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Most Recent Posts
Eli liked to think of herself as a fairly attentive person, and so when she bumped into the unfamiliar form of a new mechanic, the surprise made her drop her datapad to the ground.
Out of instinct she gave the other girl a hard look, but what actually accompanied it was a genuine: “Apologies..”
The response from the raven-haired mechanic was hardly so simple as she immediately stepped back before she replied, with a volume that may have seen as a bit too loud.
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I should have really seen where I was going, I really have this bad habit of not paying attention and I really should remedy that— oh! You dropped your datapad! Let me get that for you!” The girl replied as she quickly knelt down to pick up Eli’s datapad before standing back up to hand it back with a wide yet nervous smile, her tone chirpy and speed of words fast like that of an energetic child.
It wasn’t the reaction Eli had expected, to say the least. She took the datapad back from the other girl with a thankful nod, and suddenly she felt as though she might have to tone back the harshness, even if it was unintentional.
“It’s...uhm, fine,” she said. “Accidents happen.” These were not words she was used to using, which might have come across in the almost awkward tone they were conveyed with.
She nodded, “I suppose so… I guess I’m still getting used to everything and everyone, even though I’ve been here for a good while! You definitely don’t look familiar. Are you a new transfer yourself? or one of the pilots? That would be pretty cool.”
The girl spoke quickly, almost too quickly for Eli to keep up with her. It took a moment after she’d stopped speaking to give a proper reply.
“Elizabeth Jackspar, I pilot the NC ‘Blur’. You said you’ve been here a while?”
“Katarina Poux, though most call me Kat.” She paused for a minute before replying to the second part of Eli’s inquiry. “Yeah, give or take a few weeks. I came in and started looking for work and got pointed towards this operation. Guess they liked my repair and development skills enough to accept me in. Which is good because I was starving.”
“Starving?” she asked, and the edge came back to her voice. She looked to Kat intently. “Were you from Smith’s Rest?”
“Nah, I’m from a bit further east, maybe southeast? Last job kind of fell through after some disagreements and the like.”
“Understandable. Was it mercenary work?” she asked, and still couldn’t quite leash her standoffish tone. In truth, Eli wasn’t sure what sort of people made up the NA crew, and if admittedly unsettled her to think there might be some previously checkered individuals caring after their weapons.
“Nah, I was a corporate belle. Fairbanks. For a little while anyway.”
“Hm,” Eli mused, and folded her arms. Well, Kat wasn’t a mercenary, but a prior allegiance to Fairbanks didn’t strike her as too much higher above the bar. She thought back to the third contract. “You know, it’s not impossible that we might end up crossing with them.”
“Wouldn’t concern me, they kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I spent five years of my life at that company and all they did was ignore me, argue with me, dismiss my concerns, and tell me I should do the bare minimum of what I was required. They didn’t think I was good enough to pitch new weapon designs. You know? I think they were sexist. Good riddance, if you ask me.”
“Right…” Eli mumbled, though she couldn’t help but agree with most of Kat’s concerns. “And what if your life here in New Anchorage becomes unsatisfactory? Being an engineer here affords you a lot of vital information.”
“If? That’s pretty pessimistic of you, Liz. Can I call you Liz? Right, well if it becomes bad or something I don’t think I’ll be divulging super war secrets or anything; if I’m allowed to my job nothing bad will ever happen.”
Eli bristled in the same way she did to nicknames like “Liz”. It got her in the same way --though to a stronger degree-- that non-superiors using her full name did. She was “Eli” to everyone but her mother and the captain as far as she was concerned.
“Eli,” she replied, a tad sharp, once Kat was finished. “It’s not pessimism, it’s caution. I want what’s best for New Anchorage, and if that’s you, then good, you’ll hear no complaints from me.”
“Righto.” Kat nodded.
“Blur’s pretty impressive, at any rate. Pretty dangerous to go in relying on speed alone even with that plasma blade. You must be pretty scary to go into that and come out looking as pretty as you are.”
It’d been a lie to say that didn’t feed her ego just a bit. She glanced up at Blur, a slight smile spreading behind her scarf, if only for a moment, though that was more due to how Kat’s compliment ended than to any self control she had. For perhaps the first time, Eli’s chalk skin betrayed her, and took on a rosier hue.
“Uhm--sorr--what?” she asked, fumbling her recovery. “Thank you. Blur’s speed is...uhm…”
Kat laughed, “It’s fast! Though it could be faster or at least more agile with enough tweaks to the systems.”
