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[ when she arrives at their encampment, the kuruko clan has already been reduced to a pile of bodies. in her people's tradition, bodies are burned and the ashes buried at the root of a young tree. return to the earth, like all things. but these are strewn around still, blood smears and mangled and unrecognizable faces of people who had once known her, who she could now hardly remember. there had been no one left to bury them.
mavis takes an axe and starts cleaving off pieces of the lean-tos that her people had set up alongside their carriages. there's enough wood here to build a fire. the desert is stingy, but it gives enough. when she gets it going, the thick smell of mesquite stings the air, and the few survivors creep out from high up the hill, from the canyon.
the cats. one of them has blood smeared over its mouth. cats are not scavengers, she thinks. they are predators. it comes to sniff her, and she lets it nuzzle its bloody muzzle against her, and then she puts her hand on its shoulders to signal she will follow.
it has tried to bury its master. mavis slings the body over the cat's saddled back and walks it back into town, towards the pyre, where she has gathered the rest. neither of them is alone, now. not only because of each other's company — but because when they return to the encampment, someone else is waiting for them there.
mavis says nothing. stands beside a burned tent, hands and face and white roughspun stained with blood. the cat bares its teeth. ]
mavis takes an axe and starts cleaving off pieces of the lean-tos that her people had set up alongside their carriages. there's enough wood here to build a fire. the desert is stingy, but it gives enough. when she gets it going, the thick smell of mesquite stings the air, and the few survivors creep out from high up the hill, from the canyon.
the cats. one of them has blood smeared over its mouth. cats are not scavengers, she thinks. they are predators. it comes to sniff her, and she lets it nuzzle its bloody muzzle against her, and then she puts her hand on its shoulders to signal she will follow.
it has tried to bury its master. mavis slings the body over the cat's saddled back and walks it back into town, towards the pyre, where she has gathered the rest. neither of them is alone, now. not only because of each other's company — but because when they return to the encampment, someone else is waiting for them there.
mavis says nothing. stands beside a burned tent, hands and face and white roughspun stained with blood. the cat bares its teeth. ]
Edited 2022-03-11 16:50 (UTC)
( the report had been vague. a drone picking up readings that may or may not have meant something, which meant a team would need to be sent to verify.
the kurkuko clan wasn't one he'd been familiar with — most of his days were spent cycling between pallas and roskait doing the kind of fetch and carry jobs that even a rookie could do in their sleep — so he'd been eager to cut his teeth on something a little more challenging.
he'd not been disappointed.
except that all signs were pointing to the target being in the wind. cast out years ago and believed (hoped) to be dead because it scared them, the things she'd known, because fear was so much easier to reach for than understanding and she'd never truly been one of them anyway.
things got simple after that.
he'd been waiting for the withdrawal order to come through, eyes turned skyward to a night scattered with stars so bright that he could almost see what the big deal was, living out here in the quiet when he'd felt it — that needle prick of awareness. awareness that had resolved into a shape that seemed much too small to be containing all that wild, terrible power.
fuck.
mind ticking over possibilities. de-escalation seems out of the question all things considered, but she's not making any moves to attack, not yet, and maybe.
just maybe — )
I'm going to lift my hands to my helmet.
( the vocoder flattens out any emotion. turns his voice tinny and artificial. )
the kurkuko clan wasn't one he'd been familiar with — most of his days were spent cycling between pallas and roskait doing the kind of fetch and carry jobs that even a rookie could do in their sleep — so he'd been eager to cut his teeth on something a little more challenging.
he'd not been disappointed.
except that all signs were pointing to the target being in the wind. cast out years ago and believed (hoped) to be dead because it scared them, the things she'd known, because fear was so much easier to reach for than understanding and she'd never truly been one of them anyway.
things got simple after that.
he'd been waiting for the withdrawal order to come through, eyes turned skyward to a night scattered with stars so bright that he could almost see what the big deal was, living out here in the quiet when he'd felt it — that needle prick of awareness. awareness that had resolved into a shape that seemed much too small to be containing all that wild, terrible power.
fuck.
mind ticking over possibilities. de-escalation seems out of the question all things considered, but she's not making any moves to attack, not yet, and maybe.
just maybe — )
I'm going to lift my hands to my helmet.
