He wondered how long it would be before he could go further than where he was.
(The promotion was there, he could feel it, he could practically taste it in front of him, and he was so very certain that it would be there at any minute and he so desperately wanted it, needed it, needed to prove himself that he was not just a failed Lieutenant in the Negaverse.)
He stood beneath a low-branched tree, one gloved hand resting on the trunk, the other at his side. A gust of cold wind blew through the wooded area, rifling Aurostibite's dark curls (mixed with the streak of blue and green) and causing a few stray strands to fall across his pale face.
It was late; close to midnight, if he estimated how much time he'd been out here. Aurostibite pulled a loose thread from the hem of his coat and then reached to push the brim of his hat a little higher, a slight frown forming at the corners of his lips.
There was nothing out here in the park, not yet; but he thought he had perhaps caught the faintest wisp of a power signature some distance away.
HanaKirei
Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:48 pm
Amphitrite wasn't entirely sure what had come over her. Back before she had seen... before she'd been stolen away to some waking nightmare that night, she had been so sure of her role as a superhero. But when she'd come clean with her father, she had so easily obeyed and let her powered side remain dormant. She hadn't transformed at all for two months.
But now afterwards, even after seeing what had happened to that one girl at the beach... even with her lowered arm still wrapped in bandages and traces of her healing burns still laced across her arms, here she was. Maybe because somehow, it made her realize this wasn't something that wasn't to walk away from, was it? Whether she wanted to or not; she didn't really know, to be honest.
In the park, she sensed something... and so she decided to test her newfound resolve, no matter how shaky it was, making a beeline towards it.
The power signature drew nearer; Aurostibite could sense it moving, though he couldn't quite tell the direction it was coming from. It grew in strength and then it was somewhere behind him, and he turned slowly around, the wind rustling through his dark hair.
A senshi, he thought perhaps, at first glance. She did not bear the garb of a knight, and the energy was most definitely not the familiarity of the Negaverse. He did not recognize her at all, but that was beside the point. Aurostibite tilted his chin up, slanting a look towards it, face impassive.
"Good evening," he said quietly, not making the first move just yet and instead just leveling her with a studious gaze. Jumping headfirst into situations without judging them properly beforehand was both foolish and unwise.
"Cold night tonight."
HanaKirei
Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2014 4:53 am
Amphitrite felt her stomach flip unpleasantly when she saw that uniform, reminded of the lieutenant and her vacant stare when Ganymede slammed the rock into the side of her head. Goosebumps wholly unrelated to the cold rose along her skin. At the same time, she could remember bits and pieces of what the negaverse had done in the 'then' that she had dreamed up, and --
She tilted her head towards him, her hands closing into loose fists. "You too, " and somehow, she kept her voice level and cool. More or less, anyway. "It is, isn't it?" The senshi took a step closer, refusing the familiar urge to worry her lower lip between her teeth. "So what brings you out on such a cold night then?"
Aurostibite watched her carefully, his head tilted a little to the side. His calm regard was mirrored in his stance, which was slightly tense around his shoulders, but otherwise lacking both aggression and fear. There was, however, a slight flicker of disdain that moved through his eyes.
The faintest smile touched his lips, just briefly.
"Well, now," he said, lifting his chin. A stray strand of hair fell across his forehead. "I suppose that's none of your business now, is it?"
And then he'd swung a hand out, towards her stomach.
HanaKirei
Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2015 1:10 pm
Amphitrite was no trained warrior; she ate one too many chips, sat on one too many couches, and watched one too many movies where people got good at these battle things with resolve and a training montage at best.
She saw the hand coming, and rather than dodge to a side, she skittered awkwardly backwards with an sort of squeak, her shell heel digging into the frozen ground and nearly toppling her over. The senshi gritted her teeth together and tried to hit back, but let's face it, she was a seventeen year old girl with no background in fighting (in non-verbal ways, anyway). All she did was try to grab a fistful of hair out of reflex.
He wasn't the fondest of fighting, but when it came down to it, it was a necessary aspect of being a part of the Negaverse; and to Aurostibite, who was more driven by a sharp ambition to succeed than anything else, it was either this or let everyone else pass him by.
Eat or be eaten. Survival of the fittest. Either one of them worked.
The swing towards her had just grazed, but it had sent her staggering backwards. Aurostibite's momentum kept him going, and he followed her forward, even as she staggered with a squeak. He dodged the whirl of her fist, but fingers sank into his hair, and he let out a yell of surprise.
Aurostibite yanked himself free, his head stinging, and he lifted a gloved hand, scowling as he massaged the sore spot.
"That was fighting dirty," he said, and swung a leg out, attempting to knock her off of her feet.
HanaKirei
Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:15 pm
Amphitrite considered herself good at many things... fighting and comebacks were not among them. "Yeah, well, you're dirty fighting!" Case in point. She was so busy coming up with that delightful gem of a retort that it wasn't so hard to send her toppling over like a sack of potatoes. She wasn't sure what ached more on impact, her knees or her pride.
