|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 4:54 pm
When he got there, the training field was empty, Otto taken away to the infirmary. Jordan was still angry, quiet fury simmering just under the surface of his mind. Ferros was likewise agitated. A grating edge had slipped into the rumble of his presence, and when Jordan summoned the weapon, he saw that Ferros's runes were pulsing visibly, their red glow illuminating the surrounding metal.
He sunk the finial spike on Ferros's barrel into the ground and stood waiting, the hand holding Ferros's handle straight upright clenched white-knuckle tight with tension.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:05 pm
Rep still felt like king of all he surveyed, it took a while for the adrenaline to ebb away, and even once it did, the aching nag of tired muscles simply felt like a rousing trophy of his victories that day. He was thinking clearly for what felt like the first time in ages.
He paid Tracey no heed, he was just upset about what had to be done in the name of victory. Why would he take people to the infirmary when he was trying to make a statement? He'd lost too many spars, he was letting the world know at large that he was no longer Rep the ******** spar doormat, he could win and when he won he'd make sure you remembered it.
Still, the walk to the training fields this time was the hardest thing he'd had to do that day. It had been easy to deny Jordan over twitter but the idea of denying him, defying him to his face, was almost impossibly harder.
But he would do it if he had to.
As he stepped onto the fields, he had Tracey summoned, he wasn't even sure why, it was a gesture of hostility, something he so rarely did around the other sun hunter. There had never been a reason to, but today it felt like something had slipped, something felt right about the cool steel under his calloused hands.
He stopped several paces from Jordan, who likewise was armed. It felt like mere moments ago he'd been helping to polish Ferros' pristine metal, now he was faced with him as a prospective opponent.
"You wanted to talk to me?" he drawled, looking away, aloof, almost bored.
Defensive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
prolixity rolled 1 20-sided dice:
9
Total: 9 (1-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:16 pm
For once, Jordan had returned to the cool, neutral, masklike expression he so often wore with acquaintances; for all that he often let his emotions show when talking to Rep, he sensed that it wouldn't do much good right now. "I don't have a problem with you knocking people out sparring," he said flatly. "That happens. It's a risk. I do have a problem with you leaving them when they're in need of medical attention. That's not acceptable."
He gave Rep an even stare. "You're making yourself look bad. Undoing a lot of the good impressions you've managed to make. Furthermore, as I'm generally considered responsible for getting you to knock it off when you step over the line, you're making me look bad by extension."
He lifted Ferros and fell into a ready stance, the giant hammer held out to the side and slightly back. "It's a good thing you've got Tracey summoned," he said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baneful rolled 1 20-sided dice:
11
Total: 11 (1-20)
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:28 pm
Rep automatically found himself searching Jordan for any clues as to his mood, to how much trouble he was theoretically in. But he was once again unreadable, businesslike, logical. It made him panic a little, all the familiar cues and softness nowhere to be found. There was a fleeting instant of hesitation as he tried to find his footing, of what to do. Common sense told him to apologise, to say he'd been out of line.
But today common sense was a small and boring voice in comparison the the sultry purr of power and victory. He had won those fights, he'd won the right to do as he pleased, it was their fault for daring to take him on in the first place. His own expression - for just a moment torn and uncertain - cooled into a glare. "It's not my job to cart useless ******** fighters off the field. They come to me for fights, I fight them, there's nothing in the agreement to say that I'll waste time and energy dragging them out and getting ******** covered in their blood."
The fledgeling defiance seemed to finally find its wings as he clenched his hand on Tracey. "As for your public relations, and whatever ******** implications those might have, they aren't really my problem."
right now> Tracey offered helpfully.
His smirk was twisted, his tone arrogant but somehow shrill as he replied. "Oh right, Why? Are you volunteering to be next person I trounce today? I owed you a good ******** fight didn't I?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baneful rolled 2 10-sided dice:
8, 7
Total: 15 (2-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:31 pm
He knew he was dealing with a lot of power in Jordan. Ferros was no joke of a weapon and absolutely not to be underestimated. As such, he knew he couldn't afford to hesitate, couldn't afford to let him land the first and potentially last blow. He couldn't afford to be stupid.
Dropping into battle stance as though it was second nature, he spun into an opener, Tracey a mere blur of darkness and trailing runes as he brought him around to collide with steel and shield.
