It had snowed, albeit briefly and not too much. The roads were slippery with slush and the remnants of the leftovers of the day's weather, and most if it had melted by now, everything gray and mushy. The air remained chill, frosted breath visible every time someone spoke, and a persistent fog seemed to linger in the air, wedges of yellow light from the street lamps a watery glow in the gloom.
Celsus stood now on a seemingly deserted stretch of road that housed two coffee shops and a deli. Everything was closed; the hour was too late for anyone to really be wandering the streets at all, unless one was out looking for a certain time of crowd. The distant, continual throb of music could be heard several blocks away, a dull pounding from one of the more raucous clubs, too far away to be anything more than just a headache.
He lifted a hand and rubbed at his temple, but the sharp pain would not dissipate. Celsus felt numb to the cold around him, hair lank and unkempt, tied back into a messy ponytail at the back of his head, several red strands falling free. The dark circles beneath his eyes were more pronounced than ever, and the tremor that shook his hands reappearing intermittently.
"Come on," he muttered now, exhaling a gust of fog from his lungs, eyes narrowed as he stared into the alleyway ahead of him. "Come on, beastie, come out and play."
The youma - some ghastly abomination of what appeared to be a scorpion and a bear - snarled viciously at him, tail lashing dangerously. There was an ominous clicking of pincers, but Celsus stood his ground, in spite of the fact that he was already bleeding from his side from one jab of the sharp ends.
"Come ooonnn," he crooned, the hem of his cape dirty with snow. and grime. "Come out and play, little beastie, you know you want to..."
frayedflower
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 2:22 pm
Celsus wouldn't know this was one of the areas Eurydike frequented; the deli on the street was where he worked by day, so it only made sense to start and end there. Powering up and down outside his and Tolliver's apartment was a little too risky; even he wasn't that ******** stupid. There were no cameras here, no nothing like that, and by now, he was winding down after a relatively quiet night and preparing to head home.
When he felt the p***k of a knight and a youma real close by, though - well, Eurydike wasn't really one to leave well enough alone. There was always that chance that the knight might need help, and even if they didn't, ******** if he didn't need some high-end allies that weren't just Thraen. Celsus too, maybe - but after the last time, maybe 'ally' was too strong a word?
Either way, he decided to put off laying in bed and staring at the ceiling for a few hours long enough to hit the rooftops, thinking that maybe it'd be better to approach from above, get a better scale of the situation or lack thereof.
The last thing Eurydike had wanted to find was Celsus, and the mere sight of him was almost enough to send the super senshi skittering away again, frustration and more than a few raw feelings welling up and making the pit of his stomach churn. But the knight was visibly off, visibly bleeding, and the youma felt strong - and this was still Tolliver's brother -<******** everythin', man.
Moments later he dropped from the rooftops with a bellow that echoed stupidly loud in the alleyway, aiming an up-above hit at the stupid monster-mutant's ******** gross head.
If he was aware of the incoming power signature, he didn't show it, Celsus swaying where he stood. He was half bent, trying to lure the creature out of the shadows it was currently taking advantage of, moonlight refracting off of the lenses of his glasses.
"Come out, come out," he murmured again, and the whispers sifted through his thoughts, coiled around them like a softly hissing snake. "Let's go, pretty beastie, let me take care of - "
But there was a sudden shout, and then a crash, and someone came leaping into view. Celsus staggered backwards abruptly, his eyes widening, and then gave a roar of anger as a wash of recognition and fury seemed to drown him, tightening his throat so that breathing was difficult.
"You - "
The youma had given a shriek of rage and twisted, its tail lashing hard, and Celsus dived, ignoring the sharp stab of pain from his injured side. He latched onto one of the pincers and yanked hard, but a heavy blow from one of its scuttling legs made him slam into the wall, Celsus spitting blood from his mouth.
