If Róka was being honest with themself - which they were not, by and large, given to do - they ought to have started leaving as soon as the General's aura made itself known.
It would have been the clever thing to do. With the summer fully settled in, they were still unused to the heat after a thousand years in chillier locales; it made them sluggish. Dulled their mind and their reflexes. Even now that the night had cooled everything off, and they could think more clearly - they should have left. They should have turned and left, or powered down and been one of a hundred thousand civilians, or even tapped into the magic of the collar at their throat and taken on another face and used that as an escape from any true consequences.
There was no guarantee a General would know of their agreement with Faustite. It was unlikely, even. Generals had deadly weapons. They needed to leave. It was the only clever option. There was no point in risking their life when they had not a single trump card they could play. It was basic. It was an integral part of what they knew, in theory, of what they had known and practiced.
But Róka had been so restless. They were pacing, longing for their knives, abstaining from any practices that might ensure their safety; it had been so long since they had been under serious threat. Since they had been under any real threat at all. Blood needed to be spilled. Maybe theirs. It didn't matter. They'd gone too long without any of it, any of that ritual, and some flicker-desire in their dead heart was bright and sudden enough that it pulled them to their feet and sent them in the one direction they shouldn't have gone.
Time to meet a General on unfriendly grounds.
stari_maga
as promised!
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 7:42 am
It wasn't like General Jadarite was out all that often these days. Her special project had been a failure, and she did not want to show her face that often in Negaverse circles until she something there worth showing.
She'd refocused in on her social media, which was, at least, going decently. She still had some quota, and that was the only time she was really powering up these days.
She had not been in the habit of taking starseeds before, but now she did it nearly weekly. She was careful about it, of course, and she only took from the ones that no one would question the disappearance of. Homeless, addicts, that sort. When she saw the fear in their eyes as she teleported in front of them and put her hand into their chest, and then the way the light faded when she yanked the gem free, she felt powerful again.
It was always a short lived moment, though.
By the time she'd left the alley where she'd found the disgusting old man and his sleeping bag, the feeling was already fading, even as the starseed glimmered bright in her hand.
But someone else was getting closer. It was a senshi. She could feel it.
Strange. The basics tended to give her distance, but if one was going to be stupid about it, she wasn't going to let that opportunity pass by. A senshi starseed would be something she could be proud of. The starseed vanished to subspace, and the axe appeared instead.
Getting closer, she spotted blue. She spotted scales. Her lips curled. Of course it was a fish. It was always the fish ones.
heard her before they saw her, velocity of metal, heels on the concrete, and
moved on instinct, drilled into them over years of risk and danger, dropping low and rolling to spring back to their feet.
Alright. So that's how she wanted to play it. Not a word spared, just going for their throat. Róka would respect that, if they could, if they cared. Damned teleportation was going to be what they had to keep aware of. And with her power -
It would've been clever to call their magic, then. But it was unreliable. Finicky. Never the same strength twice. If they expected it to be strong and it was weak, it would kill them here, and all things considered this would be a worthless way to die.
They just needed to keep alive long enough to get a sense of her patterns. Easier said than done. They'd gotten sloppy and imprecise; this would refresh that. If she drew blood, when she drew blood, it only needed to not be amputating; any other injury was just the price of this dance. Róka shifted their weight and waited and thought.
stari_maga
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 7:52 pm
So often, Jadarite was the one holding back. Sometimes, she was even the ones holding other people back, because that was what had become expected of her at this point.
She was poised. She was controlled. She did everything with precision and by the books, whether that was her video games or her YouTube or her advancement through the ranks of the Negaverse. She was the levelheaded one on the team, the one who the others looked to for the briefest of seconds before they absolutely lost their minds and did something that would have ruined everything.
What did she have to show for all of this? Nothing.
Her role in Faustite's mission to save himself had failed. Her own mission had gone up in smoke.
She was so, so tired of having to be perfect and pristine just for everything to fall apart anyway. She was tired of trying.
Maybe she could stop trying, just for right now. If she was going to lose her s**t, might as well do it on an idiotic fish senshi who apparently thought that tattered clothing was fashionable.
It was not.
They dodged the first attack, but Jada was ready to keep going. She swung the axe wildly, like a baseball bat, blunt side out, and all of her frustration at the current situation came out as something between a hiss and a growl.
Not the edge they'd thought she'd come at them with. Damn it. Should've seen it coming; anger made people unpredictable, but they really had gone soft here on Earth, hadn't they. It went with their godsforsaken weakness. Still. This felt right. This felt better than anything else; if their hands hadn't been so empty, it would've been idyllic, even in the rot. It felt -
The axe clipped Róka's shoulder as they moved away; they caught their balance and stumbled forward towards her, hissing out air through clenched teeth. It'd bruise quite darkly, and it'd sting, but - no permanent damage. They didn't have the speed or the power to wait her out the way they'd thought; fine. They'd make her bleed one way or another, or they'd bleed, or preferably both. Even without the speed greater power gave them, they'd always been fast enough.
If they weren't at arms-length, it'd be harder for her to - simple decision, fast as breathing, how to disarm or pause an enemy like that. Take hold of her wrists - or her forearms --
stari_maga
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 2:14 pm
The axe hit, although not with nearly the amount of skull-shattering directness that Jadarite would have preferred. She was, to put it lightly, in a mood, and she wouldn't have minded seeing some blood and maybe even some bones splatter across the asphalt.
Oh well. There would be time for that, especially as the awful slippery fish seemed determined to come closer rather than slip away. That kind of attitude would probably explain why what little visible skin Jadarite could see was covered in scars.
