“I love them!” Gigi corrected firmly. She could see her friend starting to blush, and while she didn’t want to embarrass him, she didn’t like to hear him undervaluing himself or the things he made. As far as she was concerned, Arian was the most talented person she knew, and she would keep reminding him as often as it took to get him to believe it.
She set the earring gently back into its box, and took a sip of her own coffee. She’d skipped the cream, so the skewed latte flower could still be seen, but she’d gone for hazelnut syrup, thinking it would go well with the pretzels. Hers were cinnamon as well, the smell had been too amazing to resist, but she’d bought two. One was going to ‘accidentally’ fall into her handbag at some point, though, because she had promised Liryn, even if the little cat hadn’t been able to give her a response. Hopefully Arian didn’t think she was too much of a pig for it.
“You’re still selling things online, right?” she said, picking up the earlier conversation, and her tone of voice suggested stern words if he’d closed his shop. “And you bake! You’re so talented, you’ve got nothing to worry about! You’ll be able make a job of it if you want to.”
She grinned at Arian, and picked up the little gift box again to admire his handiwork. It was probably bad manners in the middle of the shop, but she really wanted to try them on. And after all, Arian was already wearing the bracelet she’d given him. Setting down her drink, Gigi began unfastening her plain hoops to put the new earrings in.
* * *
The youma stamped its front hooves on the ground, and began trotting up and down the alleyway, a search pattern. The air was still thick with cinnamon, but it could smell the people, the starseeds, just on the other side of the thin walls. Spiky quills quivered at the thought. The pony-like neck whipped around as it searched for the best way through. The alleyway led it away from the starseeds, and into unwanted light. It turned away from the entrance without going through.
Breaking had worked for it once, but the youma was not bright enough to make the distinction between a door and a wall. Oblivious as yet to the tiny energy signature of the approaching cat, it turned its back to the bakery wall and began to kick at the brickwork, its back hooves shattering chips off the masonry.
litian
Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:31 am
Clip clop. Clip clop.
Liryn had been trotting towards where he thought the aura might be coming from when he heard what the sound of something hitting ground.
He paused, cocking his head slightly.
Clip clop. Clip clop.
Clip clop. Clip clop.
There it was again and it was definitely getting closer and the youma aura was getting stronger too.
He hesitated for a moment before summoning his communicator, because Athene was nearby even if right now he was being Arian
Athene, There's a youma near the bakery. Gone to check it out - L
His ears caught the sound of a thudding noise just as he sent the message off to Athene, the sound a dull one as if something was striking something.
He took off at a trot, knocking against something that fell with a loud clatter.
He ignored it, purplish eyes focused on further up the alley - because whatever that sound was it did not sound good.
The correction was such a Gigi-correction that Arian couldn't help but smile slightly.
He took another sip of his latte and nodded at her question "Yes I'm still selling on Etsy, although selling is more my cousin's side of things" because Saffy was much better with money than him "I just do the making." Well and also the sending out of things for the most part, although that was kind of part and parcel of things. "My cousin recently opened the shop back up and I've made a few new things that she's going to list up pretty..."
His voice trailed off distractedly as a dull pounding sound suddenly started up, a slight thoughtful frown flitting across his face.
"Are they doing some sort of work nearby?" He asked, quiet voice puzzled, the question more to himself than to Gigi.
It sounded like it had come from nearby, but he couldn't recall seeing any construction works on his way over.
The youma's head whipped around, red eyes luminous with intent, as a loud noise broke through to its limited thought processes.
Something else was making noises nearby. Something else was nearby. A small something, maybe, but the creature had a sense for certain things, and the small thing was in possession of the shiny soul of energy it craved. The quill spikes stood up all along its back in excitement.
With a final back-kick to the brickwork, the youma pushed itself away from the wall, clopping into the centre of the alley to face the noisy small thing head-on. Its head turned first to one side, then to the other, trying to get a look at approaching cat with both eyes. With a loud snort, a deceptively equine front hoof pawed at the ground, preparing perhaps for a charge.
***
"Good," Gigi nodded, and the new coffee-bean earring swung in her left ear, the beads clicking together with the movement. She assumed his shop had been shut while he was hospitalised, which made sense. His cousin couldn't really keep it open if she had no jewellery to put in it. At least he was well enough to reopen it, and not letting it lie too long. She changed out the second earring while she continued to talk. "Well the making is the important bit! I'll have to check it out and - what?" she asked, finally picking up on Arian's expression and actually listening instead of talking. There was something making a noise out there, weird.
