Morning 328 Contingent Objects & Material Experimentation was a blur. They were a little after midterms, his second piece was still being evaluated, but his focus was too fragmented to start sketching for the set of pieces that would be do in the gallery for finals- three to five depending on the proposition interview with the professor. He'd gotten so little sleep- worrying all the night prior if he was about to get attacked by the other him- but it never came to the apartment. He had been waiting, henshin pen in hand if it did to power up, but it hadn't been necessary. A few hours after sunrise, class, and now the noon hour was passed.
If he wasn't going to sleep or work on studies, then patrolling was his duty. In fact, it was a moral imperative, especially as he'd spent all the night selfishly wary of an enemy that never showed. Now was the time to hunt enemies he didn't know or expect- the Mirror and the Negaverse. Hunting by day was more dangerous in the winter- he couldn't blend in less with the drab, leafless trees and grey skies when he was in uniform as Thraen. More dangerous and easily picked out by civilians if he ran on the ground, so he kept to the rooftops and side ways. He was keeping up with his decision to check on the centers of growth and learning - today he decided to check out Crystal Academy. It was so exclusive that it had nice grounds and was less a prison than say Hillworth or St. Mag's about letting students out on its campus during their study halls or lunch. It would put the girls at risk if there was an enemy about. The closer he got, the grimmer the set of his jaw.
I feel a chaos signature. A lieutenant for sure.
Fallen_kitsune_thief
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:06 pm
Lunchtime was generally a brief reprieve from teenage girls for Suri, who often spent the time grading papers or reviewing lesson plans (and very rarely actually eating lunch). She was supposed to keep her door open in the event of students wanting to conference with her, but that had only happened once or twice since her return in the fall, and neither appointment had been all that important. And on days like today, when she wasn't expecting much of anything to do, she locked up her classroom entirely and left the grounds for a little bit of freedom.
Patrolling during school hours was basically a guaranteed way to ensure a hassle-free experience, as Zircon discovered relatively early in her time as a lieutenant. Granted, she only had about an hour before she needed to return to school grounds, but given her familiarity with the area she could be quick and efficient. Roaming the grounds and extended neighborhoods while powered served a dual purpose: she could do some casual energy-harvesting, and if she was fortuitous she might be so lucky as to intercept a student senshi and learn their identity. One of her very first students had been a General in the Negaverse, but in all her years of patrolling she'd never quite managed to catch one of her girls henshining up. Nevertheless, it didn't keep her from trying. With information that valuable, she would be promoted for sure.
Today's rounds were uneventful, but that was to be expected, given that most senshi only liked to patrol at night. With her usual perimeter scouted, Zircon began to turn back for the campus, when something nagged her consciousness from the distance, coming closer at a rapid pace. There was no doubting that bitter taste in her mouth: there was a senshi approaching her school, and a strong one at that.
Under normal circumstances, Zircon would have just fled for the shelter of her office, with the unknown combatant being none the wiser. But as it stood, the lieutenant had a few new tricks up her sleeve, and she was eager to put some of her basic training to use. She stood proud in the direction of the slippery aura, and after a moment she saw him, bouncing from rooftop to rooftop a couple of blocks away. Once he drew closer, she could tell by his energy that he was no basic senshi, which caused her to hesitate, but he had already locked on to her signature, and there was no backing out. Shifting one leg back into a defensive stance, she waited until the boy was close enough, and then began to speak.
"Shouldn't you be in class?" scoffed the lieutenant, looking the senshi up and down. He looked roughly of a high school age, bedecked in the most ridiculous bouquet she'd seen on a senshi yet. Were those real flowers? Shaking her head slowly, she clicked her tongue in disappointment. "It wouldn't do for a defender of love and justice to go around playing hookie."
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Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:27 pm
Sure enough, there stood the creature fine and bold, defiant in stance, mood and word. I do not have faith that this is about to go anywhere easy or pleasant. She's already ready for a fight. Maybe. Maybe she'll see reason. You're kidding yourself, Thraen. Are you ready to do what must be done? What if she has a starseed, like Buddingtonite? Can Lieutenants teleport? You can't let this one get away. If she has one, she is a murderer. If she has one, she must be executed.
