|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 2:01 pm
Starting from last year, the summer months became far more eventful for her as compared to the years prior. It marked the start of her time as a knight, and while she hated the heat she did enjoy the summer vibes and general liveliness of the season.
Ever since becoming a knight, though, she also started noticing a lot of the weirder things that went on. After learning a bit about chaos and running into her fair share of youma and some less than savory chaos folks, Ekstrom made it a point to be out and about a few times a week to try and keep people safe as they headed home from work or, more likely, some of the city’s summer festivities. Despite having to stay in the shadows to do it, she liked to think she was doing pretty good work.
It was getting late, and she was actually just about to head home when she sensed the prickle of a chaos energy signature nearby. The page looked in the direction she was sensing it coming from for a long moment, debating if she wanted to put off a nice shower and her bedtime. In the end her sense of duty won out, and she headed over.
“Evening,” she greeted when she was close enough. She didn’t sound thrilled to be there, but it was polite enough. “Don’t suppose I could just convince you to head on home for the night?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 6:24 pm
its_ p a o If the knight sounded less than thrilled, Ilmare certainly felt less than enthused to have her there. Fortunately, she'd already taken care of her little harvest and the energy orb had already been sent back to the Dark Kingdom. At least her 'donor' had already wandered off, so she couldn't be accused of attempted murder. Small mercies and all that. But here was a knight poking her nose in and Ilmare was tired. Lying wasn't an option when it came to her superiors, which meant trying to talk this girl into playing along or picking a fight for real. Fuuuuuuuck. "Well, I would have headed there on my own if you'd just minded your own business," she snapped. "But no, you have to come be nosy and now I have to fight or the Generals take my skin for a rug."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2024 10:30 pm
Ekstrom wondered why she always hoped for at least a halfway decent conversation whenever she ran into someone of the negaverse. Was it really too much to ask for a polite response?
Then again, she had stuck her nose in and all. The trouble with being rather responsible about her knightly duties was that she always had to assume the worst when she sensed chaos about. An event like this, where she showed up for apparently no reason other than, “Oh, there’s a chaos signature,” was an anomaly, though, so she was a little surprised by it. And she did feel a bit bummed that she missed her chance at a peaceful end to her night for basically no reason.
“Point taken,” she sighed. ”Sorry, your bosses sound like they have sticks perpetually up their behinds.” She wondered briefly what it must have been like to have a boss for this kind of thing. One boss for her day job was bad enough…
“I was actually on my way home, too, but I couldn’t not take a look when I sensed your signature. To make things easier for both of us, maybe we can just…pretend? To fight, that is.” She looked up thoughtfully and tried to imagine what a fake fight would even look like.
“You take a few swings, I’ll take a few swings and maybe a hit or two, and then you can take my being down as a chance to leave?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2024 11:13 am
Ilmare felt justifiably annoyed as she listened to the knight speak. Only to blink in surprise to have the girl basically agree with her! Though she knew that she, personally, would never have the guts to tell the generals they had sticks up their asses.
And she nobly (and with great difficulty) refrained from correcting the knight's statement about not checking. Ignoring things was easy! She didn't chase after every wisp of Order aura she felt. But she held her tongue and listened. Maybe the knight had someone she had to answer to as well.
Eyebrows raising, she felt a little taken aback to have a knight made the same offer that she usuallly made. Just a staged fight, but let's make it look good! Ilmare knew this offer, though it was a first being on the offered to end. Nodding slowly, she allowed herself a slight smile.
"I can be persuaded," she said slowly. "I have to admit, it would make things a lot easier in the long run."
She considered a moment. The knight was clearly sincere and while it might be a trick, she doubted it. All in all, she'd be a fool to not take the offer.
"Aight," she said at last. "Hit me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2024 4:37 pm
Was that a smile?
Oh, and it sounded like they were on the same page about fake-fighting, too.
Maybe there was hope for civility between order and chaos after all.
Ekstrom managed a small smile of her own, and when the senshi took her up on her offer, she nodded and got into a very loose fighting stance. Her trainer would probably be devastated by the sight of it, but they were only doing this so they could say that they fought. And technically, they didn’t even have an audience so it didn't have to look all that convincing, either.