"I don't remember seeing any workers," she said, watching Arian's frown. There hadn't been any signs up, or equipment that she'd noticed. Something else made a clattering noise, and the thumping sounded one more time then stopped. It was definitely close to the cafe.
She dropped the removed hoops into the giftbox, and half-stood to peer out of the window. Nothing seemed amiss, though sadly she couldn't spot Liryn from this angle. Of course the guardian cat could go where he wanted, and it wasn't like he'd indicated he would stick around. Probably nothing, she told herself, sitting back down and reaching for her drink again, with a shrug and a smile for her friend. But she couldn't help but nervously fuss with her handbag, checking that her pen was still safely hidden there. Not that it would be much use, but it helped to tell herself she was trying.
litian
Hope this is okay, so sorry for the slow *again*...
Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 2:27 pm
The dull thudding noise had stopped at the sound of the clatter, a few more paw-trots further up the alley enough distance covered to reveal the source of noise and the youma aura both.
It was hard to tell who had seem whom first as purplish eyes met with with malevolent red and stared unimpressed as an equine-like head turned first one way and then the next.
Liryn tensed, his small body holding its ground as quill spikes shifted and stood up as if to attention, purplish eyes continuing to stare unblinkingly as the youma gave a loud snort.
He wasn't impressed, although he figured that the snort was different given that a lot of the time he had seemed to come across youma's that seemed to favour doing the hiss-hiss thing despite being completely lacking in the art of a decent hiss.
It didn't seem like he would have give a practical demonstration this time as he watched the youma paw at the ground.
He'd watch to see what it would do Liryn decided as he waited tense and ready and perhaps he would even let it get closer if it was stupid enough to do so, so that he could show the thing just how sharp he kept his claws.
He hadn't seen any workmen either on his way over. Nor come to think of it had he seen any signs up or anything to suggest that there was some sort of work being done nearby.
Although he wasn't sure what the noise could be if it wasn't workmen or some sort of works.
Arian frowned slightly to himself as Gigi half-stood to peer out the window. Well actually if he was being honest with himself he could think up reasons for the dull sound that he was hearing and none of them had anything to do with workmen and everything to do with the world he walked in when he was his powered counterpart...
And if he was being honest with himself he probably would have gone and checked it out by now, if it wasn't for the fact that he was having a tea catch up with Gigi.
But he was having a tea catch up with Gigi and so Arian was really, really hoping that the the sound wasn't anything to do with stuff that was better dealt with as Athene - particularly as it wasn't that long ago that he'd gotten out of hospital stay number two...
And then, almost as if picking up on his silent thoughts, the sound suddenly stopped. Fell silent.
Perhaps it was nothing he told himself as Gigi sat back down, responding to her shrug with a slightly wry smile as he reached out to drink some more of his latte.
Hopefully it was nothing - at least nothing other than he had been exposed to powered life for a little tooo long.
LokisRose
It's perfect :3 Apologies for the delay on my own end
It… wasn’t going to run? The youma was confused. The opponent was tiny from what it could see, barely a mouthful, and yet it stood right in the middle of the road, eyes wide open, challenging. Well, it wasn’t taking that from such a small furry thing!
The youma stamped its front hoof on the ground a second time, and then tried rearing up on its back legs, crashing down a moment later, quills waving. Its long face split open to reveal some very un-horse-like teeth, and it loosed an unearthly roar, a sound that bore no resemblance to either pony or porcupine, but was entirely youma.
Without waiting to see if it’s initimidation tactics had worked, it lowered its head again and charged straight for the cat.
***
The sudden silence outside was more worrying than the unexplained noises.
“Must have been like a truck or something?” Gigi guessed, returning to her own coffee. It was cooling down, and she was drinking it too fast. That probably wasn’t helping her nerves. There was no reason to think it was anything out-of-the-ordinary at this time of day. At least Arian didn't seem too concerned.
“So anyway,” she began, “why were you in hospi- What is that?”
The noise had started again outside, another loud thud. How were they supposed to have a conversation with all that racket?
Gigi frowned, her fingers straying into the inside pocket of her bag again as she listened for the unseen noise. The sudden roar nearly had her jump out of her skin. Her handbag jolted from her hand and tumbled onto the table, only narrowly missing the two coffee cups, spilling its guts across the tray.
