[GRO] Rasali Panaka - Adult

[seekingCylem]

Nocturnal as she may have been, it took Rasali a tense second to register Kursha's presence in the shadows of the abandoned hive. She caught the faint reflective quality of Kursha's horns and eyes and she swiveled in his direction, crossing the threshold purposefully. His casual greeting did little to ease the heavy atmosphere.

It was the first Rasali had seen of Kursha since the attack on the old hideout. Even then, she had skipped the fight itself in favor of collecting the TPS devices from Aandes. Several times she'd thought she'd seen him through the crowd at Bloodfest. A strict dedication to both her persona and paranoia had kept her from investigating further.

Kursha looked the same as ever. The grin. The stance. It was unsettling, honestly. The scars were the only indication any time had passed. Luxara hadn't been exaggerating when she'd implied Kursha had been beat all to s**t. It only further drove the point that Kursha was not a troll who gave up. Period. Clearly not only his own mortality was going to be able to stop him.

The rifle weighed heavily in Rasali's hand. Somehow she doubted this thing alone would be enough to placate the troll before her.

And yet, she ignored him. Now aware of Kursha's presence, she turned her attention to Aandes. She had spent every second since discovering the note preparing herself for the worst. Aandes was a mess of mint green blood. Bruises shone blue beneath what little gray skin remained visible. Rasali steeled herself with a deep, audible breath that shook minutely at the edges. She said nothing. Judging by the size of the partially-dried smear of blood across the floor, Aandes hadn't been lethally wounded. One, solitary point in Kursha's favor. Perhaps all three of them would leave this cursed place alive.

Even with her greatest attempts to remain brave and unfettered, Rasali's face was set in a granite sneer. "You and your trades..." She muttered, barely audible through clenched teeth. She turned her attention back to Kursha in full and tossed the old rifle onto the floor. It clattered and slid to Kursha's feet.

Despite her harsh treatment at the moment, the gun appeared completely untouched since the night Rasali had taken it. If anything, it had been cleaned and purposefully maintained about as well as could be by someone with no firearms experience. It had been a trophy. Rasali was both embarrassed for how she'd so obviously treated the gun with care, and relieved that she hadn't given Kursha yet another reason to want to hurt her. The list was long enough as it was.

That said, Rasali knew better than to assume she knew the tally Kursha was keeping. It was a mistake she'd only make once. "What's the score," she asked in a tone that was absolutely not a question.  

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

As Rasali chucked the chucked the rifle towards him, Kursha's smile faltered. It clattered to his feet. Slipping one foot underneath, he flipped up the muzzle and caught it mid air by the barrel. As he searched it for blemishes, he could not help but notice how strange it felt strange in his hands again—alien even. The wooden stock was lighter than his current weapon, and the barrel shorter. Several scratches marked the metal where he had abused it in melee, and several more from when he had carelessly dropped it time and time again. They were indistinguishable from one another of course, but each scratch served as a pathway to another memory. Truly it was a relic a relic from his childhood.

He swallowed down bitter nostalgia.

“You're still behind,” Kursha replied. Rasali had treated the rifle with more care than he would have expected, but that changed nothing. She had committed a crime against him, and his brand of justice had no room for mercy.

“I might consider us even if you offer an apology though.” His grin widened. He set down the older rifle next to the other.  

[seekingCylem]

It would have been too much to expect a level of gratitude from Kursha--even of the blatantly insincere variety. Still, Rasali couldn't help feel the small twinge of petty offense that Kursha didn't have the decency to look anything other than slightly put-out by her return of the weapon.

The twinge grew into a full-blown tic. An apology. Of course he wanted an apology. Rasali had to admit she set herself up for that one. She reflexively snorted, but withdrew eye contact. She tossed her hair over her shoulder in a haughty move that was almost certainly a buy for time.

Rasali's eyes fell on Aandes once again in the process. He looked barely lucid. The sight would haunt her for sweeps to come. One of many. It hadn't been so long ago that Ganyma was in that same spot bleeding all over her floor. The coincidence was maddening. She was furious. She was humiliated.

More than anything, however, Rasali was afraid.

"..." Rasali had opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked Aandes in the face one more time and then spoke with an earnestness that surprised even herself.

"I'm sorry."

Rasali turned back to Kursha. It was the fastest she'd moved all night. Her fists clenched and Rasali was doing everything in her power to keep them from rising to her chest defensively.

