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 Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 7:36 pm
The crisp air of evening greeted him in a rush, the burst clearing his sinuses of the sterile scent from the clinic. The horizon no longer held the bleeding reds or bruising purples of the setting sun - only streaks of navy wove through the sky, occasionally muted with cloud cover. However, the general's gaze fixed not on the presence of night, nor the smattering of street lamps and lamp light dispersed throughout their area, nor the stretch of sidewalk spanning far below the rooftop. Instead his attention remained wholly focused on a pink-haired lieutenant, whose hand he grasped firmly in his own, stretched toward the ground by gravity's will.
She hung just above a three-story drop. While not lethal for those of powered persuasion, she would surely incur significant injury.
"Astrophyllite," he began loudly, a declaration over the turbulent breezes heralding a brewing storm. Too-long hair whipped about his face in unrestrained fury. "I gaf'e you ze opportunity to build your own medical kit. You haf' what tools you need to succeed in a sterile environment wis'out pressure applied by your enemy. However, you will not find such opportunities in ze midst of a war. You must learn to utilize your skills and tools under duress, wis' eizer yourself or an ally bleeding out, while an enemy still stalks your position." If this exercise isn't the death of you, you're worth keeping around. Dumb as you are, you might still hold some merit.
"Additionally, an enemy won't ask you if you're ready to die - not to any meaningful capacity." Without soliciting a response, Bischofite released the lieutenant's arm to watch her drop toward the concrete below.
"Try not to scream when you land, Astrophyllite! It draws youma!" With a boot pressed to the lip of the building, he leaned over its side to watch the girl plummet.Silverah sorry it's so short! let me know if it works!
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 8:57 pm
At first, when she felt the ground drop out from under her, Astrophyllite thought there must have been some mistake. But as she struggled, it became clear that Bischofite had been perfectly precise in his teleportation. She looked towards the ground and swallowed. Hard. It was awfully far away, and she thought, he is going to kill me and I am going to die."Please don't," she said, voice catching pitifully in her throat. "Please don't please don't please don't." But despite her attempts to grow louder, she only found herself drowned out by the wind. It didn't make a difference, anyway, because he dropped her. The lieutenant flailed, struggled to think - but none of her first health had ever covered what to do if you were dropped off a building, because most of the population would never, ever need to know that. The only thing that she knew for certain was that you were absolutely not supposed to land on your head. Besides, she only had like two seconds to figure all this out. She did not have time to turn this into a swan dive. Or even to scream, really. (Besides, he'd said not to, and she wanted to be good.) The lieutenant landed upright, bending her knees against the impact in a motion she could only really attribute to animal instinct. Propelled by her gathered momentum, she tumbled forward onto her hands, and the tote bag tucked under her arm tilted forward, spilling out across the pavement. Astrophyllite exhaled shakily. She was alive. She was alive and her heart was racing and she felt okay and her hands - her hands were skinned raw but - "Bischofite?" she called shakily, sitting up and trying as best she could to gather her medical supplies back together. She needed to disinfect. To disinfect and to- to something. Bandage? Her hands were shaking like mad. "Bischofite?" she called again, wondering if he'd abandoned her with faint but growing terror. "I'm okay." For a certain value of okay. If your value of okay was still breathing.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 9:20 pm
The voice trailed up to him meekly. He smiled faintly, only the wind privy to his mirth. So you have the need to call to me now - like a parent, a doting mother to comfort the injured child. This is a soldier's domain, Astrophyllite. You will know it as such shortly.
Bischofite stepped off the building, one foot still planted on the lip before his visage vanished entirely. Below, he appeared not far from his charge, who scrambled to secure the medical supplies she collected not long ago. Packaged rolls of gauze lay strewn about in the street, alongside pain medications, splints, and other paraphernalia previously pilfered. She had somewhat of an idea toward her next steps - that much he gathered from actions alone. Secure the tools to prevent the pain, and in doing so, assuage what negative feelings stemmed from hurt. So she possessed the sense of self-preservation to an acknowledgeable standard. It suited her for now, but later on he knew to burn those instincts from her mind should she rise in rank to equal power.