Including her henshin pen oh my god. She slapped her hand down over the brown-and-beige device, quickly stuffing it back into the bag, suddenly feeling both red-faced and terribly pale at the same time. What kind of idiot was she? Please, she thought, let no-one have seen.
“Sorry sorry,” she told Arian, and began quickly to gather up the rest of her rolling pens and lipbalms. “Startled me.”
litian
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 12:37 pm
As it happened Liryn had no intention of running away from the youma, his purplish eyes continue to unblinkingly stare it down unimpressed even as it reared up on its hind legs for a moment before dropping crashing down with an audible thump as the movement caused a few nearby trash cans to rattle.
He looked even less impressed as the thing followed up on the noise-making demonstration by making even more noise in the form of a roar, although he kept himself poised and ready as his eyes continued to watch the youma.
It was probably just as well that he did as the youma chose that moment to charge, legs beating against the ground as it headed directly towards him.
Liryn waited and waited as those legs ate up the ground between them, waiting for the last possible moment before sprinting for the side and out of the thing's direct path.
He'd left it a little close, close enough for him to feel the wind from the youma's passage, as a part of him hoped that sheer momentum would keep the youma continuing forward as yet another thing went clattering.
A sensible cat would perhaps had tried to use the opportunity to try running or at best attempting to get up and out of reach, but Liryn had never run from a youma and he didn't intend to start as he unsheathed his claws with a hiss and with the full intention of trying to get a swipe in.
"Probably" Arian agreed ruefully in between sips of his own coffee, as he tried to ignore the niggling feeling that was telling him that the sounds hadn't sounded like a truck.
He had busied himself drinking his latte as he figured out how to answer Gigi's question about why he had been in hospital this time round with a reason that was not 'because a murderous woman with a spear and who has tried to kill me in the past decided to stab me' but had been saved from answering as the noise had once again started up in the form of a loud thud.
It had been followed by the sounds of something rattling and whilst Arian had been relieved by the way that it had distracted Gigi from her line of questioning, he had also started to feel a little concerned as he wondered just what on earth was happening outside.
The roar had been the clincher, with Arian more and more feeling that something was definitely up because this was Destiny City which meant that roars intermixed with thuds and clattering noises were definitely not good things.
The sound of things clattering nearby cut through his thoughts and made him jump until he realised that it was just Gigi's handbag.
He looked up in time to see her hand clamp over an object and for a moment he couldn't help but look startled because whilst he hadn't managed to get a good look at it Arian could have sworn that he had just seen a henshin pen.
Another loud clatter and a hiss had him turning his attention from Gigi and over towards the window because that had sounded like a cat and it made him think of Liryn.
Which combined with all the other sounds made him want to check out outside - and specifically what was going on outside - even more.
There was just one small problem and that was that he was with Gigi, which is why Arian was trying to rack his brain for a reason for why he needed to suddenly cut their catch up time short.
LokisRose
apologies for the delay with this Loki, let me know if I need to change anything
The youma snorted again as it bore down on its prey, hooves clattering, quills flailing. But when it reached the point it had last seen the cat, there was no squishy little creature under its feet, just a fast-moving blur disappearing to the side. Confusion slowed its gallop, but it couldn’t easily stop. The youma continued to run almost to the alley entrance, trampling a displaced trashcan lid as it went, and sending it skittering across the ground. Finally, it regained control of its charge enough to turn in the enclosed space, legs raised high in an awkward trotting motion as it wheeled around to glare at the source of the hissing sound. Its back leg was stinging from unexpected sharp little cuts.
It tossed its head, checking its opponent with one eye, then the other. It was not scared of those tiny little claws, it decided, not when it had a full back of needle quills. If the creature couldn’t be trampled, it could surely be skewered.
This time, the youma approached at a cantering pace, angling itself side-on to the cat, on a collision course for the wall behind him.
***
Gigi bundled her things back into her bag, and hugged it on her lap, tapping nervous finger-rhythms against her coffee cup as she thought. A furtive glance around at the other café patrons didn’t reveal any obvious dark uniforms. No-one was looking at her strangely (or more so than usual). Arian looked so surprised, though – probably because she’d just thrown a pile of her stuff all over him, she assured herself, or because the noises outside were sounding less and less like traffic and roadwork.
When her friend turned away to look out the window, she closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. There was definitely something out there, and it didn’t sound like it was going away on its own. What if it got in and trashed the café? There were civilians in here! But she couldn’t just send Arian away, even if it wasn’t safe.