“Faster?” that seemed like enough to snap Eli back to reality. Blur’s speed and mobility were already optimal she’d been told, however given the light of their last missions she wasn’t sure she believed it as wholeheartedly as she did before. “And you could do that?”
“I could try, but I think so, yeah.”
Eli thought for a moment. She didn’t know if she trusted Kat to work on her NC on her word alone, but then again, she didn’t know any of the mechanics leading the work on Blur as it was anyway. “Fine,” she said at last. “If it won’t take Blur out of operation for the upcoming mission, I...would greatly appreciate any enhancing work you could do on it.” That was right, wasn’t it? The proper way of requesting help from someone else, without an iron fist anyway. She supposed she could have made it a direct order, but somehow that didn’t feel necessary.
“Puts me a bit on a deadline—” A giggle escaped Kat’s lips as she smirked, “—but I like a challenge.”
Out of instinct she gave the other girl a hard look, but what actually accompanied it was a genuine: “Apologies..”
The response from the raven-haired mechanic was hardly so simple as she immediately stepped back before she replied, with a volume that may have seen as a bit too loud.
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I should have really seen where I was going, I really have this bad habit of not paying attention and I really should remedy that— oh! You dropped your datapad! Let me get that for you!” The girl replied as she quickly knelt down to pick up Eli’s datapad before standing back up to hand it back with a wide yet nervous smile, her tone chirpy and speed of words fast like that of an energetic child.
It wasn’t the reaction Eli had expected, to say the least. She took the datapad back from the other girl with a thankful nod, and suddenly she felt as though she might have to tone back the harshness, even if it was unintentional.
“It’s...uhm, fine,” she said. “Accidents happen.” These were not words she was used to using, which might have come across in the almost awkward tone they were conveyed with.
She nodded, “I suppose so… I guess I’m still getting used to everything and everyone, even though I’ve been here for a good while! You definitely don’t look familiar. Are you a new transfer yourself? or one of the pilots? That would be pretty cool.”
The girl spoke quickly, almost too quickly for Eli to keep up with her. It took a moment after she’d stopped speaking to give a proper reply.
“Elizabeth Jackspar, I pilot the NC ‘Blur’. You said you’ve been here a while?”
“Katarina Poux, though most call me Kat.” She paused for a minute before replying to the second part of Eli’s inquiry. “Yeah, give or take a few weeks. I came in and started looking for work and got pointed towards this operation. Guess they liked my repair and development skills enough to accept me in. Which is good because I was starving.”
“Starving?” she asked, and the edge came back to her voice. She looked to Kat intently. “Were you from Smith’s Rest?”
“Nah, I’m from a bit further east, maybe southeast? Last job kind of fell through after some disagreements and the like.”
“Understandable. Was it mercenary work?” she asked, and still couldn’t quite leash her standoffish tone. In truth, Eli wasn’t sure what sort of people made up the NA crew, and if admittedly unsettled her to think there might be some previously checkered individuals caring after their weapons.
“Nah, I was a corporate belle. Fairbanks. For a little while anyway.”
“Hm,” Eli mused, and folded her arms. Well, Kat wasn’t a mercenary, but a prior allegiance to Fairbanks didn’t strike her as too much higher above the bar. She thought back to the third contract. “You know, it’s not impossible that we might end up crossing with them.”
“Wouldn’t concern me, they kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I spent five years of my life at that company and all they did was ignore me, argue with me, dismiss my concerns, and tell me I should do the bare minimum of what I was required. They didn’t think I was good enough to pitch new weapon designs. You know? I think they were sexist. Good riddance, if you ask me.”
“Right…” Eli mumbled, though she couldn’t help but agree with most of Kat’s concerns. “And what if your life here in New Anchorage becomes unsatisfactory? Being an engineer here affords you a lot of vital information.”
“If? That’s pretty pessimistic of you, Liz. Can I call you Liz? Right, well if it becomes bad or something I don’t think I’ll be divulging super war secrets or anything; if I’m allowed to my job nothing bad will ever happen.”
Eli bristled in the same way she did to nicknames like “Liz”. It got her in the same way --though to a stronger degree-- that non-superiors using her full name did. She was “Eli” to everyone but her mother and the captain as far as she was concerned.
“Eli,” she replied, a tad sharp, once Kat was finished. “It’s not pessimism, it’s caution. I want what’s best for New Anchorage, and if that’s you, then good, you’ll hear no complaints from me.”
“Righto.” Kat nodded.
“Blur’s pretty impressive, at any rate. Pretty dangerous to go in relying on speed alone even with that plasma blade. You must be pretty scary to go into that and come out looking as pretty as you are.”
