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 Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:37 am
"Damnit."
Shalott skid to a stop in the park to look around for any sign of the youma. It was fast and she'd lost sight of it while trying to chase it down with Camelot. There were several places for the thing to hide behind and catch its breath while the knight counterparts tried to look for it. Clumps of bushes stood to her right. A grove of trees straight ahead, and a playground to her left. It was small and kinda felineish so it could easily blend into the background. Only the wicked claws it couldn't hide and it's too big to be a cat body would distinguish it from any other cat on Earth.
She looked behind her for signs of Camelot who was right behind her last she checked. She wasn't sure which way to go and how they should go about it. She needed to catch her breath if they were going to keep running. The youma hadn't done any damage yet, so far as she knew. But Shalott was getting used to the idea that these things were always trouble and would never do anything but hurt. She swept the scene again while the youma crouched low on the roof of the playground waiting to pounce when one of the offending knights got too close. The black on it helped the thing blot out against the night sky overhead.
"What do you think?" she asked her partner. "Curtain number 1, 2, or 3?"
She indicated the different options, any of which could conceal the thing. They had to stick together. He was the only one with any real skill between them. Or, at least the ability to protect someone. She had sarcasm and a flower. And good intentions. Her karate moves only seemed to work on the youma once they were already hurt or served to distract them. Occasionally she got a good hit in but that required close combat and she still wasn't very comfortable with that.
And she had yet to ask Tony if being absolutely terrified was going to go away in time with each hunt or if she'd always feel that thrill of fear when chasing down these monsters. Let alone trying to face a full fledged member of chaos.
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Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:25 pm
Camelot was not much a fan when youma were small and fast. They often got away, and he patrolled with a strict 'no youma escapes' policy. Letting a youma go might have meant saving one person, but it would still be out there to hurt someone else.
That was unacceptable.
He caught up with her, holding his shield up. Ready. The crystal glistened in the wood.
"I imagine it would go somewhere it would feel safest. Hide. But if there are people nearby, it would probably be drawn to them regardless of us chasing it. Youma aren't devilishly smart, as far as I've seen."
Save a few exceptions. He didn't think they were dealing with one of those, though.
He stood close to her, protective, knowing this was one of her first patrols. And he would help her through it. He took a few steps toward the playground, deciding it was the best place to start looking.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:49 pm
Thank God for her efforts to stay in shape. This knighthood gig seemed to demand a lot of running and walking. She glanced at Camelot and nodded to his words. He had experience on his side that she simply did not have yet. And while she'd killed a youma before it was mostly Boreas that got it and not her own efforts. This job promised to be more hands on.
"Be careful." she whispered.
She fully agreed that they needed to cut the feline youma off before it could find people to pull from. These pets of Chaos seemed to crawl under her skin and she immediately thought of feline Benitoite though she wasn't sure why. Possibly because he was feline and of the Negaverse. But she had an unfettered affection for the Captain that she couldn't say she held for the shadowy counterpart at the moment.
The quiet was eery around them.
When Camelot started walking toward the playground she followed after without thinking, moving slowly and keeping her eyes darting around for any sign that they'd made the wrong choice. She didn't want the youma to have the chance to find any unsuspecting person. But as Camelot drifted closer the youma dropped down on top of him and attacked, taking its opportunity. She let out a yelp and moved toward him, having strayed a little.
"Hold on, Camelot."
She looked on helplessly. The thing was all claws at the moment and she wasn't sure how to get it off of him without injuring him.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 12:23 pm
"Damn it! Why my head?" He yelped as the cat fell on him. He flailed and reached up to grab the large youma beast, though its weight was not akin to their run of the mill cats. He fell over, face first, the cat on his back and trying to dig its claws into him. He kept his head tucked down against his shoulders, since it would be exposed otherwise. As it stood, he was protected by the chain mail he wore.
"Shalott," he called, reaching back for the youma but being unable to wrestle it off of him. He couldn't turn around, and his shield was too large to swing backwards and hit it blindly.
He really needed her to get the thing off of him.
"If you would be so kind, please get this thing off my back!" He grunted, opting to try and get his arms under him instead of trying to catch the youma itself. Maybe he could shove himself to his feet and buck the thing off him.
Or Shalott could come up with a better idea, as once he got his hands under him the youma latched on to his arm. He was very thankful for his armor and chain mail, at least.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 5:01 pm
Kyndall looked on helplessly and shrugged. He was down on the ground with the youma on his back, protected, mostly, for now. It was such a strange and sudden situation her mind was reeling to think of something to do to help him. At least, to help him while helping them both avoid that monster's claws. She didn't really know what else to do with it and did the only thing she could think of in split second strained circumstances...
She punted the youma like a football.
It sailed away from Camelot, having been ripped free of his armor. It didn't seem to like the Page's pluck or her idea to ruin its fun. Rather than run as she feared it might she saw it turn and arch its back, hissing angrily at them both and crouching as if prepared to strike. She felt a familiar ball in her stomach that seemed to come every time she was put in this situation. She faced down the youma and gave Camelot time to get to his feet.
