[GRO]Kursha Vidari - Adult

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 14/40
Military Weapon: You have been disarmed!
Trinkets: You can't use that right now!
Eagle Eyes: 1/3

Kursha did not think much on the quiet following the psionic assault. Had he bothered to look, he might have glimpsed a half a dozen slumped figures scattered throughout the forest canopy. Instead he concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other. Just keeping himself upright seemed to use all his focus. Black fuzzed in the corners of his vision. He passed by a cluster of ferns, oblivious to a troll sprawled motionless behind the fronds, neck bent at a sharp right angle.

He found more pitfalls staggered through the undergrowth. He learnt to avoid the gaps between trees, especially where he could not see the dirt. It made the journey slower, climbing over the roots, but he had already lost any advantage in speed. Even then, with all his caution, he almost teetered into another trap. He felt the ground give midstep, and then it dropped out from beneath him. It was only thanks to a low hanging tree branch that he managed to avoid falling in all together.

The silence pressed on for what felt like hours. The terrain continued to change around him, easing into a downward slope, with the brush growing in greater density. At last it seemed like he had left most of the traps and his hunters behind. He stayed close to the trees, stopping every so often to lean against one and clear his head. Darkness kept creeping into his eyesight. He estimated he still had a while yet before he bled out, but the strain on his leg was taking its toll. Each step was murder.

A humming of insects filled the air. Kursha did not notice at first, too absorbed in his destination. It was not until a noisy mosquito landed on his shoulder that he realised. He shook himself to attention, listening. From not far off he could hear the gentle babble of running water. Water. Somehow that was important. His mind slogged through its significance. Something about it excited him. What was it? Water, a stream, a creek, running down the mountainside... where did they all go…?

His mind snapped back like a rubber band. The lake. He could follow the water back to the lake. Swatting aside the insects that had gathered around his wounds, Kursha set off in the direction of the creek with fresh vigor. The pain in his leg seemed dull compared to before, and he hardly felt his other injuries.

Up ahead, Kursha saw a gap in the undergrowth. He increased his pace, wincing every time his right foot touched down, but soldiering through it. Suddenly, something snagged around his ankle. He pitched forward. The ground flew up to meet him, and he tumbled down a short hill, landing with a splash. Cold water doused his back and clothes. He sat up in a hurry, water dripping from his hair. He barely heard the shot, when a jet of water went up beside him.

[ Kursha runs 6 units of measurement away. ]

 

[amicableAggressor]

The officer peddling the small, troll-powered passenger vehicle through the woods was careful to avoid pointing out or driving over any sprawled drones - concussed or more permanently out of action alike. It was a peaceful enough journey, and the sound of distant gunfire made both Regina and her driver perk up slightly.

"I bet I know who that is, your majesty."

Regina gave the troll a quizzical look. How could you identify a troll from a gunshot, if there wasn't a scream at the end?

"That'll be the Rhymeo brigade. A crack squadron of sharpshooters, who are so in sync with each other that they could easily take - they ... ah ... "

Ducking their head down, the troll peddled in silence for a bit, before the empress broke it, her tone cheery, perky, and full of curiosity.

"That was them that we just passed wasn't it? Lying in the bushes? With the weird hairdos?"

"Er, yes."

"Then it was probably some other super elite task force that found him then. One of the dozens that for some reason ended up becoming drones."

"That um, that sounds very likely. Oh almighty empress."

Forest remaining: 9/40 square grubmeters
Damage done by troops: 4 hp

Greeeeeen Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 10/40
Military Weapon: You have been disarmed!
Trinkets: You can't use that right now!
Eagle Eyes: 1/3

“s**t, s**t, s**t...!”

Kursha flailed around in the creek bed, trying to find purchase against the slippery and uneven rocks. In his peripheral vision, he spotted the muzzle of the rifle partway submerged under water. He lunged towards it and landed with a heavy splash back in the creek. A dozen rocks cut at his hands, arms and legs. His fingers curled around the barrel. He rolled, anticipating another shot. A geyser of water shot up beside him.

