A couple of weeks in and Liam was starting to find his groove on the island. It seemed as though Victoria had been an easy transition. Things had been different, but he'd had Caroline making the rounds(same as she always did), and he'd had Harvard's sharp wit(same as he always did), and for a while he'd had Cecil's gentle encouragement(same as he always did). He and Harper had been separated, but Liam had still seen her[i/i]. It wasn't the same, but there had been enough similarities to still feel homey.
The move to Deus was harder. Not only was Corey still unaccounted for, but he hadn't seen Charlie or Caroline either. He hadn't seen Cecil, or Harvard, or anyone else from Delta besides Harper and Austin. The dorms were familiar, but they weren't the same.
~Things change, you're gunna have to get used to it,~ Wicked purred, his bubbling laugh echoing through Liam's head. The young man tried to ignore it, tried to focus on the training dummy he was currently stationed in front of.
Thwack. Crack.
The sound of wood colliding with wood rang out across the training field as Liam smacked first one tonfo into the side of the dummy, then the other.
and be blue
Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:36 pm
Somehow, Austin had gotten his hands on a chocolate bar. He must have made some kind of trade -- must have found a friend or a sucker somewhere along the line, in order to win this sort of bounty -- and it was shitty milk chocolate but it was better than nothing. For the deprived, they could probably just about smell it from across a room, sweet and delicious.
He ate it slowly. Well, slowly for Austin, which meant five or six bites and it was gone and he was licking his fingers. He didn't exactly have great self-control. And while he did, he stood on the edge of the training fields, propped against a post, to watch the crew pounding hopelessly against the dummies.
A familiar face, there, or maybe more like a familiar mess of hair tugged back out of his face. As Austin licked the corners of his mouth, he absently drew Hey out of thin air and nocked an arrow.
He drew back.
He missed, damnit.
Still, the arrow struck the ground not too far from Liam, with a burst of energy before it disappeared. It'd probably catch his attention, and turn it toward Austin's smug face. He could pretend that was where he'd been aiming.
It wasn't the sound of something striking the ground behind his right heel, so much as it was the flare of light from the arrow as it burst that startled Liam away from the dummy and had him rounding, arms and tonfas up at the ready, eye wide as he searched the lawn for the source.
Maybe they couldn't remember the week leading up to their induction as Hunters, but they still retained everything up to that point. It wasn't quite PTSD that made the young man jumpy, but a certain ingrained alertness from having survived what was, to them, the zombie apocalypse.
He blinked when he caught sight of Austin, the bow, his arms lowered as he put two and two together, features melting into an irked frown.
"What do you want, Austin?" Because Liam had long learned to associate the taller boy with trouble, even when things had been going well.
and be blue
and be blue rolled 1 20-sided dice:
13Total: 13 (1-20)
Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 8:42 am
"What makes you think I want anything?" It was easy, casual; his eyes bright behind the slightly-too-large frames as Austin carefully drew another arrow, settling it against the side of his bow. He held the weapon like an expert, even if he was still new with this particular form. He'd done enough archery in his life.
And despite the words, it seemed clear that, at the very least, he was going to keep giving Liam a hard time, arrows fired into his working space...
Dark eyes narrowed, and he took a step to the side as a second arrow landed close to where the first had exploded in a little flash of light. "Maybe the arrows."
Pale fingers curled a little tighter around the handles of the tonfa, and Wicked gave a soft snickering hum at the back of his mind. All of this, all of everything, was just very amusing to him.
Didn't Austin have anything better to do, beside making his life more difficult?
and be blue
and be blue rolled 2 8-sided dice:
5, 4Total: 9 (2-16)
Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 8:17 pm
"Oh, well, the arrows." This time, he aimed just a little higher: sighting down his bolt and letting it fly to explode against Liam's shield. His shot wasn't great, but it would catch, at least, and Austin would immediately start backing up, a smile blooming across his face.
"I guess you have a point there." He struggled to notch another one even as he moved. It would have been easier in sneakers.
Liam couldn't have said why, but as Austin notched another arrow and brought it up to aim more or less at the shorter boy's chest, he hadn't really expected Austin to loose it. Dark eyes widened as the Mist let go, and there was a wince as the arrow struck him in the stomach. It stung, not as badly as it should have, but he still felt the impact against his shield.
Another arrow was on the rise. Liam's lip twitched, temper rising just a touch. "You know." The tonfas came up. "You could have just asked for a spar."
Rushing at the other boy was unnatural. Bringing one of the tonfas up in a blunt edged slam against Austin's hip was even more unnatural. Liam was athletic, he liked sports, but he'd never been one for violence, and no matter how much Austin had hurt or used him ,he'd never wanted to physically hurt him back.
