[BATT] Save the Last Dance (Aandes + Rasali) [fin]

[seekingCylem]

Rasali's had just about enough of waiting for Aandes to get back to her after the Civisect Dance Contest.

 

[seekingCylem]

Rasali had finally gotten her life in order. She had a goal, a plan of attack, and even some hours of sleep under her belt. She was well on her way to being a wonderful, productive member of society. There was just one loose end that insisted on wriggling at the back of Rasali’s mind.

’Aandes…’ Rasali nearly growled at the very thought. What a sleaze. What a coward. They’d had such a nice bit of sniping going on between the two of them. They were a great pair, both as rivals and teammates. They clearly found each other loathsome. (Right? Right. Right…) For Aandes to have pulled a move as smooth as a mid-dance dip and kiss combo and then bailed..! Rasali was steaming. She’d been stunned enough to confess to him and he’d still bolted! What kind of person does that to someone they care about!?

’…Least that’s what I thought.’ Rasali was most certainly grumbling by this point as she stomped down the trails of Four Fronds.

Aandes’ hive wasn’t that hard to find. It was quirky in appearance with a nice location. Rasali would have never pegged him for one to live as far out from town as herself. There was minimal asking-around involved to get directions. The trolls running errands in Four Fronds seemed appreciative enough of a hate-struck woman to oblige her requests, at least.

”YO, AANDES!” Rasali shouted the second she was within knocking range of Aandes’ hive. She’d left her own home with the intent on approaching Aandes with a deceptive coolness—to lure him into confronting her with a sweet, forgiving attitude. Of course, that was before she spent a good couple miles rehearsing in her head until she’d worked herself up into an absolute tizzy. The soft, but constant, jingling from the length of chain coiled up in her messenger bag wasn’t doing much to calm her nerves either.

”I think you got something for me.” Rasali called up to the second story of Aandes’ hive. She had no idea where he actually was, but calling out to a boy on the second floor from their lawnring seemed romantic enough to be worth the guess.  

[Sypon]

Recently, Aandes had… Well… He hadn’t been doing much since the Chittentown incident. Had it been weeks? Time was all relative, anyway, and he couldn't muster up the energy to give a damn. His thoughts were scattered between the rebel sightings, flashbacks to fire and flora, and how for some reason sweets seemed less sweet. Koalapops spent most of his time sleeping after the incident, and so did he. In a haze, Aandes drifted around his hive, napping and making half-hearted plans. But tonight, his plans would come to him.

Aandes snapped into consciousness and jerked upright. He’d fallen asleep at his desk. Slapping the mark from his cheek where his face had been pressed against the wood, Aandes registered what was happening. Who could be asking for him at – Rasali. Of course. Her grating screech was bizarrely welcome to his ears, and a sneer immediately caused his nose to wrinkle. He slid back in his chair and checked himself in his bedroom mirror.

Hair needed some tousling. He spent his time making himself presentable and wiped away his countenance of disgust, replacing it with one of cool apathy. Aandes slid his window open and leaned out. There were no other trolls in sight, but he couldn’t let his guard down too quickly.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” He inquired, his tone holding the slightest mocking air. He was genuinely curious as to what she wanted from him. Hopefully it’d get her tangled up with him for a while so he could humiliate her. Or something like that. The details were yet to be seen.  

[seekingCylem]

Wha- Not even a “hello?” Rasali rampaged all the way out here for this a*****e. Rasali steeled herself and regarded Aandes with a slow, resentful blink. The only reason she was out at this corner of the lake was because Aandes was a coward. She wasn’t about to let his mild tone temper her… well, temper.

With a picturesque whip of the wrist, Rasali pointed up at Aandes. ”You owe me an answer!” Rasali spread her stance for maximum effect (and stability as she craned her neck up to the window).

”Where do you think you get off playing the suave cool guy needling me all this time, k-kissing me and then dropping all contact! I DON’T DATE WRIGGLERS!”

Rasali could definitely feel a blush rising in her cheeks at the memory of the kiss, of her confession—both then and now—at the thought of Aandes rejecting her, or worse accepting. There were too many contingencies! Rasali felt lightheaded. She needed an answer now!

”I’ve had enough coy bullshit, Aandes! You don’t give it to me straight and I’ll… I’ll beat it out of you!” Rasali braced herself with a hand on her messenger bag. If her words weren’t in a place to be cohesive that night, she’d just have to rely on her fists! Simple!  

[Sypon]

Aandes’ throat clenched. She was still thinking about the kiss? It was a strategic maneuver on his part at the time, and she was in deep now. The thought of it made him quail with fear. He couldn’t handle it at the time. No, no… He’d said it was a strategic retreat (strategy, always strategy), but it wasn’t. Simply, winning the contest would make them partners. Plain and simple. It was a childish realization, but it was the pathetic one he had. Ach!

