[BATT] A Kid That I Once Knew [Kolako & Nictor]

[Taki-di]

In the depths of the woods, where the stars cannot shine, there wonders a fool, in search of a beast he never thought he'd find.  

[Taki-di]

The sky was always taken for granted.

The skies of Alternia were exceptionally beautiful. During the day, few and far between could see the fireball sun shining unmatched against a vibrant sky with clouds danging through the upper atmosphere, lit white against a blue backdrop. It was magnificent and impossible and only a few very unique trolls would ever see it. Only fools wondered out in the day, the threat of blinding light and ferocious daywalkers keeping trolls hidden away.

During the night, when trolls crawled out of their hovels, they were treated to twin moons, colored deep green and vibrant purple, hovering in the sky above. In the city, the stars faded, but far away from the light pollution, the sky came alive. Deep deep blue black spattered with flecks of white, glittering like gems, scattered like freckles and beauty marks across the skin of space. The night sky ensconced the planet, cradling is close and looking down with millions of pinprick bright eyes. Mysterious and wondrous and untouchable.

While the vastness of the sky, the gaping maw of darkness reaching out forever, could be terrifying, so too was the lack of it. There was something unsettling, having the sky cut off from you. To go from infinite openness turned into an enclosed isolation. Things were to closed and too close. The gentle light of the stars and moons was cut off, plunging you into shadow.

Glancing up, Nictor could only just see small snippets of the stars between the canopy of four Fronds, small snippets of the sky light punching through the which tree cover. the moonlight was lessening by the step though as the yellowblood ventured deeper and deeper into the woods. clutched tight between nervous fingers was a paper wrapped package, a small yellow ribbon tied around the object.

It was after Saint Perigee's at this point, and quite so. Nictor hadn't expected it would take so long to put the gift together, but even after the holiday had passed, he was determined to finish it. He wanted to deliver this in person though. He hoped Kolako like it.

He paused in his trek, a small bloom of warmth in his chest giving him pause. Kolako. His first friend. The first troll that made him even consider that he could be friends with someone. Meeting that other redblood, Fellah, during his Saint Perigee shopping trip had been nice. It had brought a faint emptiness to Nictor afterwards though. It was absurd and strange but Nictor actually wanted to go out and see another troll now. The short but amiable interaction with Fellah had dredged up the tentative happiness Nictor had felt when he finally called Kolako his friend. He hadn't seen Kolako in a while now, but he had kept the redblood in this thoughts. He hoped she'd been doing well.

He hoped she still wanted to be friends.

Shaking the thought off, Nictor kept walking forward. The pitch black shadows that danced around him and shifted with the wind made him nervous. The whole affair was making him nervous. Bee wasn't around right now, having to go out and collect pollen, having only dropped Nictor off and expecting to pick him up in a few hours. Being alone like this was an uncomfortable feeling. He had clung close to the comfort Bee provided all his life. He'd always had Bee there when trying something unfamiliar or new, always hovering close by as he explored. Now, he was walking alone in the woods, with nothing to hold back his anxieties.

Nature was full of predators, and that's why all lusi knew how to fight. They had a duty to protect their young. Trolls were typically competitive and violent, but it gave them safe passage in a way. They could defend themselves. And as much as Nictor hated it, he needed to be able to defend himself too. He and Bee had been working on it, with debatable progress, but Nictor was getting used to carrying his collapsible bo staff in his pocket and wearing arm guards under his hoodie sleeves. Bee insisted and fretted and worried, and so precautions were taken. Nictor wasn't particularly trained in how to use the staff, but it did make him feel a bit better about possibly running into a predator out here.

Except carrying the weapon in and of itself unsettled him. He didn't want to hit and hurt and he hated that he had to learn to.

Bah, this wasn't the time for such thoughts, even if the woods were dark and dangerous and unfamiliar. He was here to deliver a package and see a friend, it was supposed to be a good trip, dang it! With that resolution in mind, Nictor breathed deep and trudged on, hugging the gift close.

