"Okay," she said, putting on a stern face. She couldn't imagine how he would react once he saw the pink or glow or actually realized what her attack did. "But don't be scared. It's really powerful, okay? You might be in the hospital for a week, but I'll try to be gentle."
She touched her fuku and pointed at Adonis. Hopefully, he would find this as funny as she did.
"Alluring Enchantment!"
For an instant, her hands glowed pink, and her fuku retained the glow. She winked. "Now you can't take your eyes off me!"
Bad puns were bad, but she couldn't help it!
Now it was his turn. Maybe his attack was as innocent as hers? She hadn't felt serious pain yet. I'm sure he won't be the first to cause it. He seems to like you, and he wouldn't want to ruin his chances, right?
Strickenized
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 3:36 pm
That didn't sound good.
That didn't sound good at all.
The color drained from Adonis' face, and his complexion matched his eyes. Even if he tried to speak, no words ventured out from their safe confines within his mind. Was she really going to assault him so brutally? After all that? Maybe the other agents he spoke with were right - the senshi were treacherous, and willing to assault anyone at their weakest point. He would've retreated from the scene, were his legs in working condition... As it was, he simply awaited death.
However, his pallid reaction soon melted into laughter when he realized the truth - this wasn't some ploy to lead him on and kill him - she simply bluffed for the sake of bluffing. "Well played!" He returned, clapping for her small victory. She was right - he couldn't take his eyes off her now. "I thought you were actually serious for a moment.
It was a shock, and he discovered that he may not want to fraternize so easily in the future. What if she had a legitimate attack? He could've died. Lesson learned.
Adonis watched the glowing senshi with avid interest for the duration of her magic, memorizing all the folds and intricate detailing adorning her fuku. As miraculous as the enchantment was, it really brought out the features of her outfit and drew attention to all the minutia that he wouldn't have noticed before. Idly he wondered just how magnificent he'd look with an attack like that... Surely no one could keep their eyes off him regardless, so would they swoon to such a lurid magic? If only there was a way to find out...
"I suppose it's my turn, isn't it?" His tone belied a bit of disappointment to watching her enchantment fade. She wore it so well, too. "I haven't seen my magic before, so I can't tell you anything about it. Are you still interested?" There was, after all, the possibility that he might strip to initiate an attack. How attractive would that be? It was death surely worth enduring.
Aww. She really scared him! She didn't mean to, so to prove her kindness, she brought him into a hug. "I'm sorryyy." She squeezed and then pulled away. "It really wouldn't be fair to ask you not to use your powers now, seeing as I frightened you, so hit me with your best shot!"
She laughed and stretched open her arms. She could take it for sure! Hopefully he wouldn't attack her and mock her or beat her while she suffered from the influence of his magic, though. That would reflect on his personality both in battle and romance. As much as she loved dramatic affairs, she already faced enough pressure from class and duty, and to endure a spiteful lover would be another stressor--particularly if that lover belonged to the opposite side.
She would find out soon enough.
"I won't blame you if you hurt me," she added, realizing the magic could perhaps surpass his control. "Since it's your first time using it."
She closed her eyes. How bad could it be?
Strickenized
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 5:16 pm
For a dastardly senshi, she certainly behaved quite affectionately. Hugs still felt awkward and stilted due to his upbringing, but he returned the embrace nonetheless. She wasn't such a bad girl. Why did she have to remain on the opposing team? Despite his rather gruesome appearance, from what he understood, the Negaverse bore those of earth no ill will. It was simply necessary to employ some questionable means to secure that safety.
Soon he would realize whether his strange outfit reflected into his powers, and whether the power of chaos really was as imposing as it sounded. Though he wasn't terribly sure of the motives behind his side, he didn't regret the obligations imparted to him, so how bad could they possibly be? Being a part of the military faction did not label him a bad person - the soldiers were never blamed for the orders form their superiors.
But did that mean his superiors were inherently evil? No - he hadn't met many, but they lacked a nefarious edge.
But that was neither here nor there - it was rude to keep the lady waiting. "Alright babe, we'll see who puts who in the hospital." After a quick wink, he held his hands outward, palms up, in a manner that felt natural to the attack. It was strange to have knowledge of how to implement it, like muddled muscle memory that was just now surfacing. He only vaguely recalled the words, like an afterthought lingering against the orange interior of his eyelids. As he watched her, standing tall and proud to receive his magic, he uttered the words as they formed on his tongue: "Skinned." How ominous.