Commitment was not in Aandes’ vocabulary. And frankly, this was too much for him to handle right now. He felt his thinkpan short-circuiting. What the ******** was she on about? Was she pan over nubs for him? Was he for her? Her straight-forwardness couldn’t be met with any skilled equivocation, no weaseling out of it this time. She had cornered him like some animal, and he wasn’t prepared to feel anything more stirring than the emotions associated with hunger. Certainly not this.

Aandes froze for a moment. Then, he slammed the window shut. “SSShhit!” He hissed. He whipped his curtains shut and braced himself against the frame. “s**t s**t s**t s**t s**t s**t.”

He panicked and looked around his room for his chakrams. Was his front door open? Maybe she’d just leave. No she wouldn’t. Aandes tried to collect himself, and felt a black pit grow in his chest. Was everything in here a bit… Fluttery?  

[seekingCylem]

Aaaand he shut the window on her. Rasali balked. ”Ah-! Are you KIDDING ME!?” She was seriously beginning to doubt this was going to be worth it if Aandes was going to keep doing this. This wasn’t cool at all.

However, it was a challenge. Rasali grabbed the doorknob and threw her body against the door. She fell right through.

Rasali picked herself right up, making a quick check around the room in case anyone saw that. Perhaps it was for the best Aandes had barricaded himself upstairs. With an eye roll and a sigh, Rasali pulled the smiley chain out of her bag, tossing the latter next to the door. She was certain she wasn’t going to hit some sniveling coward if that was what she found waiting for her upstairs (despite the frustration that would inevitably ensue from such a discovery). However, if all Aandes needed was a push, then Rasali would be more than happy to oblige. He was a slippery b*****d, but he wasn’t pathetic. Rasali trusted him that much.

Rasali turned her attention towards the stairs. ”I’m inside!” She called. ”You’re not seriously going to make me chase you upstairs, right? I mean, I will, but that seems really uncool for both of us.”

Rasali groaned as the idea of breaking and entering into her black-crush’s hive seemed more and more… not-well-thought-out. Still, she came with the intent of getting an answer, and that still hadn’t happened yet. What else was she going to do? Mail him a letter? He was being evasive enough at this proximity.

She could only hope the lack of a solid "No" was a chance at a "Yes."

Ugh, this boy was going to be the death of her.  

[Sypon]

Rasali was… INSIDE? Damnit, Pops!

Aandes snarled. There was no turning back now, and his mood quickly changed from panic to petulant rage. He grabbed his chakrams and rolled the string around the core. She was in his hive now. Crossing over the threshold meant she was business, and he wasn’t going to look like a fool. All the same, the residual flutterings of being taken off-guard were caught in his nutrition chute. He hated the feeling.

He had to swallow his retreat as yet another strategic maneuver. Perhaps it would make him look cool and aloof? He sighed shakily, his blood pusher filled with whatever romantic insects Alternian black slam poetry came up with to describe this nauseating feeling. He wanted to stay in his room forever – never confront the greenblood just downstairs. He knew that there was no going back if he did. Facing her meant everything, and it was as exciting as it was terrifying.

Aandes steeled himself and slipped back into a chilled attitude (though now a bit more disheveled). He played with his chakrams on the way down the stairs, fidgeting more than trying to look cool, and stopped when he saw her standing there. Damn. Rasali was not a little dumpling tagging behind her lusus anymore. Aandes opened his mouth to speak, closed it, cleared his throat and opened it again.

“I see you let yourself in,” he tried. He nearly winced at his own one-liner. He was still skirting around her answer, twirling his weapons expertly (albeit carefully, given the compact nature of his hive).  

[seekingCylem]

Rasali heard movement. She knew Aandes was going to come downstairs. Waiting for him to descend still felt like the longest Rasali had ever held still in her life.

And yet when Aandes did finally make his debut, Rasali was at a loss for words. She thought she’d conceived of every possible scenario in her head. Every line, every move. Somehow she had forgotten to account for the chance that Aandes might’ve been handsome. And tall.

His voice, however, was familiar enough in snide tone to snap Rasali from her mental scrabbling. This was Aandes she was dealing with. Rasali lifted her chin and regarded him with a shrewd look.

”Let’s say I had doubts regarding your… hospitality.” Rasali replied coolly. Being cute and offering one snarky line wouldn’t be enough to cancel out ditching her. Rasali wound her chain around one fist. For easy of carrying. It wasn’t like she was nervous or anything…  

[Sypon]

Tch. Seeing Rasali was enough -- going through their whole shtick of snide pleasantries and backhanded remarks was old hat in his own hive. It was insulting. He reacted without thinking.