When he looked back to her, Gigi put on her best apologetic smile.
“I – I’m just going to duck to the restroom, okay? I will be right back!”
Did such a small café even have a restroom? Gigi didn’t know, and didn’t give more than a cursory glance around the shop to check as she stood up.
She headed back towards the register, hoping that the customers still queuing there would camouflage her change of direction from Arian as she headed towards the café door. There had been an alley nearby, she thought. She could take a quick peek, and power up if no-one else was handling it. And be back before Arian had a chance to worry. Nice plan. Shame there might be a youma in the middle of it.
litian
Apologies for the delay again! Hope this is okay, let me know if I need to change anything
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:47 pm
As it happened sheer momentum had kept the youma going to the point where Liryn had been able to dart in and get more than the single swipe that he'd been hoping for in.
In fact he'd been able to get a few swipes in, claws managing to rake across one of the thing's back legs and then he had had to dart backwards in order to stay out of immediate reach.
Purplish eyes watch as the youma finally managed to turn as it sent yet more things a clattering and then finally, once again, it came cantering at him - although this time round it came with lethal quills at the ready...
Again, Liryn waited, ready to try the 'dart out of its way' trick again since it had worked quite well the first time round...
And it helped being much smaller and lighter on his feet.
There was only so much however that Liryn was going to be able to keep it up, which meant that perhaps he would end up having to consider resorting to something more drastic than claws.
Arian winced at the sound of a particularly loud clatter from outside and decided that enough was enough because there was totally something going out there and whilst he didn't know exactly what that something was - he knew enough to know that it, whatever it was, was not good...
And knowing his luck that was probably putting it mildly.
He opened his mouth with the intention of making an apologetic excuse, however Gigi spoke up before he could say anything and excused herself to go to the restroom.
Arian didn't think anything of it because as it happened the shop did have a toilet, a small unisex one, that was down and towards the back...
And besides Gigi's need for the restroom couldn't have come at a more fortuitous time since it saved him from at least having to verbally lie to her.
Instead he wrote her a small apologetic note stating that something had come up and then asked the woman behind the till if she would mind keeping an eye on the table until Gigi came back from the restroom, although perhaps he needn't have bothered given that she had taken her bag with her.
In fact had he looked back in the direction of the restroom then perhaps Arian would have noticed that it was empty. But Arian's thoughts however were on outside and on specifically finding somewhere to power up to his powered counterpart Athene so that he could check out the weird sounds and so he rushed outside after managing to secure the shop lady's agreement to watch the table.
LokisRose
Subamara to the rescue? wink And no worries about the delay - you know how slow I can be myself xD Also lmk if I need to change anything on my end
The youma slammed against the wall, spines first, scraping stone. The impact didn't seem to phase it. The side-on attack allowed it to keep its eyes on the cat, but it was still too slow - its opponent was gone again, small and quick. It gave another roar of disappointment, backing up to reposition itself. It wasn’t patient, to wait for the prey to come to it. It wasn’t as manoeuvrable. But it was determined now, more than just driven by the hunger it bore or the rage. Its dominance had been challenged.
The youma lined up to take another charge.
*
Gigi paused in the street, still clutching her bag tightly against her side. What was she even doing? What was Arian going to think if he saw her sneaking off? But she’d promised herself she’d do more this time, to stop the future. That meant diving in when she really wanted to run away. She hurried past the shop window, turning her face away and pulling her curls to one side in a vague hope that Arian wouldn’t realise it was her if he did look.
Another strange roar told her she was heading in the right direction. The alley was right beside the building, just one thin wall from the bright little café. She popped her head around as casually as she could.
It was a youma, and it wasn’t looking her way. It wasn’t until she stepped fully into the alley that she realised what it was looking at instead.
“Liryn!” her voice was a breathless gasp, and she shut her mouth immediately, hoping that the thing didn’t have good hearing. Maybe the cat wasn’t alone? But as much as she scanned the fallen trashcans and surrounding rooftops, no other senshi appeared. It would have to be her.
Gigi took another hesitant step forward, hugging the bakery wall. It was not the most sheltered of spots. She was probably covered from the actual street, so long as no-one walked into the alley. But she couldn’t really hang around and wait for My Little Porcupine to eat the guardian cat while she looked for a better place to power up. Decision made, she crouched behind a bin, as hidden as she could manage.