As soon as the phrase received breath, the gloves covering his long forearms burned away to reveal nothing but the pale skin beneath.
elza magica
Sailor Scout Attack: Skinned Range: 20 feet Duration: 20 seconds Number of uses: 2 Number of targets: 1 Adonis holds his arms out, palms up, and the gloves on his uniform burn away. The change is mimicked in his targeted opponent, who he must make eye contact with, and they feel the effects of a mild chemical burn. They see a few layers of skin peeling off, some irritation, and some decent pain. Only occurs on the arms, and can be interrupted by attacking Adonis before his uniform manifests any changes, preventing him from making eye contact, or by shutting him up somehow before he can utter the name of the attack. Once the duration ends, their body goes back to normal (as does his uniform).
The name could have been worse! It could have been "OBLIVION EVERYTHING" or "DESTRUCTOTIME", but "Skinned" seemed simple, efficient, appropriate...
She smiled.
Until THE TERRIBLE PAIN...and her skin peeled off?! Her eyes teared and widened as her arms turned raw and burned. Her skin was already sensitive, but the red wouldn't stop spreading...and the blotches. This was a real attack--not like one of the support or healing abilities belonging to her colleagues. She lowered her arms and avoided looking at them. She figured if she could ignore the TREMENDOUS, EXCRUCIATING pain, it wouldn't be as horrific.
"Your attack is really something."
I'm dying.
"You'll never have to fear being too gentle."
Please save me.
She smiled, but tears ran down her cheeks.
She could have used a hug but it probably would have hurt too much.
Strickenized
The paaaain.
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:11 pm
Alois furrowed his brow when he watched her skin peeling away, much like how his gloves dissipated. It looked painful, but she was smiling? Did it only appear painful for the sake of distracting allies? He couldn't really tell - for the most part, he saw the mottled flesh and corroded marks and figured the entire ordeal hurt to high heaven, but her actions lacked any indication of pain and suffering. Was magic just a hoax, then? Between her pretty lights and his sleight of hand tricks, senshi appeared slighted on the battlefront.
At least, that's what he figured until he saw the tears.
"... Are you okay?" Came his bewildered response. With so many mixed signals, he didn't know which to believe. Was she truly in pain as her tears suggested, or was she simply moved to tears over the effortlessness of the demonstration? That seemed silly - of course she was in pain.
But without any indication of how to stop the magic, what was he to do? Surely he could rush to her side in an attempt to treat her wounds, but what good would that do? He knew as little about first aid as he did about astrophysics. In fact, he likely knew more about astrophysics - the majority of what he knew about the human body and its functions pertained primarily to cleaning up the messes. He knew how to break down blood, not stop a wound from bleeding.
And stopping some kind of magical manifestation sounded like a far more complicated task than administering simple first aid.
Adonis abandoned all hope of simply waiting it out and trotted to her side. Curled strips of skin lay at her feet, yellowed in death, and her arms appeared far too red and besieged with pain. Careful to avoid the misshapen blotches, he took her arm by the elbow and wrist to examine it more closely. Not that it helped matters any - Adonis wouldn't know what to do with such information.
However, as soon as he studied the burnt skin, the ailments seemed to reverse themselves.
Hand touch! Hand touch! She winced. She felt sensitive, but appreciated the gesture. Her arms felt cooled, and she closed her eyes and pressed her head against his chest to clear her mind of the sight and burn of her skin. Perhaps worst of all, she feared this made her seem unattractive--a terrible thought, but if she flirted with someone who focused on appearances, wouldn't it matter?
Maybe she would consider it later.
"Is it over?" Her arms felt almost normal. She shook. "It's okay, Adonis, I know you didn't mean to."
She felt bad, as in actually, completely bad. Bad for introducing him to his magic this way. Bad for putting herself through this. Bad for trusting the opposing faction despite her mentors' advice. It wasn't anyone's fault but her own. Maybe factions protected people from these misunderstandings--it was certainly easier to obey commands than explore the unknown.
Exhausted, she collapsed against Adonis.
"I'm sorry for making you do this. It was stupid of me."
Strickenized
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:56 am
Careful, he thought. There's a hole there.. He hadn't quite figured out the significance of it yet, but it felt eerie and ominous and otherwise detracted from his impeccable appearance. Certainly she wasn't trying to peek inside - no, she wanted comfort, not a glance into the unknown.
His brow furrowed with an even sigh. She seemed understanding of it, but why would she be? Sure, he didn't actually understand the ramifications of his attack, or that it truly was an attack, but considering they opposed each other... Adonis was rather surprised she didn't try to retaliate some other way, or call her allies into action. Maybe she would - maybe now he was a target, fit for attack at a later date. This was what the Negaverse wanted, wasn't it? To inflict pain on their enemies?
It just felt strange to consider her an enemy.
