Prompt 2: The downside to an army of little bunnies is that they burrow. There are holes peppering Destiny City, and with the fresh fallen snow it can be impossible to tell where they are hiding. The holes range from small holes to several feet deep, so can be a minor inconvenience to a potential hazard. On the bright side, sometimes you wind up covered in bunnies looking for warmth from their sudden guest. On the other hand, there are a rising number of trips to the hospital for twists and sprains.
Going out with the new kiddies was fun and fine, but it did require a certain degree of restraint that Maikoh didn't always have. During her tenure with the Negaverse, she'd come to find that generally speaking, the newest recruits were always the most... squeamish.
She didn't always want to pull her punches so as not to scare them away. It was easy to turn them off of their assignments if they saw her going for blood, for starseeds, for the kill. They hadn't yet had time to realize that to be in the Negaverse was to be a hunter in its prime, especially for a youma. Given time, the chaos would help them acclimate, and they too could become killers in their own right.
But it didn't always start like that. And since such was the case, Maikoh didn't always want to babysit lieutenants when she went out. She'd enjoyed helping Janggunite to understand, but now she wanted something where she could be a little more aggressive.
She wanted a fight.
She wanted prey writhing and pleading beneath her claws.
Any animal would certainly thrash in her clutches and squeal in desperation. But they weren't smart enough to outwit her, nor fast enough to outrun her. Even if mountains of bunnies had infiltrated DC, they didn't offer much that she wanted out of the night. A civilian would do, if that was all that was available. They were easy targets with starseeds that could sate her hunger. Some of them were quite smart, but others not so much. And they likewise wouldn't be able to outrun nor overpower her. Not always a thrilling target, though sometimes an unpredictable one.
What she wanted was a senshi, something that would see her and know what she was. They would recognize a youma and know immediately that she was dangerous. They would sense her and know she was near. There was no ambushing a senshi. When they met, both would be ready. Not all of her kind needed to be feared, but she would only need to speak for them to know she was not like most. She would hurt and kill and ruin while fearing absolutely nothing from them because even if they could defeat her, very few could kill her. But they would be frightened.
Maikoh could certainly kill them.
If she wanted a fight, a senshi was what she would need to seek out. An unruly stir in her made her think she wouldn't even care if it was one corrupted by the Negaverse's own chaos. A senshi was a filthy senshi no matter which side it served. Her superiors may be frustrated to lose one, but they would forgive her instincts, she was sure. It was difficult to curb the instinct to eradicate the senshi enemy, even if it wore black.
They would understand.
Maikoh saw no reason to move stealthily. Anything worth a fight would sense her as she neared. Instead, she opted to move quickly, covering as much ground as her hooves could tread over while searching for the tell-tale aura of the enemy, of prey.
The night was cold and covered in snow. No signatures reached her immediately, but she didn't have to search very long to feel the radiant tug of chaos.
It was not the pull of something of her own faction: not youma, nor agent, nor even corrupt. But it was dark, and it was a senshi. If Maikoh had worried that a general might admonish her for killing a corrupt, she did not worry that they would care whether or not she claimed the starseed of a Dark Mirror. They may be allies, but they were far from friends. And the Mirror brats fought youma as often as they could get away with.
It would please her all too much to give them a fight in turn. As she neared the source of the aura, she could tell this one wasn't even highly ranked. He was a lowly basic, barely worth the effort. But he would certainly fight to survive. Maybe she would get a taste of his magic, if he wasn't so cowardly that he fled right away.
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:15 pm
Indigo_Plateau
Narcissus should've known better than to go out.
He didn't even power up very often! So he should've taken one look outside, seen how snowy and icy and dreary it was, and decided that his time was better spent with his books tonight. And it would've been! It would have been more useful for him to study and be prepared for his last exams. He kept claiming that this powered life was second to his real life, so it should have been easy to prioritize his schoolwork over draining for Mirrorspace. He 'should have' done a lot of things.
But he hadn't.
Of course he hadn't.
God, he was so stupid.