As he walked, he fought with his own thoughts, trying to keep a positive outlook in the hopes that would ensure this as a good trip, but it was hard. He was used to the nerves of danger, he was almost always worried about something trying to hurt him, but there was a new edge, a new sharpness to it. He was on his own. No one to protect him now. It would be fine, he insisted to himself. He'd be fine. If something happened, he could just book it to Kolako's house. If redblood was around, she'd surely help him.

...but what if Kolako wasn't there? The thought made him stumble to a stand still. What if she wasn't home and he got attacked and there was no one to help him? Well, he could certainly run fast, he had plenty of experience in that. what about his delivery though?

Nictor bit his lip and picked up his pace.

Only to come to a stumbling halt again.

It wasn't quite a clearing he'd stopped in, but the bushes and underbrush were all trampled, grass torn up and dirt flung everywhere. Obvious signs of struggle. If you somehow didn't catch on from the torn up environment though, there was something else to tip you off. Blood. Blood everywhere. Smeared across the forest floor in great puddles, some thicker and more clumped, like they'd been spit up where others looked like it had gently soaked out of something and stained the ground. The blood was dark in the shaded forest, a dark dark red, almost black, dried as it was. But thee, mockingly, moonlight filtered through the trees to highlight the worst of it.
There was so much blood, spattered on tree trunks, the contrast from the lavender color difficult to ignore. Lilac leaves coated in dark red and brown, dried and crusted from age. The smell lingered, sickening and acrid, with the hint of sweet rot that came with dead organic matter.

Nictor thought he might be sick.

He stood thee, dazed and disturbed by the sight. What had happened here? Well, it was obvious what happened here. There was a fight, a very one sided fight where someone bled and bled and bled while they thrashed and fought the creeping cold of death. The body was gone, eaten most likely, dragged away by the victor.

All that was left was the blood. The dark dried red blood.

The dark red that was no doubt lighted before it dried. Probably a brownish red.

Nictor stumbled away from the clearing for a moment, covering his mouth and eyes watering. He breathed deep, trying to clear his lungs and closed his eyes tight. It's okay, it's okay. It's okay except there was something monstrous in these woods that had done that. but the smell wasn't lessening and the color, the color wouldn't leave his mind's eye. These woods weren't safe, not if something nearby had done that. He needed to find Kolako and make sure she knew...

Make sure she knew that there was a battlefield on the way to her hive with dark red blood staining every surface in sight. Dark red. Like the redblood. Red like Kolako.

It took a few moment for the connection to click, but when it did, the wrapped package slipped from his fingers. He stared numbly at the bundle as it hit the ground. Slowly, painstakingly, Nictor's head turned to stare where he could see the gruesome scene peeking through the trees, not far from where he stood.

Dark red blood like like the redblood.

Stumbling back into the clearing, Nictor frantically took in the sight again. There was so much blood, too much, and it was everywhere. His lips were curling back, his eyes were burning, and his throat felt like it was being crushed.

No. No no no. not Kolako. Not that wonderful and wild and alive little girl that gave him flowers because she saw him look at them longingly across a room. Not the bouncy little redblood that pulled him from the maw of a flesh devouring plant in the midst of this very forest.

Not his friend, his first friend, not Kolako.

Nictor wasn't sure what happened from one moment to the next but he was running now, though his gait resembled a drunken stumble as he crashed through bushes and nearly ran into trees. The blood led beyond the torn up clearing, deeper into the woods, on the same path he'd been walking, leading towards the destination he'd been heading for. His breathing was ragged, forcing air in and out at an unsteady pace. He couldn't see clearly, just blurs of dark red, black, and burning light purple, muddied by tears starting to leak out. his hands felt numb and he could barely hear the racket he was making, the sound of his own blood rushing too great in his ears.

He didn't want it to be Kolako's blood, didn't want her to have been bled dry while she fought and kicked and struggled for her life but what else was she supposed to think? The color was too close for it not to be. It couldn't be but it had to be and Nictor choked on a sob because he knew he'd find her hive cold and empty and he long gone.