It’d been a lie to say that didn’t feed her ego just a bit. She glanced up at Blur, a slight smile spreading behind her scarf, if only for a moment, though that was more due to how Kat’s compliment ended than to any self control she had. For perhaps the first time, Eli’s chalk skin betrayed her, and took on a rosier hue.
“Uhm--sorr--what?” she asked, fumbling her recovery. “Thank you. Blur’s speed is...uhm…”
Kat laughed, “It’s fast! Though it could be faster or at least more agile with enough tweaks to the systems.”
“Faster?” that seemed like enough to snap Eli back to reality. Blur’s speed and mobility were already optimal she’d been told, however given the light of their last missions she wasn’t sure she believed it as wholeheartedly as she did before. “And you could do that?”
“I could try, but I think so, yeah.”
Eli thought for a moment. She didn’t know if she trusted Kat to work on her NC on her word alone, but then again, she didn’t know any of the mechanics leading the work on Blur as it was anyway. “Fine,” she said at last. “If it won’t take Blur out of operation for the upcoming mission, I...would greatly appreciate any enhancing work you could do on it.” That was right, wasn’t it? The proper way of requesting help from someone else, without an iron fist anyway. She supposed she could have made it a direct order, but somehow that didn’t feel necessary.
“Puts me a bit on a deadline—” A giggle escaped Kat’s lips as she smirked, “—but I like a challenge.”
@Gowi Awesome! I'll head over to the doc. Got guests so drop by whenever, no rush!
@Gowi Sounds good! just holler whenever you're free and we can whip somethin' up!
Like I said, I assumed there were more collabs going on so was holding off. I could definitely do a post this weekend, but I'm also up for whatever we're all deciding to do. As well, also available for collabs.
Oh dang lol, I thought there was a collab going on so I didn't wanna post. All good with moving on on this end though.
Willo couldn't contain the giggle of excitement as the battle picked up its pace. The older man opted for a more melee-oriented assault and she was happy to enter it with him, blades were far easier to dodge than bullets after all. When the wild swing came she ducked again, snatching onto the handle of her axe and letting his momentum carry her around with him. At the end of his strike, she swooped up and once again ended crouched upon the axe handle, eye-level with him.
"Ey look, buddy, chill for a second aye?" she said, and steadied her footing. "You read, right? You know how stories like these end? You're the bad guys, bad guys die, do you wanna die?"
The old man's face contorted even more in anger as Willo taunted him. He raised his weapon wanting to take another shot at her. "Too bad this isn't a story!" He barked.
Meanwhile the younger one was just about to stand up right after he picked up his sword only to be struck down as Lazarus spun on his heel and smashing his other boot into his face. He went flying onto his back yet rolled as he did ending up back on his feet. As soon as he did he immediately clutched at his shoulder obviously in pain.
She dropped back, laying flat on the handle, which might have actually put some weight on it had it not been attached to the man. She struck a foot out to kick his arm up and away from her, hoping to again avoid a shot to the face. Of course, that was something of a shot in the dark, since the force applied would likely be something he could push against easily. So, in tandem, she rolled off and to the ground, where she swooped up again to be face-to-face with him.
"Woah man, personal space!" she chimed, and did her best to stay as physically close to him as possible. That was how she learned to deal with her disadvantages, if range was her crux, and being out-armed was easy, then trying to make it as hard for the opponent to maneuver as possible was one of the few solutions she'd have.
Willo's kick diverted his arm upwards causing him to miss again. Right after she finished her roll the ice that kept her weapon attached to the man's armor melted, thanks to the heated blade, and made a metallic sound as it fell to the ground. The old man grinned at the sight as he pushed off the weapon to the side with his foot and aimed at Willo again.
"What now?" he said.
Willo put her hands up, eyes wide but she couldn't shake the hinting smile on her face. She flicked a glance Laz's way just to make sure he was doing fine. Of course he was, Laz was always fine.
"Well...uh..." she blinked, and when her eyes met the old man's again he'd find they were void of color. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, perhaps his vision was messing with him, but it would almost be impossible to deny that she looked almost...blurry.
Then she moved, and the action was unreal. Her entire form must have turned to smoke, an intangiable flitter of black air that move towards the axe, scooping it up as it too vanished with her. She appeared back across from the man, same distance, and smiled wider.
Striking the handle's base against the ground again, the blade lost its heat, and with a twist it quickly reverted to its sword form. "Alright how about round two?"