Tracey fell quiet, leaving a faint sense of resignation as he slid into his usual battle role of being Rep's second set of eyes, second set of thoughts and instincts. He didn't want to fight Ferros at all, but if he was going to, he wasn't going to patronise him and put his hunter in danger by going easy.
"You know, I'm glad I had Tracey summoned too." he snarled as he braced for retaliation.
HP: 50/50
DMG: 9
CHARGE: 1/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
prolixity rolled 2 12-sided dice:
10, 9
Total: 19 (2-24)
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:39 pm
"No," Jordan said. "They're other Hunters, not monsters. Sparring is practice. And if you injure or kill someone, that's one less weapon helping and defending you. Hell, if you injure or kill someone, you're losing a lot of support; you don't take care of them, and they won't take care of you - and if you overstep too far, relying on Killzone to step in and save your a** is a piss-poor gameplan."
His mouth tightened, lips flattening to a thin line. "And my problems are your problems, to some degree. Unless you would rather deny any kind of relationship existing between us."
Instead of trying to dodge the attack, he braced himself and took the swing without moving aside. "I'd rather fight you because both of us feel like sparring," he growled. "But if I have to do this to get you to listen to me, so be it."
He brought Ferros around in a long arc, putting his strength into the swing; he hadn't faced Rep down on the field with any kind of seriousness since the first time they'd met, but he wasn't backing down now. This was serious.
HP: 51/60
Dmg: 13
Charge: 1/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baneful rolled 2 10-sided dice:
3, 9
Total: 12 (2-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:54 pm
Ferros connected like a ton of bricks, exactly as he expected, sending him reeling back so hard he would have lost his footing were it not for Tracey's handle used like a walking stick to catch him. He bristled defiantly.
"Half of the ******** pricks on this island wouldn't piss on me if I was on fire. Even after trying so ******** hard to show them I mean well. They won't respect me, I was like, ******** it, I'll make them fear me. Its the same ******** difference if they want to be on my good side as it is if they cared." When you were nice to people they pushed too far, got too friendly with what was yours.
He flinched at the mention of Killzone, the reminder of his absence a sting, his anger cracking to pain for just an instant. "'Zone won't be stepping in to save anyone's a** ever again, he's dead." he snarled. "There's no more ******** guiding hand, there's no one helping me get through to them any longer, so why even give a s**t?"
"I just want to focus on what's important and show them I'm not a ******** doormat. Teach the newbies who not to mess with. Mark out the ******** territory. And not just you."
Unless you would rather deny any kind of relationship existing between us.
Whatever anger he'd been going by temporarily froze over in the instant - a hand of ice clenching in his gut at Jordan's comment. It was cutting and to the point, impossible to contradict. Their problems were collective so long as they were an item. But the rebellion still tenaciously held out on the back of adrenaline. He'd been fine with having a keeper, fine with following orders, until Ro, he'd wanted to grind Ro into the dirt and then after that he couldn't stop.
"You know that's not ******** what I want so don't even say it." he barked anxiously.
Fear at the idea of having the relationship itself held over his head as a threat made him once again lash out in a swing. Fighting at this point felt easier, simpler than what waited for him if he stopped. He was outrunning a wall of guilt and consequences, he couldn't stop or it would catch up with him.
"It was just a spar."
HP: 37/50
DMG: 6
CHARGE: 2/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
prolixity rolled 2 12-sided dice:
1, 11
Total: 12 (2-24)
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 6:20 pm
"It's not the same thing," Jordan snapped back. "To get respect, you give respect. It's that simple. Act like an unstable time bomb and people will be afraid of you, they're not going to get near you, they're not going to get close enough to hurt you but they're not going to drag your a** to the infirmary when you're bleeding out on the field."
The next part of what Rep said, however, cracked his mask like a stone through glass. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open; he looked suddenly very young, vulnerable and hurting. "Dead?" Ferros drooped towards the grass for a moment. Killzone was dead? When? How?
Jordan, Ferros said urgently.
Jordan shook his head hard and hauled the expressionless mask back into place, brought Ferros back up into a guard position while he forced his freewheeling emotions under control again. " ... Nobody helping get through?" he asked, and tried to keep the hurt out of his voice. "If you'd let me," and the frustration was sneaking in again, rekindling the spark of pain and fury.