Thraen jumped down, unperturbed at her insults. She looked older than he was, and certainly more put together. More suited to the mid-fall/winter palette. But the war was no place for high fashion or ageism- they were either of them likely enough to have some wicked arsenal up sleeve- and he was looking generally for what sort of weapon she might bring to bear. Nothing pointed itself out as obvious. Maybe she hadn't materialized it out of Nowhere yet.
"Love less, but I do sacrifice my day that others my have a better tomorrow. Or any tomorrow at all, in enough cases. I will give you one chance to surrender, release the energy you carry and surrender starseeds. Leave off the staining of your hands with murder, theft, greed and wanton destruction."
"Deny this, and you will pay the price with shackles instead of deeds." He shifted himself to a readied stance, weight even as Maia had taught him.
Fallen_kitsune_thief
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:56 pm
Wow, this guy was formal. Despite his alignment, she had to respect the conviction in his voice, the strength to his posture. It was a shame he had taken up the flowery mantle of some distant star: that sort of dedication would be useful in the Negaverse. She decided to ease on the threat of physical combat, and so relaxed her stance. No, her tactics would be less overt. Uproot his moral stance, make him question the values he'd been taught. Perhaps, she thought, he could be shown how to see reason.
"You're quick to assume what I may or may not have on my person, senshi" responded Zircon, who offered up her empty hands. A false innocence, considering she had several tiny pearls of energy and a starseed in her inner jacket pocket, but appearances were the first step in shattering his worldview. "For all you know, I might have been out on a afternoon stroll to enjoy the autumn air. Kind of chaos-racist of you, don't you think?"
She took a few steps closer, to show she wasn't afraid of him or whatever strange powers he might have had. "I'm not sure who gave you the warrant for my arrest, but I assure you they have no jurisdiction here, just as you have no power over me." She folded her arms and inclined her head, curious as to her opponent's next move.
"I won't surrender. It's up to you how we proceed next." Truthfully, Zircon would rather zip back to her office in peace, but she needed to put up the air that she was ready to fight if need be. Appearances now could shape thoughts and actions later, and in her mind, the battle had already begun.
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Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 8:27 pm
Thraen's nose half-lifted in a snarl. You aren't a race, but a coven of deceit.
"I'm not ignorant of what all of you are required to do."
"And your answer makes this easy. Everything secret degenerates, even this war between courts, but until the proper law recognize the threat and turn their faces to the truth than it is the hands of the few with power to act that must Samaritan the even administration of justice." So I am clothed, and all other senshi with a brain in their skulls and strength in their hands, to be the executors of law and protectors against those who flaunt power.
"You wave your right to clemency." Thraen shifted, breaking into a lung and punch at her.
Fallen_kitsune_thief
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 8:57 pm
Well, that escalated quickly.
Zircon was accustomed to a few lines of witty banter before the senshi resorted to violence, and so for this one to lunge at her so quickly came as a surprise. She tried to backpedal, but from the stiffness of her stance it was all she could do to get her arms free before he slammed into her, knocking the wind from her lungs. Most inexperienced combatants would flinch away from the blow, but Zircon at least had some basic training under her belt. She shifted into the blow, grabbing his outstretched arm with a vice grip, and allowed herself to fall backwards using the momentum he had so generously provided. When both of them were on the ground, she could then assert her prowess. most people didn't know how to fight when they weren't on their own two feet: Zircon had been knocked down dozens of times.
"Then you--," she huffed once they hit the ground, trying to both fill her lungs with air and maneuver him beneath her using his arm as leverage. "--You waive your right to surrender." He was strong, likely stronger than she was, but she had the lower center of gravity, and was likewise forcing the battle to more familiar turf. If she could just pin him down, it would be game over...and then, maybe, she could even take his starseed. He'd attacked her first, surely no one would blame her for it? The sumptuous thought made her gasp out a strained chuckle as she applied more force to her roll.
Ivynian
This is so exciting. OvO;;;
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Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:41 pm
She moved with the blow, not entirely unreminiscent of the way that his cousin did when she was practicing like human water. There wasn't the immediate explosion of force in some other direction, but the lieutenant had his arm. "I don't-"
Don't stop, stay focused. Stopping gives her a chance to have control. I'm stronger and faster. Don't let her have her balance. The last time an agent had control of a situation, he had a hand in his chest. And Maia's little lesson had had nothing to do with grappling. He didn't want to devolve into graceful hair-pulling (anyone woudl win that against him). Thraen swung his weight to keep them rolling, surrendering his arm to her hold to try to bring his knee up into her and push them apart again with hard wood leverage, punctuating with a spat word, "-surrender."
