Umber himself never fully understood it.
Hunting here is impossible, he quietly confirmed to himself as he peered through a thicket of manicured shrubs that hemmed in a decorated office building. He hadn’t ever glimpsed such a structure in his hometown, and yearned for a closer look at the routinely segmented strips of glass that extended to the very top of the tower. And surrounding it sat such a peculiar and intentional arrangement of topiary and garden staples that he knew not what to think of such a place. Were these areas a particular attraction to the senshi they were sworn to oppose? Did others flock to such areas to be with those they love? He lacked so much information about this vast metropolis that he resigned himself to feeble inferences.
And his first feeble inference was that something grew amiss not far from him, somewhere down the thick of a dour alley tracing behind the building he haunted. He knew not where it led, and knew even less of the strange intuition that so stubbornly pulled him toward a hunch. The sensation itself felt peculiar - not unlike the cook of flame, heavy-handed and volatile, on his skin. Except it extended further than that - down t his bones, almost, where they settled in an old-branded hate that he long ago associated with the ancient culture of his home.
But that was not the extent of the oddities festering in his gut.
Another intuition cropped up, much weaker than the first, yet it soothed well enough to omit the edge on the abrasive hunch drilling into his bones. Curiously, this suspicion drew him to the very same location, so Umber finally relinquished his inspection of the curious glass spire and instead darted into the alleyways with a hunter’s grace.
I’m lucky there aren’t leaves to give way my position in the dead of winter. Only coke cans and trash. This shouldn’t be a problem. Yet as he drew to the intersection with another, narrower alley that widened into a shared space at the back of multiple businesses, he soon learned the source of the scathing intuitions - and the blistering racket that grew ever louder as he approached.
He was still very new to this and it was hard to believe that they were fighting aliens but this one with all her glowing skin rather drove home that point. He didn’t think stumbling upon a terrorist of sorts, though he later found was a negaverser, one night would lead to this, but now he found himself engaged with this girl. He hadn’t even done anything to the crazy walking nightlight, but she saw fit to try to end his life this night.
“What the ******** is wrong with you,” he shouted swinging at the girl, fist tightly balled and added more force than was rightly needed. It was very clear, Witherite, didn't spend much time fighting and could certainly use a little more training.
He had long since abandoned the little plastic wrench he was suppose to call a weapon, it lay useless on the ground. It would do him little good against the walking, or rather rampaging nightlight.
Ordinarily, Lieutenants weren’t even really on Penthesilea’s radar. Picking them off wasn’t, per se, even particularly fun, because they had pretty pathetic weapons and not a lot of experience and generally couldn’t put up much of a fight against an Eternal.
But ever since New Year’s, ever since the Negaverse had captured and tortured her, everyone with a corrupt aura sort of felt like a target. She had a lot of rage, and a lot of desire to vent it - and a Lieutenant who couldn’t really fight back? Sort of seemed like the perfect target, all things considered.
“Oh, darlin’, there is a helluva lot more wrong with me than we got time t’go over,” she said, and she moved, quickly, to get in close - that was where she thrived, in up-close combat. No reason to start slinging around her magic on a Lieutenant - or two, if the tingle on the edge of her senses was right, but she wasn’t all too concerned about that, really.
The more, the merrier. Or something.
Umber froze in the shadow of a corner, ducking into the shallow indentation left from the building’s strange architecture. He peered from his vantage beyond the brick to witness the unconscionably quick movements of those dancing among the yellowed lights of night. He recognized none of their forms or styles - though one looked less purposeful than the far faster glowing mess that sought to strike him ceaselessly. Is this a fight of win or loss? I can’t be certain. They spoke of assisting allies and avoiding the enemy in my purportedly meager power, but… Who is friend and who is foe? I must know for certain.
Do not spoil cover. Finally Umber wrenched his gaze from the scrap behind the buildings and looked to his environment proper. Nothing in his immediate vicinity heralded a proper weapon - no projectiles of any sort beyond discarded trash that fostered no weight in his palm - but the vantage point promised in climbing buildings offered some consolation. I could attack from above. But with what? Myself? I know nothing of this glowing creature - its touch may sear the skin.