Narcissus pinched his lip between his teeth as he craned his head back to peer up at the building he'd just descended from. It wasn't any higher than any other building he'd jumped from. He'd done it dozens of times since he'd become Narcissus.
Though, never when it had been snowing. Everything had appeared to be perfectly flat and normal, despite being covered in several inches of frosty snow. But that was fine. Snow was soft. Narcissus hadn't even thought to be concerned as he'd stepped off the edge and dropped to the ground below. But his weight hadn't even settled before he felt an immediate spike of regret.
His foot had caught just so on the edge of a concealed hole, and given the two-story distance he'd just jumped, apparently even magic didn't think his carelessness should be excused. The resounding crack! of something splintering was canceled out only by Narcissus' pained shout as he'd crumpled to the ground in the snow.
And now he had absolutely no idea what to do.
Narcissus could get around easily by mirrorwalking, though that did usually involve actually walking, which his tender ankle protested every time he so much as pretended to put weight on it. He could power down and call for an Uber... But that would leave him exposed to the aura of something sinister he felt nearby. It seemed dangerous to give up his perception of where a youma could be, though admittedly, he didn't really want it using his aura to find him, either...
But the decision was out of his hands far too quickly. Narcissus glanced away for only a second so he could push himself to his feet while using the wall next to him for support, and when he turned his focus forward again, it was to see a pair of glowing eyes through the bleakness of the night.
He youma was closer than he'd thought...
He was almost positive it had felt him and come specifically to find him... Narcissus knew he couldn't fully trust any Order or Negaverse signatures he may come across, but youma were in another category. People could be reasoned with and spoken to. They had reasons for acting as they did, and most didn't necessarily seem intent on killing him, even if they were looking to 'stop' him from draining.
Youma could not be reasoned with. It didn't matter if the Negaverse and the Dark Mirror were allies. A youma couldn't be bothered to care about that.
They hated senshi. And as Narcissus leaned his weight against the building, staring back at the creature as it stared at him, he knew he was in for a fight. He'd taken on youma before. Maybe it would be okay... He just wasn't usually limping while doing it...
Maikoh could tell as much as she neared. She watched the way it stood, the way it leaned against a wall for support, the way it stared her down instead of fleeing or attacking. Her bright gaze roved down the senshi's frame, picking out what it may have done to itself- Fallen into one of these rabbit holes probably. Twisted an ankle? Cracked a fibula? She bet the boy would hardly be able to escape her even if he tried.
Not much of a fight if it couldn't properly defend itself, but Maikoh was sure an injury would incentivize a senshi to try and damage her quickly and efficiently. She should be cautious as she approached, no matter how her excitement goaded her forward hastily.
Her tail waved. She passed her long tongue over sharp, white teeth as Maikoh drew nearer.
"Found yourself in an unfortunate situation, ey, boy?" She barked wolfishly, now standing only a few yards away as she prowled forward. What would his magic be? If she sniffed the air, she thought she smelled something like flowers, and she wondered if somehow that would correlate to his power.
Maybe he was poisonous. The Dark Mirror brats could have more damaging magic than the White Moon, but when she looked at this one, she felt for certain that he wasn't dangerous. He had twitchy mannerisms like a rodent, and even though she i]thought she smelled flowers, she knew for a fact that she smelled fear. "Don't get all worked up. I like a fight, but if you can't provide it, I try not to play with my food. Ruins the meat. Makes it tough and sour."
She flexed her claws and showed her teeth, nodding to his injured leg. "No reason for the hurt to linger."
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 8:57 am
The youma spoke.
Narcissus’ fear spiked immediately, so sharp he could taste it at the back of his throat. This youma could speak and think and there was nothing stopping it from acting. And it was going to. It stalked toward him slowly, as if trying not to frighten him despite humming out obviously dangerous words.
No reason for the hurt to linger?
Was she trying to convince him to just… give up? Oh, his ankle was twisted, so he may as well just accept death? <******** no? Narcissus’ mind reeled with the refusal. He wasn’t going to stand there and do nothing, but he couldn’t run, and he could only barely fight. Neither option was promising, so it was more about deciding which he should attempt… He may only get one go of it.