"Get out of here," he snapped at Eurydike. "I've got this under control!"
frayedflower
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 3:57 pm
You. Peppered with so much frustration and pure, raw hate, or at least that was how Eurydike read it, its precursor a roar that made the super senshi's teeth clench and his chest ache. It was really what he should have expected, but -
No time. Whatever Celsus said, he was here already, and the stupid ******** moron of a knight was getting his a** kicked. "Would you shut the ******** up Lite-Brite?!" he snapped, jumping out of range of one of the pincers, trying to get closer to the redhead if only to -
"Salt of Man!" and with a flourish of hands, lifting them at the end to deposit the salt circle around Celsus, glowing brighter still in the darkness of the alley. It kind of just highlighted how shitty he looked, but there was no time for that right now. He instead whirled and set his attention back on the youma, bearing his teeth in a look that was downright feral, somewhere between a grin and a snarl - more fueled by Celsus himself than the monster. "Come at me you son of a b***h."
Super Sailor Scout Attack: Salt of Man. Eurydike performs the same motion as before, but the white of the ring glows a bit brighter. It can now protect a single senshi for sixty seconds. It may be extended to envelope up to three senshi -- but for each locked within the circle, it divides the time evenly amongst them (two is thirty seconds, three gets twenty seconds). A youma or lower level character may feel some pain if they throw themselves at the circle. Higher leveled characters do not share this sensation, and they can still break through it with relative ease. (Also, in this stage, Salt of the Earth may be used twice.)
The whispers grew louder, then faded, though not entirely. Celsus could still hear them shifting around in his head, coiling through his thoughts, and he flashed Eurydike a glower that was filled with an anger he had not known he could feel. It soared through him, surged like a fire, and he pushed himself away from the wall, staggering on unsteady legs.
The yell of the attack rang through the air. Celsus stared down at the salt around his feet and let out a string of curses that was entirely unfitting for himself, wondering if it would be possible to just kick through the barrier now protecting him and step out. He was stronger than Eurydike, after all.
"You bloody b*****d - "
The youma gave a shriek of anger and lunged, snapping at the senshi, its attention drawn towards him. There was a crash as it hit a nearby dumpster, tail thrashing back and forth in violent motions, and all Celsus could hear was the sound of its fury.
That and the whisper of inadequate that wafted through his brain.
frayedflower
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:02 am
That was about the reaction he expected, to be honest - to be honest Eurydike had no idea how easy it'd be to walk out from the inside (or not), but if he didn't know then Celsus probably didn't know either, so hey. Let him figure that s**t out.
Anyway, the noise he needed to be more worried about was this ******** right here, flailing its stupid tail around and crashing into everything. An idea came to him - and then he thought to himself that was probably a really really terrible idea -
But by then he was already moving, so okay, stupid idea to the rescue. With gritted teeth he jumped, launching himself off the wall of the building in the air to try and get some leverage to throw himself at the monster's tail, aiming to grab it below the stinger and twist as hard as he could.
Seriously, this would either be awesome or he might die a little. No pressure.
Celsus had a split second of realizing just what Eurydike was going to do before he actually did it; and a yell of fury rang out from his hoarse throat, the youma giving a shriek of pain. It thrashed violently, pincers snapping, but the twist had done the trick. It couldn't reach him from this angle, twisting and crashing until it finally toppled over.
There was a ringing in his ears. Celsus lunged forward, ignoring the protective spell that Eurydike had cast and darting forward, the whip appearing in one of his hands. He cracked it though the air and the tails of it wrapped around a pincer, Celsus yanking hard, ignoring the burn that it caused the palms of his hands.
"Get off," he bellowed, just as the youma's free pincer crashed across the back of his head, stars exploding in Celsus' line of vision. He almost let go of the whip, but grappled with it just in time, dragging it until it was bent at an obscenely awkward angle -
- and then with a grotesque crack, it shattered and fell away the pincer the whip held hostage bursting into dust at Celsus' feet and leaving the rest of the youma howling with pain.
