Description: A falcon! A snake! An umbrella! (So it's not exactly a lark and a spree...) BUT LOCK YOUR DOORS. HIDE YOUR CHILDREN. Mary might come to your neighborhood too!
A Friday night at Pacific High! Most students are running around the beach, enjoying the hot summer weather, leaving the athletics field mostly vacant. It's a shame and a blessing at the same time, really. Not many people get to enjoy the serenity and beautify of a grassy field in twinkling starlight. But at the same time, this makes it all the more peaceful for the students who -are- present and doing things, getting to enjoy the chirping crickets and flickering fireflies.
But the students who -are- here seem content to keep the noise pollution to a minimal tonight. Some are amorous couples, some are working out and training, some are even working on projects (odd as that may be in the darkness of night). Vince is present, sitting on the grass with a tall snakelamp hanging over his head. Beside him is a small towel, holding a few vials of dye and gloss, along with a few paintbrushes. Along with this are three intricately-crafted lengths of steel. From the looks of things, he's just arrived, setting things up.
Chirping crickets and flickering fireflies are about /all/ Alexis wishes to face at the moment. The day has been... rather odd for her. Time has moved on though, and under the guise of night she slips from her dorm room to take a run across the field. At this point that's... much safer than heading back out to the beach.
She appears to have been out here a while, jogging along the outer edge of the field and attempting to ignore everyone else. That isn't to say she's unobservant at this time, she does have that weird mouthy girl that seems to want to pick a fight with her, and there /are/ a few people that wave as she passes by, so she smiles and waves back. But she is a girl with a lot on her mind, and the one person she doesn't spot is Vince, despite the snakelamp -- likely because there is a large part of her that's specifically attempting to avoid him. When she switches up directions, it does bring her on a near collision course with him, but the light catches her attention and she stops a few feet away.
"Sorry," she calls out meekly, dropping her eyes to the grass.
The schools are notorious for having up and coming warriors. All of them, actually. So Southtown could not be avoided.. even if one of the many inside were already encountered, there were various members in various styles and all of the sort. Enough of the simple, known stuff, however.
Traversing through the night, crickets chirping and fireflies flickering about, the little light there is was enough for this certain woman on a stroll, carrying the umbrella over her face as she goes. How she tells where she is moving is anyone's guess, or rather, if she attempts to at all. The truth is the later, as she doesn't, crickets leaping out of the way, and the white dress almost painfully visible among the darkening eve.
The black umbrella, however, makes it seem like a headless woman may be moving across the track, decked completely in white. Gloves, dress, and stockings.. and she seems to be mostly ignoring the students. Out on a stroll, she is, and she can tell that these are not the students that are the ones that are so often crowed about.
Yet, the snake light attracts her attention, and like a moth to the flame, she stops.. redirecting herself to the light. She'd be easy to spot.. but her face is covered completely by the oversized umbrella.
She hears voices, and she giggles a bit.. despite her age, oh, what could this be? In the still night, she tries to hear quite little.
Mary actually tries to create quite little noise, hearing quite little.. how would that help? How silly.
Vince seems entirely distracted with his work, however, and doesn't notice anything until Lexi's voice suddenly cuts through the air. Metal-shape stiletto in left hand, starting for the dyes in his right, he freezes and peers towards her. He blinks at her a couple times, then quickly looks back down to his work. "For what?," Vince asks politely, voice a little clipped and cautious. "You've not gotten in the way, and you didn't run into me."
His gaze lifts again, but this time Vince's icy blues travel a bit past Alexis to land on a rather unfamiliar sight. A ghostly, disconcerting figure, it appears to be. No visible head to speak of, and the close proximity of a light is making it hard to pick out much in the way of detail.
"Oui, but I almost did." Alexis still refuses to look at him, noting that he's busy working on those pretty little rose blades anyhow. "I should go and let you work..." Fidgeting, she spins around to go, and very nearly runs into a dark, headless figure.
"EEEEEK!" Pausing, she figures it's just someone from the drama department, moving across the field with a prop. "Sorry!" What is /with/ her lately and running into people? It seems to be becoming a 'thing' with her, and that's not something she really wants to deal with.