HP: 37 DMG: 4 CHG: 1/3
and be blue
and be blue rolled 2 8-sided dice:
8, 1Total: 9 (2-16)
Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:51 pm
"If I asked first, I wouldn't get the first shot." That hurt, and he didn't like that Liam was so damned close -- so Austin kept bouncing back a bit, out of the way, even as he drew again and fired. It wasn't as smooth as he would have liked, it wasn't Legolas, but he was surprisingly neat. He hit, anyway, and that was something while on the move.
"Bit under handed, isn't it?" He grunted as another arrow clipped him in the shoulder, making his upper body turn as he advanced, trying to keep the space between them short, so Austin couldn't take the time to properly aim.
Problem was, Liam hadn't been training with a moving target. It had been a lot easier, beating on a stationary opponent.
He swung, putting his shoulder into it, but was disappointed when the end of his dagger merely grazed against Austin's shield, rather than colliding solidly.
HP: 34 DMG: 2 CHG: 2/3
and be blue
and be blue rolled 8 8-sided dice:
4, 6, 6, 2, 8, 4, 1, 1Total: 32 (8-64)
"So how about you play nice, and we'll see how that goes?" This close, it was too hard to draw -- so instead, Austin just slammed an arrow hard into Liam's shoulder, exploding against his shield and wearing away at it just a bit.
There was the sharp sting of an arrow being jabbed into his arm, then the flash of an explosion sending him back a few steps, breath hissing between his teeth as he made a move to grab for his shoulder, but stopped himself mid-motion, lowering his arms back to his sides, weapons up and ready.
"I always play nice." There was a bite to it, a subtle growl, because it was true. Liam always was nice to Austin, even though Austin didn't deserve it. Maybe once upon a time, before the younger man knew better, but certainly not now.
Liam jerked forward, left arm going out to swing the long end of a tonfa in a wide arc that didn't quite connect.
HP: 29 DMG: - CHG: 2/3
and be blue
Beejoux
Wrathful Demigod
Offline
and be blue rolled 7 4-sided dice:
2, 4, 3, 1, 1, 4, 3Total: 18 (7-28)
"I know." But there was an edge behind it, something dry and faintly mocking -- because Austin clearly thought that playing by the rules was a stupid policy. And it was one that Horace had reinforced during their little spar. Take the advantages you had -- which is why Austin himself poured the collected energy from his attacks into another bolt and hopped back enough to fire it back at Liam.
Another burst of arrow, a spray that splattered across Liam's shield: wearing it down in a crawling, rotting sort of way. It smelled like blood.
HP: 34/40 Charge: 0/3 DMG: 8
Beejoux
Rain of Blood -- works as Swift Strikes. The arrow released from his bow hits as a spray of blood that corrodes the shield. If a shield is down, it can -- player choice -- cause flecks of rot on the surface of the skin.
Tier One:SS1 Dice: 7d4 First Dice: xxxxx 1: Miss xxxxx 2 - 3: HIT however the resulting damage is divided by 2. Only 50% of the damage is dealt. xxxxx 4: HIT however the resulting damage is multiplied by .8. Only 80% of the damage is dealt. Damage: Ignore the first dice, total up the remaining dice. Divide or multiply the total by the modifier depending. Average Damage: 8 (50%), 12 (80%)
Liam had very intention to charging in as Austin jerked back, notching and arrow as he lifted his bow again. He could have taken advantage of the split second it would have taken to aim, to make the shot count, but that second never came, because you really didn't have to take much care to aim when the arrow burst out in a side spread of corrosive...blood?
It was completely unexpected, because up to that point Liam hadn't experienced another person's charge before, and hadn't had a clue as to just what they were capable of.
Not to mention, being splattered with anything was a little startling, let alone something dark and smelling strongly metallic. Something that burned on impact, eating away at his sheild in angry, lasting little bites.
~Do not just stand there. Retaliate. It is just a charge. Give me more Fear, and you can do the same.~
The cool voice purring in his ear was enough to get him moving again. Liam closing in, sure-footed, to bring the fat end of the tonfa in his right hand up in hard smack against Austin's chest.
HP: 21 DMG: 3 CHG: 3/3
and be blue
Beejoux
Wrathful Demigod
Offline
and be blue rolled 2 8-sided dice:
2, 2Total: 4 (2-16)
It was pushing his luck to gloat a little, but Austin -- well. He couldn't quite help himself. He bared his teeth in a sharp grin, pleased, and as he hopped back out of Liam's reach again [or tried to, anyway] he fumbled his next bolt. The shot went wide. Not that it ruined the satisfaction on his face.