She gave him a sidelong apologetic look. She also tried not to feel foolish for being dressed in armor in a park at night looking like she was in an overgrown medieval LARP with her boyfriend fighting a local stray. If she started laughing now she might get them both hurt.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 6:52 pm
Camelot got to his feet, dusting himself off and looking at her in surprise.
"Excellent kick," he said, rubbing his shoulders ruefully. He was in pain but it was nothing that would last. He doubted he would have bruises, in fact. He looked at her, then smiled reassuringly.
This youma couldn't be that tough right? It was small, and it hadn't ripped his head off when it had the chance. Both good things, and they worked in his favor.
"Alright, keep your eyes on it, don't let it ah... get on your back. As it turns out, that is a strong point for it. Youma are tough, but they can be beaten down. They'll turn into dust: that's the goal. If they're left, they'll just hurt someone else. They have no capacity for real thought, I don't think, outside of their need for energy and starseeds."
He was lecturing, but she had asked him to help her and he was telling her what he knew.
"We have our items, but some are... more useful than others. My shield was very pathetic before," he looked at her, realizing he didn't know what kind of an item she was given.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:55 pm
She didn't need much of the lecture. She'd found out most of what he told her through trial and error. The fight with Boreas gave her most of her basis for comparison of youma fights and she was pretty well used to facing down youma and watching them crumble into dust. It was still a rather horrifying process but she was getting better at it. But she nodded all the same knowing he was only trying to help. She knew this thing was dangerous and didn't want to give it any ideas that it could best either one of them. They were both knights, and strong. This should prove to be no problem.
When he mentioned his shield she kinda laughed softly.
"Well, unless he's allergic to flowers I don't think it'll be much help."
She indicated the corsage on her wrist with a wry smile, hoping its next incarnation was something a bit more useful. His shield had changed so perhaps this would, too. Maybe into a flesh eating plant or something like Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors. That would be useful, and interesting. Leave it to the drama teacher to think of something like that. If her corsage every started to sing she'd run for the hills.
The youma seemed to hear her mentioning that she was the weak link and charged Kyndall, latching onto her dress. Thankfully the leather bodice underneath prevented most of the claw damage but Kyndall threw a punch at the thing to get it off. It fell to the ground, hissing, and immediately went after Camelot instead, seeing as it had already distressed him once tonight.
"Damnit." Kyn cursed under her breath.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:32 am
Camelot frowned thoughtfully.
He wasn't surprised that her item had not been the most useful thing. Of the knights he had met so far, in fact, he imagined he was among the lucky few. Sure, his circular, wooden shield had been very prone to breaking at vital moments, but at least it had been useful enough as a weapon to do damage or protect him.
That was what mattered in a fight.
Still, he had thought the corsage was part of her outfit, and the item was somewhere he couldn't see. That idea only slightly colored his cheeks, and he shook it off quickly.
"Well, when all else fails, we have our wits and the strength our knighthood gives us. I mean, I'm sure you've noticed you oh!" He got cut off as the youma attacked her, but she was able to punch it away before he could get to her. He grinned sheepishly, finishing his thought. "Punch harder."
"Oh, no you don't," Camelot said, tensing as the youma turned on him, holding up his shield. He was certain he could defeat it, but he actually wanted to see Shalott take it out. "I'm your back up, Lady Shalott: take the lead."
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:26 pm
Of course. Alright, the lead it was.
She had noticed she seemed to punch harder and kick stronger. It was one of the things that was getting her through - the combined knowledge of where to hit and the added confidence that she had the ability to follow through with new found strength. At the moment she was studying the creature to be able to do just that. It was small and sturdy but not without weakness. Every body had some, even those that turned to dust.
"Camelot, try and herd it toward me with your shield."
She needed it harried and feeling cornered. He said they weren't smart beasts and distressed monsters thought even less. If she could make it feel like it was trapped it would turn to instinct and would not be able to see or prevent strategy. Since her companion had the only useful instrument among the group she had to trust him to try and herd the thing in her direction without getting hurt. All the same the youma swiped at him when he got too close, hissing viciously. Points for intimidation.
Kyndall backed up and rounded off behind the cat youma. She just needed him to push it back a little so it would be pressed between them. Of course it had room to run but she was hoping if her plan worked and it felt overwhelmed it wouldn't think of that. She'd used this tactic before, herding a dog shaped youma toward Boreas to take out. It was sound logic, anyway.
"Be careful and cover yourself. All you have to do is scoot it back toward me a little at a time."
An exposed spine was one hell of a weak spot for a stomping boot.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:56 am
Camelot nodded his head.
He moved to follow her directions, interested to see how she went about trying to get the youma. There would be times when she was alone, though he would certainly try to avoid it and be with her as much as he could, so she did need to learn her own fighting strategy independent of the aid she would get from him and the other Knights.
"Hey, cut that out," he said to the youma, as if that would get it to stop hissing and swiping at him. It was unlikely that it would work, as he couldn't even get real cats to follow voice commands. But at least he had his shield. He held it up to avoid getting sliced, pushing it forward at the youma and forcing it to turn around and back up toward Shalott, while it swiped at the large wooden thing trying to hit it in the face.
