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 Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 8:37 pm
Eurydike's anger was palpable; a heaviness to the air that was sparking and snapping like an exposed wire, but to fight when angry was a bad move. To fight when sick was an equally bad move, but Celsus had little choice in the matter, and would have still fought even if he had been at death's door.
What mattered now was Tolliver. He had always been what had mattered the most.
The whip had hit it's mark, or at least a mark. Celsus twisted, the sound of the general's snarl reverberating up and down his spine and sending a feeling of ice cold settle in his veins, a shiver of apprehension racing through his body.
He couldn't draw the whip back in time. Cinnabar's hand had wrapped around it and Celsus felt the tug, staggering forward with a little gasp, trying desperately to keep ahold of his weapon. His feet slid ungracefully on the ground, and he knocked into the general with a sharp hiss.
"No," said Celsus, "That may be true, but he's not yours anymore."
Her fist swung; Celsus felt it connect with his face and let out a sharp sound of pain, stumbling where he stood as pain exploded along his temple, his head ringing. He made an attempt at wrenching his whip free, bracing his foot against her.
"Eurydike!" he yelled, "Get Cerussite out of here!"
------------------------------
A shout rang out across the deserted street.
"Let me go with them!"
Cerussite's face was tearstained, his eyes overbright in the darkness. He was trembling where he stood, ice cold and damp from the snow, fingers curled into fists at his side, and he couldn't do a single thing. He couldn't do anything.
Except this.
"Cinnabar," Cerussite whispered, but he had eyes only for Eurydike, staring at him, his heart in his throat.
"Please. I want to - I need to go with them. I can't stay in the Negaverse."
I can't be what you want me to be.
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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 9:24 pm
The red-head shoved his boot into her stomach, though her punch connected with a satisfying thump of knuckles into flesh. She pulled hard, fighting against the knight's strength before she abruptly let go, releasing the tension she'd been supporting on her end. She danced backwards to put distance between them, even as her stomach ached and her arm burned, flicking a gaze only briefly from her opponent to the two she had not forgotten. Half turning put them both in view and she snapped her teeth in frustration, feeling the anger bubbling up inside of her.
It was harder to push down than it used to be... harder to keep a cool head when faced with two opponents and a lieutenant who seemed determined not to obey her.
"Cerrusite!" She snapped, leveling her gaze on him now. Features that had only ever been stern were twisted, turning feral. "I don't know why you're doing this, but what in your experience makes you think you can just leave? You think you can just give it all up? It doesn't work that way. The General Queen can summon you back with a snap of her fingers if she wants to... and I can promise she will be far less gentle than I am."
"What bullshit have they been feeding you? What promises did they make? You are an idiot if you believe anything they have told you!" She spat, her tail lashing behind her. "Do you know what happens to people who leave the Negaverse, Pet? Did they tell you the truth, all of it? About your memories... your identity?"
She couldn't believe she was having this conversation with Cerussite of all people... her willing, no, eager recruit? The one who had begged for strength? The one who had tried so hard to please, who had looked to her with relief and gratitude when she had come for him in the prison... the one who had given his half-youma general a christmas present...
They must have lied to him. Confused him. She would not let him go, not while he didn't understand the choice he was making.
"Did they tell you how I earned my promotion?" She hissed between her fangs.
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:19 am
The sharp sound of pain was enough to distract him for a few key seconds, whirling with wide eyes to face the general and Celsus - but he hadn't forgotten his goal. He had never stopped running, and the knight's words were enough to tear his gaze away again, closing the gap that lay between himself and Cerussite. At least in a physical sense.
There were words that needed to be said. He knew that. He had to say what he hadn't been able to before.
"Listen to me Cerussite - !" he shouted, hearing Cinnabar's words, but his own and his gaze were for the lieutenant alone. "You're not a ********' idiot!!" He'd called him that himself; he'd said a lot of things he regretted. "No matter what ********' happens from here, we'll ********' face it together! All of us!" He wouldn't be alone anymore. Maybe Logan Hitchcock had faltered in his promise, but he'd never taken off the ring, and never once had Tolliver left his thoughts - and he knew both of them, him and Celsus both, they wouldn't stumble again. Whether it was Tolliver that came out of it or Cerussite - whether he loved Hitch or not after that -
He would take it as it came for the chance to be beside him again, even just as a friend - even just not as an enemy. That was all he could ask for.