A pair of chakrams materialized in his grasp, though one tumbled to the ground from damaged grip alone. He made no effort to secure it; he needed but one weapon to complete the task at hand. "Astrophyllite," he answered in cool acknowledgement. No warmth or comfort stemmed from his disposition and tone. "You're not okay."
Before the lieutenant managed to question him further, Bischofite covered the distance between the pair at general's speed, bending with a sweep toward the meat of her shoulder blade. A nonlethal blow, a grazing one, yet deep enough to provoke significant pain and mild handicap. With the force and inertia behind his attack, he wagered she might topple onto the sidewalk. No matter the result, he knew his chosen path of action. For every second she spent scrambling about and groveling for minutes, precious seconds, spared toward her quick recovery with first aid... He would honor none of it.
Gold eyes fixated on his target, steeled due to a blessed lack of connection to humanity. "I told you, Lieutenant. No enemy will afford you ze time to lick your wounds. You should consider yourself lucky zat an ally places you in zat position before you find yourself at zeir mercy." He maintained a slow, purposeful gait toward the injured lieutenant with a chakram poised at his side. "What will you do, Astrophyllite? How will you discourage me from attacking while you nurse what injuries you'f sustained? Sink quickly - you haven't much time." Already he reeled his arm back to loose the chakram toward his intended target.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2014 7:46 pm
This time, she could not keep from crying out. Bischofite was supposed to be her teacher. He was supposed to be good to her. But he'd thrown her off a building and now she was bleeding and she hurt everywhere and he was attacking her! This didn't make any sense, and she knew people didn't always do things that made sense, but- She'd done everything he'd asked! Why was he trying to kill her? Desperately, she swung her ouija board to meet his chakram, and the blade lodged in the wood. "What did I do wrong?" she pleaded, holding the board steady. "Why are you trying to kill me?" Was it - was it because she was a punishment? But if he killed her, then wouldn't he miss the point of the lesson? That gave her an idea. "If you kill me!" she shouted, "Zinkenite will be very, very angry with you! Maybe he'll even kill you!" Which would not bring her back to life, she realized, but it was the strongest threat she could throw at him. Her shoulder hurt. It hurt a lot. But if she didn't fight back, then she'd never get a chance to recover. "I don't want to die! I want to fight and protect the Earth!" she shouted, yanking on the board, trying to pull the chakram from his grasp.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2014 4:03 pm
"Don't misunderstand me." Bischofite approached at the same slow pace, after dislodging his chakram from the board. "You did nossing wrong - nor does Zinkenite require involvement here. Consider zis, Lieutenant - in ze war, your enemy won't gif' pause for you to nurse your wounds. You must learn to repel zem while simultaneously administering necessary first aid. Would you prefer I sent you up against a senshi instead?" The thought of sending Astrophyllite into battle against Thraen elicited a small chuckle.
"If you don't want to die, zen repel me, Lieutenant. I'll play nice." She's raising her voice, rationalizing with me - trying to threaten as a means to preserve her own life. She's too panicked right now for the exercise. Regrettable. Would she learn from a half-measure, though? At this rate, she'll tire herself out from abject fright alone. This exercise isn't going as planned. I'll give her a final chance to redeem herself before settling for something intolerably boring... Preferably before she has a heart attack on me. Dispatching another chakram, he intentionally aimed precariously close to the girl with the goal to miss flesh. Already she sustained a wound - she had reason to administer first aid on her own.
Bischofite sighed while he approached. Dismissing his weapons, he folded his arms across chest. "You miss ze point, Astrophyllite. If you intend to fight for ze planet and avoid losing your life, zen you haf' every reason to adhere to zis exercise. Are you certain you're equipped for ze task? Because I am not seeing what meager promise Zinkenite might'f glimpsed in you. Astrophyllite..." He bent at the waist to a ninety-degree angle. "I'm starting to sink you're youma fodder."
Though watching her attempt to contend with our posthuman allies would be entertaining... Perhaps she might find use in feeding them, whether with her own energy or someone else's. Come on, Lieutenant. Impress me.
