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Post by DanteMGalileo on Dec 1, 2018 13:05:55 GMT -5
Squinting into the distance, Proto made out the sight of Kelsey. Judging by her movements, it would have guessed this girl was fighting with something. But what? It saw nothing else. "̟F̝I͢G҉͈͔͚̙̹͉H̶͕̹̺͇T͚̟̻͙.̫̟̻.̮̻.̡͍ ̸S̤͎̪̹̣̬͚O͕͙̮̙͍̕M̳̗̖̬̙̕ͅE̬̳̲T͉͜H̦I̳̦̟̫̬̤̕N̸G̶̰̳̤̯̩ͅ,͉͕̦̗̕ͅ"҉̗̱̹̫̟̠ it said. Scanning the skies, its eyes locked onto something, a speck against the clouds...
Proto opened its jaw, a mass of multicoloured energy swirling in its mouth, charging. As the speck in the sky descended, the beast kept its jaw trained on the intruder. When it deemed its attack charged enough, its jaw swung open with a roar as it fired the energy beam at the speck.
---
Starling barely reacted as the Stardust Crusher grew closer to her. She merely raised an arm as she descended, conjuring a faded pink, semitransparent wall, the energy beam harmlessly deflecting into the sky. How uncouth, she thought. Landing, the dark-clad angel spotted... a human girl, cussing at something. Something otherworldly, she could tell.
She wasn't interested in this girl. She passed by Kelsey as she swore, muttering a simple "language" as she passed. Maybe, just maybe, the cave would take her to a world she could be alone in... Provided Paradiso wasn't also invading that world, she reckoned.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 2, 2018 16:05:51 GMT -5
"...UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!"
...........................
...........................
...........................
"Wow. Uncensored." Tri cast a genuinely flabbergasted expression at the wall. "You see what you made him do, S-Dubs?"
Kelsey didn't bother asking who Tri was talking to. Or about. She was too busy rocking back and forth on the ground and biting her knuckle hard enough to draw blood, all in an effort to suppress the screams of furious, tormented anger that only barely escaped her throat in the form of muffled, anguished growls.
Giving his partner the time she needed to throw her tantrum, Tri turned away and shot a hard frown at the angel that had just deflected a beam and landed nearby. "Oh, great. Now there's this chick."
"Hn...?!" Kelsey barely noticed the beam attack, nor did she hear their visitor's quip, but her head immediately shot up when Tri offered his two cents. She quickly spotted the darkly-clothed, yellow-toned angel as she passed her by, and with her rage already spilling well beyond its maximum, fueling the fire that was the demon blood inside her, Kelsey found herself physically and emotionally incapable of suppressing her rapidly-growing hatred of these feathered freaks.
"NO!"
Shadow tendrils instantly entangled Starling.
"Oh boy!" Tri was excited by this development. Borderline aroused, really.
"I AM NOT..." Kelsey shot to her feet, her blue eyes blazing like a blizzard. "...IN THE MOOD..." She commanded her shadows to slam Starling head-first into a gravestone. "...FOR YOU PIOUS PIECES OF FLYING GARBAGE RIGHT NOW!"
She marched over to the downed angel and slammed a foot into her midsection. With an ear-splitting shriek, Kelsey's cheeks split open, a snake-like tongue lashing out of her monstrously elongated mouth.
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Post by ColArana on Dec 4, 2018 18:30:57 GMT -5
"Eh?" Ranuen blinked. Did he just hear.... Fight? Something? What? He looked around in confusion. "What are you--" Whatever Ranuen was about to say was immediately drowned out by the deafening roar of Proto's blast. "What the--!? Is it the enemy!?" Ranuen exclaimed, drawing out his toothpick of a sword, looking as best he could in the direction of Proto's attack. Shit. I can't see that far... He growled, as he started running in the direction Kelsey had gone, priming his ears for the sound of distant battle. He could return to normal in a heartbeat if needed, he knew he just figured he wanted to get even a little closer first.
That wasn't to say he was going slowly though. Ranuen was a streak of small movement across the ground as he focused on enhancing his speed to get to Kelsey as soon as possible, using both Kelsey's earlier departure and Proto's attack as guides to her approximate location. "Kelsey!? You alright!?" He exclaimed as he charged in. He'd promised Paul he'd keep an eye on her. He and Percy both. Percy wasn't around for whatever reason, so he supposed he was the only one who could right now.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Dec 4, 2018 18:45:54 GMT -5
Pain. Her body registered pain. But for all the pain her body registered, Starling's expression remained stoic, as though Kelsey's unprovoked attack on her didn't phase her in the slightest. "Black Out," she stated. As though an invisible eraser had suddenly been applied, the shadow tendrils ensnaring the dark-clad angel seemed to simply disappear. Frowning at Kelsey's sudden grotesque mouth, Starling raised a hand.
Just like her shadowy tendrils, the split mouth and snake tongue seemed to simply vanish, leaving her with an incomplete face. She stood up and dusted herself off. "If you would like your mouth back, I would calm down. Otherwise, I have no hesitations with erasing more of you."
