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 Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 5:00 pm
Roots. Roots. Roots.
This was going nowhere.
He sighed, brushing dirt-covered hands against his jeans and standing up from yet another hole he'd dug. None of these plants were edible. It seemed the underground vegetables were cursed: tiny, shriveled, insect-infested and sour.
He ambled over to the waters, kneeling down to wash his hands free of the dirt. And then his arms, and his knees, and his feet and legs and back; the jungle was prone to bestowing dirt upon those who dwell in its realm.
Tezcatlipoca evidently hated tubers. With a passion. There was no other reason for the rampant failure Valeriu had encountered. The one somewhat-whole potato-esque piece of food he'd found for Tepin - had been ripped out of his hands by an osprey!
Birds didn't even eat roots!
No matter. Revenge had been had.
He turned to the new fire pit he'd built, satisfied. Turning on a stick was dinner tonight.
Osprey shish-ka-bob.
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Taichou rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:16 pm
Across from the rushing waters of the river, a figure stood. It’s red eyes were pinned on the boy, and the tanned muscles of it’s body seemed tense. Yet it stood there, watching. Even despite being inches shorter than the boy, the man still seemed to have a presence, able to look at the taller boy from across the water.
His eyes squinted from behind his heavy black mask. He was judging this boy, summing up his conclusions of the past with the image presented before him.
They were vastly different, yet they both seemed to share one common trait.
And he did not like that one bit.
In a flash, he had crossed the waters, now mere inches from his prey. And yet he waited, those red eyes watching the figure before him intently.
This was all?
His tanned hands reached to his side, pulling a dagger identical to his Godling’s from a band around his waist. His eyes flashed up to the boy once more, before the dagger stabbed into the God’s own right hand. Blood dripped down, flowing in a steady motion from the wound, and a smirk crossed his face.
“This ought to make it a bit more interesting, don’t you think?”
His intentions were clear, a killing aura nearly oozing from him. He was going to have Valeriu prove himself, no matter what.
Mixcoatl: 25 HP
Damage: -5 to Mixcoatl
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Scroll rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:28 pm
There wasn't much that could sneak up on Valeriu. Sure, the crackling of the fire was loud, and he may have been distracted with thoughts of an osprey dinner, but...
The smell of blood should not have come before his other senses; not with how close it was. Not normal, either - not an animal. In the fraction of a second it took his nose to analyze the scent, the instinct hit him.
This blood was special, and that thing inside of him wanted it.
He turned in time, catching the words as they were spoken. A strange man with a strange mask, who smelled as strange as a God. There was little doubt as to the man's divinity.
But that did not deter him.
There was a fight to be had. Other details could wait.
"I don't need a handicap, God," he growled, and his arm changed - the shadows shot through the air to his hand, and spread, rippling and changing. Where once was human fingers and human palm and human wrist, there was a large, dark and nightmarish claw, the shadows eating their way up to his shoulder.
He lunged, swiping heavily with the monstrous arm, and from the ground below their feet dark spikes shot up to impale the intruder. Something had to hit, god or not.
Valeriu: 25 HP
Damage: -4 to Mixcoatl
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Taichou rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:46 pm
A sadistic and maniacal grin coated his face behind the caved mask. This was what he lived for, and this was exactly the kind of excitement that he had wished for when he had entered the game. It got his blood pounding in his head-- the excitement of the hunt, the excitement of the fight-- it was the best. His head was spinning with passion.
And so it was no small wonder that even when he got hurt, the man still laughed with glee.
He had jumped, barely in time to dodge the spikes-- only to find the sharp claws of his foe contacting with his arm and getting a good graze on his exposed pectoral muscles. The blood was flowing from more than his hand now, and he was loving every moment of it. The pain only made his mind numb, instinct starting to take control of his senses.
The grin never left his face, even as his feet planted with the ground and he rushed once more, closing the distance between the two and lashing out with a quick slash of his Godling’s dagger, following by another by a stronger, more battle orientated knife.
Mixcoatl: 21 HP
Damage: -6 to Valeriu
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Scroll rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:59 pm
He just barely avoiding getting his throat slit, jerking back in the nick of time. The blade bit into the skin below his collar bone, grinding against the strange stone of his mirror - before a second knife came up, fast and quick, and he ducked down this time, serrated edges digging across his forehead.
He blinked in shock, and his sight was coated with stinging red the next second as he reeled back. He blindly threw a flurry of shadowy daggers in the god's direction, more intent on putting enough distance between them, to buy himself time to get the blood out of his eyes.
The man was fast. Faster than Valeriu could have imagined; and the wound to his head wouldn't stop bleeding. He squinted, barely able to see, claw held at the ready for the next attack.
He grinned, and his sharp smile was all too eager.
"Is that all you have?"
Yes. Taunting a god was exactly what a rational, intelligent person did.
Valeriu: 19 HP
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Taichou rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 10:23 pm
The God jumped back, deftly avoiding the target-less daggers with ease.
He didn’t move in, no. He could see that his prey was at a disadvantage, the blood clogging his vision. To attack now would be weak, cowardly. It was the type of thing that Tezcatlipoca would do, the trickster. Not something that a proud and true warrior would resort to.
His smile grew even wider, despite being hidden by the deep black of his mask. The Game was exhilarating, if nothing else.
“You think you can handle more?”
He darted in once more, kicking out strait to knock his prey over. If the boy was able to taunt him so, then he was clearly able to keep going. So long as his opponent was either humbled or dead, Mixcoatl could continue fighting until the ends of the earth.