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 1:16 pm
Once, when she was five years old, Gemma's father had proclaimed that swimming lessons were completely unnecessary and chucked her into the deep end of the swimming pool. She'd doggie paddled to the wall and spent the rest of the barbecue sobbing. Which was what her instinct was to do now, in a situation that was only similar for metaphorical purposes. Tears sprung to the lieutenants eyes, and she swerved a bit as the chakram whizzed past her head. Astrophyllite could feel blood running from the cut on her shoulder - she didn't know how deep it was. Her arm was moving okay - it just hurt. It hurt a lot. But unless she did what he was asking, he was going to kill her right here and leave her in a dumpster and no one would ever care- If Bischofite's dismissal of his weapons and his deep bow were meant to be a trap, Astrophyllite didn't know to expect it. What he wanted, shd prove she wasn't youma fodder. Gritting her teeth, she took up her ouija board once more and quickly closed the space between herself and the general. "I can fight!" she yelled, swinging her weapon with all her might. If this was going to be trial by fire - then she was going to fight back. His instructions had been clear. She would deal with her shoulder and her scrapes later. Right now, her energy needed to be going towards repelling the enemy before her. Even if that enemy as the teacher in charge of training her.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 8:59 pm
The Ouija board clocked his skull rather hard; he registered the movement during its journey, yet never fully comprehended the extent of the gesture until pain grazed through the side of his skull and temple. Bischofite recoiled with a grunt, one hand parting from chest to cover the fresh throbbing therein. He hissed through gritted teeth; though not wholly disappointed in the action, cranial injuries always left him pissed afterward. The blow jarred him enough to send him stumbling slightly to the right.
He indulged in a thin laugh - more a chuckle than anything. "So you can. Zat shows promise; any blow to incapacitate or eliminate ze opponent quickly affords a greater chance to buy time. Bear in mind zat your surroundings often present zeir own advantages: imagine, for instance, a large set of scaffolding to my right. Wis' ze proper measures taken, you might bring ze entirety of it down on your opponent - a potent mof'e, especially if you're trying to escape." Though if you are, I haven't taught you well enough. Gloved fingers parted from the injury revealed no blood. "Astrophyllite - your opponent is temporarily repelled. Tell me, do you use your kit to manage your injuries or do you seek to end ze life of ze one who attacked you? You haf' fif'e seconds before your opponent stirs."
Don't disappoint. Don't leave this at a half measure. The Negaverse can't afford it - and neither can you.
This is not the best time for basic combat training. She's injured enough. Might that impede muscle memory? Possibly. Moreover, further exacerbation after sustaining injuries might produce a more damning one. That forestalls training for a nebulous amount of time... And one unaccustomed to combat will tire quickly. There are so many limitations to the body... How disappointing. Even youma tire; if we could act as Zirconia once before and transcend our bodies as a form of pure consciousness... No - we lose all capacity for action.
Focus, Bischofite; now is not the time to daydream about change. Or did she knock something loose with that swing? Bischofite started counting the seconds.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:17 pm
She hurt. She hurt all over and she couldn't believe her own boldness. Astrophyllite let out a delighted "Ha!" a the general recoiled, and hoped that that would be enough and that he'd end the lesson now. No such luck, of course. When he indicated the scaffolding, the lieutenant was obliged to look - but, no, she did not think she was that strong, or that clever, and if she brought it down on Bischofite then she was just as likely to bring it down on herself. "I-" she began, and realized she was not sure whether he wanted her to talk him through her response as he wanted her to demonstrate. Five seconds was nowhere near long enough to start bandaging herself, and it wasn't that bad, she rationalized. Nor was it long enough to get away - likely why he hadn't even given her the option. "I hit them again," she said, steadying her voice, unsure whether to demonstrate or not. She wasn't sure if she could go so far as to kill someone, but if it was what Bischofite expected of her and for the protection of the earth then she'd have to do it. Eventually. Not tonight, because she definitely could not kill a general and she was really, really certain he was not asking her to do that. "I- I go for the kill. Or at least until they're down. I can take care of myself later." She clutched her ouija board, half-expecting another attack because she had not struck him a second time.
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:42 pm
"Good. Zen you pass." Bischofite straightened up before folding his arms across his chest. His temple still hurt terribly. "To leaf' your assailant alif'e and spend time bandaging yourself amounts to nossing more zan a half measure. You'll incur only furzer injury, and ineffectual medical aid. Killing, zen, is ze best choice." He drew a sigh through his nose, shifting his gaze from Ouija board to Lieutenant.