The super senshi finally skidded to a stop just before the salt circle, fading now. He bit hard at his piercing, coaxing himself to say - "I'm sorry." And his voice shook, even just a little, as it came out in a rush. "I'm so sorry, baby, for everything, I - " He extended a hand, reaching for Cerussite, his brows furrowed, his eyes pleading and saying what he'd only been able to say before in the shambles of their apartment: Come back. Come home.
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:44 am
He felt the anger in her tone, rather than saw it. Fear bubbled in Cerussite's stomach, hot and fierce, and he recoiled at Cinnabar's shout, taking an automatic step back, though he remained inside the protective circle. His thin chest was heaving, his eyes wide, hands raised so that his palms were in front of him; an instinctive protective stance.
He could not see the General Queen. The idea alone made him tremble, made white hot spikes of terror pass through him. Each word was like a stab to his chest, one right after the other; and, heart in his throat, Cerussite saw the kind, supportive figure of his general slipping away. It was replaced by feral anger now, raw fury and power - what was it that she had said to him, not a day earlier?
I'm a monster.
He was breathing heavily now. Cerussite swallowed hard, and it hurt, it all hurt.
"What - what do you mean?" he asked tremulously, his voice shaking as he glanced at Celsus, and then, finally again, at Eurydike. "What do you mean? My m-m-memories? My identity? What - what - pr-promotion?"
He didn't want to know, yet he couldn't stop himself from asking. He couldn't drag his eyes away from Eurydike either, wondering if it was too late - wondering, always, ever since that day he had walked away, whether what was between them was completely shattered as he had felt it had been. The pain that was in Cerussite's heart made it difficult to breathe; he'd walked away from Eurydike - from Hitch - and he'd broken what had once been the most important thing in his life.
And he was right in front of him now. He was holding out a hand, and he was offering him a chance, and every part of Cerussite was desperate to take it, to reach out and accept the hand extended to him and the tentative promises that came along with it.
Cerussite stretched out his shaking fingers, slowly, towards them.
"Eurydike - "
---------------------------------------------
The sudden release of her grip on his whip made Celsus stagger backwards, feet skidding on the snowy ground, and he lost his balance entirely, hitting the ground hard. He let out a muffled sound of irritation and clambered to his feet again, breathing heavily, forcefully ignoring the dizzy spinning inside of his head that was making his vision waver.
Eurydike was with Cerussite; which meant that he, Celsus needed to be the one to keep Cinnabar occupied enough to let them get away.
He knew the risks. He knew the possible cost of taking Tolliver out of the Negaverse; that by the end he might not even remember either of them, that he might not know any of them at all. The thought was painful, like a dagger in his heart, but both of them - he and Eurydike - had known this beforehand.
And both were willing to pay that price if it meant keeping Tolliver safe.
Celsus crept slowly behind the general, his breathing already labored, the whip held in his hand.
Don't listen to her, he wanted to shout. Don't listen to her.
We'll protect you, I swear, I swear it on all that I am, we will protect you.
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 12:42 pm
Cinnabar laughed, the sound sharp and grating. Lifting her hands, she flexed them till the knuckles popped and kept an eye on the knight as he got back to his feet after his fall. She probably should have gone for him while he was down... it would have been an easy kill, but an easy kill was not the objective here.
Getting through to her lieutenant was.
There was fear on his face and it wasn't what she wanted, but at this point? He was actively trying to abandon the faction that had taken him in and that could not be allowed. She regretted having to do this, but burning this bridge was better than losing him entire. He could be assigned to a different general for punishment and training, if he couldn't stand to work with her any more.
"This is all very spur of the moment, isn't it? Didn't put much thought into it?" She clucked her tongue as she saw the knight start to circle her, pacing her own steps backwards to keep the pair with the magic in sight as she circled them. "These people must not care very much about you, if they didn't warn you about the cost of Purification. That, or they didn't want you to know, because you might change your mind and they care more about stealing you away than they do about losing you. If they can't have you, no one can, hmm? Doesn't sound like anyone who had your best interests in mind..."
"I don't want to hurt you, Cerussite... I have never wanted to scare you either, but your disobedience and disloyalty is why I have to." She called before she turned and hissed warning at Celsus through her teeth, a low, bubbling growl rolling from her throat. "Why haven't you told him he'll lose half of his memories in the transition? Did you not want him to know he could forget both of you? That he could forget everything before he became an officer and be left with nothing but the guilt of abandoning his allies?"