"Now what, Rasali? You barge into my hive to prove I'm...?"

Aandes stopped himself, his mouth agape for a moment before he clenched his teeth and hissed a noisy complaint. That was close. He clutched his chakrams in front of him threateningly. He was ready to burst, but with a flip of his head Aandes deflected his attention onto the doorway.

"I was playing you, got it? I wanted to win. We lost. So maybe I should have chosen a better partner."

Aandes spat. His words were piercing, but unlike his normal speech. His silver-coated lies were never this crude, never a shut down. Everything about them were chocked full of ambivalence - either she'd rush him or she'd storm off and leave him alone for good. Aandes couldn't honestly tell which one would make him happy at that moment. It was a gamble he could easily lose.

But deep inside, he wanted to hurt. Sweeps of facades, ladder climbing, business ventures... Rasali had seen too much of him, and it was a liability. He was pathetic. He tightened his grip on his weapon and steeled himself, looking directly into Rasali's eyes.  

[seekingCylem]

Rasali had never seen Aandes this angry. Annoyed, maybe, but never pissed, and certainly never this open about it. Even Aandes’ positive emotions were usually muted enough to account for a variety of situations. Without the tactical ambiguity, Aandes was like a completely different troll.

However, Rasali didn’t feel like she’d won anything. She hadn’t broken through to the real Aandes. He was still being cagey; being…

”…Awfully specific of you, Aandes. Do you honestly think this is about the dance?” Rasali crowed an awful laugh. ”Gimme some credit. You and I have been trying to ‘win’ for a lot longer than the dance contest. Like hell I’m gonna believe you now.”

Rasali whipped the loose end of her chain into her open hand and stretched it with a sharp rattle.

”You really wanna win? Then PROVE IT!”  

[Sypon]

HP: 20/20
DMG: 3

Fine. He didn't even care that she saw right through him. He'd had it. His chakram was a buzzing blade at the end of its string now. He disengaged it from its core with a click and made the first move, launching off of the stairs with a snarl.

The greenblood had no idea if it was in Rasali's interests to train for battle, but he wasn't exactly thinking about that at the time. He delivered a quick bite. Enough to intimidate, perhaps. Aandes was not keen on strategy, especially now.  

[seekingCylem]

HP: 17/20
DMG: 5

Rasali hadn’t honestly expected Aandes to lash out like he had, but she was at least prepared. Instinctively she pulled up her stretched chain to block the chakram. She yelped at the ensuing clanging and sparks. The chakram was knocked off its trajectory, but not without leaving a streak of green down Rasali’s forearm. Rasali wanted to hiss and scream, but all that came out was a boisterous laugh.

Rasali charged Aandes, whipping her chain with one hand, and releasing the weighted end from the other.  

[Sypon]

HP: 15/20
DMG: 2

She was bleeding, and Aandes snapped into focus. "s**t!" He yelped. He'd never... He didn't mean to... But he did. Aandes never acted impulsively. He felt a surge of satisfaction as her yellow-hued blood appeared in his sight, and another of fear when she barked out a chilling laugh.

The chain crashed down on Aandes in a very disorienting way. He felt each heavy coil of chain whip through him, sending a shock down his spine. He'd have to try harder than that. Pulling his weapon in, he intended to lace it around her arm. It would be no easy feat to disengage that way. A flicker in Aandes' thinkpan made him realize that, just maybe, he wouldn't win this time. He didn't want to know what that looked like.

He stifled a hiss, beaten down but still spirited, trying to keep himself quiet.  

[seekingCylem]

HP: 15/20
DMG: 0

Rasali realized too late that she’d charged in without a firm plan. “Hit him,” only went so far. Her previous hit had knocked Aandes just out of the way enough to make a follow-up attack awkward. A flail was not the most maneuverable weapon and she didn’t have the time or space to wind up for a second shot.

Aandes was too close relative to Rasali’s mobility as she tried to pull away. Moving from the door had placed her between Aandes and a wall. Why did he make his hive so cramped!?  

[Sypon]

HP: 15/20
DMG: 0

Aandes had locked in. Where he would have been satisfied in any other situation, now he realized that he was close enough to brush up against her. He realized he had been slinking low to attack, and as he straightened he saw their relative height difference. Her proximity was distracting. And their situation was rather tight.

He always knew what Rasali was going to do, maybe because she knew him so well. It was dangerous. Disengaging would be best for both of them.

"I'm getting too comfortable around you," Aandes snarked. He disengaged his weapon from its cord, popping it into two pieces and holding it in his hands instead. He jumped back, hoping to get out of her range.