"Whezzer you possess ze wherewis'all to kill someone is yet to be seen. I suspect you are not ready for it. Instead..." Combat training? No; she should seek SpecOps for such. I may as well purpose her for the usual energy ferreting expected of all lieutenants. "We'll embark on my least favorite exercise mandated by ze Negaverse: energy draining. It is... A regrettable necessity. Energy drained is later stored in crystals wis'in ze Rift, which feeds our youma as well as Metallia, who metes out our dark power. To state it simple: no energy, no extra powers. It's also your primary objectif' as a lieutenant - you lack ze understanding of how ze Negaverse functions as well as sufficient combat prowess to proof' useful on ze front lines."
Bischofite stepped back to survey their surroundings, finding little more than trash stirring in the gutters. Seldom had he spotted anyone perusing this portion of the city, so they needed to move their search to a marginally more populated area. "Astrophyllite... I will teach you how to drain energy. Afterward, you must seek out your own target and drain from zem successfully. Zen you will bring ze orb to me so I might reclaim what energy I lost srough demonstration.
"Now... As a lieutenant, you can only drain via touch. You will also find it difficult to regulate ze flow of energy as you shape it into a sphere. Zis is normal - you exercise better control as a captain, a general. So, take my arm and concentrate on ze energy you feel zerein. Visualize drawing ze energy from my body and reforming it into a sphere." Extending his arm, Bischofite waited for his lieutenant to heed the order.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:22 pm
At his approval, Astrophyllite breathed as sigh of relief and her grip on her ouija board loosened slightly. She was glad he was not asking her to kill anyone tonight, despite disliking that he doubted her resolve. The lieutenant felt shaky - shock, perhaps, from injury and blood loss - but she was eager to prove that she could be a good student. She'd always been a visual learner more than anything else, so being told to visualize things was exactly her speed. "So it's like... paying taxes?" Astrophyllite asked, narrowing her eyes. "We take their energy so we can protect them?" Stealing energy seemed a little bit dark, to be honest, but as long as there was a good reason then she'd be game. Astrophyllite would do whatever it took to protect the earth! Stepping forwards, she laid a hand upon Bischofite's temple where it was still reddened from her earlier attack. "Like this?" Astrophyllite asked, fingers tensing a little. His skin seemed to hum beneath her fingers, crackling with energy, and she imagined pulling that energy away in her fingers, like pulling putty apart. And, much to her amazement, strands of power trailed from her fingers when she pulled them away. Chewing her lip in concentration, Astrophyllite rolled the strands into a ball and held it carefully between her thumb and index finger. "Like this?" she asked uncertainly, eyes flicking from the sphere in her hands over to Bischofite. It certainly looked to her like she'd done the assignment correctly, but she was still scared to have somehow messed up.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 11:41 am
"Zat's... Accurate enough." She grasped the concept readily, and Bischofite found no reason to dismiss these optimistically colored understandings. It related well to the differing political parties plaguing the country, as half supported taxes while the remaining half scoffed at them. Suddenly far too many comparisons between political parties with the sides of Order and Chaos crossed his mind, and he tightened his jaw while he worked to dismiss them. Now wasn't the time.
Immediate reaction dictated that he cleave hand from arm for touching a tender spot, but active concentration stymied the reflex well enough. His hand hovered ineffectually, not far from hers, while she drew simple tendrils of energy from
There is something sensual about energy draining. I wonder if this is no different from the youths that often fantasize about vampirism... To take from others is to assert dominance, power... An attractive display, from a basic and instinctual perspective. Now if Quenton could manage such a feat... He smirked mildly while his limbs relegated themselves to a heaviness, no different from a long run spent through the textured forests of Saarland. Afterward he regarded the orb she produced, though he did not offer an immediate display of approval or rejection. For the moment, he simply stared at the glowing orb along with the minute sparks of whirling energy.