Nearer to the bank, he scrambled to his feet. His eyes raced over the treeline. Without his even thinking, the pupils shifted into crosshairs. A bright spot glimmered between the foliage. The rifle flew to his shoulder, and the crack of gunfire sounded in almost the same instant.

It landed a few centimetres shy of its target.

Kursha started to buckle, the recoil biting into his injured shoulder like a bullet. Instead, he corrected his aim and shot again. There was a crash from the woods across the stream of something falling through the undergrowth. One left.

[ Kursha runs 7 units of measurement away. ]

 

[amicableAggressor]

It had taken a fair amount of Regina's self control to not force her driver to go towards the gunshots, rather than past them. But she had kept her eyes on the road, still frowning. It was looking more and more like he'd win. Of course sending him up against the mouthbreathers of her military had skewed the balance towards him from the start, but she had attempted to make things more even by padding their numbers.

Of course, it really didn't matter. The end of the line wasn't clearing the forest, or winning the hunt. It was, maybe, gaining her trust back? No, she hadn't ever trusted him, not from the start. You couldn't afford to trust people. Her cynical core had expected this outcome from the start. Maybe she just wanted him to bleed until he regretted crossing her.

Either way, the final hurdle would be somehow proving to her that he was worth keeping around, despite everything. And she still didn't know exactly how he could possibly do that, even at this point. Death or captainhood ... she had implied they were the outcomes of the hunt, but in the end, it would be her decision. All this was just stalling for time while she thought.

Forest remaining: 2/40 square grubmeters
Damage done by troops: 0 hp

Green Minuet

o

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 10/40
Military Weapon: You have been disarmed!
Trinkets: You can't use that right now!
Eagle Eyes: 1/3

Even as the shooter toppled from the branches, Kursha heard the whistle of something zipping past his right spongeclot. He ducked instinctively. A second later, he felt the warm sensation of blood seeping down his leg, from where a fresh crossbow bolt lodged itself in his thigh. He turned towards the opposite shore, scrambling for the treeline. More shots followed behind him. He stumbled, sliding into the mud. His fingers clawed at thick gobs of earth.

Flipping himself onto his back, he glanced back the direction he had come. In the forest twilight, shapes emerged from beneath the trees. He clutched at the rifle against his chest, considering the best target. His eyes flickered from enemy to enemy. Then, with a snarl, he tore away from the ground and vanished into the trees, rifle in hand.

[ Kursha is prone. ]

 

[Green Minuet]

[+] Kursha Vidari

Health: 10/40
Military Weapon: You have been disarmed!
Trinkets: You can't use that right now!
Eagle Eyes: 1/3

It seemed darker now than when he first started. Had he been evading his judgement for that long? Or had he wandered even deeper into the forest, where even moonlight struggled to reach? He shook his head to disperse the mist shrouding his thoughts.

The steps in front of him dimmed in and out of focus. Colours alternated between vibrance and quiet whispers. The puddles of blood he left behind him glowed like a beacons in the shade. His weakened fortitude hungered for self-reflection, some sort of lesson or meaning or inspiration to take away from it all, but the drive to survive snuffed out any sentimental musings. He balanced the last reserves of his energy as on the very tip of a knife, homing in on its point of delivery.

The rifle felt strangely light in his hands; the single bullet it carried felt heavier.

The ground levelled out. The trees grew thinner, making way to patches of moonlight to filter through to the verdant forest floor. Up ahead, sky. A horizon.

There was a snap and a hiss, as the undergrowth came to life and seized him. A flock of birds took to the air en mass, cawing. Dead leaves rained down to the forest floor, while Kursha gently swung overhead. The net pinned his legs uncomfortably against his chest. Somehow, he had maintained his grip on the rifle. Fighting to find a less vulnerable position, he shimmied his back up a little higher in the net and angled the rifle out between his knees.

“Damn.”