She snorted, her lips curling in a cruel smile. "Or that he'll have to give up everything from his name to his friends and family, and start over, because if he doesn't, we'll find him and bring him back?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:06 pm
Pure rage bubbled up in Eurydike's chest at the general's words, then just as quickly ebbed away, because there was no point - it was half truths and half filthy ******** assumptions that couldn't be further off the mark, but she was not important. It did not matter what she thought. ******** her. It was Cerussite, he was the only one to matter just then, and he'd told his lover - he'd mentioned to Tolliver the last time they'd met and argued what purification entailed, that half would be gone. He was scared, he was still scared that the half they lost would be the one that loved him, but -
"You know I love you." There was a smile on his face, then, and he amended, his fingers extending further outwards to brush him, "We love you. You won't lose us. I know it's a lot, Ceru, I know, but - " His fingers closed around Tolliver's, linking them together and tugging gently, and maybe his eyes were a little brighter, his voice rough as always, but gentle and warm. " - you're gonna - you'll be takin' my name anyway - right, baby?" There was a chord of hopefulness there, even pleading; please say that ring on his finger still counted.
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:01 pm
Every word of Cinnabar's was like an ice pick driving deeper and deeper into him; shards were splintering apart, edging their way into his heart, so that breathing became labored and painful. Cerussite's eyes were steadily filling with tears the longer he kept his gaze on Eurydike; but he couldn't stop himself from hearing Cinnabar.
He forced himself not to look at her, his chest heaving with the effort it took just to keep breathing. Cerussite was dimly aware of Celsus moving behind Cinnabar, but he needed to stay focused on Eurydike, needed to keep focused on something other than what she was saying -
But he couldn't.
Why haven't you told him he'll lose half of his memories in the transition?
Did you not want him to know he could forget both of you?
His mouth opened and closed. He felt sick.
But Eurydike's voice was cutting through Cinnabar's. Low, gentle, not angry. Not dismissive. Not disgusted, like he had been that first night they'd met as their alternate selves. Not full of self loathing and fury like it had been when Eurydike had dragged him to his planet.
Gentle.
Fingers touched his own. Cerussite jerked as though burned, and a choking sob escaped, his breath shuddering out of him. Snow was muffling the sound of footsteps around him, flakes mingling with the tears on his face so that his cheeks were damp and flushed.
You know I love you.
Which is more important now? Cerussite thought. If I go with them, there's the chance of losing everything I fought for. But if I stay - if I stay, then what is it that I'm fighting for at all? If I stay, what kind of person will that make me to be?
But I could lose them. I could forget them.
The two most important people in my life and I could forget them forever.
Which is more important?
A lifetime, or this.
Another sob escaped, and Cerussite's eyes finally fell shut. His trembling, chilled fingers, which had frozen in place as Eurydike had taken them, now slid forward slowly and twined together with his; and beneath the gloves he wore, the ring was still there, matching the one that was on Eurydike's hand.
I don't want to forget.
I don't want to lose you - but -
"Please," Cerussite choked out. "Please, take me home."
A lifetime, or this.
And in front of Cinnabar, Celsus lunged, diving for her middle to knock her to the ground.
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 11:41 am
Cinnabar tensed as she saw the knight move and when he hit her she wrapped her arms around in, clutching his cape tightly as they went down together. Air whooshed out of her, but she twisted and squirmed like an eel, shoving her knee up into his stomach to push him off of her and follow him over.
Grappling on the ground was not her favorite method of fighting and instinctively she cast around to make sure the senshi hadn't gotten it into his head to attack her from behind while they were down. The troublemaker had no interest in her though... he was with her lieutenant and the pair reached to clasp hands.
Fury ate through Cin like acid, burning through her veins. The taste of betrayal was bitter, all the more so for the future she saw falling to ashes around her. Was this how it would always be? Was this the inevitable end of any male that ever came into her life?
The General snarled as she swung hard at the knight's face, her hand balled up into a hard fist.
"Cerussite! You will not escape." She shouted. "I will hunt you down with every resource the Negaverse has. I've done it before! Just like that knight, I will exploit every lead. Jobs. Homes. Friends. Family. I will use them to find you, no matter where you go or who you pretend to be. I will find you, and just like him, I will take you alive and you will be punished for your disloyalty!"
Her laugh had an edge to it as she lashed out, catching Celsus's hand in her own and twisting it, hard. She felt bones snap in her grip and it only made her laugh harder.
