Mcmolly

Chasers: Boundary of the Crimson Sky (Full for the time being)

Apologies for the longish solo-post, I get carried away sometimes with character intros ^^''

Chasers: Boundary of the Crimson Sky (Full for the time being)

The little tavern was out of the way, Cinwi had made sure of that. At the outskirts of the city only drifters and regulars would enter, and its distance from the proper civilization is what made it feel safe to her. It was easier to move freely when there were less people, less chance of getting recognized, in fact when she was absolutely alone and could meander about naturally it was incredibly relieving. However she was not the nature type, and despite the fairly blank status of the tavern, she wore her hood and clothes that covered her extremities nonetheless. One too many times had she taken low population for granted, and when it had nearly cost her her life at the hands of a chaser far more skilled than she was, Cinwi knew that chances were not something she was well-stocked with.

Even still, dragons needed to eat and drink just like everyone else. Well okay maybe that was dependent but still, isolation drove her crazy. She hated being secluded and alone almost as much as she hated...a lot of things, come to think of it. It was hard for her to put the things that angered her in order, the numbers too vast and the degrees too varied. So instead she didn't think about it, instead she walked into the little tavern, took a seat at the counter, and kept her head lowered as the barkeep approached.

"Water, no ice," she said before he could ask her order.

Her eyes went around the room to the three or four people --counting the keep-- that inhabited it. One she could tell was Youkai, one was most certainly human, and the other was hard to discern. She'd seen weird looking chasers before, could have been one of them. But then, it could just have easily have been a more humanoid Youkai, like herself. Aside from the claws, scales, and blue skin of course. Okay perhaps not like herself entirely, but the point remained. Often when she entered a place the humans were the first to eye her, but the chaser seemed disinterested. It was the Youkai that looked curious, and as soon as she met his eyes she turned back around to face the counter. A lump formed in her throat but she kept herself in check, panic would only make it worse.

The keep set her water down and went back to his business. Cinwi had to hold it carefully so as not to scratch it with her claws, but that worry was soon shoved aside when she saw that, upon closing her fingers around it the water had already begun to chill. A deep breath filled her lungs, then another, however many it would take to steady herself.

"Dammit, fuck...come on..." she muttered, bringing the glass to her lips only to pull it back a moment later. Her breath had nearly formed a thin layer of ice on the top of the drink. "Okay that's bullshit, why can't I do that when I fucking want to do it..."

Despite her drink, it was the footsteps behind her that brought a chill up her spine. Sure enough, the Youkai man took the seat next to her, his eyes drifting from the chilled glass to her. He wasn't anything too alarming, humanoid like her, with horns on his head and tusks in his mouth. He let out a huff before he spoke, his voice rugged and earthy.

"Looks pretty cold."

"Yeah," she mumbled in response.

"How'd it get that way with no ice?"

"Do I look like a fuckin' mixologist to you?" Cinwi bit her tongue almost as soon as the words left her mouth, and though an apology might have salvaged the situation, no such thing came forth. Instead she just sat there, wound up tense and tight, waiting. She didn't try and stop him from yanking her hood off, merely shutting her eyes in aggravation. Stupid Cinwi, stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Yer Naroth's bitch."

"My name is C--" a surprisingly strong hand gripped her narrow throat, and before she knew it she was hoisted out of the seat and dangling in the air like a rag doll. The Youkai man said something to the barkeep that she didn't hear, and as he began moving them towards the door she dug her claws into his arm. The man let out a roar, and the sweet release of her windpipe was bittered by the pain of slamming through the door and landing on the dirt outside.

Cinwi scrambled to her feet as the man walked out, behind him the chaser running away towards the city, while the undiscerned patron simply watched from within. She lowered to a hunch, her claws extended and teeth bared, ready to fight. There would be no explanations, whatever she or her father had done to this man long ago was not something that could be talked away. He wanted blood, simple as that. He charged at her like many others did, haymaker aimed down at her head, and many the others he didn't expect her to block it. The blood she'd drawn from his forearm she now drew from his fist, he claws sinking into it and yanking him forward with a strength that clearly caught him off guard. What she didn't expect was his weight, and when he fell on her she collapsed to the ground beneath him. Before she could defend herself, his unbloodied fist cracked against her cheek and her head smacked against the earth, dizzying her enough that the second blow didn't hurt nearly as much. The taste of blood on her tongue was enough to snap her back into focus however, and one again she grabbed hold of his arm, digging in deep enough that he wouldn't be able to yank away.