"Impressive, but it won't be enough." He said he switched his weapon back to it's sword form. As he did so he pulled out a small paper out of a back pocket and slapped it onto the blade. It stuck to it and a rune immediately lit up yet nothing obvious happened. Dashing forwards at surprising speed considering how bulky his armor was did an upwards slash with his blade.
Meanwhile Drake stood in front of the younger one and eyed him down. "I'll make it quick." He said with a straight face. The man standing in front of him was obviously angered by this rose his sword, pointing it a Drake's face and thrusted forwards shouting nonesense while doing so. Drake simply side-stepped the attack to the right with amzing speed and spun sideways, his back now facing the sword. A kick to the young one's leg caused it to unnaturally bend backwards while the man fell forwards. His yelp was cut short as Lazarus streamlined his kick resulting with his knee colliding with the other one's jaw. This sent him flying on his back. Mid fall, Lazarus grabbed the sword out of his hand, as his grip on it was unremarkable. He spun it around in his hand a few times before the blade bore into the man's chest resulting in another pained scream. Lazarus then finished his assault by striking the handle of the sword, causing the blade to break in half also resulting in it's potential exicus capability being released all at once. Massive ice spikes ripped the hunter's chest appart killing him instantly.
Lazarus then turned to Willo and her foe indifferently of the bloody scene now at his back and crossed his arms as he observed the battle unfolding.
Willo side-stepped the first swing, though remained close enough as to try and see what was up with the runic paper. However, the man's admittedly impressive speed coupled with the power of his swing didn't leave her much time to do so. Instead, she swung her own blade up, following the momentum of his and aiming to push it further away from its original trajectory. If she could throw him off-balance it would be far easier to deal with him, of course, given his apparent experience, she knew better than to expect such a simple outcome.
While parrying Willo managed to glance at the rune. Considering the fact that thousands existed all with various effects it came as no surprise that she couldn't identify it but it did have telltale markings of air based runes.
The cry of pain caught her off guard, and she whirled around. Was that Lazarus? Ramone? She'd never heard any of them in real distress, and even if it was young, terror and agony tended to lend youth to oneself.
But no, it was in fact the younger hunter, and while Willo might have felt guilt for suspecting her master might be beaten so easily, she was more upset by the fact she'd missed seeing him fight.
The old man also turned also turned as he heard the scream only to see his fellow hunter in a pool of blood. He grit his teeth at the scene, obviously not mourning the loss of his partner, which meant they probably weren't too close to begin with, but the fact that he had lost an advantage over the group didn't escape him.
"Aw man!" she whined, taking another quick-step back. Before she could continue her complaint however, she saw Lazarus was back into his old mode of observation. Meeting his eyes wasn't something she was particularly fond of, especially since they always seemed expectant. She turned her attention back to the man, then twirled the sword in her hand so that she held it reversed, then beckoned him forward.
Her eyes once more lost their shade. "Let's get on, then."
Only then did she sense the stinging pain in her cheek and chest. A streak of blood lead to her chin as dropplets dripped onto the pavement. She could feel more slowly trailing down her abdomen from a similar gash to her lower chest. The old man's blade certainly did not strike her during the previous scuffle. So how did he wound her?
"The hell...?" she touched her cheek, then the gash in her vestments and winced at the twinge of parted flesh. Crafty bastard, it seemed, she'd have to figure out his tricks on-the-fly.
Focusing on him again, Willo dashed forward trying to bait out another attack. The man in turn threw his hand out trying to grab Willo by her face while having his sword raised at her in the other hand. Before he could get a grip however, she slid down, carrying on past until she was on his other side before throwing out a slash of her own, more to test the waters than to actually harm. He turned as fast as he could and Willo's blade hit the hunter's armor as he threw himself forward allowing the slash to make contact on purpose. The runes lit up again and another chunck of ice locked Willo's blade in place on his armor. He then proceeded to with another sword strike of his own aimed at Willo's general direction.
She twisted the handle, and the axe extended just in time to carry her out of a possibly fatal strike. A gap now between them, she stayed at one end of the axe and saw that the newly formed ice had stopped it from completing its transformation.
The momentum was enough for her to avoid the blade, however she could once again feel small, seemingly phantom slashes on her legs and abdomen this time, accompanied by a small breeze emanating from the blade.
"You really like my axe, huh?" she asked, and hopped on top of the long handle once again, omly to nearly falter off when the new pain spread. Her playful demeanor too flickered, and she gave the man a small scowl. "You need'a stop doin' whatever that is."