Their hand found Jadarite's forearm. She felt thin fingers and a hint of nails digging into her skin, and it did keep her from immediately swinging the axe again.
She was a General, though. There was more to what she could do than just steel. She took advantage of the senshi's closeness to start draining energy.
Maybe they could have avoided it. Maybe they couldn't have. It didn't matter when Róka didn't even fully try; they twisted enough at an unlikely angle it didn't quite strike bone, too-flexible. But still - that was their blood on the blade of her axe, deep dark crimson red, and staining their shirt and dripping on the pavement. That was her axe in their arm, buried deep, right below the shoulder. Oh well.
If nothing else it made them hungry. Which wasn't the right response for it, but she didn't need to know what was going on inside their head.
They needed to know what it was like, to fight someone who could do this. That was simple. They'd barely bled for anything lately -- that might as well have been sacrilege. Something awful and profane. They didn't feel like themself, to be so safe. Everything made sense when they looked at it in their own language, in their own senseless way.
This was the problem with fighting in senshi-skin -- no armor, no protection, just surprisingly mundane cloth. They'd always hated it. This was all better left for when Alexis had a weapon in their own hands and a bit more protection. But what else could they do? Stand idle and rot away?
Then they headbutted her and went to knock her feet out from under her, hooking their ankle around hers, laughing in her face bitter and wild. Taking hits did have benefits! Nobody ever expected them to just keep going. Damned if Róka was going to lie down and die for anything or anyone.
stari_mvga
if pressed they will probably bite her face, but otherwise they're going to wiggle out like a doublejointed eel, use their magic, and haul a** out of there. they got what they came for!
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2023 1:21 pm
Her axe was in their arm. That was good. That was how this was ideally supposed to go, given their power levels, although, looking at the senshi's face, she thought that they could look more upset about it.
What was the point of Metallia giving her an axe if she wasn't able to make some people scream once in a while?
Oh well. That wasn't as important as coming back with some kind of prize.
Then the senshi was back to being slippery. Before Jada could see anything, they cracked their head against her own. She hadn't been expecting that, and s he recoiled, blinking away stars.
If she wasn't frustrated, then she could have been taking this as a way to learn something. There had to be tricks worth learning from a dirty-fighting Order lowlife.
Maybe she could learn them even if she was frustrated, because she was already squeaking again. At least she was able to sidestep the ankle hook, and in the same motion she moved to knee them in the groin.
It would've been convenient if she'd gotten sloppier when she'd gotten frustrated. Could've stood to be more creative; not that they'd ever much preferred an axe, too heavy and not enough reach for it. Better to opt for polearms. Knives. Claws and -- teeth --
It did -- hurt. They weren't designed differently enough from a human for it to make a difference, not like that. But they still fell forward, onto the General, and didn't make a noise of pain aside from a shuddering breath that left their gills shivering open. They had not spent so long forcing their traitorous body to obey them to have it show pain and weakness here, in a nothing-fight on an irrelevant street against someone who they might well never see again.
And they still had an option they hadn't yet disclosed, didn't they? As much as they'd complained about how easily people opted for their magic at any sign of danger or complication, it was still their stupid little trick up their sleeve, because they were a <******** hypocrite and always would be --
Róka made a noise that might've been a bitten-off word or might've just been an exhale with weight, and then called their magic to action without speaking a word. They were flexible, they'd always been flexible; the surprise ought to make her drop her grasp, and they could limp away and find a safehouse before she decided she wanted a full senshi arm for her trophy wall. If she could keep any hold on them like this, she might even have earned leaving that future scar.
stari_maga
Róka's Current Róka's lower arms and legs are covered in veils of water that manifest out of thin air. Anyone who touches the water generated by this attack will temporarily experience the feeling of being trapped in a rip current and dragged under; this may include feeling as if they're tumbling head over heels, being dragged down and away, being unable to breathe, drowning, etc. This magic is primarily an agility boost -- the debilitating effect only lasts as long as an enemy makes contact with Róka, although at player discretion they may be affected for longer. While this magic is active, Róka's agility and speed are increased considerably, including acceleration. This attack lasts for 30 seconds, and Róka can use it three times a battle.
Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2023 5:58 pm
At first, Jadarite didn't know what was happening. She was used to senshi making a show of calling down their magic.
This time, Jada was there, scowling at the silent, slippery senshi, when it hit her. Rather, it pulled. She tasted salt. Then the water was in her lungs, and on the rest of her. The current pried her fingers off of the senshi's tattered shirt, away from their bloody form, away from her axe, which clattered to the ground in her confusion-
Then she was coughing up air, not water. She managed a breath and the spinning in her head stopped. She was fine.
She wasn't stupid. At that point, looking at the water on the senshi's arms, she understood that it was a spell, but she wasn't sure how long that it would last, or what would happen.
She summoned her axe back to her hand, but all this had cost her precious time.
They wouldn't be able to pull that trick on her a second time, but that was the cost of magic; it only worked as a surprise once on any given body. They weren't about to waste that moment; as soon as the General let them go, they were pulling away from her and sprinting as if their life depended on it, made even faster by their magic.
(Ha. Their life did depend on it. Not that that was a downside, or anything.)
stari_maga
fin on yours!
Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2023 2:22 pm
No starseeds tonight, then. At least no free ones, and Jadarite did not see the benefit in spending more of her health or energy who was disgusting enough to bite but who did not seem to be posing so much of an actual threat.
Scowling towards where they were running off to, Jadarite teleported away.