"Alright, Shalott," he said, keeping his eyes on the youma just so it stayed focused on him. This was a little too much help from him, but he could imagine she would adapt her methods when she was alone. And maybe she wouldn't need to... he was feeling protective, maybe, and wanted to stick with her.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:24 am
Maybe it was too much for him to do but he'd told her to take the lead, not kill the damn thing herself. If he was there why shouldn't she use him? As he uselessly tried to hush the catlike youma she tried not to snicker. Really, it shouldn't be that funny. They were in a serious fight and she needed to focus on it. There...just a little closer. She watched the progress made with an assessing eye, getting ready to make her move quickly.
The monster hissed and spat at the knight but followed his coercion and once it was close enough Shalott stomped quickly down. The youma realized her ploy only seconds too late and darted away but not quickly enough. Shalott's boot came crushing down on its hindquarters rather than on it's back and the thing made a loud sound, the back end of it starting to break up into dust but not quite fully yet.
"Damn."
The female Page didn't seem satisfied with this. In fact, she was rather disappointed. If course her techniques would need to be adapted to hunting alone. She hadn't managed to be alone with a youma yet except for the once and someone had come to help her in the end. Not that it made much difference, then. The youma in question had been weakened by the time he came. Still, she wanted to get this thing and had no weapons at hand.
"Any suggestions?"
Weren't teachers supposed to have lesson plans?
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:39 pm
Camelot watched, but shook his head. The youma could not survive: once it started to turn to dust, it would finish doing so. It did a moment later, without him having to answer, bursting into dust and blowing away on a convenient breeze that always seemed to act up whenever a youma died. Even on what seemed to be still nights.
Youma dust was destined for the wind, he supposed.
"When in doubt, use your fists or, uh, feet. Sometimes our weapons just won't be useful. You did very well, considering you only have your wits to rely on and not a big clunky shield like I got." He was very lucky when he started out, he knew, and he also knew that he might not have been so confident now if he had had to rely on his skills alone.
He had not been the best fighter, and still relied on defense more than offense to get by in battles. His shield was the truly skilled part of all this, not the wielder himself.
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:00 pm
"When in doubt I try to steer toward instinct."
What were years of practice for if not to become second nature when threatened? Muscle memory, she thought it was called, the body reminding itself just how to behave when doing a typically familiar task. She supposed that was why people said you never forgot how to ride a bike. Or have sex. Somethings are just stored inside forever. She shook her head as the thing disintegrated and watched it swirl away on a sudden breeze.
"I do hope as I get better this grows into something useful." she explained, looking at the corsage dubiously.
Still, she counted it as a job well done since the youma was toast and they were both relatively unscathed. Perhaps solo strategies would come in time but for now she was extraordinarily happy that she had him for back up. She called it a night well used. She looked up at her mentor happily, grinning at him.
"My place for wine?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 2:45 pm
"I'm certain it would. My shield was a hopeless little thing when I started. But now it's a less hopeless, larger thing." He grinned teasingly at her, holding it up for her to see like she had somehow missed it all the other times they were hanging out. It had the crystal they had found in the hospital room embedded in its wooden grain.
He had never explained to her what that crystal was, or why that strange squirrel had actually been rather helpful to him. His crystal helped him slay, at least momentarily, a dragon, and it certainly helped in battles.
Though he was torn about its use. Sometimes it was just too powerful for him to want to use against another person. Youma he did not mind it so much. It shot out a pulse of energy to shove an enemy away from him in an effort to protect himself or others, but it also, he had learned, caused a sharp pain. It faded and left no injuries, but it was still not something he liked to do.
He smiled at her.
"Trying to get me drunk again?" He teased, then looked thoughtful and nodded his head. "yes, wine sounds nice." He had been attacked by a youma tonight, after all. Why not wind down. He moved to her and clapped his hand on her shoulder, grinning broadly.
"You did very well, by the way." And looked lovely doing it, but he would save that compliment for another time.
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 3:11 pm
"Thank you, on both counts."
She had hopes that this garland of hers would be useful someday. Maybe it could intoxicate people or put them to sleep. She recognized the crystal in his shield from the hospital room the day she'd met Dogby. She didn't realize then what it had meant or who he was but a lot of their interactions took on a different connotation when she thought back to them knowing what she did now.
She decided that was a question for a different time, smiling with his teasing and taking it in stride. She certainly wasn't trying to get him drunk but she did believe a glass of good wine could do wonders for body and soul. Besides, she wouldn't even know what to do with herself if Anthony Darrow actually took a liking to her in any significantly romantic sense.
It was like unicorns. You hope it exists but you never actually expect to see one.
She was willing to wait, though, to see if one ever popped its way out of the woods to say hello someday.
She didn't think about it anymore as they left the youma dust behind, glad that there was one less evil in the world to worry about. It was time now to unwind and put herself to bed and as she took his arm and walked with him she grinned.
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