Fallen_kitsune_thief
^___^ I'm glad you are enjoying! Thraen: "surrender?"
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:40 pm
There was motion where there should have been stiffness, which was a losing situation for Zircon. There was no doubt about it--he was stronger, and he knew how to throw his weight around, leaving her with little choice as he pulled them apart with the force of his knees. She had to keep fluid, or risk that he would overpower her, and so with a grunt she let it happen, releasing her hold on him and pushing off with a swift kick to give herself a little bit of distance.
To be honest, Zircon was something of a one-trick pony, and unless she managed to get him in some kind of hold, she was pretty s**t-out-of-luck in terms of actually beating the senshi. Sitting low in a crouch, her eyes darted around her in search of something that provided any sort of advantage. The roof had the usual sort of topographical features that she could use to fight; metal pipes, air conditioning filters, a spare board or two. However, given her recent realizations, it was unlikely that she could maneuver her opponent to any of these outcroppings, much less actually use them to her advantage. The risk was too great that she'd get herself injured instead.
But there was little time to strategize, and the clock was ticking. At the last second, she lunged for the senshi's form with the intent of slamming him back into the ground. Maybe if she could disorient him, the tide of battle would ebb in her favor.
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Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 2:15 pm
She let go
...good...
If she hadn't, there was a good possibility that rolling about with his arm she could have dislocated it. It had been inoperable once, after that crow Captain had broken his scapula, and the Senshi of Gardens didn't fancy a repeat. She was still close, though, and close enough to be both dangerous and within range. He straightened, long enough to be shouting his magic just as his eyes widened for a slow-motion, adrenaline pumped vision of her fury bodily projecting right into him- "Thraen Annual Planting! OOooph-"So much for getting out of the way.
Flowers and vines exploded around them, tufting up as they fell into them.
Sailor Scout Ability: Thraen Annual Planting How it Works - Thraen folds his hands together like prayer, the opens hands and they are full of seeds. He blows over them, dispersing the seeds. Hundreds of flowers spring up, growing and blooming magically. Their scent causes those who stand near them to fall asleep. Range - The patch of flowers that grows is a 10 ft. radius around Thraen Duration - The flowers bloom in the post he casts them. If those in the flower bed or near it do not get at least 10 ft. away from the flowers, they fall asleep like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz. The sleep lasts for 15 seconds. The flowers last for 20 seconds. Damage Summary - This is not a damage magic. No damage occurs from the spell itself, nor is any intended. If the writer of someone being affected wants their character to fall to their knees and then flop over and take no harm at all, that is up to them. If the writer of someone being affected by this wants their character to fall over mid-run and skid to a stop with a broken nose, that is up to them. But there is no damage effect in the spell itself. Weaknesses - If someone doesn't stay near them long enough, they don't fall asleep. If people hold their breath, wear a breathing mask, or cover their mouth and nose with wet cloth can avoid the scent as well. Once a person has fallen asleep in one flower bed, they cannot be affected by that bed again. Only a separate bed would affect them. This is an AoE (Area of Effect) spell that effects allies as well as enemies. Frequency of Usage - Twice a battle
Fallen_kitsune_thief
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:05 pm
Zircon shouted in alarm as the entire area surrounding her flooded itself with plant life, and with a hiss she began clawing away at the growths, finding it hard to distinguish his frilly costume from the flowers around him. Something sweet and fragrant began to fill her nostrils, but in her agitation she failed to notice a correlation between the smell and her dimming consciousness. Seeing a fleshy color, she reared back her arm, ready to strike, but slowly felt it become dead weight. She grasped at the senshi, teeth bared in a snarl, but eventually her head began to loll to one side, her eyelids falling despite her angered expression.
No, no no no, he'd done something, why couldn't she move???
A brief lilt of panic was the last thing that Lieutenant Zircon would feel before her body fell completely to slumber, limbs gone slack and her breathing soft and slow.
The pearls of energy are in her front pockets, though they're probably dissipating without her conscious effort to keep them together. If he's so bold as to open up her jacket, the starseed is stashed within an inside coat pocket.
