|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:17 am
He was out on the training field, again. Horace supposed that, at some point today, he should eat something. But it was shaping up to be one if those days where he just didn't feel like it, didn't feel like doing much of anything except send his fists into a dummy on the field over and over. Each hit sent a shock through his arm, but he was getting used to it. His left hand would likely never be quite as strong as his right - he'd just have to compensate where needed. And Jannisari at least encouraged this kind of past time versus more destructive pursuits. Now though, he'd paused, elbow propped up on that same poor dummy. Jannisari turned over in his mind with her usual dry hiss. Sighing, he tied his hair back again - maybe he could find a real person to practice against.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:53 pm
A real person was not available on that particular day, but Horace would have to make do with what was. Skipping, skipping to the spargrounds, Maebe veered straight for the movement she saw as far back as the entrance she'd just walked out of. She hadn't sparred in too long, and she felt the stiffness in her muscles, in her bones. Reckless, Taym would have said. Perhaps that was why she'd stopped doing it. Because he'd told her she needed to. When she realized, far too late, who it was on the fields that afternoon, Maebe stopped skipping and took on a calmer, but no less interested gait. She folded her hands behind her body, and stopped several feet before she'd reached him, clearing her throat in the most innocent of manners. "Excuse me, mister." She called out, her voice blessed with the radiance and innocence of childhood. "Are you looking for a dance partner?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 6:06 am
Horace had watched her approach, Maebe, for who else could it be - skipped along with sort of childish glee. It was interesting. She contrasted herself, surely in a deliberate manner: all pure white innocence with perfect hair and makeup. And everything was too tight, too short, overblown. It wasn't bad, but it was the kind of get-up that said 'look at me, don't look at me'. Or he thought. He wasn't an armchair psychologist. Still leaning against the dummy, he was silent for a few moments after she spoke, a certain hardness settling in his gaze. Then, abruptly, it vanished and he grinned at Maebe, kicking off from the dummy to sweep her a most courtly bow. "As you wish, Lady Maebe, or the maybe Lady?" He raised one brow. With a hiss and the barest flicker of light, Jannisari materialized onto his fists. Horace felt wary around her - not that he hated her, not like he hated Taym or America. It was more of a discomfort, a vague dislike. Regardless of any of that, he wasn't going to pass up a chance to spar a pretty girl.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nio Love rolled 1 100-sided dice:
75
Total: 75 (1-100)
|
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 11:31 pm
"Lady Grace." She quickly amended, but her hands waved idly in front of her. "But only to Dawson. We don't have to play games with each other, do we? You and I both know I'm no lady." She smiled at him, a warm and receptive smile that she had perfected after years of siren calling. She even gave him a flourished curtsy, using the edges of her already too short skirt to hold out in position. When she rose from her curtsy, her trident sizzled to life, burning flickers of fire across her hands until it solidified in black metal, and it's ashes lifted gracefully up into the air. She switched to holding it in one hand, twirling the long weapon like a baton. "Looks like we'll be fighting in close quarters," She remarked, coming to the assumption that both weapons held no long distance skill. "I'm glad. We'll get to know each other better. He really wanted us to get to know each other better." She'd meant Dawson. But the way she said it, the tone, the inflection - she could have easily been teasing him about someone else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Semblance of Unity rolled 1 100-sided dice:
85
Total: 85 (1-100)
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 12:48 am
"He?" Horace said blandly, arching an eyebrow. There was subtext, a sense of connotation within her words. It was annoying. Horace preferred it when people spoke plainly and he considered dragging the meaning out of her - if he had to. Her weapon was assessed carefully; Horace hadn't fought much of that type before. The closet being Ferros or Tracey and those were oversized. He hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
He shifted into a slightly different standing, one that gave him more grounding. "Dawson thinks there's something behind that face you show everyone - which of course there is -" Everyone on the island had their people face: some where more transparent, some were as thick as bullet-proof glass. 'We cannot help who we are, but we can't choose the degree of severity of ourselves with which we show to another' Lex had said. But Horace never wanted the piecemeal mask; he wanted to know everything, always. "-he thinks you're a fine lady and he's not an awful judge of character, you know."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
8, 8
Total: 16 (2-16)
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 12:50 am
There wasn't even a pause after his words before Horace was moving. He just had to be quicker than Maebe's trident and he tried - circling round to the back of her with a speed that might have even pleased Peyton. There was no time for thoughts and pre-planned actions; Horace ran on instinct. And, well, he never could resist blond hair, especially when it was so enticingly left to float freely around Maebe's shoulders. {a liability,} Jannisari hissed quietly. Horace grinned, finding that he rather agreed. His hand shot out, his fingers and the sharp edges of his tekkos tangling in that blonde, daydream hair. It was silky, artfully arranged and Horace wanted to mess it up.She had the right color, but was all overblown curves instead of the thin litheness he was used to. He twisted his hand and yanked, jerking Maebe back into him. Luckily, his other fist was right there to catch her... by slamming into the small of her back. He let go, though. After all, it wouldn't be fair to just drag her around the field by her hair. HP: 40/40 DMG: 8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nio Love rolled 2 10-sided dice:
7, 5
Total: 12 (2-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:41 am
He thinks you're a fine lady.Something about the way Horace said that made her all-knowing smile falter for a moment. It was long enough to catch her off guard, and he disappeared out of her line of sight. She felt the hands sliding into her hair, and her eyelids fluttered as they pulled, slamming her hard back into his weapon. It was a clever, and enticing strategy. She just knew this was going to be a great spar. "He says we're a lot alike, you and me." She whispered, catching her breath from his fist's strength. "I wonder if that's true." Her trident was flipped, driven back under her arm to dive into his shield and stab his gut. Damage: 6 HP: 40 Charge: 1/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