This time she did not wait idly, and instead lunged to kick at him. Even if the attack wouldn't have much force behind it, if she could keep his eyes open for whatever the hell he was up to, it would be better than getting caught off-gaurd again.
The old man's face contorted as the kick sent him stumbling backwards. This also caused Willo's ax to wobble in the ice which in turn shattered. The man slashed blindly in the air with his sword. Seemingly invisible attacks were launched towards Willo, the only visible sign of them was the gash they left in the ground as they approached. At the point it also became apparent what the rune on the blade was supposed to do. It subtly manipulated the air around it to cause blade like disturbances in the air that could cut their target apart.
"Shit that's cool," she mumbled, doing her best to predict the after-shock strikes as she snatched her axe back up. Hitting the armor was no good, they could play "stick the blade to the bad guy" all day until either the enchantment wore out or one of his ghost strikes cut her in two, and she wasn't too fond of either.
Form blurred again, she flitted in zig-zag patterns, enhanced speed making her dodging maneuvers much easier. When she drew close, she struck out in a long, quick strike for his sword, trying to clear a path for his neck, or the first unnarmored place she could find.
His sword bounced off to the side leaving him fairly open, however she could still feel the after affect of the blade as more gashes formed on Willo's arm that was closest to the blade. As she approached for a finishing strike he also attempted to grab her again with his free hand, by the neck this time.
The sudden slash on her arm would weaken her strike, and with the blade unheated there was no way the attack would be clean. But Willo swung for the neck, now a race against both his attacking hand, and whatever ghost-strike was coming next.
The old man grabbed Willo by the neck, letting his sword drop for some reason, smacking Willo painfully into the ground. Before she could even start struggling to escape, blood began dripping on her face and a few moments later the old man slumped over to the side next to her . . . with Willo's ax lodged in his neck.
Lazarus finally let his hands drop to the side as he 'exited' his observation mode and made his way to Willo. He put his weight on one knee as he bowed over her and began bandaging her arm and leg wounds with some sort of rune covered scroll that served as a bandage as well. One could only wonder from where he kept pulling out exactly what he needed when he needed.
"I'll let you take care of the rest," he said as he gave her the scroll and shifted his attention to dead person next to her.
She graciously took it from him and went about wrapping her chest and abdomen wounds. Damn things would hurt, but at least they weren't deep enough to make mobility too difficult. Casting a glance towards Lazarus and the dead fellow, she could help but smile proudly to herself.
After a quick search of the body, Lazarus pulled out a sheet of papar from one of the old man's pocket. He read the note before flicking it, causing a rune it's back to ignite the paper.
"As expected." he said to himself, then turning to Willo.
"Man am I good or am I good?" she cooed, rolling her neck and pulling herself back up to her feet.
"We should get going. Are you done?" He asked her, apparently disregarding her self-praise in the process.
"Yessir," she said, tossing what was left of the scroll back to him. "Much obliged."
Prying her axe free, then sheathing it, she glanced to the other dead fellow. A sudden urgency overtook her, and as she followed Lazarus she asked: ""Hey what'd you do to the other guy, huh? I missed it, do you have a weapon on you? What's it like? How do you fight? I bet you really fucked him up!"
"The best weapon is the enemy's weapon. He will never expect it to be used against him," he responded without further clarifying how the young hunter ended up with ice spikes in his chest, though their origin would now be easily deduced.
"Ey look, buddy, chill for a second aye?" she said, and steadied her footing. "You read, right? You know how stories like these end? You're the bad guys, bad guys die, do you wanna die?"
The old man's face contorted even more in anger as Willo taunted him. He raised his weapon wanting to take another shot at her. "Too bad this isn't a story!" He barked.
Meanwhile the younger one was just about to stand up right after he picked up his sword only to be struck down as Lazarus spun on his heel and smashing his other boot into his face. He went flying onto his back yet rolled as he did ending up back on his feet. As soon as he did he immediately clutched at his shoulder obviously in pain.
She dropped back, laying flat on the handle, which might have actually put some weight on it had it not been attached to the man. She struck a foot out to kick his arm up and away from her, hoping to again avoid a shot to the face. Of course, that was something of a shot in the dark, since the force applied would likely be something he could push against easily. So, in tandem, she rolled off and to the ground, where she swooped up again to be face-to-face with him.
"Woah man, personal space!" she chimed, and did her best to stay as physically close to him as possible. That was how she learned to deal with her disadvantages, if range was her crux, and being out-armed was easy, then trying to make it as hard for the opponent to maneuver as possible was one of the few solutions she'd have.