She heard a roaring sound, and turned to find Proto charging at her, teeth bared. With the same stoicness, Starling raised her hand again. Proto roared, only to be cut short, its jaw disappearing the same way Kelsey's mouth had been. To ensure that it would not continue its attack, its claws vanished, leaving it with nothing but to glare.
Now that that was settled, Starling returned to facing Kelsey. "You may nod or shake your head. I am to assume that you and your... companions are also enemies of the Paradiso army?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 4, 2018 21:07:34 GMT -5
"...HM?!" Kelsey stumbled back a step, gracelessly planting her foot on the ground and off of Starling's torso. The disappearance of her mouth only succeeded in angering her further if the glow in her ice blue eyes and the claw-tipped middle finger were any indication. "WH DH HHH?! HCK YH!"
"Heh."
STOP ENJOYING THIS!
She jumped again when she felt the ground shake, looking over her shoulder to see the beast charging their way. Just as quickly as she had spotted it, Kelsey turned away again; her movements were a logical attempt to dodge any incoming attacks, but her expression was that someone who was awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with their ex. Even with the evident lack of blows delivered, she hardly noticed the beast receiving the same treatment as her.
When Starling spoke up again, Kelsey looked down at her with the cold stare of a calculated psychopath liable to snap at the slightest twitch. She nodded slowly, just as much answering the angel's question about them being enemies of Paradiso as she was insinuating that if Starling didn't undo this magic, Kelsey would show her the same amount of tenderness that she showed that boat outside the city.
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Post by ColArana on Dec 5, 2018 23:44:45 GMT -5
Yup. Someone was there with Kelsey. No doubt about it. Kelsey seemed enraged and frustrated, making muffled exclamations. At the same instant as he was charging, Ranuen saw that Proto was afflicted as well, the beast's mouth and talons vanishing. What is that!? Some kind of erasing magic? That was a dangerous power if it even overwhelmed Proto and Kelsey. Ranuen was wise enough, at least to acknowledge that it would probably have a similar effect on him if he was hit by it, and there was only minor telegraphing. Unless he saw her cast it a few more times, anticipating and avoiding it would be extremely difficult, especially at close range.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to have noticed Ranuen yet. His small size, actually proving to be an advantage here, potentially making him beneath her notice for the moment, no more deserving of attention than any other bug. Her attention, at least appeared to be on Proto and on Kelsey. What did Loba and Lobo say? Electricity or... go for the wings. Ranuen moved close in to Starling and tried to strafe around her to get to her back. He'd stopped calling out, to try and avoid drawing attention to himself. Less than a foot away from her, he tried to circle behind her, so that he could turn to normal size and slash at her wings in a single motion.
If he was lucky enough to get in undetected that is....
So focused on his strategy and plan that he didn't even notice the conversation at hand, happening far above his head.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Dec 6, 2018 15:51:50 GMT -5
"... I see."
With a wave of her arm, Starling allowed Kelsey's mouth, plus Proto's jaw and talons to return, although her movements made it clear that should they try that again, she wouldn't hesitate to erase something more vital. "... Starling Antenor," she said with little signs of emotion. "Paradiso deserter. Now I'm just a drifter."
As this angel spoke, Proto cautiously watched, glaring at this newcomer. It dared not to pounce again, lest it be defanged and declawed again. Instead, it opted to emit a low, but threatening growl.
"Charming," Starling replied to the growl directed at her. "Apparently, I'm not welcome here. Very well. And I was looking forward to erasing some ships out of the sky."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 6, 2018 22:59:31 GMT -5
The moment her mouth was restored, Kelsey sucked in a breath through gritted fangs. Then she offered Starling a sharp scowl. Not one that indicated any threat, but rather expressed a heavy amount of scrutiny. "Deserter, huh?" With her trust as strained as it was, she wasn't fully prepared to accept that notion, but on the other hand, she genuinely wasn't in the mood for another fight. Not now.
"Well..." Kelsey turned her head to the side, directing her glare away from the others and towards the horizon. "If you really have no affiliation with those bastards, I'd suggest you stay out of the way. You wanna leave? Leave. And try not to let me catch you around here again."
No sense in introducing herself. She didn't expect Starling to care.
More importantly... Kelsey needed to go. But she wasn't leaving until she knew this angel wasn't going to hurt her friends. The sooner she was gone, the better.
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Post by ColArana on Dec 8, 2018 21:23:17 GMT -5
Ranuen's sword was in-hand, and he was all but ready to strike at Starling. He'd strafed to her back, and had a clear shot at her wings. To return to normal size and attack, would take an instant or less. If Starling hadn't sensed him now, evasion would be near impossible. But then he heard Kelsey's voice, an instant before he struck. Asking Starling to leave. That meant... Starling had lifted her spell? He glanced from side to side for a moment, noticing that Proto's claws were back, as was Kelsey's mouth. This stayed Ranuen's hand. For at least a moment. Long enough for him to listen to Kelsey demand Starling leave in peace.