Mixcoatl: 21 HP
Damage: -6 to Valeriu
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Scroll rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 10:34 pm
This was not going well.
His breath left him in a short burst as the speedy god kicked him right in the torso, sending the godling tumbling back head over heel.
He heard something crack (perhaps more than one something). And whatever it was - it hurt. Hurt to breathe.
At least the blood was out of his eyes. He coughed at the dust cloud that had risen up from where he fell (and if his spit and breath was flecked with blood, he couldn't tell). Groaning, he pushed himself up on his hands, knees digging uncomfortably into the dirt.
He looked down to his chest. His mirror was cracked.
b*****d had broken his mirror.
He looked back at the man, glared, lips curling back in a snarl - and then his feet were digging back into the ground, propelling his body forward in a low tackle with all the muscle and momentum his form could pack, clawed hand lashing out to rip and crunch and tear.
If the man was too fast, he'd just have to take out his legs. Even a crippled god couldn't move that fast!
Valeriu: 13 HP
Damage: -4 to Mixcoatl
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Taichou rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 10:54 pm
The impact had knocked him off his feet, his small form falling back as the God chocked out a cough-- he was not expecting the mere Godling to be able to pack as much power as he had into an attack.
With the momentum of the fall, he rolled on his back, kicking out with both feet to try to dislodge the rabid shadow.
s**t-- he really would have to get serious. This match was taking longer than he had anticipated.
Mixcoatl: 17 HP
Damage: -4 to Valeriu
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Scroll rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 11:07 pm
Another kick, another snap, and he was launched off.
He probably had two seconds of air-time before he slammed against the tree. Two whole, glorious seconds of flying. At least that's what he thought it was - he was kind of dizzy.
And by kind of, maybe a little. And by a little, maybe a whole lot. He staggered back to his feet, wheezing for breath. It was like he couldn't breathe deeply enough, as if the air refused to move all the way down his throat.
At about this point in the fight, he realized he may be on the losing end against the god. Perhaps. He coughed, and spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground.
Perhaps.
But dying here wasn't an option; barely a few hundred yards down the riverbank, Tepin was waiting. For him, to come back with dinner (and roots, those godforsaken roots!). He steadied himself.
The god was strong - really strong. It seemed like the only attack that even affected the man came from his arm.
Arm it was.
He was moving slower, far slower - Valeriu knew he was, and knew his next attack was not going to land halfway into the move. But the arm was heavy, and hard to stop - he lunged, swiped at the god, missed the speedy little b*****d and found his claws slashing through a tree.
"Damn it," He hissed, jerking his shadowy weapon out of the trunk and turning back around. "Are you the god of jack rabbits?"
Valeriu: 9 HP
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Taichou rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 11:28 pm
”The hunter,” His smile had lessened, and his damaged hand raised above his heart, “Who destroys the beasts lurking in the forest.”
If he had ever seen an example of a beast, it was the boy before him. And yet this person was the one taking care of his Godling?
This would not do.
Underneath his mask, red eyes squinted, before he cast the knife which had so earlier wounded his own arm towards his prey.
His gaze did not lessen after the attack. He would be ready to end it if the boy made one wrong move.
“What are your intentions--” Abrupt and to the point, Mixcoatl would spare no extra words, “Towards my Child?”
One wrong word, one thing out of place, and he would end him in a heartbeat.
Mixcoatl: 17 HP
Damage: -5 to Valeriu
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 11:54 pm
The knife struck, and he sunk to the ground on one knee.
World. Was. Pain. He grunted when his fingers found the hilt of the dagger buried in his shoulder, dancing around the well-worn leather. But he wasn't so foolish as to pull it out without something to stop the blood flow, or else he'd be passed out long before needle and thread could find their way to the cut.
Things were already too hazy for their own good. And oh, how his pride burned; his lips curled furiously, baring too-long fangs. The position of his ears, sharp and upright, gave him away: in the fight or flight response, this beast felt no fear.
His anger was deterred, however, and so was his attack. The words the god spoke--
"V'hat?" he faltered. "Your Ch-- you are Tepin's god?" He gaped at the man in astonishment.
"You. You are Mixcoatl?"
This was a first for Valeriu. Just as Tepin had never seen another god - well, Valeriu's only experience was Persy and Tezcatlipoca. He should have known.
Aztecs were insane.
He frowned, trying to understand what exactly the god was asking.
"Intentions?" he echoed hollowly. "I do not intent to harm her, if that is v'hat you are asking. I v'ould never."
Did the god seriously believe Valeriu would betray Tepin? Was that what this was about?
Had the god been living in a cave these past few weeks?
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Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 2:08 pm
His measured gaze kept steady throughout the man’s floundering, though he had once more raised his arms across his chest. Crossing them to appear nonchalant, his steady glare never once strayed from the man. That is, until Valeiru said that he would never harm Tepin, at least.
The God threw back his arm, tanned hand reaching for another dagger, before stopping short and dropping with a balled fist. He hadn’t completed his goal yet-- he had to determined what this boy was trying to accomplish. He needed to remain composed; Tezcatlipoca wouldn’t be pleased if Mixcoatl killed his Godling.
“She is a player,” He would continue this vein, moving his way towards his true question, “You have to defeat her to win.”
He had seen the determination in the boy, and he knew that he was fighting for a greater good. But Tepin… As much as she may wish for the same dream, she was nothing but a hindrance to it as a player of the game. In order for Valeriu’s safe and happy world to exist, Tepin would need to be destroyed.
“What are you planning to do then?”
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