Surprised at her sudden collapse, Adonis caught her almost immediately, by wrapping his arms around her lithe waist. She was still warm; no blood gushed from her arms, no pus, no cerebrospinal fluid, no lymph. No bodily fluids that he indexed against the various cleaning agents that deconstructed their composition, that mitigated the harrowing appearance of such pain and misery. He breathed a sigh of relief, if only because he wouldn't be called to the scene tomorrow, and forced to remember what transpired here.
Violence was hard to swallow because he faced its aftermath for ages.
"Neither one of us knew," he responded. She must've thought him a traitor by now. To betray her trust like that - even accidentally, she surely found it difficult to loiter in his presence. Perhaps the strangest thing was he didn't feel necessarily bad about it - if anything, she asked for the attack. No, inflicting pain wasn't double-edged for him, but seeing her in pain, as another human being (even from across the stars) still garnered such sympathies.
Flirting was a much easier approach for him. "You know, Medea, there are easier ways to touch me." Yes, this felt far more comfortable, even as she surrendered herself against him.
She debated between shooting him the "I can't believe you just said that" look and the "Are you kidding me?" look, but she couldn't give either for she brought this upon herself, and well, he seemed so unknowing of his faction and his magic--like an innocent. He couldn't even discern the extent to which she felt pain, judging by the ease with which he assumed flirting after her tears. She sighed. She couldn't blame him for the pain, but who knew how long he had until the Negaverse destroyed that flicker of sympathy?
Somewhat stranger: That he apparently wanted her after harming her. How could he look past her crying and pain and his poor introduction to magic? Unless he felt extreme sympathy, it seemed so bizarre...
But then again, she didn't pull away from his embrace either.
"Is this...?" She narrowed her gaze. "Is this going to be a thing, Adonis? This flirting?"
She couldn't trust him. She couldn't be with him.
But they could still flirt, right?
It could be nice to have some friends on the other side. She met his gaze. For now.
"If so, I might need a promise."
Strickenized
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:05 am
At the sound of her hesitance, he released her. If she had the fortitude enough to doubt him, then she could likely stand on her own. She seemed to have recovered, right? No lasting damage? A glance at her arms confirmed as much. He hadn't killed her, or permanently disfigured her with her magic. He supposed the ephemeral nature of the attack plus the non-contact method he applied it classified the effect as magic... He didn't like it. Didn't want it. Why couldn't he have been given a weapon, something with defined properties and characteristics? Why did it have to be a guessing game?
Adonis hadn't learned much of anything, and if he had, it went in one ear and out another. Too tired, too shocked, too skeptical - whatever the reason, nothing stuck and he was left to muddle around in the dark.
Fitting, given the hole in his chest. And head.
"I just flirt, Medea." Adonis shrugged smirking thinly in the process. "When I see a pretty girl, what else am I supposed to do? Stare?" He laughed.
It felt far easier to slip into this role than to assume a girl of his age as a sworn enemy. To attack her, to demoralize her, to kill her. To drain her energy, to pull her starseed. To destroy any last traces of her. That's right - even if he killed her, he would only revisit the scene later. And he would get paid for it. All the motivations were there - money, acceptance, rapport.
It only inwardly revolted him.
"I can do promises. What did you have in mind, babe?"
Now to disarm him, for without his flirting, she would be able to predict his actions and gain a clearer read, but would he mean it? She couldn't tell. He could just agree to appease her, and then she would have to deal with the consequences, but Adonis seemed sweet in his own earnest, cautious, playful way, even if he represented a more powerful, darker version of herself--a version with craters, with something missing.
What was he missing?
"I know it's strange to ask for," she said, "But I've got to know somehow." It was a huge promise, given his nature. Maybe he wouldn't comply. "Promise you'll only flirt when we're calm and alone and safe like this? There might come a day when you have the chance to destroy me, and odd as it sounds, I'd like to keep our play out of something dark like that."
She laughed. Did any of this make sense? Would he understand? Being toyed with at the brink of death would make her feel foolish because these games brought her further and further away from her crippling insecurities. They mattered to her, and she wanted to keep her image of Adonis clear of malice--to know him as the guy who wouldn't mess with her even with seconds left.
Medea smiled and shrugged.
"It would also make you seem less suspicious among members of your faction, if they care about such a thing."
There. The pragmatic reason.
It was a test, but a test she didn't expect him to pass.
Strickenized
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 8:19 am
Was there even a place for flirting in a situation like that? Even as a senshi of it, he still had to save his own skin sometimes. And in a situation like that... Spare her the mockery. For what was flirting in a situation like that? He'd imagine something of an assertion that they've won and she could do nothing but heed their words. No, he couldn't flirt in a situation like that. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't.