Her bag was out of order after the spill. Nothing was in the right pocket. She bit her lip, valuable seconds slipping away as she scrabbled through her things, hoping the youma wouldn’t turn and see her – but also hoping the youma would turn and see her, so it wouldn’t be focusing on Liryn…
There, found it.
She stood up, raising her henshin pen high.
litian
Subamara dilly-dallying and wasting time! Please accept this awkward identity reveal! smile
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 8:42 am
Unbeknownst to Arian, he actually wasn't that long behind Gigi - to the point where if he hadn't stopped to first write his curly haired friend a note and then secure the shop lady's agreement to watch the table then perhaps he might have caught the other as she walked hurriedly but determinedly past the shop window.
He didn't.
Instead after he finished sorting things out, he walked out of the shop too before making his way towards the alleyway where all the noises had been coming from in hurried steps.
Normally he would have perhaps tried to first find somewhere to henshin up, however the noises had him worried and he was hoping that the alley would boast a dumpster or something of similar convenience for him to duck behind.
He turned into the alley only to find himself face to face with a familiar back, his eyes widening from beneath his glasses as he took in the item held aloft in her hand.
"Gigi?" Had he vocalised the word? It was hard to tell as he took a disbelieving step forward, foot landing on something and causing it to go skittering.
Because the item that Gigi was holding was unmistakably a henshin pen...
And then Arian realised that he, no they, had bigger problems as he took in the horse youma with serious spine problems and the smaller tabby grey form a little further away.
Liryn.
Arian bit his lip for one long moment hesitating, before deciding to take a chance on the fact that the street had been empty and that where they were was out of window sight from the shop before summoning his own henshin to his hand, knowing that he was going to need Athene's strength...
And then very deliberately he called out "Athene Eternal, Make-Up!"
As it happened the 'dart away' trick had worked again, the youma's disappointment reflected in the roar that echoed in his ears.
Purplish eyes watched as the youma backed up, contemplating whether he would
He watched as the youma moved to back up as purplish eyes stared disdainfully into red.
The youma was lining up for looked to be yet another side on charge and Liryn wasn't sure that the 'dart away' trick would work for a third time - even if the youma was just a stupid youma.
He did however have another option.
The star on his forehead sparked with jade green sparks as Liryn acknowledge that perhaps it was time to break out the kitty beam, with his intention being to aim it at one of the youma's legs.
The sound of footsteps were distracting and for one brief moment Liryn took his eyes off the youma, purplish eyes taking in the curly-haired woman from earlier - the one that had known his name...
Then it was followed by the sound of yet more footsteps and startled sounded voice before he heard Arian's familiar voice call out his henshin phrase.
LokisRose
It's perfect :3 Hope this works as Arian's counter identity reveal wink
The magic words caught in Gigi’s throat, dying unsaid at the sound behind her. She thought she’d heard her name. Her arm wavered, and she pulled the pen back against her chest as she spun to see who… who had found out her secret. Too late to hope she hadn’t been seen.
Arian.
He’d followed her after all. It wasn’t the worst possibility, he wasn’t an enemy! But her mind raced, trying to find an explanation, a way to send him back to safety, make it go away. He was already looking at the youma - but he didn’t run. Gigi watched in stunned silence, fish-mouthed, as he lofted his own hand in the air, a strange familiar gesture. Arian was a senshi? He’d never said! But neither had she.
She’s never witnessed anyone power up before, not the actual transformation. She could only stare as her friend was suffused in magic, giving way to a swirl of white and dark teal. Familiar colours. And the words he said. He was so different, unrecognisably so. But the same hair, the same eyes.
“Athene?” she repeated, struggling to understand how they could be one and the same.
This was the senshi who’d saved her, the senshi she’d idolised... Athene was an Eternal. Athene was experienced, and wise. Athene had dusted like a hundred youma, probably. Even if she powered up, she was only going to be in his way.
Arian was only just out of hospital. (And that opened up a whole new world of worry about why exactly he’d been in hospital – he’d never said.) How could she let Arian fight a monster alone?
“Subamara Power, Make Up!”
When her own magic faded, she straightened her fuku self-consciously, feeling plain and weak beside the shining Eternal of Beads. But there was still a youma, and she could worry about the rest of it later.
“Um. So. Would a boost help?” she offered. She’d told Athene about her powers, he’d know if they’d be useful. She would defer to his experience. But she couldn’t let Arian get hurt.