"You can wander the Rift with the Youma and if I'm lucky, you'll remember that every person you cared about died knowing it was your fault I came to kill them."
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 6:02 am
There was a second - even just that one precious moment where Tolliver's fingers closed around his, and Hitch could have sobbed with relief, clutching at him almost desperately, squeezing those digits even more tightly between his own and just smiled at him. It was the first time since that night Celsus had called him to the park that he really, truly felt like he could breathe again.
As was often the case with Logan Hitchcock, the most beautiful moments were always the ones cut the shortest.
Cinnabar's voice cut through the moment, and he turned in enough time to see the demon woman bend back Celsus' wrist with a resounding snap that was too much like his fingers the last time, that left him feeling ill and horrified. " Celsus!! - Baby, run, " he hissed to his fiance, Eurydike squeezing his hand once more, although he didn't know if Cerussite would - or if it was even the best idea to. "Or, no, get to him. Get to him if you can. I got this." He knew he didn't. But he had to try. With a rapid sweep of his hands, he cast the lesser of his magics, "Salt of the Earth!" for all the good it would do the knight now.
Who was there to call? - Thraen? Would Thraen be here in enough time? Would there even be a chance? Sedna was a basic, and - ********, <******** took a step forward, and then two, coaxing his rage and desperation to overwhelm his own fear of the general. They were the best tools he had, the only tools he had - that and his own days on the street, and - a bottle knocked against his sandal and ******** if he didn't go for it, scooping down without taking his eyes off her. "Your threats are gettin' real ********' repetitive, b***h!" he snapped, half circling around her, just trying to get her attention - he'd do what he could from there. "Get the ******** away from him! I ********' mean it!"
Whimsical Blue Sailor Scout Attack: Salt of the Earth. Eurydike presses his hands together, then spreads them around himself in a circle, producing a ring of white. He then either lowers his hands, bringing the circle down onto himself, or lifts them, willing the circle onto a single other senshi. This protects a single senshi for thirty seconds from youma attack, and might extend hostile first level characters. However, anyone more powerful will have a much easier time breaking the circle; for instance, against a captain, it lasts about seven seconds. Against a general, even less than that. Limit once per battle as a senshi.
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 10:18 am
They crashed to the ground in a flurry of limbs, the golden coins on Celsus's uniform jangling noisily. He only had a split second of satisfaction before Cinnabar's knee was against his stomach, knocking the breath out of him as he slammed against his back, a gasp of surprise and pain gusting out of him.
He couldn't move, nor dodge the swing of her fist, except to turn his head to the side at the last moment, so that the blow connected with his jaw instead of his nose. Blackness exploded in his vision, searing up to the side of his head, and Celsus was distantly aware of Cinnabar shouting, hoping desperately that Eurydike had managed to get to Cerussite in time.
He thrust upwards with his hands, trying to push the general off of him, and found instead one of them caught in Cinnabar's grasp.
There was a sickening crack. A scream of pain unable to be held back was torn from Celsus's throat, white hot agony cascading through his entire body from his left hand, and for a moment, the pain was too great. He felt himself slip in and out of consciousness, blacking out and then back in a second later, his expression dazed.
He was not strong enough for this.
(Had he ever been?)
---------------------------------------
They only had a moment.
A moment in which Cerussite felt the thrum of Eurydike's pulse, of his life, against his own. A moment in which, if even for that tiny shred of a minute, everything seemed to fall into place. He would go home. He would leave, he would go home, and everything would be okay.
But things were never that easy.
The resounding snap of bones was easy to distinguish in the air, and Cerussite felt the blood drain from his face, felt a sweep of fear and nausea burst through him. The connection between himself and Eurydike splintered; Cerussite made a desperate grab for him and only caught air, his heart crashing against his ribcage.
She was hurting Celsus. Cinnabar was hurting his brother, and if nothing else, this singular fact was enough to make Cerussite move.
He forced his legs to work, to take one step forward, then another, and another, until he was running, until he was pushing past the ache of his stupid injury and pelting towards Celsus and Cinnabar, Cerussite blinking rapidly against the blur of tears in his eyes.
Cinnabar had been kind to him, it was true. He couldn't repay her for that.
But this was his family. This was all that he had left, even if he would soon not remember them.
His foot swung out, and then, with all the strength that he had, Cerussite slammed into Cinnabar's side.
"Get," he gasped out raggedly, "off of him!"