“Alright, here goes.”
She dashed toward her and aimed a jab just far enough from her head that it was clear she was trying to miss.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2024 10:31 am
Thank goodness for sensible people, Ilmare thought. Though she wasn’t sure what on earth the knight was up to when the strike so clearly missed her head. This had to look believable, after all.
Sweeping out with a leg, she aimed to knock the girl on her a**. It would sting, but unless the knight had bones of glass, she’d be okay.
“You gotta actually hit me,” she scolded softly. “Don’t be afraid to leave a bruise or two. Just don’t shatter my teeth or jaw.”
She did appreciate the other girl’s consideration, of course. But if anyone stumbled upon them, for the sake of both their skins, they had to make this convincing.
“When you get up,” she muttered under her breath, “Take a swing at my gut or kick my feet out. It’ll be fine. Trust me.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2024 1:23 am
Ekstrom fell back and landed spectacularly on her butt, and she turned a slight pink when she was scolded for failing to properly fake-fight. Apparently it was possible to fail at even the silliest thing, though this would ultimately work in both of their favors if they did it right so she definitely wanted to do better. From the way it sounded, she apparently had the wrong idea about it not having to look convincing.
Easy enough to fix, she thought.
She gave a short nod of her head at the offered advice, swiftly got back up on her feet, and aimed a punch–not too hard but hopefully enough to be believable to any passersby–straight for her gut.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2024 10:17 am
Even at reduced strength, the punch to her gut landed like, well… a punch to the gut. Doubling over and wheezing, she managed to croak out, “Good girl.”
Still one punch did not a fight make and Ilmare was trying to think of something that would look flashy enough without teetering into the comically impossible. She’d never been into the whole hair pulling girl’s fight trope. But the knight’s arm was still in reach and she grasped it, forcing herself straight as she pulled the knight off balance and attempted a body slam.
Though she was being very careful to keep her hands close to the girl’s head and neck to cushion if need be. One or two more blows would cover it, she thought. And each of them could treat it as something or a training spar.
Wins all ‘round.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2024 1:16 am
Ekstrom couldn’t help but wince alongside her. She’d gotten winded by gut punches and kicks before–it wasn’t pleasant.
She’d been about to pull her arm back to try for a combination when she felt the other grab it instead. The page blinked and tried to process what might be coming next to try and brace for it. She realized it when she tipped forward, not quite off balance but no longer grounded with a solid base, either. So she let it be, kept her arm up in hopes of looking like she was still trying to defend against it, and took the body slam, full force.
The soreness was familiar, but Ilmare had thankfully provided a cushion for her and kept her from feeling the worst of it. It wasn’t too hard to think of how to react thanks to that.
With a quiet groan, she pulled her arm free from the senshi’s grip, wrapped both arms around her waist instead, and tried to hook a leg behind one of hers to try and get them on the ground.
Admittedly, she was starting to have a little fun with this impromptu spar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2024 6:34 pm
Blinking in surprise, Ilmare was genuinely startled when she felt arms and a leg around her and pulling. She honestly hadn't expected the girl to be so quick with a counterattack, nor so cunning. Thus, she obligingly took the fall, but put a little struggle into it.
"Good girl," she whispered. "Now you're gettin' it."
She'd have to remember to tell the knight to watch some professional wrestling. The moves were quite showy and occasionally devastating. She'd probably learn some fun tricks.
Rolling to her back, she grabbed for the girl's hair, careful to grasp close to the scalp. She didn't want to hurt her for reals, after all. But a good hair grip gave leverage and she needed that for her next trick.
"Please trust me, and try not to flinch back too much," she hissed. Then, while pulling at the knight's hair, she threw out a punch with her other hand. But aiming for the shoulder. With luck, the girl would flinch, but it would be enough to make it look like she'd avoided having her nose broken by sheerest luck.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2024 8:29 pm
A smile flickered onto her face for a moment at the verbal pat on the back, though she quickly fought to bring her expression back to neutral, or otherwise actually struggling against an opponent. After all, who smiles in the middle of a serious fight?