Not Kolako, please not Kolako but it was, it was it was he knew it was and it took everything in him to keep moving, run faster, because all he wanted to do was collapse on the forest floor and stay there. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, but he had to keep moving, he had to know, he had to see it for himself because someone so bright couldn't possibly be dead.

quite uneventful

...wow that's longer than i thought it'd be > ->

 

[quite uneventful]

Quote:

Kolako dealt 2 damage.

Kolako was hunting.

She'd avoided traveling outside of the forest recently. She'd avoided anything near the border, anything near the resort, anything... troll. Kolako clenched her teeth. She should've never trusted another troll. Should've never left the forest, just as Papion said. They were dangerous. They were deadly, and Kolako wasn't going to let them into her pumpbiscuit anymore. If they were going to treat her lusus like this, if they were going to hurt her, then all her beliefs were wrong. She knew trolls that were good, but they were going to betray her, just like Chiara. She'd smiled at her once, hadn't she? She'd patted her head, treated her good. Who knew which troll was next to attack her? Which so called friend was targeting her? She sunk her hand into Papion's fur and pet him softly. He was sleeping, thankfully not loosing any more blood. She just didn't know of any herbs that could help.

The sound of stumbling footsteps made her tense immediately. She'd just finished changing one of her lusi's wounds when the sound of tense breathing and the rustling woods reached her sound nodes. Kolako looked up, checking her lusus before her eyes hardened. I'll keep you safe. She thought, leaping into the nearest tree and focusing on the sound. Another snap. Kolako darted in that direction.

Her eyes scanned the area, focusing on a stumbling, hulking figure, seemingly distraught. She narrowed her eyes. A yellowblood, lowblood like her. She didn't recognize whoever they were from afar. More food for Papion. She crouched, standing deathly still. He was a fumbling figure, clumsy, easy to topple.

She lunged.

Kolako slammed the troll to the ground, not registering the face, making him fall face first to the ground. She pressed her spear to the back of their neck, pinning the large body down. "What business do you have here." She demanded dangerously, eyes sharp, untrusting. She wasn't registering, simply working on auto-pilot.

HP: 20
Animal Control Defensive Style B: 1/1
Adept Artifact Agility Style A: 2/2

Taki-di

sorry child

 

[Taki-di]

HP: 18/20
Damage: 1+1=2
Trinkets/Artifacts: Military Grade Weapon (2d6 + 1)
Adept Artifact Defense A (style A -3 damage taken, 4x per battle) 4/4

There was nothing beyond the blur of cool colors and the occasional smears of red. The was no sound but the rush of blood and the pounding of his own heart. Panic accompanied by a dreadful acceptance that his friend was dead and he had to see it for himself even if he didn't want to.

There was a single repeating track running in his head and the mantra chanted 'dead dead dead,' sounding like the wet cough of blood filled lungs and dull like the blank dead eyes of a corpse. Just like Kolako was sure to be inside her home and no no no.

Nictor hadn't had anyone he was close to die before. It had just been him and Beehemoth and both were alive despite any scares. But he could remember that desperate deadly horror when rocks had trapped Bee down in those caves, the imminent death of his lusus weighing on his chest and threatening to drown him with his buzzbeast. That feeling, that feeling that made you feel like you were dying too because a part of you was slipping away and you couldn't do anything to stop it because that part of you was the the person dying and there was nothing you could do to change it.

Another sob ripped from him, felt like someone had reached down his throat, grabbed hold of both his lungs and pulled a the same time. It hurt and it wasn't going to stop hurting ever.

The shift from being upright and moving to flat on the ground and utterly still was abrupt and took a moment to register. His entire front ached from the hard impact that was slow to register beyond a haze of panic, but the touch of something to the back of his neck got a reaction. Something, something was on him and it was not nice and it spoke, but he couldn't find it in him to understand the words. It was a troll though and they probably killed Kolako and now they had him-

It was desperate and clumsy and poorly executed, but he did it anyway. Instead of responding with speech, he keened in terror and fumbled his bo staff from his belt, clicking the release and it extended as he awkwardly rolled and swung, getting a slice on his neck from whatever the troll had for his trouble.

He heaved and sputtered and scrambled away until his back hit a tree, holding the staff in front of him like a shield but he knew it'd do him little good.