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Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 9:16 pm
Cinnabar couldn't help the bright, hungry laugh it pulled from her when Celsus screamed, the sound a sickening thrill that made her heart race and shrunk her pupils to cat-like slits. She released the injured wrist, intent on grabbing the other. She wanted to hear his voice again... that sharp, piercing, beautiful sound of pain...
The excitement of it, the thrill of battle and the rage of betrayal, mixed in her head, swamping her senses to push out everything else. The senshi calling to her only barely registered and the General snarled at him, refusing to remove her focus from the man beneath her. Why go for other prey, when she had one literally in her claws?
Something slammed into her side and she grunted at the impact, her breath forced out of her chest. Whirling, Cin felt her rage bubble over at the young man who had attacked her... Cerussite. As if his betrayal in trying to leave was great enough... now he had bitten the hand that had offered him help, that had picked him up and taught him. Took care of him. Rescued him!
Something flipped, in that moment, as her fury took over. Whatever humanity or thinking being that might have been in Cinnabar's face was gone, replaced with something far more feral and angry. She abandoned the knight she had been tormenting to lunge at the lieutenant, but her motions lacked the polished finish they normally had. She'd shown him how she fought, even taught him the basics, but she employed none of that now. Rather, Cinnabar attacked him like a beast, slashing with her claws and paying little heed to anything else.
A rough, animalistic snarl rolled from her throat, the sound strange for having come from a seemingly human throat.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 5:20 pm
No. No no no no. Tolliver wasn't supposed to do anything; he was supposed to hang back and be safe and - "NO, " Eurydike howled, and for being completely inhuman himself, it was somewhat mind blowing how feral he could sound at times when he got desperate and furious enough.
He was a lot of both; this was the only family he'd somehow patched together, and they were both at the mercy of Cinnabar's claws. This was, even if the demon woman didn't intend on it, making good on her promise to him that first night they'd met. If any part of him was still afraid, he wasn't now, and a lack of fear led to some drastic measures. The super senshi flat out flung himself at her back, much like he'd done to the general, scrambling and clawing and aiming for enough purchase to smash that glass bottle straight across her head if he got half the chance.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 7:41 pm
Cerussite had known what he was doing when he'd rushed forward; had known, maybe, what it would result in. But he'd had no other choice, and if he could have, he would have apologized to Eurydike; would have maybe kissed him again, held his hand, told him everything would be all right.
There was no time. All he had left was this.
His foot had connected with Cinnabar's side, and Cerussite felt the impact of it ricochet up and down his entire leg. He barely had time to stagger back before she came at him, and it was unlike anything he'd seen from her before. There was no trace of the kind and supportive general who had guided him, who had recruited him.
I'm a monster, Cerussite.
Her fist hit his side and made him double over and gasp. It was followed by a wild scrape of her sharp claws across his cheek, and insanely Cerussite's only, dizzying thought was I'll match Hitch, now, if it scars, as he staggered.
Blood blossomed across the front of his uniform, a dark stain beginning to form. A cut to his shoulder, making him cry out, and Cerussite's hands were thrown up, desperately trying to block her blows, trying to protect himself, ludicrously, pathetically, from her feral, animalistic attack.
I chose this, he reminded himself hazily, as his feet slid, as her claws scraped a shallow, painful line across one of his temples. Cerussite squeezed his eyes shut against the onslaught, arms crossed and braced in front of him. I chose this. I -
I deserve -
There was a scream, a howl, too familiar. Cerussite dragged his eyes open, saw Eurydike leaping at Cinnabar and felt a rush of terror, his eyes glassy with tears. He was still, after all that had happened, trying to protect Cerussite.
The moment shifted, twisted, inside of his thoughts.
I don't deserve this. None of us do.
Eurydike was protecting him. He couldn't tear his eyes away, and at last the pieces were falling into place, at last the path in front of him seemed, for the first time in a long time, clear.
I deserve, thought Cerussite dizzily, you.
His fingers curled into a fist; and with all the strength he had left in him, Cerussite slammed it towards Cinnabar's face in one wild, desperate swing.
-----------------------------------------------
His arm fell limp at his side, the fingers of it oddly twisted in a way that looked simply wrong. Celsus was dimly aware of Cinnabar reaching for his uninjured hand, his head turning to the side, his face a sickly greenish color that did not bode well for either his mental or physical state anymore.