"Cinwi you asshole," she said, pulling him close and clamping her jaws down on his neck. The skin and muscle yielded easily, and all it took to make the Youkai man go limp was to rip out whatever it was she'd bitten onto. When it was over she shoved him off, rolling onto her stomach to cough up the blood she'd swallowed accidentally. Tasted fucking awful. Still, she had no time to bellyache, nor did she have time to be thankful that this man had not been a trained fighter. The luck of encountering a brute was becoming rare, and some other time she'd have to worry about finding a way to change that, but for now the only thing that mattered was getting away. In the dark she didn't trust the place beyond the city to be any safer than the city itself, at least there there'd be nooks and crannies to hide in. And so, getting to her feet, Cinwi headed down for the city, intent on finding a place to hide again.

Shattering of Tranquility

Hayden was perhaps the last thing Ciell wanted to see when she stepped out of her mech, but nonetheless there he was. Whatever haughty tone he held before over the comms was gone, replaced by some sudden and suspicious respect. There was no chance she was going to buy that, there were less gracious winners than there were losers. Her eyes went to his outstretched hand, and then briefly flicked down to her own hand, which had not yet ceased to bleed, and before she could decide whether or not to match his faux-sportsmanship her platform continued down.

"Do not get used to this," she muttered, before descending away.

A medic at the bottom was ready, but as soon as he began wrapping her arm she snatched the gauze and walked away. There wasn't time to stand around being seen to like some child, the bleeding wasn't awful and if she needed further treatment later she'd go and get it herself. For now, there was only one thing on her mind, training. Her reaction time hadn't been fast enough, she should have been able to swing faster, maneuver quicker. Her victory should not only have been assured, but it should have been flawless, every simulation and duel before pointed towards perfection, and yet here was a mark on her record. From a farm boy. A farm boy that was her squad leader now. That was her position, dammit, everything had led up to her leading the team, her leadership skills, her tactical prowess, and now what was she? Another body in a unit? The sower of glory to be reaped by another? It was worse than insulting, it was humiliating.

It was outside of the gym that she encountered her mother, standing with her arms crossed as though she'd expected to see her daughter there. No, not as if, that was exactly the case. As a mech Ciell was deadly, as a person, predictable, especially to her mother. Like a soldier she came to a stop before the taller woman, head cast down to avoid the cold, hard eyes observing her.

"I'm not going to explain why I'm disappointed with you. You'll be sparring with the volunteers I've gathered for the rest of the day. If you're going to bleed, you're going to get something out of it. Go."

Ciell only nodded, walking past and into the training room. Within the small boxing ring were a group of students, fellow classmen she only vaguely recognized, people she'd beaten previously or others who had challenged her and been declined. All of them looked to her like vultures would a carcass, grins spreading a few lips, grimaces others. She could not lie to herself and think that she had a chance sparring all of them one after the other, but Ciell was good with facades, and as long as she could still stand it would be her number one priority to remind her opponents why they held their grudges in the first place.

As the feeling came back to her hand she clenched it into a fist. Pain sizzled in her veins, ached in her bones, and blood leaked between her fingers onto the floor. It was going to be a long day.

Chasers: Boundary of the Crimson Sky (Full for the time being)

Curious, where should the Youkai be starting out IC?

RWBY AU;Heroes of a Different Story (Mission terminated. Wishing you all well.)

Will do. Out at the moment so once I'm back I'll go ahead and get that situated.

RWBY AU;Heroes of a Different Story (Mission terminated. Wishing you all well.)

I have a hard time keeping track of all the places I need to be, I didn't figure by now everyone else was finished, apologies.

Shattering of Tranquility

Ciell couldn't believe it, in fact at first she didn't. She maneuvered enough so that the first shot wouldn't crater her chest, but it wasn't enough. The impact took her away, and her mech landed heavily upon its back, axe flying from her grip. When she got back to her feet she realized something was wrong, and though it took a moment the loss of feeling in her right arm slowly became evident.

<Hull Breach, connection to right arm lost, please disconnect-->

She tore her arm from the link nodes connecting her to the mech's systems in a panic. There was no pain, and there wouldn't be, the numbness was nothing more than a side effect of the damage. When the mech had lost control of its arm, she felt it, and it would be some few minutes before the senses returned to her limb, even if she could move it fine. A screen popped up displaying the damage, and she saw that Hayden's rifle had punched a hole clear through the right shoulder of her mech thanks to the lack of shielding. Not an easy repair, but that didn't matter, nothing else mattered except for the fact that she'd lost. That alone boiled her from the inside out, her teeth grate together, eyes full of fury and denial, then she heard his voice.

