB887]"Eye heve never keeled saumoone befoore end Eye doon't entend too saurt nauw. Deed thet saund eenteemedeteeng?"[/colour]

Chicken releases its third Primordial Cluck. It is a pleasant noise and not much of anything happens.

Maura pondered; she hadn't killed someone before, but she had heard people try to be intimidating. [colour=C0C0C0]"She won't listen to that. Her head is too far up her own arse,"[/colour] she shook her head from side to side, [colour=C0C0C0]"She'll probably respond with something dumb like [i]'You don't scare me, girl'[/i] or [i]'I'd rather die than tell you'[/i] – something that sounds really tough."[/colour]

She leaned down toward Lady Matsuhara, [colour=C0C0C0]"At this point, we think you'd rather die, wouldn't you?"[/colour] She gazed down at her, then up at Kaureerah. [colour=C0C0C0]"Remember, if she dies, she can return to normal, right?"[/colour] Her gaze returned to the woman, [colour=C0C0C0]"If she doesn't talk, we'll spare her. We can take her to the embassy and make a spectacle of it. By morning, all of Nikan will know her fate. She'll have to beg them to end her life. The humiliation would be absolutely unbearable, to the point where she might want to erase her own existence. Otherwise, wherever she goes, there will be whispers. People will talk – always talking. Random items might start turning up, like peaches. Maybe someone will ask if she's been smelling the roses lately. The taunts will be endless. No one will ever look at her the same way again. The paranoia would be constant. She would become a national disgrace for eternity; history books will depict Lady Matsuhara alongside a picture of her head up her own arse."[/colour]

Lady Matsuhara squealed and then… A stony spike thrust up from beneath Maura. Kaureerah, alarmed, was ready to jump in and help her friend, but it proved utterly unnecessary.

Maura shook her head side-by-side, [colour=C0C0C0]"She really is a tiny person. We keep trying to help her out, but she doesn't listen?"[/colour]

[colour=DEB887]"Well, aunce egain, Eye soogest wee meke her eppeerence feet her persoonaulety"[/colour] She took a deep breath and focused, trying to manifest a tiny Lady Matsuhara into reality.

[colour=C0C0C0]“In Torragon, we have a saying. You can lead cattle to water, but you cannot make them drink. There is no helping her now.”[/colour]

Lady Matsuhara pounded the ground,a s if in surrender, as if saying 'uncle'. It was too late, however. Her body crumpled and twisted and shrunk. She continued shrinking, breaking all known laws of science and nature. Her face folded out from between her buttocks, but she was no threat any longer.

Chicken releases its fourth Primordial Cluck. It grows very slightly.

[colour=DEB887]"Best frend?"[/colour] Kaureerah prodded sweetly.

[colour=C0C0C0]"Best Friends"[/colour] she smiled warmly as she nodded. Her hand reached out to stroke the chicken's head gently.

[colour=DEB887]"Eye theenk aur leetle aevean frend coold use saum food."[/colour] She reached down to pick the tiny tyrant up.

[colour=000000]"Wait, wait!"[/colour] a tinny voice wailed. Kaureerah could feel her flailing. It didn't do much more than sting. [colour=000000]"It was him! It was the Progenitor! He's my boss! I work for him. He helped me!"[/colour]

Kaureerah glanced over at Maura. [colour=DEB887]"Wait e secaund. Doon't yooo woork faur te emperoor auf Neeken?"[/colour]

Maura distracted for a moment, coo'd and doted on the chicken. [colour=C0C0C0]"Now, who's been a good chicken? Would you like to have the wiggly worm?"[/colour] She encouraged her feathered friend in the direction of Kaureerah, who held Lady Matsuhara dangling in her grasp.

[colour=000000]"I do. I'm sorry! I do. They're one in the same."[/colour] Kaureerah grinned massively. Wickedly. She reached out towards Maura. They fist bumped.

This had massive implications, of course. For now, there was only a decision to make. To kill, or not to kill this person who'd terrorized them both? Who'd insulted, belittled, attacked, and tried to kill them.

Chicken released its fifth Primordial Cluck. It shrank and intensified. Growing cross.

Maura paused then began to smile, [colour=C0C0C0] “Kaureerah, let’s be the bigger people here. She has told us what we wanted to know. Put her down, and let her go. Her fate is now in Dami’s hands.”[/colour]

Kaureerah smirked. [colour=DEB887]"Whaut e cepeetel eyedea,"[/colour] she replied, letting the tiny woman fall to the ground. [colour=DEB887]"True, eempaurteal joosteece."[/colour] Chicken darted forward eagerly, its feathers black, its eyes glowing with eager violence. In any event, the two young women did not see what happened next. It was, as Maura had said, up to Dami.

They turned and headed away.
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