Willo's kick diverted his arm upwards causing him to miss again. Right after she finished her roll the ice that kept her weapon attached to the man's armor melted, thanks to the heated blade, and made a metallic sound as it fell to the ground. The old man grinned at the sight as he pushed off the weapon to the side with his foot and aimed at Willo again.
"What now?" he said.
Willo put her hands up, eyes wide but she couldn't shake the hinting smile on her face. She flicked a glance Laz's way just to make sure he was doing fine. Of course he was, Laz was always fine.
"Well...uh..." she blinked, and when her eyes met the old man's again he'd find they were void of color. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, perhaps his vision was messing with him, but it would almost be impossible to deny that she looked almost...blurry.
Then she moved, and the action was unreal. Her entire form must have turned to smoke, an intangiable flitter of black air that move towards the axe, scooping it up as it too vanished with her. She appeared back across from the man, same distance, and smiled wider.
Striking the handle's base against the ground again, the blade lost its heat, and with a twist it quickly reverted to its sword form. "Alright how about round two?"
"Impressive, but it won't be enough." He said he switched his weapon back to it's sword form. As he did so he pulled out a small paper out of a back pocket and slapped it onto the blade. It stuck to it and a rune immediately lit up yet nothing obvious happened. Dashing forwards at surprising speed considering how bulky his armor was did an upwards slash with his blade.
Meanwhile Drake stood in front of the younger one and eyed him down. "I'll make it quick." He said with a straight face. The man standing in front of him was obviously angered by this rose his sword, pointing it a Drake's face and thrusted forwards shouting nonesense while doing so. Drake simply side-stepped the attack to the right with amzing speed and spun sideways, his back now facing the sword. A kick to the young one's leg caused it to unnaturally bend backwards while the man fell forwards. His yelp was cut short as Lazarus streamlined his kick resulting with his knee colliding with the other one's jaw. This sent him flying on his back. Mid fall, Lazarus grabbed the sword out of his hand, as his grip on it was unremarkable. He spun it around in his hand a few times before the blade bore into the man's chest resulting in another pained scream. Lazarus then finished his assault by striking the handle of the sword, causing the blade to break in half also resulting in it's potential exicus capability being released all at once. Massive ice spikes ripped the hunter's chest appart killing him instantly.
Lazarus then turned to Willo and her foe indifferently of the bloody scene now at his back and crossed his arms as he observed the battle unfolding.
Willo side-stepped the first swing, though remained close enough as to try and see what was up with the runic paper. However, the man's admittedly impressive speed coupled with the power of his swing didn't leave her much time to do so. Instead, she swung her own blade up, following the momentum of his and aiming to push it further away from its original trajectory. If she could throw him off-balance it would be far easier to deal with him, of course, given his apparent experience, she knew better than to expect such a simple outcome.
While parrying Willo managed to glance at the rune. Considering the fact that thousands existed all with various effects it came as no surprise that she couldn't identify it but it did have telltale markings of air based runes.
The cry of pain caught her off guard, and she whirled around. Was that Lazarus? Ramone? She'd never heard any of them in real distress, and even if it was young, terror and agony tended to lend youth to oneself.
But no, it was in fact the younger hunter, and while Willo might have felt guilt for suspecting her master might be beaten so easily, she was more upset by the fact she'd missed seeing him fight.
The old man also turned also turned as he heard the scream only to see his fellow hunter in a pool of blood. He grit his teeth at the scene, obviously not mourning the loss of his partner, which meant they probably weren't too close to begin with, but the fact that he had lost an advantage over the group didn't escape him.
"Aw man!" she whined, taking another quick-step back. Before she could continue her complaint however, she saw Lazarus was back into his old mode of observation. Meeting his eyes wasn't something she was particularly fond of, especially since they always seemed expectant. She turned her attention back to the man, then twirled the sword in her hand so that she held it reversed, then beckoned him forward.
Her eyes once more lost their shade. "Let's get on, then."
Only then did she sense the stinging pain in her cheek and chest. A streak of blood lead to her chin as dropplets dripped onto the pavement. She could feel more slowly trailing down her abdomen from a similar gash to her lower chest. The old man's blade certainly did not strike her during the previous scuffle. So how did he wound her?
"The hell...?" she touched her cheek, then the gash in her vestments and winced at the twinge of parted flesh. Crafty bastard, it seemed, she'd have to figure out his tricks on-the-fly.