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 6:26 pm
Well, I’d heard that it was no good in laboratories trying to be humane using gas to execute rats after experiments because they fight it, but now I guess I have some hard evidence. Thraen didn’t bother brushing off, just flail-crawled over her as soon as she stopped brandishing fists and collapsed. Pockets first- and on a sort-of bomber jacket throw back that was plenty to frisk. And pants- pants had pockets. He wasn’t going to be shy about the female body. One …, two…, three…, four...five...sure enough-
The last vestiges of energy balls, Thraen hissed finding them in the outer jacket pockets. Six….Seven Fifteen seconds wasn’t very long, so before he continued frisking, it was worth it to hobble her and extract some of that now. He could at each of her hands- which had the more developed callous on the middle finger, most extant joint? A writer’s callous. It always revealed either dominant hand or ambidexterity. Odds were always in favor of right handedness, but it was worth checking. Ten…
Who do not shackle themselves, He brought his heel down on the forearm and hand, once each, hard as he could. Awful sensation reverberated from of the force in the boot- it felt all the way up his calf into his spine. Time was up for his magic, and she would be waking up.
He was on the wrong side to still try for the other arm, so dropped to try to drive his weight and knees on her chest, to pin her- he needed to get the other arm. And check for starseeds. Jackets like that might have an inner pocket.
Left her a hand functional to eat the unknown starseed when you want to heal damage. Feel free to have her dodge the kneedrop of course!
Fallen_kitsune_thief
Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:09 pm
Crunch.
Crunch.
Zircon woke to a blinding-hot sensation of pain, pulsing angrily from her dominant hand, and from between her clenched teeth she let out a hissed groan. Out of blind panic, she tried to pull the injury close to her, where she could protect it, but when she tried to move her arm all she felt was pain, more pain, and this time she let out a gut-wrenching howl. She opened her eyes just in time to see Justice and his kneecaps lunging from above, and at the last moment she rolled away, which forced weight on the tender mess that had been her forearm.
Squelch.
The nauseating sounds coming from her broken appendage might have been more audible if Zircon herself wasn't still screaming through her teeth. But instinct kicked in, and with sudden clarity she knew she had to get away, had to turn the tables before he did something worse. She pushed off from the pavement with a powerful kick from her legs, scooting her a crucial few feet away from the psychotic senshi, and then with several agonized huffs she pulled herself to her knees. There was murder in her eyes, anger and fear and desperation, and it was these overwhelming forces that drove her healthy arm deep into a pocket in her jacket, where she pulled out a glimmering jewel, a dull sapphire in hue. At some point, it had been someone's starseed, but now it was her escape plan, a way to give her the rush of energy needed to heal herself and perhaps overpower the super senshi for a few critical moments.
She knew she was playing with fire, that actually eating a starseed was much more taxing on the human body once it had run its course. However, with a useless hand causing the rest of her to stiffen up in distress, she knew she couldn't do much of running, much less fighting if he came at her again. When she weighed her options, escaping to deal with withdrawals was much more manageable than permanent disfigurement or death.
She flashed the starseed once, almost in defiance, before sticking the gem in between her teeth and biting down hard. Crunch. For a moment, lightning pulsed through her veins, and as if she'd been given morphine the edges of the pain in her arm began to wear away. Zircon's heart began to race with a rush of adrenaline, and she knew it was now or never if she was going to get away.
No time for calling out witty one-liners. No time to mock him with the reminder that this was the day he almost caught Lieutenant Zircon. With a sharp inhale, she tensed, and then with a single push she began to bound away, leaping towards the next rooftop with all the haste she could muster. Away from campus, she decided, away from all the potential senshi and allies he might have. Maybe, just maybe, she could be fast enough.
Nuxaz
Given how erratic and panicky she is, there's no way she's taking the most effective route. Feel free to have Thraen catch her.
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Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 12:58 am
Of course...she moved. Thraen growled, shifting up to a crouch and trailing his gaze to her as she managed to collect herself up as well, fishing in her pockets- What, for the energy? That's long gone.
No.
Worse.
Starseed.
What was she doing with it-
Of a people whose souls withered, slow, a waning willing to go along with any evil - so as not to be themselves ended of their witheredness, their mewling, their husk. But hungry. Hungry to fill it up. The words tumbled through his mind in the tunneling of black in his vision to the breaking of that single point of light between her teeth in frightening slow motion. She was turning, springing, light on her feet again despite wound. No- it was actually knitting as she lifted. It quivered less and less with the pound of her feet.