<"Is that all you got? the prodigy defea--">

Once again she cut his comm's short prematurely, but it took her a moment to realize that without a mental link she couldn't just think him quiet. So she did the next best thing, and smashed her numbed fist against the comm screen, shattering the glass with an angry growl. When she pulled it back her suit was torn around her forearm, glass shards here and there, Ciell didn't care. The screen could be replaced, the blood could be cleaned out, but the damage this would do to her reputation would be irreparable. Her mind focused so quickly on those that she had bested before, the grudges held amongst the "elite" that were only fueled further by victories and losses. The reminder hit all too quickly that she was not well-liked among her peers, and that this incident would likely haunt her sooner and later. And mother...

Without a word Ciell brought her mech back to the descending platform and waited for the machine to bring her back down to the docking bay.

Shattering of Tranquility

The fire came as expected, and she waited to see how the Mirror would hold up. Whether it was fully patched and running smoothly or not, the tech was experimental, and she had to be ready for it to fail or malfunction. When the rounds approached they were pulled towards the edges of the Mirror, sling-shotting around the mech's back. Ideally they would have returned back towards Hayden, but she was not surprised when they instead broke free of the magnetic field and hit the turf around her.

<Steady, thrusters!> The thought and the action occurred as one, as soon as the Mirror failed she was dodging, but not backwards. Instead she moved to the side, her mech's hand jamming into the earth to act as a pivot for her to angle herself back towards Hayden. As soon as she was lined up, she brought the axe back around into both hands. <All power to charge!>

<Recommended to allow for minimal defensive capabilities-->

"Override!" The sound of her own voice startled her, had she shouted that command? It didn't matter, all energy had been rerouted to her boosters and she was rocketing towards Hayden. This time however she would not make it so easy for him to escape. She leapt into the air as she neared, thrusters carrying her a good height, and then aimed to slash down at him with a heavy blow. The links in her mech's palms connecting her to the axe carried over some energy, and the jets lining the back of the blade ignited, propelling the axe at an even faster rate than normal.

What she did not account for however, was how vulnerable she was in that moment. Shielding, mobility, and above all the Mirror system were all but nullified in those few moments of attack, and only in the back of her mind did she fear he might utilize such an opportunity. But alas it was too far back to be brought up quickly enough, and so she was forced to commit.

Chasers: Boundary of the Crimson Sky (Full for the time being)

Heya heya! o/

Shattering of Tranquility

Ciell didn't actually expect the boy to dodge. Plenty of times pilots froze up at such an immediate and full-on assault, but Hayden had reacted like a calm, collected pilot. Perhaps there truly was some experience to his talent, but nonetheless she was not deterred. As his knight rose high up into the air above her she kept her boosters going, sailing past where he once stood to avoid the counter-fire.

When she banked back around she saw that he had gone into a hover over the water. Smart, mere altitude wouldn't save him from the jumping capabilities of her mech, but full submersion would. However she was also fairly certain he couldn't afford to stay up forever, not if he expected to actually match her when he landed, and if he wanted to play tortoise-and-the-hare, then she was all for it.

<Mirror> she thought, the mental command as one with the interface of the mech. The projection field harbored deep within the hull came to life, and from one shoulder to the other a tapering field flickered into view. At first it was barely visible, as the standby function hardly utilized the system's energy, but she was ready to change it at a moment's notice. <Switch system to manual>.

<Mirror System's link to neural reaction time is sub-optimal, auto-reaction recommended>

Ciell cringed when Eckerd's voice rang inside her head, and a curse slipped from her lips. She was sure she'd asked for the voice to be muted during live use, every time it put thoughts in her mind all it did was make her feel uneasy.

<Override, switch to manual reaction control> she said again, and this time there was no protest or response. Instead she felt as though something had been added to her, an extra section of her very being coming into existence. Her control was absolute, like one might move their arms or their legs she could alter the power of the Mirror System, and though it was only one of the countless micro-processes involved in the mental link, her training had made it all feel second nature. "Can't run from me forever," she muttered to herself, preparing both the Mirror and her boosters in case she needed a backup.