|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:05 pm
Virtus looked at her helplessly. He couldn't hand it to her.
"Even if I give it to you, the second I power down it'll disappear! You just can't have it, it's not yours! It's mine! I didn't know you're supposed to steal from us! I can't share it with you, whether I wanted to or not!"
He did the exact opposite of what she wanted, staying crouched down and covering his head and upper body with his arms. He was as close to a fetal position and he was going to get, watching her from under the protection of his arm shields as best he could.
He was not going to attack her, but he wasn't going to give her his shard, either. The second he had a chance, he would just have to run for it.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:20 pm
"What—you think it's all right for you to steal but you're going to scold me if I try to steal from you? I mean seriously! Come on, get up!" she said, sounding more desperate than angry. She tried to kick Virtus, but something in her finally gave out and her kick ended up as an awkward toeing.
She didn't want to hurt him, not with this display. A bit of guilt was already coursing through her, and she wanted to throw a fit, herself. This—this was the bad guy? He didn't seem evil, even if he had just knocked some woman out and stolen some energy. "…Damn it—well, you know what? Get up, fight like a man or something! Or I'm going to tell all of your Dark Mirror Senshi friends that I caught you being creepy with some unconscious lady. And then I'm going to tell them I caught you and you were so scared you wet yourself. Just—get up, get off the ground!"
She toed him in the side, hoping to get in a good poke between the ribs and get him to jump up. It was fairly obvious that now she was just desperate to get him off the ground as she tried to make sense of their whole encounter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:39 pm
Virtus looked up at her in surprise.
"But that would be a lie!" Now she was a thief and a liar.
He knew that she must have had her reasons for acting the way she did, but in that moment it was hard for him to think straight. All he wanted to do was protect his shard and get out of there, so as she poked at him he took the chance and got up.
He looked at her for a second, then took off running.
If nothing else, he was fast. Not because he ran away all the time, per se, but because he had been working on his foot work a lot recently and had always been light on his feet anyway. Maybe he was just naturally built to be a pacifist, and he had never put it together before.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:58 pm
Aventine seemed completely startled at Virtus' reaction. She was almost glad that he was up and running—but he hadn't learned his lesson! Or given her his shard! And for all she knew, he was going to run out there and do the same thing to another woman as he did to the one right in front of her.
His running left little time for really thinking about her actions, so she let instinct take over—and she ran after him. She might not have been a fast runner when it came to long distances, but she could sprint—and tackle.
Which she just so happened to excel at. Virtus had a goodheadstart—and he was fast. If she didn't lunge when she did, the likelihood of her catching him was near to impossible. Leaping through the air, she groped for anything that would let her latch onto him. Her fingers brushed the fabric of his pants and she yelled, "Wait!"
Which was all she had time to yell before gravity came back into effect and her face suddenly became very intimate with the ground beneath it. When she landed, she was clutching absolutely nothing; whatever hold she'd had on Virtus was lost. She'd winded herself, but after a very short cough, she picked her head up and sputtered, "Make me a deal!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:12 pm
Virtus very nearly fell when she tried to grab him, stumbling and just narrowly avoiding her grabbing on to his clothes. He couldn't help but stop though, to look back at her to see if she had been hurt by the fall. He was all but jogging in place.
He just needed to make sure she was okay, then he would take off running again. It was like stopping when he was just short of winning a race, because his opponent fell.
"A deal?" he asked warily, watching her with wide, worried but curious eyes.
He wasn't sure he would like any deal she threw at him. If she wanted to take his shard he would have to say no. Maybe it would be less disappointing for her if he just kept running? He continued to jog, ready to dart off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:19 pm
"Ugh," the girl huffed, forcing herself to sit up. She rubbed at her face, and while she wanted to stand, she was a little too sore to be jumping to her feet just now. "Yeah, a deal. And not even a hard one. How about, I'll leave you alone and won't try to take that little thing of yours if you march yourself right back over to her and make sure she's safe. If what you're doing doesn't actually hurt her or anything, then she'll wake up safe and sound, right? But as long as she's out here, anything could happen. Maybe the next guy that finds her isn't gonna be as nice as you, right? So like…"
She hesitated, glanced over her shoulder, and then back at the Dark Mirror Senshi. "Piece of cake, right? A big, strong man like you shouldn't have any issue with that? I mean, it's not exactly what I want, and it's a little extra work for you, but we can meet in the middle, yeah?"
Bargaining was her last choice; this guy was already primed to run, and she suspected if she so much as stood up, he was going to bolt off again. She had no doubt in her mind that he'd get away if he did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:26 pm
"I can do that!"
Virtus' mood shifted and he smiled brightly. He stopped jogging and took a breath. It had actually been rather tiring to do that, and he wondered if he would have even been able to run away if he wanted to since he was tiring himself out.
He moved toward the woman, as if he forgot that he'd just been nearly beaten up, looking at her as she slept on. At least they didn't have to worry about her waking up and freaking out at the sight of two 'terrorists'.
"What should I do with her? Where should I take her? I could take her to the hospital, they'd let her sleep it off there, right?" He wasn't sure where this woman was supposed to live, after all. He picked her up, though, all too happy to make sure she was okay now that he was worried something might happen to her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:32 pm
With Virtus a bit of a distance away, Aventine felt like she could stand up without worrying about him scampering off. "I dunno," she said, a bit surprised that he'd taken her up on the offer so quickly. "I guess the hospital would let her sleep it off, yeah. Or a police station, or—hell, probably even a homeless shelter. At least until she wakes up. I figure," she began to brush herself off once she was back on two feet, "As long as you're not leaving people out on the side of the road, I won't complain so much. I don't like it, what you're doing, but…I mean, if you're gonna make sure they're safe and not gonna get stabbed in their sleep, I won't give you such a hard time. Sorry about, ah…overreacting earlier. Just. Yeah. Just take care of her and whoever else you're 'borrowing' energy from. Deal?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:53 pm
"I think that's fair. It's a deal," Virtus said with a nod of his head. He smiled timidly, then moved to carry the woman to the hospital. It seemed the safest choice to him.
"Uhm. It was nice meeting you," he said. It had been pleasant in its way, save a couple choice moments. But he had it in him to forgive her for that, since she was letting him walk away now.
He focused on the task at hand though, and dutifully took her to the hospital just like he said he would, making sure she was found when he left her. He couldn't really go in there with her, after all, and he didn't want to leave his name in case she did remember anything when she woke up. It was safer for him, and for her, in the end.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 11:17 pm
Even when Virtus was mostly out of sight, Aventine remained rather still. Her eyes followed him and she combed her fingers through her hair, half to look like she had an excuse for standing still and half because she knew after that fall that she must look a mess.
Figuring tonight could have gone a lot worse, she couldn’t really complain about the turnout. If she couldn't get them to stop gathering energy, at least he'd been willing to get her off the streets. It was a small step, but hell—at least it was something. Aventine could only hope that it wasn't some trick, but she supposed that only time would tell. Finally shaking her head, she figured tonight had to count for some sort of success, and that meant she could head home and take a nice, warm bath. Considering the mess she'd made of herself, she could definitely use one right about now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