"I'm sorry... I hit you with that snowball." The absurdity of the statement nearly drove Rasali to hysteria, but she held firm. "I... Should have apologized back then," before the butterfly effect sent her life off the rails into a government-sponsored pit of hellfire. Rasali grimaced with the care in which she was choosing her words.

"I'm sorry about that time I elbowed you in the ribs. I- I'm sorry I yelled at you in public! For throwing you! I'm sorry about all those other times I hit you! I'm sorry I took your ******** gun!"

Rasali was shaking. Her voice was shrill. This was her legacy, wasn't it? Petty one-upsmanship in a burned-out hive miles away from the waterlogged shantytown she'd been forced to call her home. And for what? Moral superiority? Look where that got her. Look where that got Aandes.

Rasali stared down Kursha. She was poised for any semblance of a reaction. A scoff, a laugh, anger--proof that he'd even heard her. Blinking would have dislodged the tears.  

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Arms crossed, Kursha watched as Rasali struggled, amused by her obvious frustration. He did not press her, but looked on patiently as she came to terms with the situation. Even as he waited for an answer that seemed inevitable however, he could not help but be surprised when the moment arrived.

"I'm sorry."

Kursha studied Rasali, searching for a shred of sarcasm in her voice or body language. He scrutinised her face, hoping to find some clue of falsehood in her expression. There was none. Naturally the situation was too dangerous for her to be anything but genuine, but he could not bring himself to believe it. No one apologised. And never to him. She had to be lying.

His gaze went from mirthful to stony. His smile fell into a flat line. He said nothing though, and silence persisted as Rasali finished. Impassive, Kursha contemplated her words and more. At last he shrugged. “That'll do,” It came out mild and indifferent, a sharp contrast to Rasali's hysteric tones.

Nonchalant, Kursha picked up the rifle from the wall, careful to keep the muzzle facing away from Rasali. He held it across his body, one hand on the stock, the other on the barrel. His posture suggested him to be at ease, but... Kursha's gaze darted to the right, to where Aandes lay. His finger was hooked around the trigger. He needed no more than half a second to aim.

“For a start.” The muzzled flashed, and there was a loud bang.

It was a blank after all.

Quote:

How Kursha Expects Aandes' Kidnapping To Go Down

 

[seekingCylem]

HP: 40/40
Military Weapon: +1 DMG
Trinkets:
1/1 Defensive Style B: Nullify damage from last hit.

Kursha had always been an agonizingly difficult read for Rasali. His change in demeanor from smug to... something else did little to quell Rasali's escalating panic. He at least had the decency to stop Rasali as she ran out of coherent words--saving both of them the embarrassment of listening to Rasali choke and blubber. Her mouth shut immediately and Rasali set about swallowing her tears. She didn't know if she'd done well enough. She needed to be calm. She needed to be prepared.

She wasn't.

Rasali saw Kursha pick up the gun. In that moment, her determination to maintain the peace crashed against her drive to protect. The hesitation was a hair's breadth too long. The barrel of the rifle flashed white and Rasali suddenly found herself on the other side of the room. Her vision was spotted from the light, but there was no mistaking the impact of bodies against the weathered wood paneling of the hive's remaining walls.

"--HOW DARE YOU!" Rasali's voice surfaced from behind the residual ringing of the shot. "CRUEL! SOULLESS! MONSTER!"

The breaking terror and grief strangled Rasali's ability to land a solid hit. It wasn't for lack of trying as she struggled against the awkward tangle she'd thrust the two of them into. She screamed. The warrior's heart Rasali had prided herself in had been replaced with that of a wounded animal.

Rasali does 3 damage!

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 17
Eagle Eyes: 2

Once again, Rasali surprised Kursha, crashing into him with speed he would have never imagined her capable of. His back slammed against the wall, the wood audibly giving way beneath Rasali's fury. At the same time he felt most his breath go out of him. Even so, he managed a rattling laugh. He had played her perfectly. Meanwhile her accusations struck him with little effect. Her fist did a little better.

Ducking under a swipe at his face, Kursha pressed his back into the wall for leverage. As they were now, she would pummel him. His rifle was trapped between them, without even enough room to swing as a melee weapon. Body low, he raised his knee to gouge Rasali's ribs and push her off.

[ Kursha does 0 damage. ]

 

[seekingCylem]

HP: 40/40
Military Weapon: +1 DMG
Trinkets:
1/1 Defensive Style B: Nullify damage from last hit.

Rasali grunted as she was forcibly separated from Kursha. By reflex, she latched onto the offending implement. Her fists wound tight over each end of the rifle.