Whoever it was was dangerous and could have been the one to hurt Kolako and his chest and throat seized at the thought, another desperate sob escaping as he tried to make out whoever was in front of him through the dirt and tears. He swiped at his face with one hand, trying to clear his vision.  

[quite uneventful]

Quote:

Kolako dealt 2 damage.

There'd been a wail and Kolako tensed further, feeling something in her shrivel at the sound of a creature in terror or peril. But didn't care. Something in her felt empty, but then again, hadn't she always felt this way? She'd been shoved away and hit by an extended staff, startled but unwavering. She grabbed a rock, aimed, and threw it at the figure, eyes narrowed, walls up. She looked at her weapon, yellow dripping from its sharp edge as another sob fell onto her ears. W-wait... Kolako felt her palms begin to sweat.

The yellow looked familiar.

The brownblood swallowed tightly, looking up to see a familiar yellowblood crying and wiping at his dirty face. Kolako's mouth twitched. "N-Nictor." She hissed, mouth struggling as her eyes stayed hard and empty. "Nictor, why are you here." She seemed frustrated, irritated, like the thought of someone she knew coming to the forest hadn't crossed her mind just yet. She'd been focusing on those she hadn't known, sacrificing them to her dear lusus who'd been so wrecked he'd needed help to chew his food. She'd needed to break everything down for him. It was hard. It'd always be hard. She needed to protect him. From everyone, even those she'd used to call friends. "What do you want?" She sounded tired, empty, exhausted. She didn't know what to do. "If you don't leave right now, I'm going to keep attacking." She hissed, wanting to wallow in her loneliness and deal with things by stuffing them deep inside herself and ignoring the world.

HP: 20 - 2 = 18
Animal Control Defensive Style B: 1/1
Adept Artifact Agility Style A: 2/2

Taki-di

sweet nictor *edited for dmg

 

[Taki-di]

HP: 16/20
Damage: 1+-=1
Trinkets/Artifacts: Military Grade Weapon (2d6 + 1)
Adept Artifact Defense A (style A -3 damage taken, 4x per battle) 4/4

Any progress with clearing his vision was cut short when a rock bit into his eyebrow before bouncing off. Nictor yelped, hands immediately moving to clap over the injury that while minor, immediately began to weep blood. Unfortunately, one hand was also holding a bo staff in a panic induced iron grip and he smacked it off his own head eliciting another sharp yelp as he yanked his right hand away. He'd drop the damnable thing if his fingers were more agreeable, but as it was, he now had the top of his head smarting and a trickle of blood trying to escape as his left palm pressed hard over his right brow.

His arm obscured his right eye, but his left was left to still peer fearfully at his attacker.

His attacker that knew his name.

The stress and panic still clogged his throat and shook his hands, but his vision had focused enough for him to parse the figure he was seeing. Curly curly hair bound with beads, bright and colorful, adorning wrists and neck as well. Freckles painting cheeks and big eyes framed with the same bright hues as the beads. Portly but pointed horns crowned a brownish red fringe hanging high on the forehead, completing a tragically familiar picture.

The pressure on his chest didn't alleviate despite the relief he should have been afforded. Even without looking at the blatant symbol on her chest, Nictor knew who it was but this couldn't be real. It couldn't be her could it? Was he just seeing things in his desperation for her to be alive? Would that be better than the alternative? Because if it was her, that meant that she had attacked him.

He opened his mouth to speak, maybe, but instead sobbed again, breath hitching and shaking as tears obscured the picture he saw. Was it Kolako,
was it not? It was, but she was dead, He thought she was dead.

"K-k-k---" He tried to speak, but his words were hard to find. Hard to speak past the tightness in his throat and the mess of emotions churning a gross heat in his guts. Nictor didn't even realize he'd ceased thinking of escaping, sidetracked with addressing what might be his friend instead. Except she was saying things that didn't make sense but the tone certainly didn't sound nice. That didn't sound like the Kolako he knew. Kolako had been nice and welcoming and unbothered by his awkward pauses and patterns. This voice was tired and aloof, an uncloseable distance settling between them at her words. What kind of question was that? He wanted to give his friend a gift,
he wanted to be somewhere safe, he wanted her alive and well and if this was her then she was alive but he didn't think she was quite well.