Focusing on him again, Willo dashed forward trying to bait out another attack. The man in turn threw his hand out trying to grab Willo by her face while having his sword raised at her in the other hand. Before he could get a grip however, she slid down, carrying on past until she was on his other side before throwing out a slash of her own, more to test the waters than to actually harm. He turned as fast as he could and Willo's blade hit the hunter's armor as he threw himself forward allowing the slash to make contact on purpose. The runes lit up again and another chunck of ice locked Willo's blade in place on his armor. He then proceeded to with another sword strike of his own aimed at Willo's general direction.
She twisted the handle, and the axe extended just in time to carry her out of a possibly fatal strike. A gap now between them, she stayed at one end of the axe and saw that the newly formed ice had stopped it from completing its transformation.
The momentum was enough for her to avoid the blade, however she could once again feel small, seemingly phantom slashes on her legs and abdomen this time, accompanied by a small breeze emanating from the blade.
"You really like my axe, huh?" she asked, and hopped on top of the long handle once again, omly to nearly falter off when the new pain spread. Her playful demeanor too flickered, and she gave the man a small scowl. "You need'a stop doin' whatever that is."
This time she did not wait idly, and instead lunged to kick at him. Even if the attack wouldn't have much force behind it, if she could keep his eyes open for whatever the hell he was up to, it would be better than getting caught off-gaurd again.
The old man's face contorted as the kick sent him stumbling backwards. This also caused Willo's ax to wobble in the ice which in turn shattered. The man slashed blindly in the air with his sword. Seemingly invisible attacks were launched towards Willo, the only visible sign of them was the gash they left in the ground as they approached. At the point it also became apparent what the rune on the blade was supposed to do. It subtly manipulated the air around it to cause blade like disturbances in the air that could cut their target apart.
"Shit that's cool," she mumbled, doing her best to predict the after-shock strikes as she snatched her axe back up. Hitting the armor was no good, they could play "stick the blade to the bad guy" all day until either the enchantment wore out or one of his ghost strikes cut her in two, and she wasn't too fond of either.
Form blurred again, she flitted in zig-zag patterns, enhanced speed making her dodging maneuvers much easier. When she drew close, she struck out in a long, quick strike for his sword, trying to clear a path for his neck, or the first unnarmored place she could find.
His sword bounced off to the side leaving him fairly open, however she could still feel the after affect of the blade as more gashes formed on Willo's arm that was closest to the blade. As she approached for a finishing strike he also attempted to grab her again with his free hand, by the neck this time.
The sudden slash on her arm would weaken her strike, and with the blade unheated there was no way the attack would be clean. But Willo swung for the neck, now a race against both his attacking hand, and whatever ghost-strike was coming next.
The old man grabbed Willo by the neck, letting his sword drop for some reason, smacking Willo painfully into the ground. Before she could even start struggling to escape, blood began dripping on her face and a few moments later the old man slumped over to the side next to her . . . with Willo's ax lodged in his neck.
Lazarus finally let his hands drop to the side as he 'exited' his observation mode and made his way to Willo. He put his weight on one knee as he bowed over her and began bandaging her arm and leg wounds with some sort of rune covered scroll that served as a bandage as well. One could only wonder from where he kept pulling out exactly what he needed when he needed.
"I'll let you take care of the rest," he said as he gave her the scroll and shifted his attention to dead person next to her.
She graciously took it from him and went about wrapping her chest and abdomen wounds. Damn things would hurt, but at least they weren't deep enough to make mobility too difficult. Casting a glance towards Lazarus and the dead fellow, she could help but smile proudly to herself.
After a quick search of the body, Lazarus pulled out a sheet of papar from one of the old man's pocket. He read the note before flicking it, causing a rune it's back to ignite the paper.
"As expected." he said to himself, then turning to Willo.
"Man am I good or am I good?" she cooed, rolling her neck and pulling herself back up to her feet.
"We should get going. Are you done?" He asked her, apparently disregarding her self-praise in the process.
"Yessir," she said, tossing what was left of the scroll back to him. "Much obliged."
Prying her axe free, then sheathing it, she glanced to the other dead fellow. A sudden urgency overtook her, and as she followed Lazarus she asked: ""Hey what'd you do to the other guy, huh? I missed it, do you have a weapon on you? What's it like? How do you fight? I bet you really fucked him up!"
"The best weapon is the enemy's weapon. He will never expect it to be used against him," he responded without further clarifying how the young hunter ended up with ice spikes in his chest, though their origin would now be easily deduced.
@NanoFreakV2 Ay wanna do this battle in a collab since it seems like it's just us?