( the vocoder flattens out any emotion. turns his voice tinny and artificial. )
Edited 2022-03-12 18:49 (UTC)
[ there is one thing in this world that the kuruko clan holds above clan loyalty, and it's the respect and authority won from combat. if ever there were a way for mavis to prove herself to the clan, it would be this: avenging it through violence. it might even be enough to make them reconsider her exile.
or it would be, if any of them were alive to see it.
the stranger's surrender is telling. as are his clothes — the grim, sharp lines and glinting sheen can only come from outside the wilds. and these days, everything outside the wilds is kossos.
a memory of the town council surges back, foggy. the jarl nods solemnly as the weaver's husband calls mavis the enemy. the jarl and the weaver and her husband are all dead now, ash and blood and mangled bone, but here is the enemy. the butcher. right in front of her.
(it's him, isn't it? not her, who had seen this and had no way to stop it.)
she charges with a yell. sand slipping under her worn moccasins, she throws herself at him. her arms flail wildly at her sides. it's not a neat, focus warrior's run because she had never trained with the warriors of her clan. she had trained herself in the desert with flexible mesquite and palo verde branches for whips and devil's claws for knives.
satisfied that this is permission from the blood of kuruko, the lynx charges beside her. ]
or it would be, if any of them were alive to see it.
the stranger's surrender is telling. as are his clothes — the grim, sharp lines and glinting sheen can only come from outside the wilds. and these days, everything outside the wilds is kossos.
a memory of the town council surges back, foggy. the jarl nods solemnly as the weaver's husband calls mavis the enemy. the jarl and the weaver and her husband are all dead now, ash and blood and mangled bone, but here is the enemy. the butcher. right in front of her.
(it's him, isn't it? not her, who had seen this and had no way to stop it.)
she charges with a yell. sand slipping under her worn moccasins, she throws herself at him. her arms flail wildly at her sides. it's not a neat, focus warrior's run because she had never trained with the warriors of her clan. she had trained herself in the desert with flexible mesquite and palo verde branches for whips and devil's claws for knives.
satisfied that this is permission from the blood of kuruko, the lynx charges beside her. ]
( what it lacks in finesse it makes up for in stupidity. because here's the thing, nobody does what she does unless they have a death wish.
he gets an arm around her waist, squeezing hard enough to drive the air from her lungs ㅡ hard enough that he can practically her the grind of rib against rib. )
Call it off.
he gets an arm around her waist, squeezing hard enough to drive the air from her lungs ㅡ hard enough that he can practically her the grind of rib against rib. )
Call it off.
[ she wheezes. the air goes out, it won't come back in. her lungs won't inflate. his grip is too tight.
mavis flails, all elbows and heels. she bucks like a lynx trying to shrug him off. wild. violent.
and when she can't make a noise, when she can't get a grip on him, the lynx — which owes her no obedience except the respect it saved for her clan — pounces them both, sinking its teeth in one great bite into both of their shoulders and shaking its head, rending the wound.
breathless, mavis can't cry out. but her vision blots black. it's not the worst pain she's ever felt, she tells herself, but she's not positive that's true. ]
mavis flails, all elbows and heels. she bucks like a lynx trying to shrug him off. wild. violent.
and when she can't make a noise, when she can't get a grip on him, the lynx — which owes her no obedience except the respect it saved for her clan — pounces them both, sinking its teeth in one great bite into both of their shoulders and shaking its head, rending the wound.
breathless, mavis can't cry out. but her vision blots black. it's not the worst pain she's ever felt, she tells herself, but she's not positive that's true. ]
( the lynx leaps —
— collides with them both, taking them to the ground. the force of impact strikes like a hammer blow, driving the air from his lungs and putting stars in his eyes.
and then there are teeth: sharp, vicious things that puncture his armour like it's nothing. digging into the meat of his shoulder. )
Fuck.
( his vision burns white at the edges as his nerves catch fire. it's not a fatal wound — not yet — but with the way it's snapping its head, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's a matter of minutes if not seconds before that changes.
turn the pain into power. an instructor's voice in the back of his mind, and it takes every ounce of desperate strength for him to lift his free hand, fist balled, and strike at the thing's head.
once.
twice.
a third time. striking at it like he'd cave its skull in given the change. because he would. he absolutely would. )
— collides with them both, taking them to the ground. the force of impact strikes like a hammer blow, driving the air from his lungs and putting stars in his eyes.
and then there are teeth: sharp, vicious things that puncture his armour like it's nothing. digging into the meat of his shoulder. )
Fuck.