Nobody else got under his skin like this, cracked his walls with such ease, and if he thought about that too hard something was going to break. He aimed and channeled the feelings into anger again, aware even as he did of the hypocrisy of the action. It was temporary, he rationalized; he wasn't exactly able to introspect and analyze right now. First he had to finish this.
Tracey sliced across his skin again, and he could sense the axe shredding a chunk of Ferros's shield. He stepped in and swung. "If it's just a spar, then you ******** help them get up after!"
HP: 45/60
Dmg: 6
Charge: 2/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baneful rolled 2 10-sided dice:
5, 5
Total: 10 (2-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 6:41 pm
"I gave respect to people and they didn't give it back." Melvin had acted like he'd insulted him when he'd tried to heal him, Ro perpetually crossed his comfort zones, people still pushed him relentlessly whenever he tried to show them respect and he just couldn't begin to understand it was because his limits and ideas of what was acceptable was entirely different from theirs. "I can ******** be a doormat like Jerry, I can just ******** lie down and give them all respect and they'll still ******** leave me to die. Face it Jordan, most of this island are ******** scum. All the good people die."
The pain in his expression at the mention of Killzone was almost vicarious, he didn't want to hurt him like this, it was an awful thing to bring out now of all times, when he had a feeling he'd never found out about the battle in his absence.
"Really man, you don't want to help me, helping me would mean standing with me, helping me wouldn't mean keeping your perfect social standing and playing all the ******** games. You've never ******** been caught, you've never failed at everything you ever tried to do. No one challenges you, or ******** disrespects your boundaries cause you are the place's whipping boy. You don't have to kick them into their place, you just give them a LOOK. Well you weren't there to do that for Ro. SO I DID IT MYSELF with my ******** axe."
"This didn't even ******** involve you other than that Ro was at risk." he snarled
The pain of the swing against his shield was barely registered, it hurt, but pain right now was distant, mingled in with the exhaustion of all the other spars, pushed down by the rising charge levels. He felt like a desperate junkie coming down close to a withdrawal, he needed another hit of that power, needed to feel like he was in control the way he had with Ro.
"I'm not picking them up they can think I'm a soft touch. ******** Ro would have thought I didn't mean it, that I liked him really. He needed to fester, needed to know I'm not to be ******** with. Let his ******** friends pick him up. People who aren't ME"
He tried not to think about Otto, that had been sheer vindictiveness.
Think about the charge instead.
He swung again with a grunt of effort, Tracey feeling heavier than he had earlier.
HP: 31/50
DMG: 4
CHARGE: 3/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
prolixity rolled 2 12-sided dice:
11, 9
Total: 20 (2-24)
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:05 pm
"Everybody dies," Jordan answered, a flutter of that stark awful pain showing briefly in his eyes again. "Everybody ******** dies."
He flinched visibly at the accusations. His lips pulled down unhappily. "If I didn't want to stand with you," he hissed, "I wouldn't. I don't want the whole island to hate you. I want them to see what I see - I want them to see that you can do the right thing, you do care, you just don't want to care because it hurts, I get that, Rep, goddammit, I do - it's not going to be fixed overnight, it takes time, I can't - I'm not perfect, I don't care who knows that! It's not about Ro, I want - dammit, Rep, I want you to have friends too!" By the end of it, he was yelling, voice shaking and close to cracking.
He lunged into Rep's attack, winced at the thunk of impact, but swung Ferros up and around in a half-circle.
HP: 41/60
Dmg: 14
Charge: 3/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baneful rolled 10 12-sided dice:
6, 8, 2, 2, 7, 10, 9, 3, 11, 11
Total: 69 (10-120)
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:20 pm
The runes lit up again, the fear thrummed, but the kick wasn't the same, the high wasn't as high, it wasn't as liberating. He didn't synch with Tracey, he felt he was forcing the fallen angel into the charge against his own free will. It was dangerous and volatile and all wrong.
He didn't feel like a god, he felt like a demon.