His vision was wavering in and out. Celsus glowered up at Eurydike, staggering.
"I - don't - " Each breath was painful. " - need - your - help - !"
frayedflower
Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 6:20 pm
Yeah. Eurydike was pretty ******** pleased with himself that that little stunt had actually paid off in his favor. Getting dead wasn't exactly in his to-do list, thanks, especially not for Celsus of all the ******** people in the world. (Tolliver was another story, but - really, he'd prefer not to get dead period, thanks.)
He was less ******** pleased when he realized the stupid limey moron had just gone right ahead and flounced right out of his protective barrier like a bat out of hell. A snarl escaped him when he saw the youma get another hit in on the guy, white already stained red, and his stomach twisted even after Celsus had taken out the offending pincer.
"Are you ********' high dude?!" he yelled in response, his voice going an octave higher for that one, twisting the tail harder in his own frustration. "You can't even -- !!"
It all happened kind of fast, then. There was a flash of movement behind the knight and Eurydike didn't really think, he just went. Later, he'd say his intention was to cast his lower level magic or something. Either there just wasn't enough time, or it was just an excuse - because either way what ended up happening was the super senshi just lunged at Celsus and shoved hard, a little too much like that day in the kitchen.
Only this was no kitchen. It was an alley, and an instant later there was a howl of rage as the second pincer slammed hard into the super senshi's gut, knocking him back first against a brick wall.
He didn't even have the excuse of being on something. Everything was simply inside of his own head, clustered together in a haze of confusion and chaos that made his mind spin unpleasantly. And Eurydike's presence did not make anything easier in the slightest.
Eurydike was just another reminder of all he'd lost. All he'd never get back again.
"You bloody - "
But the rest of Celsus' sentence was never finished. Hands were shoving him hard, and he staggered sideways with a sharp sound of rage and confusion in his throat, slamming into the wall with a painful crack. He pushed himself off, tangled in his cape, and twisted around -
- just in time to see the youma slam into Eurydike, the pincer sinking into his stomach.
The color had drained from Celsus' face. Without fully realizing what he was doing, he leapt forward and snapped the whip forward the tail ends of it wrapping around the pincer, and he yanked, hard, trying to drag it away from that idiot Eurydike, because no, no, no one else could die, no one else was going to - no -
This wasn't what I wanted.
This wasn't what I planned.
There was a snapping, sickening crack, a shriek of pain from the creature, and then -
- it exploded in a fit of dust. The sudden loss of weight made Celsus stagger and collapse, and he half stumbled, half crawled towards Eurydike, his breathing ragged, his eyes wide as he stretched out trembling hand towards him.
frayedflower
Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 10:29 pm
He'd be lying if he said that didn't hurt like a b***h, just like to say the wind had been knocked out of him was kind of an understatement. Not since Cinnabar had gone to town on him had he felt this kind of intensely sharp pain around his stomach and ribs. His head had collided with the wall when he'd struck it, and his head pounded intensely with sharp pain as he struggled to coax in aching breaths.
Eurydike didn't open his eyes, not because he didn't want to, but because he just couldn't, as he heard the struggle continue and then heard a snap, the creature shrieking, and then - then nothing.
Finally, wincing and cursing under his breath, teeth grinding together, he willed his eyes open. "Son of a - " It took him a second to focus on Celsus.
Even then, he didn't totally believe his own eyes. The way the knight was on the ground, the way he was looking at him, his hand shaking and reaching for him, and - Eurydike felt a sickness wash over him that had nothing to do with the blow to the gut or the lump on his head, because ******** - ******** him - not Celsus, no, but himself -
He was happy. He was so ******** happy to see Celsus look at him like that, like he might be worried, like he might care even just a little. All he could think, over and over again, was he doesn't hate me he really doesn't Fritz -- It was disgusting. It was disgusting that that was all he could think of in a moment like this, because it was obvious something was wrong. It was pathetic that the opinion of Tolliver's obnoxious brother meant jack s**t to him. It shouldn't have ever bothered him, but -
But it had and it did and --
"You... hah, well, that - that sucked, " he choked out with what might've been an attempt at a gruff laugh. For a lot of reasons, it kind of flopped. "You okay man?"