( his vision burns white at the edges as his nerves catch fire. it's not a fatal wound — not yet — but with the way it's snapping its head, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's a matter of minutes if not seconds before that changes.
turn the pain into power. an instructor's voice in the back of his mind, and it takes every ounce of desperate strength for him to lift his free hand, fist balled, and strike at the thing's head.
once.
twice.
a third time. striking at it like he'd cave its skull in given the change. because he would. he absolutely would. )
[ mavis reels — the pain rends her mind open, makes it easy for her to pull on the fraction of a memory. it's like slipping into being him for a moment. it's the worst part of the furor, really. the slipping sense that everyone else is leaking into her and she can't stop it.
the lynx's jaw releases, and mavis' head clears up a little as the blood pours out of her shoulder. it flinches back, getting out of the range of the kossian's blows. mavis takes advantage of his loosened grip. reaches up to smear her own blood across his helmet visor, obscuring his vision as she cracks his head back against the barrel beside them. ]
the lynx's jaw releases, and mavis' head clears up a little as the blood pours out of her shoulder. it flinches back, getting out of the range of the kossian's blows. mavis takes advantage of his loosened grip. reaches up to smear her own blood across his helmet visor, obscuring his vision as she cracks his head back against the barrel beside them. ]
( the world tilts. static blasting across his senses as his head cracks against the surface of whatever she drove him against. stone? wood? either is possible.
aristaeus clings to consciousness with a white-knuckled belligerence. the blood loss won't be enough to kill him. probably. but there's all kinds of factors to consider, including giant fucking cats.
so he gets his feet under him. awkward and ungainly for those first few seconds until his head clears — he'll pay for this later, of course, when the blowback hits, but right now the power is buzzing through his veins, blunting the worst of his pain. )
I don't want to hurt you.
( but he will if he has to. )
aristaeus clings to consciousness with a white-knuckled belligerence. the blood loss won't be enough to kill him. probably. but there's all kinds of factors to consider, including giant fucking cats.
so he gets his feet under him. awkward and ungainly for those first few seconds until his head clears — he'll pay for this later, of course, when the blowback hits, but right now the power is buzzing through his veins, blunting the worst of his pain. )
I don't want to hurt you.
( but he will if he has to. )
Edited 2022-03-14 00:53 (UTC)
Why not? You killed the rest of them.
[ she clutches a hand to her shoulder, drawing away from him. distance, first. she has to size him up. she has to keep distance between them because he's stronger than her, bigger than her.
but there's something there, blurring into her mind. ]
You — [ she feels light-headed. is it the blood loss or the cold realization? ] You came here for me.
[ she clutches a hand to her shoulder, drawing away from him. distance, first. she has to size him up. she has to keep distance between them because he's stronger than her, bigger than her.
but there's something there, blurring into her mind. ]
You — [ she feels light-headed. is it the blood loss or the cold realization? ] You came here for me.
( the answer is obvious enough without him having to say it. it's nothing short of a miracle that's kept her hidden this long. if he fails there'll be others sent in his place.
assuming she survives. )
Let me help you.
( how long can a little thing like her last with a wound that big and ugly? a few minutes at the most. less if she keeps moving like that. heart hammering against the cage of her ribs as she tries to put distance between them.
his fingers twitch. rotator cuff might be damaged but he has some function left. he could make her stop, if it came to it. pluck at her nerves until she did what he wanted, but the injury makes it too risky. imprecise. )
assuming she survives. )
Let me help you.
( how long can a little thing like her last with a wound that big and ugly? a few minutes at the most. less if she keeps moving like that. heart hammering against the cage of her ribs as she tries to put distance between them.
his fingers twitch. rotator cuff might be damaged but he has some function left. he could make her stop, if it came to it. pluck at her nerves until she did what he wanted, but the injury makes it too risky. imprecise. )
Help me?
[ quiet, as if she were considering it. but it's only disbelief. there's not an ounce of her that would ever go near him, willingly. he had done this. he was responsible. (she did this. she is responsible. she will reconcile these thoughts later, alone, when he is not so loud.)
the crackle of flames fills a silence between them just before she charges him with another yell. this time, she grabs a weapon from a strewn corpse on the way, a dagger pulled from the boot of a boy who she used to sit beside during clan meetings. did he remember her name? did he blame her when he died?
she strikes at the kossian with it — brings it from the side that his blood-smeared helmet visor will obscure his vision, maybe give her a little edge. ]
[ quiet, as if she were considering it. but it's only disbelief. there's not an ounce of her that would ever go near him, willingly. he had done this. he was responsible. (she did this. she is responsible. she will reconcile these thoughts later, alone, when he is not so loud.)
the crackle of flames fills a silence between them just before she charges him with another yell. this time, she grabs a weapon from a strewn corpse on the way, a dagger pulled from the boot of a boy who she used to sit beside during clan meetings. did he remember her name? did he blame her when he died?
she strikes at the kossian with it — brings it from the side that his blood-smeared helmet visor will obscure his vision, maybe give her a little edge. ]
( a blade scratches against his side, sliding off without catching.
got you.
he grabs her arm on the second strike, keeping it angled away from him. lifts his leg to kick at her side. )
You're going to die here. For what — them?