Even the whack from Ferros that sent him several meters back, tearing through his shield like so much air wasn't enough to give him that thrill of the fight, that dangerous edge that had been so exciting before. This felt awful, the one person he didn't want to hurt, love making every single charge he drew taste foul. His hands shook as he regained his footing and ran forward, the crackle of runes accompanying the typical superhuman speed that marked this particular charge.
Tracey sounded tired.
The hit glanced, the blade striking shield but not losing enough momentum. It yanked Rep clean off his feet and into the air, helpless to control or prevent any of it. It was almost serene. His shield shattered as he hit the ground hard, Tracey falling out of his grip and landing beside him with a clunk. The axe desummoned, his runes dim, his surface dusty.
Rep coughed painfully, getting up only as far as kneeling, struggling to get the breath back that had been smacked out of his lungs. His voice cracked entirely as he tried to speak. He didn't look up.
"I don't want friends." he said when he finally managed words, "I just want you and Ace."
HP: 0/50
DMG: 19
CHARGE: 0/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:51 pm
The charge slammed into them like a truck, and Jordan could feel the way a huge chunk of Ferros's shield splintered and crumbled under Tracey's blade; the physical force of the attack shoved Jordan back several feet, and the only reason he didn't fall flat on his back was because he'd been expecting it. As it was, he skidded and staggered back, the breath whooshing out of his lungs.
Ferros whined softly, agitated and upset, reaching out for something unnamed, unidentifiable. The charge hummed in Ferros's metal, but Jordan could sense that Ferros didn't want to release the simmering flame that he held tightly pent up.
Instead, he let Ferros desummon when Tracey did, caught his breath, and dropped to his knees directly in front of Rep, reaching for him with aching confusion. His voice was strained and hoarse when he spoke. "Why?"
HP: 22
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:01 pm
Rep wanted to seize Jordan and pull him close, wanted to just hold onto him physically in the way he no longer felt like he could any other way. He didn't deal well with fear and uncertainty, it almost always ended up in violence, and it had again today. Just an endless cycle of the same old s**t.
"Because they'll never get me. Every time I try and ******** reach out, they don't get it and it hurts. And then when they try and do the same I feel ******** violated. It doesn't work, friends don't work."
He hung his head and looked at the ground. "Being nice to them let them too close to you and Ace though and I can't handle the thought it might go wrong. I can't cope. I said I could trust, I said I was fine."
Closing his eyes tightly he clenched his hands against the ground. "I'm not fine."
He hadn't been able to hold onto /her/ no matter what he did, people got close and they took her away always. Drugs took her away. How could he ever be sure people wouldn't take everything away again. "I trust you. I trust you I ******** love you right, I'd trust you with anything. But I don't trust them. And it so ******** hard to."
"I would have killed him if Tracey hadn't stopped me, just to take the threat away forever. I let you down. After I promised you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:13 pm
"Maybe there's something to the brutal honesty approach after all," Jordan admitted, very softly. He put a hand hesitantly on Rep's shoulder, thinking of walls, of barriers, of fairy tales about mountains of glass and mazes of thorns. He swallowed hard, and added, low but fierce, "I won't let anyone interfere with what we've got. With us. I swear."
He sat back on his heels, regarding Rep with tired acceptance. "I forgive you," he said. "I can't speak for anyone besides myself, but I forgive you." There's nothing you can do that I can't forgive you. He bit back the words just in time, shocked by his own thought, the enormity and gravity of it and the realization of how frankly dangerous that kind of blind devotion might be. But it was there, and denying it was useless.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:27 pm
He reached up to gently take hold of Jordan's wrist as he laid his hand on his shoulder, an odd sort of desperation in the gesture. "Please." The word was ragged and quiet, difficult to say. It sounded ridiculous, out of place to bring his mother up now of all times, but he needed to give him context. Jordan couldn't understand without him telling him at least this much."I've heard it before. Mum said almost the same ******** thing. Every time. And it was just words." He gave him an honest intent look, nothing about his words exaggerated or frivolous. "Please just mean it. I can't take it again. I'd ******** snap forever."
He let go of his wrist gently, the forgiveness as always more than he deserved, each time he pushed him away, Jordan pushed back with equal force and every time took him back.
"And I know I say it every time, every time" He swallowed audibly, emotion still an awkward lump in his throat. "But I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the s**t I said. And I'm sorry for ******** up all the hard work till now."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