She would catch him immediately if he ran. Even if Narcissus fought through the pain in his ankle, it still looked like she was probably faster than him on a good day. He had to try his magic, no matter how unreliable it was. He had to.
He bit his lip, pinched his eyes shut, and hoped for the best as he waited for her to draw just a bit closer.
What a rude thing. Maikoh’s ears flickered down in distaste, and her lip curled as she glowered at the Dark Mirror boy. She was trying to talk to him, and he didn’t even have the decency to answer? She supposed she could take that defeated expression as response enough, but she’d really wanted something more… desperate.
She’d wanted pleading or denial or perhaps he would try to reason with her. Some had in the past, though they’d mat with little success. Maikoh had just wanted something more exciting!
This was what she lived for. Her purpose was to hunt. It was barely so much if her prey just lay down in defeat.
But she at least wouldn’t waste the offer. Even if it wasn’t an exciting fight, eradicating a senshi was still eradicating a senshi. She would take him out, and perhaps her next hunt would be more intriguing. With a low rumble, she braced her hooves to the snow and kicked forward, jaws open and long claws extended to rake at him.
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:15 am
Narcissus shook. He’d resolved himself toward what he intended to do, but that didn’t make this situation any more appealing. His body shuddered from the cold, from fear, from pain. He had to fight because he had no other options, but even this seemed hopeless at best. He very well could die here, beneath this youma’s claws…
But he hoped that wouldn’t be the case.
As the creature sprinted toward him, claws extended, Narcissus focussed intently on the pull of his magic. It seldom worked when he wanted it to, but he needed it in this instant, here and now. It was the only defense he had against this monster. A faint glow emitted from his gaze, and he lifted his head to pin the youma with his stare- And his magic.
There was nothing he could do to stop her physically, though, and her momentum propelled her into him, causing both of them to topple to the ground, with Narcissus flat on his back beneath her.
Maikoh yowled in glee as the senshi held his position. He didn’t even try to escape- He only lifted his head to look at her.
She barely had time to see the faint glow of what was clearly magic before it was cast upon her. A peculiar sensation flit through her mind. It wasn’t exceptionally powerful, but it was present, whispering that other youma’s skills made them better hunters and that the agents’ skills with a weapon and normal human lives made them better for scouting prey. Maikoh was not as useful as many, and so unnecessary because of it. A Chaos dog, but little more than that.
And she would resist the idea of fighting for something that didn’t want her.
Except her body was already on the senshi boy, throwing them both to the ground with her claws ripping down his chest, shredding through the dark fabric of his top and piercing skin.
She had never felt such a way before. Maikoh knew her place was at the top of her pack. She was among the most useful youma and had developed beyond being a mindless, simple dog. The agents needed her, not the other way around.
So why did it sting her so to feel so useless?
She stared at the boy splayed on the ground beneath her, and a warning growl tore out of her throat. “You did this?” She seethed quietly. It had to be the effect of his magic, the effect of that glowing spell sinking into her mind. That was the worst part of not being as mindless as most. These spells could affect her.
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:18 am
It had worked.
He knew it had worked because he’d felt the power of the magic around him. The youma was on top of him, but not tearing through his throat or reaching for his chest. Her claws scratched over his ribs, worsened as Narcissus began to scramble backward, desperate to get from beneath her during this very limited window.
His magic would only last for a handful of seconds, if that, and then she would probably be right back to trying to murder him. He had to get away, or at least to someplace he could hide, right now.
But she was heavy and massive on top of him, with her claws snagging on the fabric of his shirt and keeping him from doing more than scooting a few inches out from under her. He lifted a leg to try and shove her off, but she was way too big for even Narcissus’ powered strength. Basyl was just too scrawny and pathetic to fend off much of anything.
He scrambled to grab his compact. If he couldn’t get away, he could call someone. But who? Who would be able to help him? Who would want to? Kibi was his strongest friend, easily… But she didn’t like to fight… Maybe- maybe Arnica or Avior? Would they fare any better than Narcissus did? Would he forgive himself if he lived and someone else didn’t?