5, 2
Total: 7 (2-16)
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:12 am
"Oh? And who is he?" Horace knew, of course. But if she was going to dig shards of words into him, he'd prefer her to come and just say it rather than dance around the pronoun like Jan was some kind of Lord Voldemort. His face twisted, briefly, where she couldn't see. He knew how he would've reacted before.... before - he didn't finish that thought. But now, everything was more than muddled, more than confusing and if he'd only had a chance to speak to Jan in more than just covert letters maybe everything would make more sense. For now, there were truths he told himself, words that if he just believed enough, would make everything logical. Horace sucked in a breath as her trident thrust into his shield. If he could focus on this, this and this alone - the familiar kind of pain that shields dampened but that still left bruises. HE grinned and that grin filtered into his voice. "I don't know that we're alike at all." He grabbed at her trident, turning his wrist and jerking it backwards. It wouldn't be enough to hurt, not really, but maybe it'd pull her off balance just a bit. HP: 34/40 DMG: 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nio Love rolled 2 10-sided dice:
2, 10
Total: 12 (2-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:12 am
"Dawson, of course." She spoke as if it were the simplest answer. How could he not know, the innocent lilt in her voice said. It wasn't as if she spoke to anyone else about him. "He tells me all the time how much I remind him of you. How our sense of humors are so similar. He calls us trolls." The trident was in her other arm, and when he snapped her wrist back, she twirled like a ballerina, skirt flowing out around her, and trident whipping to dig hard into his side. "Personally, I don't see it yet. You haven't made me laugh once today." Damage: 6 HP: 39 Charge: 2/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
7, 2
Total: 9 (2-16)
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:35 am
"I reserve my troll-dom for twitter and for my friends, Miss Maebe." He did not move more than he could help it when her trident connected with his side. There was a flicker of something across his face, perhaps, and nothing more. It wasn't enough yet. He leaned forward to flick a curl off of her shoulder. "It's too tiring to keep up all the time, after all." In the next instant, he was moving, dragging his tekko swiftly across her throat before punching her in the shoulder. He remembered, then what Jordan had said on twitter - that shields did not protect so well against a slow, inexorable press against a windpipe. He remembered the feels of hands around his throat and, less pleasant, chains. A muscle ticked briefly along his jaw. "You know, I don't think you're good for him, not really." A paused as he circled her. "I could say the same - ya haven't exactly been a sparkling wit."HP: 28/40 DMG: 3 CHG: 3/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nio Love rolled 2 10-sided dice:
8, 1
Total: 9 (2-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:38 am
For one shining moment, the very moment Horace told her she wasn't any good for Dawson, there was actual, visible heartache flashing through her eyes. It was gone too soon, and she backed up a step, trying to catch her breath from the feel of her throat closing in. That, too, was a feeling they both had in common. "Not that anyone's asked your opinion, but that shouldn't matter." She swung her trident around, to whack him right on the head. "We're not together. So shut up about it." Someone sounded butthurt about being turned down. HP: 36 Damage: 3 Charge: 3/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
2, 2
Total: 4 (2-16)
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:13 am
He tried to dodge her trident, then winced as it smacked on his head. Rude. "Oh, I know you're not together, though apparently not through lack of trying on your part." The corners of his lips smirked up and then he laughed. It obviously irked her that Dawson was so stalwart, so damn friendly. It was ******** hilarious. And if his laughter was a little unkind, well, maybe there was the teensiest, the tiiiiiniest bit of dislike still smarting in his gut from the whole flirting thing on twitter. "Are you trying to collect everyone on the island into your harem, Maebe?" He snorted and nearly forgot they were in the middle of a spar. "Though I admit being a little sad h didn't take all my laundry room sex advice." Horace shrugged and spread his hands. HP: 25/40 DMG: nah bro 2 busy giggling CHG: 3/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nio Love rolled 2 10-sided dice:
2, 5
Total: 7 (2-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:14 am
He was getting to her. He was, and he knew it. He could have had her almost emotional, if he had just been smart enough not to mention the laundry room.
Her lips twisted up in a tiny, menacing smile.
"Harems are too much work. I'm just trying to keep things uncomplicated. Though I can tell you from experience, the laundry room is a lot of fun." She bapped him gently with her trident, almost playfully. "America thinks so, too."
HP: 36
Damage: 1
Charge: 3/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Semblance of Unity rolled 2 8-sided dice:
8, 4
Total: 12 (2-16)
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:25 am
That little smile was interesting, but her ending statement threw him off a little. "Ah yes, because I give so many shits about America." Horace did, of course, but his hate for one America Jones had no place here. Maebe was interesting; she kept the cruelty in her closer to the surface that most.
He batted her trident away. "You can hit harder than that," he said disdainfully. He liked sparring people stronger than himself - it hurt better and more quickly. But there was always that thread of disappointment when they missed or when they only hit glancingly. Moving quickly, he tangled his foot around her ankle, for a moment, he'd considered getting her on the ground. Instead, Horace's hand snaked around again to thread through her hair. His other hands raked sharp spike down her bare arm. "Or do you want me to drag you around by your hair? You should tie it up - though I'm not complaining." He gave it another jerk to illustrate his point.
HP: 24/40
DMG: 6
CHG: 3/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nio Love rolled 2 10-sided dice:
8, 4
Total: 12 (2-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:32 am
His hands were in her hair again, and she'd driven it all so deep, she'd hidden it all so well, but it was surfacing now, like an itch that begged to be scratched. Her eyes closed and she let him, she let him, because this was what she wanted. This was what she deserved-- The trident sunk into the shield protecting the meat of his thigh, three punctures right where it would hurt the most. "Mmmn. If you wanted to turn me on that badly, Horace, you should have just asked." HP: 30 Damage: 6 Charge: 3/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
