[BATT] Ending on a Cliffhanger (Didero + Tamiya)

[seekingCylem]

Two trolls have very different opinions on how to properly enjoy nature.

 

[seekingCylem]

Didero was hardly a relaxed troll in his nightly life. A vacation was exactly what he needed. Civisect had all the modern conveniences of the city, but with lovely natural surroundings. How had he never visited the ocean until now? It was vast and glittering under the dual moonlight. He'd been missing out for sweeps.

The locals were quite friendly as well. Didero fished a sleeve of crackers out of his bag. He tore it open, took a cracker for himself, and crushed another in his hand. He sprinkled the crumbs around his feet, which were quickly descended upon by a number of seagulls. They'd clearly grown accustomed to the increased troll population since the city's rebirth.

Didero gave the fawning masses another couple crackers before returning the crackers to his bag. He leaned against the bench he was occupying and tipped his head back. How had been the only person to score this clifftop park bench? Everyone else must have been too busy with the recent Bloodfestivities to pay much attention to the more humble sweep-round features of Civisect.

Oh well. More nature for him, Didero supposed.  

[Sypon]

The evening was not lost on Tamiya Aiguma. The lapping of the waves and the occasional crashing of foam and spray off the rocky shore was a perfect balance of nature’s chaos and rest. After the chaos of Bloodfest, one should certainly rest. Tonight was a rare “quiet night” for Tamiya. Having previously tread out into the isolated spot to enjoy her solitude, she had spread out amongst the craggy terrain and settled in. She stretched and cracked her joints. After she rolled her neck a few rotations, Tamiya exhaled deeply and closed her eyes.

She could hear everything. Her senses were honed, her mind at ease to stifle the chucklevoodoos that she still struggled to keep silent. At this point they were a mere nuisance – a tool, as her caste would use them. But they were more importantly something to reflect on. Torture, sadness, the gravity of trollish despair… These were things a subjugglator had to conquer to succeed. Plucking mirthfulness from the murky depths was a task that few trolls could appreciate. It just required deep concentration. Focus.

Squawking. Tamiya cracked open an eye and snarled. Circling up above were some ratty seabirds, whipping around like mad. Pooping on her metaphorical and literal moment. After a few more attempts in vain to return to her thoughts, Tamiya shuddered with rage. She stood up, stalk still for a moment. Waiting. Her eyes trained on a lowflying bird. She swung.

POOF.  

[seekingCylem]

HP: 20/20

The impact and resulting screech of alarm from the other seabirds was enough for Didero to hear from his own perch atop the cliff. Jolted out of his reverie, he moved quickly, but cautiously to the cliff's edge.

Someone had just killed a seagull. He could see its white corpse and even some skid marks in the sand from its trajectory. The culprit was making no attempt to hide themselves either. Revulsion welled up in Didero's bilesack, both at the callous murder and the obvious purple garb of the killer. This was an unpleasant situation he'd found himself in. The scene brought back unpleasant memories of his lusus. Guilty memories. He could easily go about his night, but the memory of the accompanying inaction would be much more difficult to escape. Didero sighed, exasperated with himself and his emotions regarding common seabirds. You're a mess, Didero Salons.

"Well no use in trying to change tonight," Didero muttered to himself as he cocked an arrow. He fired a warning shot at the purpleblood. Easily the scariest eight words he'd encountered in a good long while.

Didero does 3 damage!

 

[Sypon]

17
0
n/a
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2




Without warning, an arrow shot past Tamiya’s head and snapped against the craggy rocks nearby. Her breath caught in her throat and turned to view her attacker. High on a cliff was the archer, with birds like horrific angels orbiting in his wake. Her club was still freshly dripping with the small splatter of wingbeast blood that it had so recently accumulated. She gave it a couple of shakes, a test swing, and clutched it until her knuckles whitened. He would pay.

Tamiya raced to the cliff face. There was no way but up.  

[seekingCylem]

HP: 20/20

Well that certainly got their attention. Hopefully the troll would connect the dots and leave the poor birds a- OH GOD SHE WAS HEADED STRAIGHT FOR HIM.

Something about the surety of her approach canceled out Didero's belief that no one in their right mind would scale a cliff in order to beat-and-or-cull him. The scales seemed to be continuously tipping further towards "culling" as Tamiya drew closer. He hoped the birds appreciated what he was doing for them...

With shaky hands, Didero cocked another arrow and leaned cautiously over the edge of the cliff.

Didero does 0 damage!

 

[Sypon]

17
0
n/a
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2



Tamiya reached for a hand-hold. There was no way around the cliff that would get her to her destination post-haste. She looked up to see if her attempted assassin had already fled. No. There was his small, round face. Looking down at her. She began to climb.  