Hitch had taken his brother from him. Had given Tolliver something else, something that Fritz had never been able to provide. He'd drawn Tolliver out of his shell, reminded him of his reasons for living. Had given him shelter, warmth - and yes, love, though Fritz had never wanted to admit it. But he knew, because he knew Tolliver. He knew, because he had never seen his brother happier than he was with Logan Hitchcock, even if the very thought of it made Fritz's chest feel tight and airless, even if the thought of it made him remember his own too large, too empty apartment.
He didn't like Hitch - but he couldn't hate him. And he couldn't let him die. Not after all that had happened, not when it meant that Tolliver would lose every sense of himself as well, not when the both of them were struggling so hard to be normal again.
(Normal. What a laugh.)
He felt the fear inside of himself as tangible and sharp as a knife. Celsus stared down at Eurydike, one hand outstretched towards him with trembling fingers, and he seemed frozen in place as the senshi opened his own eyes. For a moment it seemed like time had slowed down, and that his body, try as he might, refused to move, so that everything was suspended in place.
A tremor ran through Celsus. His mouth felt dry.
"No," he whispered, and he scrambled back away from Eurydike, his heart pounding painfully against his ribs as he tried desperately to get back to his feet. He swayed unsteadily, his cape twisting around him, blackened and torn at the hem, and there was panic and frustration in his eyes.
But also fear.
"No," said Celsus again, barely above a whisper, and he took several steps back away from Eurydike, shaking his head as the weight of the world came crashing down onto him.
"I'm not okay."
frayedflower
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 5:21 am
No. For a minute Eurydike had forgotten the question he'd even asked, the 'no' dropping in his stomach like lead - his mind first went to the worst place, that he was shocked that he'd showed any kind of concern or that maybe he wasn't really so happy to see the senshi come to -
Then he realized seconds later how stupid he was being, and how very much and little that 'no' probably had to do with him. Something was wrong. He couldn't pretend he was Fritz's best ******** friend or anything - but he'd seen him enough acting like himself, and he'd seen Celsus break down once before in front of him, and this was more like that, but worse. Celsus hadn't looked like such s**t the last time he'd had a meltdown with Eurydike. He hadn't looked at him like that, fear and who knew what else in his gaze.
He even said it, just that simply - I'm not okay. And suddenly it mattered very little how they'd left things or how disgusted Eurydike was or wasn't with himself. It could wait. All of it could just ******** wait.
The salt senshi scrambled awkwardly to his feet (though not nearly as much as Celsus), ignoring the ache in his head that made the world sway a little. "That's okay. You don't gotta be. C'mere, " and he offered a hand, concern etched clearly across his face. "Lemme get you home."
He was so far from okay that Celsus could not even start to recall what it felt like to be okay; to be within a good, solid state of mind once more. He could no longer remember what true silence felt like, instead of this constant ringing in his ears, instead of this thrum of whispers like hisses in his thoughts. Instead of the oppressive, sickening, cloying emptiness of a loft built for two but with only one inhabitant.
It was hard to breathe.
And in front of Eurydike, no less.
Celsus was breaking apart, shattering, losing it all, and he couldn't do anything to stop it, to breathe, to keep going forward like this. He felt like every step was agonized, as though every movement caused pins and needles to sink deep into his chest.
"No," he whispered, and he shook his head, his eyes over bright, and it was not a violent, angry rejection, but a despairing, pained one as he took another step back. "No - no, I can't, I don't - I don't have any - I can't - there's nothing, not anymore, I'm just - I can't, I can't -- "
The kindness after all he had done was like a lance in his chest.
Celsus turned his head, before Eurydike could see the tears, before he could see the dampness, the frailty, and ran.