( disdain evident in his voice. his fingers are wrapped around her wrist, now. squeezing. )
They don't deserve your loyalty.
got you.
he grabs her arm on the second strike, keeping it angled away from him. lifts his leg to kick at her side. )
You're going to die here. For what — them?
( disdain evident in his voice. his fingers are wrapped around her wrist, now. squeezing. )
They don't deserve your loyalty.
[ the kossian's warped voice is every worst thought she's ever had, projected right into her amygdala. booming. mavis bares her teeth, as if snarling might help her hold tighter to the knife. but the muscle strains and the tendons seize. her grip is lost, and it clatters against the steel of his armor on its way down to the clay dirt between them.
she grips his wrist back, instead, twisting her body to throw him across her hip and into the ground. sinking to her knee to build more momentum into the throw. her shoulder screams, and she buckles with a grunt.
black spots in her vision, again. she can't keep this up. she reaches blindly for the knife, ready to clamber onto him with it so she can end this. ]
she grips his wrist back, instead, twisting her body to throw him across her hip and into the ground. sinking to her knee to build more momentum into the throw. her shoulder screams, and she buckles with a grunt.
black spots in her vision, again. she can't keep this up. she reaches blindly for the knife, ready to clamber onto him with it so she can end this. ]
( on the ground twice in an evening. that's got to be a new record. one he's not particularly proud of.
she's on him so fast he doesn't have a chance to muster much of a defence. senses still reeling from the jagged lance of pain that rocked through him at that secondary impact.
( it's going to scar cuts across his thoughts, disbelief mingling with anger. )
she gets a few strikes in — metal clicking against metal hard enough that he's surprised it's not throwing off sparks. but that's fine. it's fine. if she's distracted, she won't notice him trapping her foot with his leg. won't realize he's getting ready to sweep her right off him until the last possible moment. )
she's on him so fast he doesn't have a chance to muster much of a defence. senses still reeling from the jagged lance of pain that rocked through him at that secondary impact.
( it's going to scar cuts across his thoughts, disbelief mingling with anger. )
she gets a few strikes in — metal clicking against metal hard enough that he's surprised it's not throwing off sparks. but that's fine. it's fine. if she's distracted, she won't notice him trapping her foot with his leg. won't realize he's getting ready to sweep her right off him until the last possible moment. )
[ the steel glints off his armor like it's nothing. might as well be a mesquite twig. she grits her teeth. shouts, as if that could put more power behind it, could mute the pain in her shoulder.
it doesn't.
all it does is give her something useless to hold between them when he flips them over. she slides the knife up towards his neck, searching for soft tissue under his chin at the seam of his helmet in a panic, but she can't see properly, not with her vision black with pain as her shoulder hits the ground. ]
it doesn't.
all it does is give her something useless to hold between them when he flips them over. she slides the knife up towards his neck, searching for soft tissue under his chin at the seam of his helmet in a panic, but she can't see properly, not with her vision black with pain as her shoulder hits the ground. ]
( hands wrap around her throat, thumbs pressing against her windpipe.
he could kill her like this. it would be easy even if it wasn't quick or particularly clean. but it would be a waste, too. a waste of all that power he can feel pulsing beneath her skin. )
he could kill her like this. it would be easy even if it wasn't quick or particularly clean. but it would be a waste, too. a waste of all that power he can feel pulsing beneath her skin. )
( he counts down the seconds. watches as the fight drains from her, the knife slipping from her fingers to land in the sand. considers taking it but decides against it.
easing off his grip, he slips fingers against the pulse point in her neck. double-checking. senses more than feels the flutter of her heart, birdlike, at the contact. good. that's good.
gathering her into his arms and then getting to his feet is agonizing. the shoulder's almost certainly going to need to be checked over by an actual medic, but his thoughts are already shifting away from that and toward finding them somewhere to hole up until a shuttle can find them. )
easing off his grip, he slips fingers against the pulse point in her neck. double-checking. senses more than feels the flutter of her heart, birdlike, at the contact. good. that's good.
gathering her into his arms and then getting to his feet is agonizing. the shoulder's almost certainly going to need to be checked over by an actual medic, but his thoughts are already shifting away from that and toward finding them somewhere to hole up until a shuttle can find them. )
[ the cat has slunk off somewhere, in the way cats do. invisible despite its size, and without leaving a trace.