*
The youma stomped its hooves against the street again, trotting a half-step one way, and then the other as it tried to guess which way its opponent would dodge this time. The green crackles of light at the cat’s forehead were like a third eye, and the youma huffed and hesitated under the jade green ‘stare’, staring back.
It heard the footsteps behind it, and sensed the two larger presences, but it also noted when the cat’s attention wavered away from it. Its head swung back as if it intended to look at the two humans, then it began to move again, clopping over the stone in another angled charge forward, attempting to herd the cat into a corner that it couldn’t dodge from.
The human-noises behind it flared into Order signatures, but it was already in full gallop. If it couldn’t pin the cat this time, then it would go for the bigger targets.
litian
Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 3:23 pm
If circumstances had been otherwise then Arian would never have chanced powering up in front of Gigi, because he had never wanted his friend to be involved in this part of his life...
Because he hadn't wanted to chance her getting caught up in the whole secret war thing that he had ended up being a part off by the simple virtue of the fact that he was also Athene.
It had been his way of trying to protect her - his way to prevent her from getting involved...
He had never suspected that Gigi was a senshi - had never realised that she was already involved.
The henshin pen was hard to deny however - not to one like him who recognised its significance.
And then he found himself staring at his friend in renewed shock as she called on her henshin - because whilst the henshin pen was a pretty dead giveaway that his friend was a senshi, he hadn't been expecting her to be one that he was familiar with.
Well at least he hadn't before tonight.. Hadn't before he'd seen the henshin pen held aloft in her hand - although when he had seen the henshin pen held aloft in her hand and realised the significance.
But the magic that whirled in a mixture of white and coffee browns made it impossible to deny...
Gigi was Sailor Subamara.
He found himself nodding at her offer at a boost, even as he knew that the pair of them were going to have to talk once this was over and the youma dealt with, although for now the youma took priority.
"Yes it would..." he started, even as his eyes continued to watch the youma and then his eyes widened beneath his glasses as he watched the youma start to charge "Liryn!" His yelled warning was directed at the mauvian that appeared to be the thing's target, worry for the small mauvian having him half stepping forwards even as he realised that he wouldn't be able to reach the duo in time "Liryn watch out!"
The clop of feet on stone drew Liryn's attention back towards the youma, although that moment of inattention had cost him as the horse-like thing was already starting to move into a charge.
And whilst the dodge thing had served him well in thing's previous attempts to pin him, the only place open to 'dodge' this time round was backwards...
Liryn didn't try to dodge, his purplish eyes watching the youma even as the jade green star on his forehead continued to spark and spark, aiming the jade green laser beam that came shooting out towards one of the youma's front legs even as Athene's yelled warning echoed in his ears.
Because whilst the kitty beam wouldn't dust the youma, hopefully it would act as a temporary stun..
Or at the very least act to temporarily throw the thing off its stride by briefly numbing one of its legs.
LokisRose
And Liryn continues to give poor Athene grey hairs
Sailor Subamara breathed a little sigh of relief when Athene didn’t comment on her transformation. He seemed at least as surprised as she was, so he must not have suspected her of being a senshi, any more than she had him. If he was disappointed to see how low a rank she was, she couldn’t tell. She’d kept her secret for such a long time, even from her closest friend. How different would things have been if she hadn’t?
‘Yes’ was all she needed – yes, she could be helpful, yes her magic was worth using. He’d told her so when they’d talked before, but now it was different because they knew.
But Athene had more of any eye for the emergency before them, already stepping forward towards the imperilled cat before she could invoke her magic. She jumped up beside him – maybe a little in front – just to make sure he was still within range. This time she didn’t hesitate, the magic words coming out in a single quick breath: “Subamara Coffee Rush!”
The caffeinated alertness wouldn’t get them to the cat any quicker, but hopefully it would help in some small way. And they would need to be quick.
The flash of Liryn’s head-light glanced off the rubbish around them, proving the cat was not completely helpless. Subamara reached to her feet to retrieve a trashcan lid. It was three-on-one if Liryn was helping, but it was still a dangerous situation. She looked between the cat and the Eternal Senshi, not sure whether to stay to the side to let Athene cast, or run forward to help distract the youma.
*
The youma didn’t understand what happened. One minute, it was on target for the distracted cat, the next it was blinded by greenish light, its front leg stinging where the laser struck the joint. The unpleasant tingling was momentary, then it couldn’t feel anything from that leg at all.
