Welcome to Gaia! ::

Megrez had not let recent events slip her mind. She remembered how Pasiphae had turned Mica's spear on her and Castor's challenging words. It seemed like everyone was gearing up to put something new into motion while Megrez was standing still and stuck in the mud. She knew she had to change that, to rev herself up and get moving with everyone else. When she felt a lieutenant's aura in the distance, she remembered Castor's talk about using her opportunities wisely. There was an opportunity, it was here, and she would not squander it this time.

The lieutenant's challenge brought a short, sharp laugh out of Megrez, and she walked into his view. "You must be brave, stupid, or really bad with auras. I'm a Super. You're a lieutenant. The odds are in my favor." Her hands curled into fists, and she got ready to charge. "Let's see how brave you stay!" With the fighting words issued, she charged forward, aiming to land at least one body blow on Melanite before he countered.

Megrez might have fallen over if she didn't correct her equilibrium quickly. The way she stopped would have produced a cartoonish skidding noise if she were in a cartoon, but she wasn't, so it didn't. Anyway, this guy was already striking her as very weird. Russian? Latin? And why so very nonchalant when there was someone ready to seriously beat him up and possibly kill him right there? There was no time to be confused, though. She had a job to do, and she was going to do it right this time. "Get back here!" she shouted, and ran after the absconding lieutenant, gearing up to tackle him to the ground.

In any other context, Megrez would probably have thanked the lieutenant and followed up with some sort of quip, but she was in no mood for such chicanery tonight (never mind that she had indulged in it earlier). However, the lieutenant's persistent dryness perturbed her. Why wasn't he fighting back? Why did he just speak carelessly, as though he didn't care about the outcome? To cap it all off, he had the nerve to bring up the crucial question, to throw it right in Megrez's face in an almost casual, noncommittal way: What do you intend to do with me? I suppose kill me?

The answer caught in her throat. She was supposed to kill this man. She had to kill this man. He was a member of the Negaverse, an enemy of the world. She had promised, to herself at least, that she would not squander any further opportunities. So where had her determination gone? Why did her courage (if it could be called that) drop out from under her in this moment? She thought she felt her hands begin to shake. Half-choking on the word, she announced her answer: "Yes." Cupping her hands, she summoned up one of her Super-level ostrich eggs, raised it above her head, and flung it down with as much force as she could muster, aiming to bring it down on his head. In that last moment, she had closed her eyes.

Megrez opened her eyes at the sound of a voice. It looked like she hadn't killed the lieutenant after all. She scowled at the lieutenant, trying to brew up an adequate comeback for the jab at her magic, and as she rifled around in her mind for words, it occurred to her that her shaking had intensified. The fact that the egg to the head had not been a decisive blow meant the situation was going on for far longer than she wanted it to. She had absolutely not accounted for what would happen if he survived the blow. She raised her hands to call up another ostrich egg, but they slowly lowered as if she had no control over them.

She opened her mouth to speak, and all that came out at first was a series of fluttery stuttering noises. Soon, though, she managed a syllable: "...Get..." A wince and a sharp inhale stabilized her enough to finish her thought. "Get out! Go away, get out, quick, before I change my mind!"