And he raised up and vision returned with wide and perfect clarity- she was taking the path of immediacy, the street. He was faster, he knew, but also there was a crow-flight path that vaulted onto a wall, along decorative crenelations from a single story leap, and then down again to meet her up.
He'd have her by the jacket or hair, whichever he could grab first, he swore it.
__________________
The daylight was garrish, but at least with the weather turning colder, Stroud was reassured that her favorite season was in full bloom- Autumn drew out scarves, jackets and high boots, the interest of layers and colours on the crowd. It meant hot drinks and even more excuses for coffee. She was out, pilgrimaging between coffee shops to get the schedules of live performances for the near weeks.
And without a mistake on a street adjacent there were flashes of fast colour and other pedestrians were pointing and hightailing it while exclaiming "Terrorists!"
Spooky ********. Well, looks like white's giving chase. But she didn't get a good enough look to try to guess who was who or what their ranks were as the forerunner cornered while the senshi leapt a hedge. Nothing emerged further- so he must have caught her up.
Without a fuss she melted back into a close between two businesses and transformed, feeling out to identify more about the nearby combatants, A Super and a Lieutenant? I should drop in.
Fallen_kitsune_thief
Did you want Nuxaz to join with a character? Or just a missed c/p?>
Nuxaz
Given how erratic and panicky she is, there's no way she's taking the most effective route. Feel free to have Thraen catch her.
Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:05 pm
As it turned out, starseeds tasted a lot like freedom. Or, at least, it seemed that way to Zircon, if only for a fleeting moment. In the first few seconds of escape, her heart pounding in her ears, she felt everything with such utter clarity that it would have been nauseating except for the fact that her brain seemed to process everything without fail. She could hear the minor crackles of her bones resetting, and between leaps she glanced down, checking on her healing hand.
It was then that she noticed the looming shadow from above.
By the time he got a hold of her, she was already shrieking, panic causing her to lose sight of her escape plan. She couldn't let him do his magic again--whatever his plans were, they weren't friendly--and so as she began to fall she began to clutch back at the senshi, raking her nails across anything she might possibly perceive as flesh. If she had been calculating her maneuvers, she might have tried to go for a target of strategic importance, such as the eyes, but for now she was swinging wildly, a wounded animal forced into a corner. Disarm, disable. Disarm, disable. Do something, anything, just get him away!
Hitting ground was a jarring wake-up call, and she began to hear a ringing in her ears. How hard had he been falling? Dimly, she heard the tinny sounds of civilians in a flurry of excitement and fear, but underneath that was a much more comforting sensation, one that made Zircon begin to struggle even harder. Somewhere nearby thrummed the steady, silky aura of a Negaverse Officer, an angel to arms. Maybe they could hear the scuffle. Maybe they could act as reinforcements.
Maybe they could help her get away.
She just needed to fight a little longer, thrash a little harder, and then she would be safe. So why was she so terrified?
Ivynian
Eeek! Missed c/p. Sorry to all parties. <333
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 4:08 pm
She had some inkling of what would come- she was already screaming. Her true colours showed, flailing for her freedom, feral and foul as any fallen thing. And he could barely feel the tears at his uniform from her nails as he roped his fingers in her hair for better grip and control of her head. “A starseed is a soul, destroyed, and you took it. You will have of me what you gave them when they clawed so to their lives- Execution and unmourned.”
Bloody, but effective. It will take a few tears, but fingers do work to take out someone’s throat. And a sculptor’s hands are strong, whereas the skin of the neck is thin. He started pushing through her fighting, to get his hand to her neck before fire lit with an audible crack around his own upper legs- What-thongs?!
__________________
Captain Schörl sprinted across the street, knout brought to hand and then to bear sure as a bullwhip to wrap along the white-clap legs. She tugged once to make sure it was secure as the senshi looked back over his shoulder.
“Have a care, luv. I might want to take you home so that all the Negaverse can prod you for your pretty words. Poetry’s a bit lacking in soldier’s circles.” She tugged the knout hard, shifting her weight, and he was hauled off his feet and back toward her. As planned, he lost his grip on the Lieutenant, but he had the wits to roll on the pavement and free his legs from her weapon.
“You’d better run, flower. I hate stationary prey.” Two on one are favorable odds for us. She called genially over to the poor bird he had had under thumb, "Lieutenant, on your feet!"
It was a little mean, but served the purpose of letting her know how bad off her ally was- if she could stand or couldn't.