[seekingCylem]

HP: 20/20

Wow that purpleblood was actually going to try to scale the cliff. He'd just intended to scare her off away from the birds. Did she really think he was that much of a threat? Or more likely, was she really mad enough to climb several stories up a rock face to throttle him? Considering both of them ended with violence being done to him, Didero decided to leave the speculation for later.

Didero fired his shot with the power and accuracy of someone who did not want to die tonight. He didn't want to pierce her thinkpan--though that would have been the most effective option. He struck one of the few jutting rocks above Tamiya's head. The arrow ricocheted off and the rock dislodged, causing a small-scale rock slide in Tamiya's general direction: straight down.

Didero briefly wondered if he should even bother attempting to talk things out at this point. He wasn't even sure if they could have heard each other over the constant ocean breeze.

Didero does 6 damage!

 

[Sypon]

11
0
n/a
n/a
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2



Tamiya was preoccupied with her hands -- a bit too preoccupied - and so, a rock came crashing down on her face. The sound of screaming, followed by a muffled THWACK, followed by more screaming, were heard from below. Tamiya's face was purple with blood from her nose, which was practically dripping rivulets down into her mouth. Stained teeth bared, Tamiya accelerated her ascent. "********! I WILL!! CAST YOUR REMAINS INTO THE INKY BEYOND! ANGEL! FEATHERHUMPING TWITTERDICK!"  

[Sypon]

actually rolling  

[seekingCylem]

HP: 20/20

Despite the bitter cold, Didero could still feel the blood draining from his face. Well he heard that loud and clear. If nothing else he appreciated the imagination in the curses. It added to the frigid terror that gripped his bloodpusher. He nocked another arrow.

"What--like you did to that defenseless bird!?" Didero called back, not nearly as loudly or as self-assured. He fired another arrow. They were playing chicken now, appropriately enough.

Didero does 2 damage!

 

[Sypon]

9
uses +off A, 2 dmg to max hp
n/a
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2


Tamiya snarled at the response, but her focus was now on climbing quickly. She had long since stashed her weapon, and was readying herself for the final stretch up the face of the cliff - it was any wonder the blow to her head had not knocked her off. Unfortunately, her streak of misfortune continued. Tamiya shrieked as an arrow shot through her kimono, slicing off the flesh of her upper arm as it passed by. It was merely a graze, by all troll standards, but the horror of the sight made Tamiya see red.

Bloody visions sparked into Tamiya's head. Caged birds, pierced, broken, emaciated and scarred. She still had little grasp over her powers, but now was the time to fight with everything she knew. Tamiya focused on her pain, gritted her teeth and screamed as a the influence of chucklevoodoos overcame her and projected at her assailant.  

[seekingCylem]

HP: 18/18

Didero was pretty sure from the intensity of Tamiya's glower that she'd heard him. His arrow had pierced the fabric of her billowing robes. They were quite the large target after all, though Didero considered it a shame to ruin such obviously high quality material. He was about to reach for another arrow when a shock of spontaneous panic struck him in the chest.

Didero's heart sped up to a frantic pace as grotesque images flashed across his vision. He almost dropped his bow, but luckily stumbled away from the cliff instead of towards it. The physical symptoms were bad enough, but every time he tried to take stock of what was going on, all logical thought was replaced with seemingly random images of violence and torture. Was he dying!?

Didero does 0 damage!

 

[Sypon]

9
toot
n/a
n/a
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1

It was a long climb to the top. Tamiya was about 2/3 of the way up when her head wound began to catch up with her. The red tint wavered in front of her eyes, bloodied with the purple that she was wiping across her face as she swept her tangled forelocks into her still-bleeding nose. She sputtered and spat, her ringing spongeclots now joining blurred vision and a head full of screaming. Gog damnit.

But she couldn't give up now. She was too far to fail... And so high up that she might perish if she fell. She had no choice but to continue.  

[seekingCylem]

HP: 18/18

By this point the horrible visions had literally knocked Didero on his a**. The seabirds that had bothered to hang around this long took flight at the commotion. He regained lucidity around the same time he noticed the wet snow seeping into his trousers. He flailed around in the snow a bit before hauling himself up using the bench that had been previously so comforting. His breathing was still uneven and his heart felt sore from the trip it had just taken. It would be a while before Didero would be able to forget about those images.

He was even more resolved not to lose this fight. There was plenty of fear, too, but Didero was actively choosing to focus on his pride or whatever was at stake other than his physical well-being.

Didero does 0 damage!