But the knowledged promised in such a risky endeavor soon won out over the inherent lack of assured wounding. Umber retreated until his back struck a set of iron rungs built into the wall, finally clarifying the use for such a seemingly random alcove in the back of the building. He turned abruptly and climbed as quietly as his boots could afford, as to avoid drawing attention to himself. And as feet struck the textured black of tar paper, he padded toward the parapet to witness the scuffle from above.
She looked dangerous and exposed, whoever she was.
Confident. But if these uniforms are not of our creation, are theirs? It’s either a warning of skill or a risky deterrent. He and I will both find out. Resigning himself, Umber leapt from his vantage point with the gamble of striking the girl’s shoulder with his boot. If he missed, it would amount to a wash, but striking may deaden one arm of the huntress fighting her prey.
Witherite looked at the senshi with a strange sort of curiosity, "well obviously there's lots wrong with you." He stumbled backward in an attempt to avoid the rampaging senshi, but made no attempt quell her ire in continuing to run his mouth. "Look at you, seriously great photo opportunity but you look like a tattoo ink allergic reaction gone very very wrong. Your glowing ... that's so not normal."
He swung out his foot in an attempt to kick the other and to keep some distance from her. It was quick, but clumsy but a moment later he was quickly backing up as he noticed the newcomer with a foot out on a collision course with the nightlight. If that connected he was no way getting dog piled. He was happy to avoid that today it he could help it.
Penthesilea laughed. “Oh, that’s ********’ cute, they let y’all out not knowin’ about Senshi like me - woulda thought th’memo got passed ‘round after your little kidnap-an’-torture operation.” But no, apparently they were letting new recruits out without telling them that there were Senshi and Knights who were incorruptible and stronger for it. That the glow was like an animal’s brightly-colored skin - a warning. Stay away, toxic.
She moved to dodge his kick, but she wasn’t paying near as much attention as she should have been to what was going on behind her - which meant that the new Lieutenant’s foot slammed pretty well full-force into her shoulder, knocking her off her feet. “Merde!” She swore, and as she went down she tucked to roll in a way that would hopefully damage her shoulder less.
It was a worrying injury, and she didn’t have time to assess how bad it was because now she had two to worry about instead of just one - and if she couldn’t move her arm properly, that knocked her magic out fo the equation.
“Goddamnit I just got outta the ********’ hospital,” she snarled, as she pushed herself back to her feet.
That’s good to know. You’re injured. Now where? I’ve never seen a creature like you. You have a glow. Does it mark injury? There’s no time to deduce. I have to act while she’s down.
During this time, he lacked the precious seconds to warn the other lieutenant of his intentions and her injury - provided the man did not hear her. He approached as quickly as bolstered speed would allow, sprinting sure-footed in his attempt to reach her before she managed to regain her balance. Immediately he acted on impulse - a booted foot lashed out toward the soft tissue of her lumbar region to strike at the organs within. Even if he managed no ruptures of the large intestine, the pain may weigh enough to deter.
That is, if her exorbitant speed circumvented his attempt altogether.
Inwardly Umber cursed at his lack of understanding for human anatomy - for all the thick nerves that ran the length of the body that proved potent enough to paralyze prey.
If nothing else, this tussle alone proved an adequate learning experience for him to gauge firsthand the lethality of his enemy, even if it involved risking his own life in the process.
Witherite couldn’t help, but to grin as the glowing senshi went down hard cursing and admitting to previous injury. He did hear it, it didn’t register as fully as it did with the other because despite her having been hospitalized it hadn’t seemed to matter moment before when she was having an easy time with him.
“Thanks for the assist,” he said quickly watching as new comer on the scene continued the attack and went for the nightlights stomach. Wither was quick to catch on, keeping her down would be best, though hadn’t she said she was incorruptible. Did that mean they were suppose to kill her, like they even could? He doubted it, knew he couldn’t, wouldn’t at the moment. He was so new to this war. At the very least they should drain her right?
Wither went for her feet, kicking out at her ankles in an attempt to keep her down. They couldn’t do much with her if she was the raging bull she had been moments before. He however had a sinking feeling they were only going to make her far more angry than they wanted to.
Kaori_luv
Noir Songbird