Adonis held his forearms up in a shrug, as if the answer was simple and obvious and easy to digest. "Of course. I wouldn't want to get us both killed. How am I supposed to flirt afterward, with us both being dead?" He flashed her a wry smile.
"Medea," he began, kneeling down so he could look up at her. He folded his arms across his lap while he spoke. "I'm not so great at serious. In fact I downright suck at it, but I'm not gonna destroy someone like you. Look, we'll just keep up our little charades in a moment like that, and it's not too much different from poker. You win or you lose, but you still walk away from the table, you know?"
Nope, he couldn't hide that flirtatious nature for long. "And you can always walk away from the table with me." And straight into the back seat of a car.
But that was beside the point.
Adonis stood once more, brushing the beginnings of dirt from his sarong. "So. Candy store?" He asked, nodding in the direction of the Sugar Shanty. He'd understand if she wanted to linger in the sanctity of the alley, away from prying eyes and setting sun, but something about the rooftop seemed a little more private than an alley like this.
Or maybe he just wanted to retreat from the setting where he peeled her skin off. A shudder washed over him, and he lost a shade of color. He needed to stop thinking about it.
Medea's eyes twinkled with infinite delight. At least seconds from death, he wouldn't mock her, stab her in the psyche, pretend he cared. Who would ever do something like that? That would be crazy! Rude! Terrible! IT WOULDN'T EVER HAPPEN. NOT IN HER LIFETIME.
She thought.
"Thank you Adonis. You're very good." She laughed, feeling quite silly for even thinking of this. She nodded and leapt onto the roof, looking over the edge, waiting for Adonis to join her. Roofs brought her closer to the planets wrecked by Chaos--his kind--but she didn't care because with Adonis she could feel happy--pretend for a while longer. No lingering fear or hatred. Just joking, kind, flirtatious Adonis.
She liked him very much.
But not in that way! That would leave her vulnerable, and...weak. She smirked, but her eyes betrayed her.
"For the record, I would be sad to fight you."
Strickenized
I'M SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER ;; <3
Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 2:58 pm
"Death isn't something I like to face," he confessed, temporarily forgoing his typically lewd demeanor. Though he followed her atop the building, he did so halfheartedly. Once he reached the edge of the precipice, he stepped down with a grace unbecoming of someone so steeped in horrific attire. "I already deal with it enough. And now I have to face it in some war I don't really understand... Ironic, you know?" He flashed her a forlorn smile, with only a ghost of his earlier charm.
He didn't want to elaborate; Adonis already fraternized with the enemy in this instance. Did he really want to whet her curiosity with clues to his identity? Was it smart to just indicate that his profession tied closely with death? Maybe it wasn't so bad - morticians, coroners, and medical students faced death often enough.
Adonis didn't need to think about it right now. "Then someone fisted my hole, and here I am now. What a trip, huh? She didn't even buy me dinner. Course, i didn't buy you dinner either and I nearly melted your arms off." Yeah, he still felt kinda bad about that. Not as much as he would've figured, but maybe it was the fact that she remained an enemy to the cause he didn't really sign up for? Strange how labeling someone a threat was enough propaganda to stifle an emotional response...
"But one day you'll have to fight me. It seems to me someone'll find out about us hanging out on rooftops, and someone will want us to prove where our loyalties lie, yeah? So we'll have to fight each other eventually.
"I'm a little worried, Medea." What was going to happen to them? Not collectively, of course, but once they start to invest themselves in a war that wasn't theirs... What then? Who will Medea and Adonis be by that time? Or will one of them have died by them? Already this senshi life bled into his own so greatly that he found himself cleaning up after passed souls and wondering just who they really were. How many perished senshi had he bleached out of the pavement?
And would Medea be next? Maybe he wouldn't even recognize her; she would simply cease to exist one day, and that pained him more than the knowledge of another death.
Naturally that's how he would witness death so often. Killing. For the Negaverse. Without any mercy. As they ordered. To flirt with a killer would probably lead to her death as well. But not now. Not when Adonis joined her on the roof. Not when he confided in her. Telling him could throw her off. Turn her into something like him. Fill her with Chaos. Punch holes into her body.
Bearing the smile, she shrugged.
She laughed at his summary. At least he could joke about it. Maybe it wasn't so traumatizing after all.
"I can always buy those robots arms if it grows too serious." She nodded. "That'd be pretty hot right?" She ran a hand through her hair. "But seriously, Adonis, when we fight, we know who the winner will be." She sighed. "You have nothing to worry about, and it's in my nature to put on a brave face. If someone finds out about this, we'll just fight as we normally would." She shrugged. "Besides, there are worse ones who could kill me."
