The status quo favours you. The longer you move the higher your score. But Decima takes her time to appreciate the show.
You feel the serpent's gaze lock into place. You hear the soft crunch of leaves and earth under her feet as she walks on the edge of your vision. She can see you and you can't see her. She's not being stealthy, you can hear the clink and shift of her toying with her weapon, her scratching her feet against dirt and stones, her rustling her cape - all sounds faintly blending in beneath the pulse of the music.
"You're going to need to move like that if you want to fight Lios," whispered Decima into the communicator. "Have you heard? First she was training with Titanomachia, and now she's signed up with Taowu. People are saying that she's a favourite for the finals all of a sudden. She's definitely the only person who might move like the person you're imagining..."
The sensation of danger begins to grow. A little at first, but increasingly severe. The way she shifts and winds with the flow of your head and neck, the way those neon aquamarine eyes glint out at the edge of your consciousness, the flash of silver, the almost hypnotic refusal to be stealthy even as she refuses to be clearly seen. Hers is the aspect of a snake and something inside you rebels at this game: you need to stop playing and give her your full attention right now. She's doing something.
"... but it's the wrong stance to take if you're not fighting her. Have you ever fought a monster before?"
But she hasn't done anything yet. Not that you can tell.
You feel the serpent's gaze lock into place. You hear the soft crunch of leaves and earth under her feet as she walks on the edge of your vision. She can see you and you can't see her. She's not being stealthy, you can hear the clink and shift of her toying with her weapon, her scratching her feet against dirt and stones, her rustling her cape - all sounds faintly blending in beneath the pulse of the music.
"You're going to need to move like that if you want to fight Lios," whispered Decima into the communicator. "Have you heard? First she was training with Titanomachia, and now she's signed up with Taowu. People are saying that she's a favourite for the finals all of a sudden. She's definitely the only person who might move like the person you're imagining..."
The sensation of danger begins to grow. A little at first, but increasingly severe. The way she shifts and winds with the flow of your head and neck, the way those neon aquamarine eyes glint out at the edge of your consciousness, the flash of silver, the almost hypnotic refusal to be stealthy even as she refuses to be clearly seen. Hers is the aspect of a snake and something inside you rebels at this game: you need to stop playing and give her your full attention right now. She's doing something.
"... but it's the wrong stance to take if you're not fighting her. Have you ever fought a monster before?"
But she hasn't done anything yet. Not that you can tell.