It kept moving, three galloping hooves hitting the ground in quick succession. But the fourth leg, the numb leg, wasn’t moving on command, and when that front hoof should have taken the weight of the creature, it buckled under like a puppet limb. Pony legs were not the best form for regaining balance. A back leg flailed as the youma toppled forward onto its face.
The fall did slow it, but it had too much momentum to fully stop. Instead, it rolled, more or less on its original path, a tumbleweed of vicious spines.
litian
Um. Whoops? ^_^
Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 9:55 pm
The kitty beam struck true, the jade green beam hitting joint and whilst - as Liryn had known - it was not enough to dust the thing, it had aided in helping the youma buckle and topple.
Although it had also had the unforeseen consequence of sending the toppled youma his way in a mass of spiky porcupine quills.
Liryn dragged himself to his feet, or at least tried to, the side effects of having used the kitty beam - its other edge - catching up with him in the form of weariness.
It made his movements noticeably slower than before, his body sluggish from tiredness.
However Liryn wasn't the sort of mauvian to sit tamely still and do nothing, he had to at least try - always try.
Even if that meant in that case trying to futilely force his body up into a standing position - when all said body wanted to do was to sprawl and do the pooped out thing.
Athene had never experienced Subamara's magic before but the rush of magical coffee alertness was welcome and he managed to give her a quiet murmured thank you, even as he continued to step forward as quickly as he could.
Even with Subamara's magical boost, Athene wasn't sure if he would make it to Liryn in time, but perhaps.. Perhaps his magic could...
There was a flash of pale jade from the direction of Liryn, the beam flashing out to score a direct hit on an equine-like front leg and saw the youma start to buckle and topple.
Liryn.
Liryn had bought them some time
And then he had watched in horror as the earlier momentum was enough to send mass of youma sliding in Liryn's direction - because Athene knew the truth about the cat beam - knew about it being a mauvian's last resort and why.
"Subamara when the time comes please get Liryn" he said, a part of him hoping that his friend would be able to make sense of his words because there was no time for explanations...
And then he called out "Blue Beads of Nazar – intensated" as he called on his super level magic, knowing that it moved faster than his basic attack.
But even so it felt like forever for the beads to form as the sliding mass of youma continued to head in Liryn's direction.
However finally, finally Athene was able to send them after the sliding mass of youma, as he hoped desperately that it would be enough and even more desperately that his magic wouldn't pick now of all times to decide to be temperamental.
Quote:
Blue Beads of Nazar – intensated Athene’s super level attack takes the form of a ‘ball of beads’ that can trap a target with ill will towards either Athene or one of his allies in a barrier of beads if it connects. (Ill will means that the target wishes to cause some form of harm to either Athene or his ally). Target can still jump, block, or strike with their weapon - but they cannot leave the ring of beads. Beads can be smashed by someone outside the barrier, smashing half (24 to 30) will bring down the barrier. Duration: Normally about thirty seconds, but the time halves for Powered beings at a higher level to Athene
Subamara gave a little cheer as the green light bowled over the youma, but the sound quickly turned into a horrified gasp, one hand moving up to cover her mouth as the threat kept moving towards the cat.
“Get him?” she wondered. Why wasn’t Liryn getting out of the way? The youma was still heading right for him – and then she realised. The cat was practically swaying on his feet! Whatever that laser was, he wasn’t getting off another shot.
Athene began to call his own magic – to trap it, she remembered.
Subamara started running, following after the flying beads.
As Athene’s magic found its target, she ran past, dodging spines as the bead barrier formed, aiming to scoop up the cat and get him out of the way.
“Sorry, he told me to!” she apologised to Liryn as she reached down for him.
*
The youma didn’t have much control over its movements as it crashed forward in a jumble of spines and limbs, but it made little effort to stop itself. Its already limited thought processes narrowed down as it tumbled, into a singular, focused malevolence. It ignored the many beads that flew around it. Its intentions towards Athene’s furry ally were abundantly clear. This time, there would be no darting out of its path! This charge would be terminal--
Abruptly, the gleeful youma-cannonball found itself halted, fetched up against something unseen, bending its spines and blocking it mere inches from where Liryn stood. It rocked its body forward, pushing against the bead magic, but not a single spine-tip seemed to go through.
The youma climbed awkwardly to its feet like a newborn foal, angry red eyes trying to focus first on the encircling beads, then on the enemies standing beyond them. It caught a glimpse of the guardian cat, just out of reach, and roared.