The swordsman bit his lower lip in frustration. He'd desperately wanted to attack. But if Kelsey was negotiating.... That was kind of huge. He couldn't let that go to waste. Damnit... Though still wary, Ranuen started to back away from Starling, lowering his sword.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Dec 8, 2018 22:22:29 GMT -5
"... Hmm."
Starling looked towards the sky, as if detecting something. "Oh. Joy. More self-righteous sacrilegious scum." There was something that sounded similar, but clearly distinct from a thunderclap. "Be careful. It sounds like they brought in the heavy artillery." Without paying these two any more heed, the dark-clad angel, instead of taking to the skies as expected, made her way towards the same cave the beast had emerged from, vanishing from sight...
"̖̣̫̥̱̝N̳̩̰͚̳̕O̷̪͍̯͉.҉̳̪̱̹͚̣.̧̦͕͍.̳̥̣̱̣ ̗̣̬͉N̗͔Ọ̢̳̩̺̪͇ ͙͎͎͖LI̤͍̺̲̳̭K̸̦̹E͔̪.҉̼͕̯̣͕̝.̯̖̝̲̬.̝̩̗̹"͔̗͖̭̱̀ Proto growled, though it too soon turned towards the skies. It suddenly roared, extending its wings. "̜Í̥̜͇N͓̦T̝̻̝̖̻͎̰RU̧͔͓̹̼͙D͏̲͉̯̪̬͔E̬͖R̷͖͖̖̳̩S҉͖̹͓̥̬̝.̝..̤̲͓̖ ͍̰̯̬̮K̶̘̟̻I̩͚͓͓L͇̣̠̫̮L̡̺̹̫̬͍̬͍.̵̹͚͇..̵̻̲̼̠͈ ̧͈͓̼K̬I̵̱̲L̞̱͉L̴̯ ̮I̯̮͚̙͍̭N͎̜̬̣̠̺͓T̡͍̳͈̼̼͖͚R̡̞̞̯͎U̝̬͓͔̟̕D̡̝̮͕E̫̼̖̮̹R̤̹S̴͉!!͉"̨̟ With a beat of its mighty wings, the beast took off, as if chasing something...
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 8, 2018 22:42:35 GMT -5
Kelsey's eyes remained focused on the ground. She heard the angel and the beast depart, but she did not watch them go, nor did she speak another word to either of them. For a while, she just stood there in silence, her eyes cold and distant, turning her scowl on her hand and the claws that tipped her fingers.
The things this hand was going to do... The destruction this hand was capable of... Kelsey thought she had accepted it all the moment she made this fight her mission, but now...
"..........................."
She looked to the sky, her fleshy wings spreading to full length in anticipation.
"Ranuen... what do you intend to do? I need to talk to Paul. I... I need to ground myself for a moment."
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Post by ColArana on Dec 10, 2018 22:02:23 GMT -5
Ranuen looked at Kelsey. "Well. I'm worried about Percy, obviously. But there's no question, right?" He replied, watching as Starling flew away. Heavy artillery huh? That didn't bode well in Ranuen's books. But it didn't matter. He was certain Proto would act if there was a threat. And would notice it before him anyways. "Kelsey. I told Paul I'd keep an eye on you, and watch your back. And that's what I'm going to do. A word once given and all that, and I take that sort of thing very seriously. Percy will be fine, I'm sure." He decided. "If you're heading back to talk with Paul, I'll hitch a ride back with you, and see how the others are doing waking up Leanne." He suggested.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 11, 2018 18:35:18 GMT -5
"Yeah..." Kelsey sighed as she leaned over and offered Ranuen a hand to jump into. "Percy will be fine..."
Once Ranuen was secure in her grip, Kelsey beat her wings and took to the air, silently soaring above the cemetery and back towards the city. She didn't look back. She paid no mind to any eyes in the sky. She simply flew back the way she came, wanting little more than a moment of calm before the real storm.
Her hands felt dirty. If not for the fact that she was carrying Ranuen, she might've been tempted to try washing them in the rain. Anything to forget what she had done. What she was going to do. Kelsey knew that she was going to fight. At this point, there was no getting around that, and she couldn't act like part of her didn't still want to stick it to those goody-goody angels. But now she was reminded of something that had plagued her subconscious ever since she had entered into this pact. Something that, in her blind anger against the angels, she had completely let slip.
How many people that Kelsey cared about were going to get hurt because of her?
Even worse... how many people that Kelsey cared about would she herself hurt?
You still don't get it, do you?
Kelsey glanced around with a hint of frustration in her bright blue eyes. Tri wasn't projecting his astral image to her anymore. Only his voice.
I said staying would make the pain worse. I never said you had to let them go.
"..........................."
Kelsey's heart wrenched as if every voice in the cosmos had screamed out her soul name. She knew exactly what Tri meant by that.
She just wished she wouldn't have to...
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