Even when he had the compact in his hand, he found himself being unwilling to open it, hand slowly falling to lay back on the snow. Narcissus couldn’t take on this youma, and he didn’t want to risk calling a friend who couldn’t, either… If it was between him being prey, or someone else...
The Mirror boy struggled, but Maikoh was relentless. She cinched her claws in his shirt, the ire from having a spell cast on her rising like a tsunami to swamp over the feelings from his magic. He’d attacked her. The brat had attacked her and hadn’t even had the struggle to fully escape.
Maikoh bore down on him, hooking her claws into him and lifting him from the ground only to slam him back down. “You stupid thing,” she seethed, large golden eyes pinned with perhaps too much interest on his face.
“I wanted a real fight,” she spat at him. “I wanted you to be a challenge. You cast your silly spells and do nothing? What a waste. If you weren’t going to give me a fight, you should’ve taken the opportunity for our encounter to be brief.” She had offered to take the hurt away, and the Mirror boy had only answered her with a spell to make her feel bad, but not so much as to do damage. Nothing that could force her away from him.
“Now, I do not want it to be brief. You tried to hurt me.” She took one dangerously long claw and pressed it to the now-exposed skin of his ribs. If she applied even just a little pressure, the skin split, causing a little bubble of bright blood to ooze forth.
If she applied more pressure, she could dig the entirety of her claw down into the space between two of his ribs. She could drill down so deeply that she could hook a finger around the bone and grind away at the muscles attached to it. She could peel it back and snap the delicate little bone, feeling the thrum of his heart so close to her. “So I want to hurt you.” And she did.
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:21 am
God, he should’ve stayed home.
The thought was so loud in his mind that it drowned anything else cohesive. He should’ve stayed home, and none of this would’ve happened. He could be studying instead of letting a youma dig its claws into him.
Because she was certainly, certainly going to kill him now, and there was absolutely nothing to be done about it except lay here and accept his fate. Something that became monumentally harder as the threat of torture descended upon him. Having his starseed ripped would’ve been bad enough, but at least that would only last a few seconds.
If she was going to sit here, and-
The youma’s claw pressed down upon his ribs, and Narcissus’ eyes popped wide in shock, his body going briefly fully tense as the talon first pressed and then pierced-
He shrieked, throwing his arms out to try and shove her away and kicking out with his legs as she held him down. “No, no, no!” Narcissus screamed as he felt her claws sinking into his skin, sending white hot lashes of pain arcing up his spine, worsening as he struggled. Her claws scraped at his bone, picking away skin as she tugged and he begged, begged her to stop and just kill him, just kill him. He didn’t want to go through this. He just wanted it to be quick.
He screamed and screamed, his own nails digging into her wrist as he tried futility to pry her off.
Rakovanite felt the auras before he heard anything else. A youma and a Dark Mirror? That was an odd combination to say the least. Despite his ranking, Rakovanite’s experience with youma was still minimal. They weren’t a topic of interest for them, and it felt ridiculously as if being too near may invite the idea that he could share their fate…
And he would absolutely not.
Rakovanite would gladly accept death before he became that brand of monster.
And though he didn’t make it a point to be with them personally, he still knew it was uncommon for a youma to get along with a senshi of any stripe. The Corrupts were hard enough, so he doubted a Dark Mirror was simply having a friendly chat with one… It wasn’t exactly Rakovanite’s business to save any senshi stupid enough to be caught by a youma, but the faint, horrific screaming he heard in the distance was enough to give him pause.
There was one Mirror boy he wouldn’t want to subject to such a fate… If it was anyone else, he could simply turn his back and leave, but if it was that one, he didn’t think he wanted to do nothing. For all the time he’d shared with Narcissus during a particularly difficult month, Rakovanite didn’t think he wanted to allow a youma to kill him.
He moved toward the source of the auras, teleporting in quick flicks in the right direction until he was nearly on top of them, standing on top of a building, looking down and seeing a quite large wolf-girl youma crouched over the crumbled figure of a senshi.