His fingers had started to bend painfully beneath her taloned hands; Celsus's back arched, a sharp cry dragging from his throat -
- and then the pressure - and the general - were gone. Celsus felt a rush of air into his lungs as her weight disappeared and he gave a rasping gasp, his eyes flying open, his chest heaving. His entire face felt bruised; the pain in his hand was almost unbearable, past the point of endurance, but he forced himself to roll over onto his stomach, nearly passing out again as he twisted onto his left hand. A little, half-bitten back shout of agony was swallowed, tears burning in Celsus's eyes as he used his right, uninjured hand to push himself up.
And he saw, finally, why Cinnabar had left him alone.
Cerussite.
A fear unlike anything Celsus had ever known swept through him. It felt like ice in his veins, chilling and paralyzing, and for a moment all he could do was stare, his heart in his throat.
But then he was climbing to his feet. He was moving, even without realizing it, he was swaying unsteadily and he was liable to pass out at any moment, and yet Cerussite and Eurydike were still in danger, and he couldn't do much but - he could not and would not let them die.
Never.
The whip fizzled back into life in Celsus's hand - the wrong one, his dominant one still useless at his side. It felt awkward holding it in his right, and fingers curled tightly around it, Celsus breathing heavily, his uneven hair sticking damply to his face, sticky with blood and snow and sweat - and tears.
I can do this, he thought, and it was a single drop of hope, glowing bright in his chest. All we need is a few seconds.
I can do this.
Celsus raised his whip and, with a sweeping rush of displaced air, sent it cracking deafeningly through the space in front of him.whimsical blue Celsus cracks the whip, and the sound creates a distraction, a lack of concentration. They have trouble keeping their mind focused on one specific thing for very long. This makes it difficult for the opponent to keep their aim specific. Celsus has to be within viewing distance of his opponent, and he has to be looking directly at them. If his vision is obscured or his concentration broken, the effect won't work. The effect lasts approximately 40 seconds, depending on the strength of the opponent.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:46 am
Whatever grace and control Cinnabar had once had, there was none of that now. She swung at her opponents, but there was a wildness to the motions, a lack of finesse. Her focus jumped from one opponent to another and back, but she wasn't anticipating attacks or keeping distance, enough that it left her dangerously unguarded.
She snarled as Eurydike landed on her back and she spun to snap at him with her fangs, leaving off her attack on Cerussite to reach for him instead. The General jerked as the bottle crashed down on her skull and pain white out everything long enough for her lieutenant to land his own punch, his knuckles impacting her cheekbone. Cinnabar stumbled under the assault and desperately backpedaled, swinging in frantic, random directions to drive her attackers back. Everything was pain in her head, but rather than dissuade, it made her angrier and her growling rose in volume, rattling from her throat and deep in her chest.
A deafening crack of a whip cut through the combat and Cin shrieked as she clapped her hands over her ears, hunching down to protect her head against the painful attack. As if her head wasn't already throbbing with pain...
And with the pain came disorientation and distraction, making it hard to focus on any one target through the sudden haze. All she could really do was back away, clutching her head, and brace for more attacks.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 12:48 pm
His fist had connected, painfully hard, against Cinnabar's face. Cerussite had never hit anyone at all before, especially with the amount of force he'd put into it, and he felt the impact reverberate up and down his entire arm, a gasp of pain escaping him as he staggered back.
And Cinnabar was shrieking, the sound like fingernails on a chalkboard, grating on his very nerves as she stumbled away from them, clutching at her head as though she were in pain. Cerussite swayed unsteadily, fear clawing its way up and down his spine -
- and a hand closed around his upper arm in a firm, unyielding grip. Cerussite's gaze flicked up and he saw, with a jolt, Celsus, one arm around his middle, his fingers sickeningly twisted, blood in his hair and on the front of his uniform, an ugly dark bruise beginning to show on his jaw.
"Cel - " Cerussite gasped, but his brother had gripped him tight and then, with an almighty shove, had wheeled him around and pushed him straight towards Eurydike, towards the waiting arms of the one person that he had wanted to see more than anyone else.
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They had an opening.
It wasn't much of one, but it was enough; a precious few seconds in which they had the chance to get out of there, and that was all that Celsus needed to grab Cerussite. All he needed to push forward with the last of his adrenaline and strength and shove his brother into his fiance's way.
"EURYDIKE!" Celsus screamed, and his voice half broke at the end as he staggered forward and dragged them both with him.
"GO!"
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