Now on the ground, Ekstrom was coming to realize that…it was maybe a mistake. She didn't know the first thing about grappling or wrestling or anything like that, so she lost her hold on Ilmare quickly and soon found herself in the unpleasant position of having hair pulled.
Not really, but she did feel a tug. And heard the instructions.
Sure enough, the page flinched when she threw the punch, though felt the impact on her shoulder rather than on her face. It wasn’t pleasant, but better by far compared to a hit to the face. She winced and fell back, hoping the other would let go of her hair before she fell back too far.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2024 5:18 am
Ilmare did indeed, release her hair and then laid on the ground there panting as if they'd really been grappling. Moving slowly, she rolled to her feet, looking ready to try again. She was going to have to use her magic to make this look good. And there really wasn't a way to get in close to warn the knight to keep her mouth shut.
Ilmare was going to have to take her chances and hope the girl didn't swallow anything.
"Fairy Bells Ring!" she croaked out, hands cupped in front of her body. Even as the waited the millisecond it took for the cup to appear and fill, she found herself hoping that this knight was nothing like the senshi Parsifal. She wasn't sure she wanted to be within 300 meters of a knight armed with a frying pan and tripping absolute balls...
Once the cup was full, she flung the contents at the knight.
its_ p a o Sailor Scout Attack: Fairy Bells Ring Effects - Ilmarë cups her hands before her and speaks her attack. A small cup that looks like a harebell appears an is filled with an iridescent white liquid which Ilmarë then throws out at her opponent. Should the liquid strike bare skin, the target will be subject to mild hallucinations of a fantastical nature (player discretion as to what they see) for 25 seconds. Should any of the liquid strike the eyes or go into the mouth, the hallucinations last for an extra 5 seconds. Able to use twice per battle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2024 8:11 pm
Ekstrom lay on the ground just opposite the senshi, rolling her shoulder a few times to try to get used to the soreness. Not that they were fighting too seriously, nor had she done so much damage that her arm was unusable, but it did hurt. So she focused on that while she could; when she heard Ilmare moving to stand, she started too, as well, and was about halfway standing when she heard her say…something.
About fair bells?
The page looked up just in time, and barely had any time at all to put her pan between the water and her face. She managed to block most of it, but she felt some liquid splash on her face. She was quietly thankful for her background of working in a lab, because on instinct she closed her eyes and her mouth to avoid getting anything inside of either.
Not that it really helped, at least not as far as she could tell, because when she opened her eyes she was back on her wonder and there was a human-sized minotaur-esque creature standing opposite her, brandishing a large ax. It’s been a year since she first saw that, but the same panic struck her and she froze up, both hands gripping the handle of her frying pan.
The creature poised to charge, so she held up her pan as though she was waiting to swing at just the right time…
eldritch stardust She has a bad memory that caused this. o/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2024 8:25 pm
Ilmare felt sorry for the knight when she saw the frightened face and stance. She had no way of knowing or even controlling what anyone saw. But at least the vision would be short.
She had plenty of time to run and make it look as if she were leaving an unwinnable battle... but she couldn't leave the knight looking so scared.
s**t. Balls. ******** in close to make it look as if she were tackling the girl, Ilmare did, in fact, go for the tackle. But at the same time, she was whispering encouragingly and doing to best to hug the other girl while also looking like she was trying to do a murder.
"It's not real," she whispered. "Hold on and it'll go away soon. It's not real. Once we land, one of us needs to ******** run so we can both go home."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2024 5:36 pm
Despite appearances, she was paralyzed with fear, so when the “minotaur” charged she didn’t actually swing.
Ekstrom went down with the tackle, and at that point instinct kicked in. She started to try and wrestle it off of her, though strangely through the vision she heard a somewhat familiar voice. The longer it spoke the less she struggled against it, and sure enough the vision wore off and she saw Ilmare again.
Tears in her eyes from relief and red in the face from embarrassment, she shakily whispered, “Thank you…now punch me. I can pretend to get knocked out so you can run.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