"Woah--" Willo felt an unexpected resistance when she tried to yank the axe back, quickly realizing that the blade was more or less merged temporarily with the elder man's chest plate. She looked up to him, head hunching a bit as she mustered up an anxious chuckle. "Uh...sorry? Eheh..."
She heard Lazarus hang her out to dry, but before she could complain the angry hunters began their assault once again. The one behind aimed to slash, the man before aimed to shoot. The axe was stuck, there was no point in trying to wrench it free, and even if she did the weight of the ice would throw off her swings. So instead she took advantage of the fact that it was fixed to the elder hunter, vaulting up and standing atop the protruding handle before leaping up and over the man's head. Surely this would avoid the younger hunter, but she still had to worry about the pistol, and tried to swat down at it in an attempt to throw off the older man's aim.
If all went well, she'd land behind him with a moment to breath and consider her next move.
She heard Lazarus hang her out to dry, but before she could complain the angry hunters began their assault once again. The one behind aimed to slash, the man before aimed to shoot. The axe was stuck, there was no point in trying to wrench it free, and even if she did the weight of the ice would throw off her swings. So instead she took advantage of the fact that it was fixed to the elder hunter, vaulting up and standing atop the protruding handle before leaping up and over the man's head. Surely this would avoid the younger hunter, but she still had to worry about the pistol, and tried to swat down at it in an attempt to throw off the older man's aim.
If all went well, she'd land behind him with a moment to breath and consider her next move.
Vera waited by for the conversations to end, committing Zach's unfamiliar face to memory, and giving Percy a pleasant smile. When that was all said and done, Stein didn't look too pleased. Really, Vera couldn't blame her, Zach had been a kinda creepy, like the people Lizzy warned her to stay away from. On top of the that, it seemed like the other girl hadn't gotten to finish up whatever it was she was working on, and so when at last she took off, it sounded like she did so with a huff.
"O-oh, okay! Have fun, keep some butt out there, Frankenstein!" she called, waving after her until she was gone. Vera looked around, the hangar more or less void of any truly familiar faces, and found herself bouncing, anxiously trying to think of something to do. All at once her eyes lit up. "Lizzy!"
A sudden energy overtaking her, Vera hurried off for the cafeteria, eager to tell Eli about her new friend. It had been a while since Vera had made a friend Eli liked, or knew...or spoke to. But now there was no alternative, Vera had planned it perfectly, Eli would have to talk to Stein because they were both pilots. Yes! All planned and meticulously calculated!
Vera arrived at the cafeteria to find it empty.
--
Eli was early to the briefing as was her status-quo, standing silent and at attention. Whatever their first mission in the new home would be, she was determined to handle it perfectly. This time there would be no follies, no bastards slipping from her grip or blowing off her damned arm.
When the door opened she saw Jan first, followed by the unfamiliar face she could still assume was Stein. She supposed for what it was worth, being the only other female on the team made identification a tad easier. The girl's stature reminded her a bit of Madison, at least in size. Stein's gait was far bolder, a soldier's walk.
But, the brief glance was all she spared their way. What her teammates looked like, how they walked, held no relevance towards their mission. She returned her attention forward, waiting for the Captain's orders, and further that, the mission proper.
"O-oh, okay! Have fun, keep some butt out there, Frankenstein!" she called, waving after her until she was gone. Vera looked around, the hangar more or less void of any truly familiar faces, and found herself bouncing, anxiously trying to think of something to do. All at once her eyes lit up. "Lizzy!"
A sudden energy overtaking her, Vera hurried off for the cafeteria, eager to tell Eli about her new friend. It had been a while since Vera had made a friend Eli liked, or knew...or spoke to. But now there was no alternative, Vera had planned it perfectly, Eli would have to talk to Stein because they were both pilots. Yes! All planned and meticulously calculated!
Vera arrived at the cafeteria to find it empty.
--
Eli was early to the briefing as was her status-quo, standing silent and at attention. Whatever their first mission in the new home would be, she was determined to handle it perfectly. This time there would be no follies, no bastards slipping from her grip or blowing off her damned arm.
When the door opened she saw Jan first, followed by the unfamiliar face she could still assume was Stein. She supposed for what it was worth, being the only other female on the team made identification a tad easier. The girl's stature reminded her a bit of Madison, at least in size. Stein's gait was far bolder, a soldier's walk.
But, the brief glance was all she spared their way. What her teammates looked like, how they walked, held no relevance towards their mission. She returned her attention forward, waiting for the Captain's orders, and further that, the mission proper.
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