Drawing a breath, he cleared his throat along with the addled thoughts marveling at energy in its ebb and flow. "Yes," he offered finally. "You can ingest zem to recover some lost energy of your own. Bear in mind zat few targets will allow you to drain zem; you must come up wis' your own hunting strategy to successfully pull energy from zem wis'out stirring too much trouble. Zat is how ze Negaverse would haf' you drain." And I find it asinine. "For your last test, I want you to pick a target and drain zem wis'out any witnesses. If you can, steal energy wis'out zeir recognition of it. I will be watching from ze rooftops to evaluate your progress. If zey start to make a scene, you'll haf' failed ze assignment.
"And be quick about it, Astrophyllite - I find little reason to waste my time on indecision."Silverah vacation time, no more tags for a bit
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 1:56 pm
Astrophyllite nodded, pressing her hand over the cut on her shoulder. It came away wet, and she considered gathering her medical supplies back up in case she did not have a chance to later - but Bischofite had not given her permission, and she was fast learning that he expected obedience from her above all else. If she was to go and finish her evening as a super-powered tax collector, then that was fine with her. "Okay," she nodded, slowly processing his instructions. She was going to be careful and make sure she didn't mess this up! Astrophyllite had already done enough wrong tonight - she bet that if he made a civilian scream, Bischofite would kill them both. "What should I-" she began about the little ball of energy she'd collected from him, but fell silent and tucked it quietly into the pocket of her coat, to be handled later. Now, she sensed, was not the time for questions. The lieutenant split from her mentor, heading out of the alley and onto the street. She needed to find someone who wasn't paying attention, thought Astrophyllite. A sleeping homeless person would be easy, but she'd always been taught not to approach them and it seemed unfair to take energy from someone who already had so little. If this was tax, then wasn't it most fair to take energy from people who had power to spare? There was a bus shelter on the corner, currently inhabited by a junior executive in a suit, talking so loudly on his cell phone that Astrophyllite doubted he'd hear her approaching. She imagined herself slipping through the shadows like a secret agent, sliding behind the bench like it was home base, and slipping her fingers through the slats to touch the fingers of his free hand and draw energy away like it was just stray threads on a ratty pair of old underwear. It was surprisingly easy to do just that. The Junior executive yawned and told his conversation partner that he'd call back later, and Astrophyllite stifled a gasp and pulled her hand away, energy pulsing around her fingertips. She worked it into a ball and searched the skyline for Bischofite. He'd said she'd be watching, but- There was no sign of the dark general. She slouched quietly away towards the alley, tucking the ball of energy inside her coat as she went. It wasn't very big, just about par with what she'd taken from Bischofite, but she hadn't been caught, so that was good, right? Right?
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:55 pm
A blink set him atop the roof of a nearby textile shop while he watched his lieutenant ferret out a mark. And a proper mark she took, one that likely found no reason to pay attention to the world around him. In concentrating on voice alone, Bischofite caught a few words from the man's projected speech - ample indication that he lacked awareness toward the budding lieutenant fast approaching his position. However, watching lent little enjoyment - and playing witness to her success provided the same unfulfilled feeling festering in his gut. With jaw squared and lips pursed, he loosed a thin sigh through his nose.
Success tasted so tawdry these days. While such finesse was often celebrated within the Negaverse, Bischofite found it far too dull and indicative of order. As proponents of Chaos, he considered it their duty to sow discord in actions perceived as failure - for Astrophyllite, getting caught spelled out exactly that situation. While she retained the man's energy in tangible form, the alarming nature of the act raised the panic level.
The Negaverse will like her well enough. She's exuberant, she's rather dense, she's easily encouraged toward acts that benefit the organization on a whole. She is not a thinker. She lacks the ability to find her own direction beyond self-preservation.
She is not for me.
Briefly he considered the outcome of abandoning her training - of turning her toward other officers or simply telling Zinkenite to blow his orders out his a**. However, such impulsive actions likely hitched his future plans, so he elected to avoid wholesale dismissal of the lieutenant forced under his command. However, that did not omit the possibility of simply ditching her for now as a celebration of a 'job well done'. Most detested his presence, so his absence proved a boon.
Satisfied with that course of action, Bischofite's auric energies left the area abruptly, leaving the area clean of dark auras beyond Astrophyllite's projection.Silverah fin. sorry that took so long!
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