A senshi with long, lavender hair splayed out in a messy halo beneath him, with tiny droplets of blood being flicked off around them as the boy struggled.
It was.
It was Narcissus trapped beneath the youma, screaming and pleading as it tore into him, taking more than just a starseed. He’d known they could be gruesome, but most didn’t have the resolve not to just take what they were after. She was playing with him, torturing him. He wouldn’t let it go on.
Rakovanite dropped to the snow beside them, pressing all his will into the words as he commanded the youma, “Away from him, Witch,” he growled softly, moving so that he was barely more than spitting distance from her.
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:23 am
Maikoh barely registered the aura of another, barely even paused as she felt the presence of an agent immediately atop them. Only an enemy would stand between her and her prey now. She scarcely had to worry unless another senshi appeared to protect this one.
Where her first claw had dug through skin, she entered a second, widening the blood-slicked gash she’d created. She could stab through a lung right now and watch this senshi flop about in the snow as he screamed and begged and drowned in his own blood. And once he was still, heart slowing to almost nothing, she’d claim his starseed and watch the last flickers of light leave him-
The agent commanded her.
Maikoh’s ears flicked up, and her head swiveled to stare at him. She paused, watching the man through narrowed eyes. He was only a captain. She was sure she could overpower him. Her will was stronger than his. She could reject his orders if he wasn’t strong enough to enforce them.
Her tail flicked and she bared her teeth. “Why?” She barked. “He is only a Mirror brat. The more of them that infect this city, the less energy there is for us to harvest. The Mirrors are a competing party. They aren’t useful as allies. No one will miss this one.”
He was starting to feel warm, and even Narcissus knew that warmth in this cold while seeping blood out of a gash that felt as though it encompassed his entire chest, split open as a monster dug her hands into him, was not the best sign.
She would kill him.
She would kill him.
He was in agony, and she would kill him- WHy was she taking so long to just finish it? Narcissus accepted this would happen to him, so just do it. Just do it. The screams were devolving into whimpers, soft whines, and quiet pants. It felt hard to breath. He felt lightheaded and warm, and-
Rakovanite?
Narcissus’ ears were ringing, but he thought he heard Rakovanite’s voice. They hadn’t met up after their time in the Halloween world, nearly three months ago now, but of course he still recognized the low, quiet, dark voice of the agent he’d spent so many weeks with. Narcissus’ lashes fluttered as his head flopped to the side, toward where the other man stood. He was here… He was pretty sure. His vision swam a bit, so maybe he was imagining things, but, but he didn’t think so.
The youma had paused in her ministrations to speak, so… so Narcissus really had no idea what would happen, now.
Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:27 am
“Get. Away.” Rakovanite bit out again, this time summoning his weapons to his hands as he said it. He hated to waste so much effort on a youma when it should obey him practically without question, but he would do whatever was necessary to free Narcissus.
“By attacking the Mirrors, you risk having another faction turn on us. Having the White Moon at every corner is bad enough, but if they allied with the Mirrors, that would just be more bodies to be in the way. More eyes that could watch and call foul at every action…” Rakovanite moved nearer, so close he could practically feel the heat radiating off the youma. “I will not let one youma ruin an already tenuous alliance. Get off of him.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:28 am
It pushed at her. The pressure to just relent to what a superior officer was asking.
Maikoh knew rationally that the Dark Mirror was such a small and inconsequential faction that it would hardly matter if they turned on the Negaverse. And that was implying they would even ever find out one of their own had been attacked by a youma and care enough to do something about it. When everyone knew how youma attacked senshi, she doubted the Mirror Court would immediately jump to blaming and hating the Negaverse over one death…
But this agent was actively using the force of his will to try and make her relent. Maikoh could feel it, and she knew, but something in her mind insisted she shouldn’t be bothered. This was fine. He was right. The agents had to live in this world more than she did. Perhaps it was best to let him have this one.
Maioh leaned back, lifting her weight from the boy before moving off and standing before him. He was a pitiful thing, sprawled in snow that had been disheveled and scraped away to mud, scrawny body twisted in attempts to fend her off.
She scoffed. “What are you going to do with him, then?”