And if this was Kolako, then that means that his friend had attacked him.

Ah. Maybe that realization would explain the twisting in his stomach, the shaking of his hands and breath, the stress not abating but instead shifting into something more personal.

Why would she- what was this.

Nictor was desperate and confused and scared and- and he just wanted to give his friend a gift but then she was dead but now shes alive and threatening him.

Dazed and still quietly whining, Nictor pulled his left hand away from his head to look at the yellow smear there. His blood. This figure attacked him and made him bleed. This figure was Kolako, maybe. Probably. She knew his name and had her symbol but if this was Kolako that would mean that his friend had attacked him.

That. No. No, no, it couldn't be? But it was.

"I-i-i d-d-do----n't, uhh," Nictor fumbled, face crumpled in confusion, the cut on his brow starting to sluggishly bleed down toward his eyes, one shaky hand held in front of him, the other tucked close, unable to relinquish its hold on his staff. "K-k-Kolako, d-d-did y----ou, ah....you. D-did. I."

Wide watery eyes looked between the yellow on his palm and the troll in front of him. A troll that was his friend, a troll that wouldn't hurt him he thought,
but there was proof and he did not want this to be real. Maybe he'd tripped and knocked himself out. Because if it was Kolako, that means that not only did she attack him but he'd hit her. His friend.

quite uneventful//

:'U

 

[Taki-di]

turns out emotion attacks are valid, quite and i agreed to add in a roll for damage  

[quite uneventful]

Quote:

Kolako dealt 1 damage.

Kolako would not think too hard. She would not allow herself to think too hard. She'd hurt him, just like she'd hurt others, but it was all for a reason, all because she needed to protect. She needed to protect. His stuttering did nothing to her, the dull emptiness inside her feeling no different from before. Her expression did not change. A steely hardness resounded in her voice as she spoke. "Don't say I didn't warn you." She murmured, twirling her weapon and lunging at the other, though it was more to scare him, less to harm. She didn't want to have to cull him. Nictor was a good soul.

Just like she'd thought Chiara was. Just like she'd thought everyone was.

"Vete, ahora! Leave, now!" She had nothing to say to him. Not right now, at least.

HP: 18 - 1 = 17
Animal Control Defensive Style B: 1/1
Adept Artifact Agility Style A: 2/2

Taki-di

SLAMS YOU

 

[Taki-di]

HP: 15/20
Damage: 2+1=3
Trinkets/Artifacts: Military Grade Weapon (2d6 + 1)
Adept Artifact Defense A (style A -3 damage taken, 4x per battle) 4/4

hup

quite uneventful

 

[quite uneventful]

VOID  

[quite uneventful]

Quote:

Kolako dealt 0 damage.
adept artifact agility style a: opponents must roll a 5 on accuracy to hit, 2x per battle.

HP: 17 - 3 = 14
Animal Control Defensive Style B: 1/1
Adept Artifact Agility Style A: 1/2

Taki-di

 

[Taki-di]

HP: 15/20
Damage: -+1=0
Trinkets/Artifacts: Military Grade Weapon (2d6 + 1)
Adept Artifact Defense A (style A -3 damage taken, 4x per battle) 4/4

hup

quite uneventful

 

[quite uneventful]

Quote:

Kolako dealt 0 damage.

ohohohohohhoh

HP: 14
Animal Control Defensive Style B: 1/1
Adept Artifact Agility Style A: 1/2

Taki-di

 

[Taki-di]

HP: 15/20
Damage: -+1=0
Trinkets/Artifacts: Military Grade Weapon (2d6 + 1)
Adept Artifact Defense A (style A -3 damage taken, 4x per battle) 4/4

hup

quite uneventful

 

[quite uneventful]

Quote:

Kolako dealt 6 damage.

ohohohohohhoh

HP: 14
Animal Control Defensive Style B: 1/1
Adept Artifact Agility Style A: 1/2

Taki-di