Two could play at the toppling game! With a snarl that wasn't really much of a snarl, she lunged at his legs and sought to bring him down hard. Or at least hit him somewhere that would hurt. Or something. (Real poised and lady-like in the heat of battle, huh?) "Jerk!"
His eyebrows rose in mild amusement, in spite of the situation. Aurostibite's little maneuver had been successful, after all; the senshi had gone down in an instant, and a gust of cold wind blew a stray lock of hair into his eyes.
"That depends on your definition of dirty," said Aurostibite dismissively, but let out a shout of anger and surprise as she rammed into him. He fell backwards, staggering and slipping, completely losing his footing. His head snapped painfully against the ground, and with a snarl, Aurostibite lifted his leg, braced it against the senshi's chest, and pushed.
"Get off of me."
hanakirei
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 12:31 pm
Haha! Maybe it wasn't super dignified, but it was effective enough. If she wasn't struggling to keep herself in the battle zone, she might have laughed triumphantly. Take that random negaverse guy with nice hair and a stylish hat!
He did push her off, with a low 'oof' escaping between her lips, and she rolled awkwardly off of him and landed square on her back. Maybe it gave him an advantage, but at least it gave her a moment to --
"Gift of the Ocean!"
Gift of the Ocean - A scallop shell shield, one half on each forearm. Shatters under intense attacks, use once per battle in the first stage.
A pair of scallop shells appeared on her forearms with a surge of magic, and she braced herself for his next move.
His hair had fallen free from it's loose ponytail, and now fell in dark waves against his shoulders and splayed over the ground. A snarl passed through Aurostibite's clenched teeth, and he rolled sideways once he'd managed to pry her off, staggering to his feet again.
Her yell echoed in his ears, and Aurostibite spun around, already readying himself for another attack. A fist swung out towards her, but his fingers hit the hardened shells on her arms and a jolt of pain reverberated up and down Aurostibite's arm, all the way up to his shoulder. He let out a hiss, shaking his hand (the fingers of which that were now definitely - and painfully - bruised), and tried to move closer, swinging his foot out towards hers.
"You are irritating," he said, wondering if he could possibly manage to end this within a reasonable amount of time.
hanakirei
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:17 am
She could still feel the force behind his blow, and even if it didn't hurt, it managed to throw her off-balance and swaying precariously on her heels. Even so, Amphitrite managed to maintain her balance (with a little help as her hand swung out to catch on the tree behind her), and she couldn't help but grin when she realized she'd done something right!
Then he went and said that, and she narrowed her eyes. "Hey, you're the one that started it!" Even if she sort of had been half-looking for a fight just to -- not a time for an introspective, she realized a little too late as he swung out and managed to send her crashing to the ground. Again. Her ankle was throbbing more this time, but she still managed to scurry up, pulling herself into a crouch and glaring at him.
Her hand tapped a rock. Her fingers curled around it instinctively, but the image of Ganymede's smirk and the dead look in the captain's eye was enough to make it drop it just as quickly. She'd just wait for his next move; that was smarter anyway, right?
"Yes," said Aurostibite in agreement, "and I'm afraid that I'll be the one to finish it as well."
His hand was throbbing painfully; dimly, he wondered if he'd broken a finger against the hard plates of her shell gauntlets, but Aurostibite merely shook his hand and attempted to curl it into a fist again, his eyes narrowed in the direction of the senshi.
A small paper crane appeared in Aurostibite's other hand; his fingers closed around it automatically, and he swung it towards her, the sharp edges of the paper directed at her face. It would do little more than a paper cut (such a useless weapon, Aurostibite thought in irritation), but at least he could make the attempt.
hanakirei
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 1:20 pm
See, that was a big line. It really was. Like if she'd been watching an action movie and he was the star with his long hair flowing dramatically in the wind, she would have totally bought it in a second.
Then all of a sudden he was shoving a paper bird in her face. "Are you serious?!" she sputtered out, yelping slightly as the stupid thing left a thin, very annoying slice on her cheek. She made a long series of disgruntled noises and squeaks that might have been the beginnings of words as she tried to grab the stupid crane with one hand, and fumbled to grab a stick with the other.
See, rocks were bad, but sticks were a lot less likely to crack the stupid guy's head open. With that in mind, she began to swing it wildly. "Take that, bird man!!"
Too bad this was, in fact, not the movies, otherwise Aurostibite might have done a bit better in his fight, and he might have had a better weapon. Instead, he was forced to use a paper crane that was approximately the size of something entirely useless. And, unlike the movies, his hair kept getting into his face and making it difficult to see.
He swiped a stray curl out of his face and then something cracked against the back of his head, sending stars exploding in front of his eyes. Aurostibite dropped to his knees, yelping in pain.