[ Kursha runs 4 units of measurement away and stops. ]

 

[amicableAggressor]

The net swung gently back and forth for a few minutes, eventually halting its sway back and forth. Gravity, etcetera. Then there was the sound of someone moving around behind a tree, a twig snapping, and then the louder sound of the rope itself being cut. Gravity, etcetera.

Stepping over to the bundle, Regina deliberately sheathed her rapier as she approached. As always, the mood was nonchalant, though she did walk slightly slower than usual. She wasn't aching to carve a bullet out of herself tonight, if it was possible to avoid. "So close, huh? If you got in fights less often, maybe you'd be able to stand more blood loss when it really counts. You still awake there, Vidari?"

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Kursha Vidari

With a crash the greenblood landed on the forest floor in a jumble of limbs, gun, and net. He spent a few seconds attempting to disentangle himself, before he heard the crunching of foot steps accompanied by a distinctive metallic jangle. His blood pusher jumped into his throat. Shifting upright, he pulled the net away from his eyes to see Regina striding towards him.

“I'd say it's given me plenty of practice,” he retorted. He rose to his feet and stood as much as the net would allow. His fingers scraped the ground for the rifle, and closed around the barrel. The safety was still in place. His thumb brushed up against it. “So, to what do I owe this honour?”  

[amicableAggressor]

"You're kidding right?" Regina continued to amble closer. "I've invested more in you than any other troll, Vidari. This is my responsibility. I gotta see it through to the end." Stopping ten paces away, the empress took a moment to stare down at the rifle, then look up at Kursha again. He had gotten a lot taller then when they first met, she noted to herself. "So. You lost the hunt. After all this - I gotta know - is there anything you regret having done?"

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Kursha Vidari

It stung.

Regina stood before him like the ghost of his past. Her face, her words carried the judgement of those he had failed before, judgement that had never struck any further than skin deep. Yet no one had ever put as much faith in him as she had. He felt the weight of his recklessness more keenly than the pain from his bleeding wounds.

And she had the nerve to ask him about regret?

He clenched his fists. The barrel of the gun felt hot in his hands. She stood close enough that he would not miss. “I regret...” Everything. Nothing. None of it mattered. Regina held his life at sword point. He could keep his dignity and face death, unrepentant and resolute. He could swallow his blood pusher and live out his last moments unchanged. A sarcastic reply hinged on the tip of his tongue. But that would be just one more regret.

He had one bullet left.

“I regret a lot of s**t,” Kursha said, shrugging away the last of the net. He lowered the rifle and left it on the ground. “But I don't regret working for you. Even if it has to end like this.”

amicableAggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

There was a pause, that stretched out for a moment further. "Aw .. shucks ..... ha! That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, you old charmer!" Turning her head slightly to the side, Regina coughed to hide the faint tint to her cheeks. Straightening up again, she pointed a finger at Kursha, face and voice back to normal, any hint of embarrassment gone.

"Stop making it so hard for me to play games, Vidari! Now I gotta cut your agony short and finish this! Kursha Vidari, you are now .... " Whipping her finger up, she mimicked the sound of a gunshot. "Dead! Bang! Rest in pieces Lieutenant Vidari. And hello, nice to meet you Captain Vidari." Closing the ten steps between them, she reached a hand out, this time fingers not in an accusatory point but splayed open in a hand to shake in greeting.

Green Minuet

 

[Green Minuet]

Kursha Vidari

Sometimes, keeping pace with Regina could be difficult. This proved to be one of those times.

Aching, bleeding, waiting for death, Kursha could not help but stare uncomprehending as the empress mimed a gun at his chest and pretended to fire. He could not help but continue to stare for several seconds afterwards, taking in Regina's words with the same vacant expression. He might have died from the shock, were it not for the sound of his ragged breathing. The severe whiplash was without a doubt the evening's most debilitating trauma.

Wordlessly, the greenblood took Regina's hand. As his fingers closed around hers, realisation settled in. The pieces clicked into place at last.

“Oh, god damn it.”

He'd been played.

amicableAggressor