"I'll kill you," she hissed, lungs burning, throat tight. Her fractured focus wasn't enough to wrench the gun away, but too much to drop it. "I tried being nice. I tried doing the right thing. I tried to play along." Her voice hitched in an unspoken "And this is where it got me." "Fine! You win! You win, Kursha! I concede! You sure bested me! And I'd tell it to the queen herself if I could!" She shook the gun for emphasis, shoving Kursha rather than trying to disarm him. "Maybe you were right all along! Maybe I am the bad guy! 'Cos all I have- all I want is make you SUFFER!"

What good had being "good" done for Rasali, anyway? What had it done for any of them? Look at where she was now. Look at Aandes. Ganyma. Byakko. Stryke.Luxara.ForeraAeronaCerpinTeviniVremeaOdette

Hell, even Kursha. What success of his could have been attributed to taking the metaphorical high road? Rasali wasn't even sure what the high road was anymore. Perhaps more startling to Rasali, she realized she no longer cared.

Rasali does 0 damage!

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 17
Eagle Eyes: 2

A rational person would have felt intimidated by Rasali's wrath, or at the very least recognised her words for the serious threat they were. So inflated with his own sense of self-worth and immortality however, Kursha barely even registered her anger as anything more than a tally point in his favour.

“That's a big ******** lie, and you know it,” Kursha rasped back. If she had tried to play nice neither of them would be standing in her dilapidated hive, fighting to kill one another. While Rasali continued in hysteric tones, Kursha focused his efforts on extracting the rifle from her grip. The enemy greenblood was stronger than he was though; he would exhaust himself first.

Without hesitating, Kursha kicked his foot up between Rasali's legs. Then, as soon as he had both feet on the ground again, he gave a sharp tug on the rifle and lined up an easy, non-lethal shot. He planned to plug as many bullets into Rasali as he could, before he considered them even. His finger squeezed the trigger.

“Bold words.” Kursha said over the fading sound of gunfire. He grinned. “How about you put your beetles where your ignorance tunnel is?”

[ Kursha does 5 damage. ]

Quote:

Bang, bang.

 

[seekingCylem]

HP: 35/40
Military Weapon: +1 DMG
Trinkets:
1/1 Defensive Style B: Nullify damage from last hit.

Kursha's kick connected. The shock dropped Rasali before she could even register the pain. It could be argued that she never did. The streaking burn of rifle fire quickly overwhelmed Rasali's senses. A chunk of Rasali's calf was rendered a spatter of green across the floorboards--one of many. Rasali howled.

For all the times Rasali had been on the receiving end of a bullet, the pain never got easier to deal with. A fitting weapon for Kursha Vidari. Rasali struggled to right herself, or at least kick the b*****d. The only response she got from her injured limb was spasms. Endorphins could only do so much.

Acting in a blind fury wasn't getting Rasali anywhere. Still, from her position on the filthy, busted floor, it was hard for Rasali to see many other options.

Rasali does 0 damage!

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 17
Eagle Eyes: 2

The heavy greenblood went down howling, and Kursha felt a small amount of satisfaction. It was short-lived however. Reeling from the pain, Rasali thrashed uselessly on the floor as blood pooled around her leg. Kursha scoffed and his smile fell. Throwing caution to the winds, he approached Rasali, closing the small distance he had earned.

When he stood almost directly over her, he lowered the muzzle of the rifle to beside her head. He pulled the trigger, and a cartridge buried itself in the floor several inches to the right of her horn. He spat. “Get up.”

[ Kursha does 0 damage. ]

 

[seekingCylem]

HP: 35/40
Military Weapon: +1 DMG
Trinkets:
1/1 Defensive Style B: Nullify damage from last hit.

Rasali's thrashing slowed as her mind caught up with her actions. Her limbs sagged as she seemingly channeled all of her energy into glaring up at Kursha. If not for her hateful expression, she would have almost looked relaxed.

"Why should I," Rasali bit, more petulant than questioning. Her bleeding leg was an enormous problem, but her emotional exhaustion struck her worse. Aandes had likely bled out by then, if he hadn't been killed on impact. She had been right there. It wasn't as though she was in any position to try and save face, but her labored breaths of exertion masked a sob regardless. She leaned her head back against the floor to further ignore Kursha's order. Unblinkingly, but with heavy lids, she continued to stare Kursha in the face. It wasn't like she had anything else in her world at that moment.

Rasali does 0 damage!