mavis doesn't stir for hours. apparently, the journey to the village in the first place had tired her out, if the pain had not done it. but when she does wake, the first thing she notices behind the dark of her eyelids is that the pain is gone. it hadn't stirred her.
the second thing she notices is the heat, and the daylight burning orange beyond her eyelids. she moves to raise a hand so she can shield her eyes as she groggily comes to. ]
mavis doesn't stir for hours. apparently, the journey to the village in the first place had tired her out, if the pain had not done it. but when she does wake, the first thing she notices behind the dark of her eyelids is that the pain is gone. it hadn't stirred her.
the second thing she notices is the heat, and the daylight burning orange beyond her eyelids. she moves to raise a hand so she can shield her eyes as she groggily comes to. ]
I wouldn't.
( a low, steady voice breaks the silence. human rather than the distorted crackle of the helmet.
it draws closer. then there's fingers ㅡ fabric rather than flesh ㅡ wrapping around her wrist, pulling her hand away from her eyes so he can properly access her. )
Colour's looking better. Still too pale, but less like a corpse.
( a low, steady voice breaks the silence. human rather than the distorted crackle of the helmet.
it draws closer. then there's fingers ㅡ fabric rather than flesh ㅡ wrapping around her wrist, pulling her hand away from her eyes so he can properly access her. )
Colour's looking better. Still too pale, but less like a corpse.
[ he comes into view. for a moment, she's disoriented. he looks like a child, face mostly clean, hair soft and short and slicked out of his face. his nose is too big and his brows too small. ]
Who —
[ her voice cracks. her lungs hurt. no, that's not right. the expanding of her chest with breaths big enough for speech make her shoulder ache. the lynx had bitten her.
but then the rest of him comes into view. the armor. she reaches up in a prompt effort to attack — fingers going for his face — but she can't reach and her limbs are weak and it leaves her dizzy. she groans. ]
Who —
[ her voice cracks. her lungs hurt. no, that's not right. the expanding of her chest with breaths big enough for speech make her shoulder ache. the lynx had bitten her.
but then the rest of him comes into view. the armor. she reaches up in a prompt effort to attack — fingers going for his face — but she can't reach and her limbs are weak and it leaves her dizzy. she groans. ]
What's your earliest memory?
( lightly curious. the sense of him close enough that she could almost reach out and touch should she desire, but of course that's just an illusion because he's not remotely near. )
( lightly curious. the sense of him close enough that she could almost reach out and touch should she desire, but of course that's just an illusion because he's not remotely near. )
Your cat tried to kill you — us. ( a quick correction. he looks to the side, briefly, almost as if expecting to see it looming large and ready for a second attempt but as far as he can tell it's been driven back.
still.
still.
he doesn't even seem particularly concerned by the fingers swiping at his face, batting them aside with the indifference of someone swatting at a fly. )
It very nearly succeeded in your case. I know gratitude is a stretch, but you should save your strength. Killing me won't be easy if you drop dead first.
still.
still.
he doesn't even seem particularly concerned by the fingers swiping at his face, batting them aside with the indifference of someone swatting at a fly. )
It very nearly succeeded in your case. I know gratitude is a stretch, but you should save your strength. Killing me won't be easy if you drop dead first.
It's not my cat.
[ her voice is a dry rasp. her throat feels terrible. her back feels worse. ]
What did you do to it?
[ hopefully it escaped. one of them deserves to. her hands fall back to her sides. they can't even blot out the sun overhead. did he neglect to find them a shelter? ]
[ her voice is a dry rasp. her throat feels terrible. her back feels worse. ]
What did you do to it?
[ hopefully it escaped. one of them deserves to. her hands fall back to her sides. they can't even blot out the sun overhead. did he neglect to find them a shelter? ]
Nothing yet.
( this can, and will, change should it return. the worst of his anger has been banked but there's still embers, poised to be kindled. the cat had best not show itself if it knows what's good for it. )
Aside from reminding it who was the bigger predator. ( he vanishes from sight for a moment. when he returns, it's with something in his hand — a flask. he settles down beside her, pulling her up. the cap is then set against his teeth, twisting. )
( this can, and will, change should it return. the worst of his anger has been banked but there's still embers, poised to be kindled. the cat had best not show itself if it knows what's good for it. )
Aside from reminding it who was the bigger predator. ( he vanishes from sight for a moment. when he returns, it's with something in his hand — a flask. he settles down beside her, pulling her up. the cap is then set against his teeth, twisting. )
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