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 17
Eagle Eyes: 2

The muscles in Kursha's face tightened at Rasali's impudence. Underestimated as usual. His smile returned with forced cheer. No sooner had Rasali finished speaking than two more shots fired in quick succession on either side of her head. His spongeclots rang from the sudden gunfire. He could not imagine how Rasali's felt.

“Uh... 'Cause otherwise I'll kill you?” Kursha drawled, mocking. As he stared back into the prone greenblood's face however, a thought occurred to him. Suppose Rasali had already given up? His grip tightened slightly around the rifle, and he leaned down towards her. “But if that doesn't bother you, I could make you look like your boyfriend over there first. Call it a matching set.”

[ Kursha does 0 damage. ]

 

[seekingCylem]

HP: 35/40
Military Weapon: +1 DMG
Trinkets:
1/1 Defensive Style B: Nullify damage from last hit.

The pride Rasali felt at successfully annoying Kursha wasn't enough to break the tepid expression on her face. The multiple shots fired into the floor did. She jolted and winced, but kept herself from pressing her hands to her ears. Her glare refocused amidst the painful ringing. "What?" Even in her predicament, she couldn't help herself.

She quickly sidestepped her bitter joke. "Why ******** don't you? You've made it pretty obvious I'm never not gonna be in need of some kind of righteous punishment. You think I can change? Think you can 'reform' me? My own personal Forest Hunt?"

Rasali had intended to mock Kursha's hero complex, but only succeeded in pissing herself off further. This troll had the gall to act like he had a benevolent bone in his body. As far as she was concerned, Kursha was just a kid frying ants with a magnifying glass.

Without thinking, Rasali struck out with her good leg, snapping against Kursha's ankles.

Rasali does 4 damage!

 

[Sypon]

Aandes phased back into consciousness. From his vantage point on the ground, he could clearly make out the grey and green blob of Rasali Panaka turned away from him, prone. Get up, Rasali. His eyes crusted shut. It felt like he had to manually reopen them, will himself to see. The blank cartridge. A shot of electricity burned through Aandes’ chest – his arms immediately reached forward and he winced, slowing. Still bound, still sliced through. With a subtle roll, the captive greenblood shifted. Palmed the bullet, relaxed against the floor. If anything, this was something he could do. For himself, for Rasali.

--

He looked up at an opportune moment and snarled. With the pain knotting in his chest from his own predicament, as well as seeing his kismesis ripped to shreds, he seethed. He had to focus his fire. Twisting away caused Aandes to hiss with the pain of his restrained ********! ******** both of you! Why did you even – why did you even bother coming for me?” He pulled his wrists under him, trying weakly to rise but looking as though he was just curling up. Aandes thrashed his fists against the ground. “You’re dead to me. Dead, Rasali!” Aandes was screaming. “Look at me! You idiot, you stupid needy b***h—“ Aandes’ howling trailed off as he scrabbled against the floor, raw and bloodied limbs akimbo. “I don’t hate you… Not any more. Get the ******** picture. You’re nothing.”  

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 13
Eagle Eyes: 2

A bullet through the leg would usually be enough to stop any troll's mouth. Not Rasali Panaka though. Just like back at the coliseum, it seemed she possessed a wit that would not quit. If he were not so sure it would kill her, he would shoot her tongue out.

Worse than her mockery however, was her reluctance to fight. Still prone on the ground, Rasali posed an easy target. Kursha could have taken her head several times over, but still she refused to engage him. That filled Kursha with more fury than anything else Rasali had thrown at him. Another layer to the story unfurled. It was not about duty, it was vengeance. It was not about vengeance, it was justice. It was not about justice, it was the only thing that ever held any value in life.

Winning.

Kursha could only win if Rasali played his game and by his rules. He could not shoot her if she refused to even be his opponent. A victory won by default was no victory at all. His grip tightened around the rifle, as his smile transformed into a snarl. Unbeknownst to him, his body had begun to shake with rage. He risked everything, his status, his life, his soul, but she could not be bothered. He had not come this far just for her to bow out and call it quits partway through!

He shivered. Fine. She needed a reason to hate him? He would give her a reason to hate him.

“No. But I do think I can make you show me where the rest of the Phoenix Initiative is hiding, so I can finish what I started,” Kursha spat. “And I'll make sure that you're personally present for the culling of every friend, every rebel, every wigg...”

A sudden shout from across the room stopped the greenblood mid-sentence. His eyes darted away from Rasali. A mistake. He felt more than heard a painful snap from his ankles, and fell to the floor.

Sypon

The rest is on...

seekingCylem

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