Then she realizes that there is something that's not entirely right about the 'costume' or 'prop'. Her hand reaches out to poke at the dark object in front of her and she looks back at Vince. "A friend of yours?"
As Vince and Alexis exchange words, the figure grows closer, but for the most part, stays a wary distance away from them, like most others. But Alexis and Vince exchange nothing of value, beyond a tension filled, perhaps teenage infused meeting. Yet she doesn't mind it far too much.
Unfortunately, her little attempt ends with Vince's eyes upon her as he just seems to gaze at her.
Meanwhile, Alexis spins about to almost bump into her. So much trouble, so little in age and knowledge, she believes. The screech causes the figure to stop entirely, however. Mary .. did not certainly enjoy the loud noise.
Before she can respond to Alexis, however, she pokes at the umbrella.. and certainly, umbrellas usually don't do what happens next. The top is held over her head still, but Mary pulls the length of chain from the Umbrella, beginning to spin it, the links chiming in as they clink against each other.
"Oh no. I've never met either of you.. and you really should watch where you're goin' darlin'... but it ain't entirely dark yet, oh no.. oh no! Perhaps you remember your family talkin' about the creepy crawlies, the boogy man or any o' that there nonsense, don'tcha?" She swings the chain around a bit faster, a shining grey blur in the night.
"Bet you'd never think ta' meet one, darlin'."
Above them, what little light they have is being choked from the sky as localized clouds begin to move in .. but it's not a natural event. Mary is making sure of that, because she's the one manipulating them. The chain swinging stops as she moves the umbrella to the side, revealing her skin, almost, if not whiter, than her dress. Even her iris' are pure white, but the hair, oddly, is orange. Her lips are dark red, the only thing that may really stand out. "Boo!"
Grinning, Mary makes sure to ruin what she was doing earlier. Or attempt.
Especially when she sticks out her tongue, the bonnet on her head not helping this appearance, really.
After the school was assaulted by a psycho woman, he's already on edge enough at the apparition-esque appearance of this woman. And what she says just puts him on high alert. The knife is set to the towel, and he picks himself up to his full height. He doesn't advance, though, as that would be telltale of aggression of openly cautious - neither of which he wants to portray right now.
But then the umbrella is swept aside, revealing the woman beneath. Who says boo. And sticks her tongue out.
Vince's expression is.. well, it's priceless. He's confused, a little bewildered, yet still cautious at the same time. The clouds haven't been noted yet - he's still too close to the snakelight to notice any shifts in natural lighting.
"H-.. hello," Vince offers awkwardly, a bit unlike his typical social graces.
The darkness is just an umbrella! Alexis stops to laugh at that, but her eyes catch the glisten of the chain in what remains of the light. Peridot eyes pop wide open and she gapes.
"Uhh... oops! I totally think I made it angry..."
A funny thought, that. Making an umbrella angry. After all, inanimate objects don't get angry, do they? 'cuz while Vince might not be noticing the extremely weird darkening of the sky, the little gymnast is on the ball. "Okay, now that? That's kind'a really creepy."
And like any frightened girl might do (or at least one that's attempting to keep up appearances of not being a fighter normally) she runs and hides behind the guy. It's the 'typical blonde in a horror movie' defense. It was either that or run up some stairs, but there are no stairs here, right? Bleachers might have worked though.
"Yelling 'boo' at me isn't particularly frightening, but that cloud trick is seriously creepy." Then Alexis peeks around from behind Vince, and notes the odd appearance which just makes her a bit more jittery.
For someone who was seemingly terrified to even look at the other student, she doesn't seem to have any qualms using him as a shield.
With Vince standing up, Mary just watches on now, the umbrella spinning about her as she twirls it, but she lets it come to a rest, hanging from her hand for the moment. The knife is already noted, unfortunately, and it tells Mary all she needs to know about the two. One of them, at least, is perhaps one of them is of noticeable skill. She's not entirely sure which is yet, but she is certain, after a bit, the one hiding behind the other might at least make a tell-tale sign.
But as Vince greets her awkwardly, she gets the reverse from Alexis. "Greetin's! Didn't expect this many out at this hour 'o the night. Why, don'tcha think it's just a little late to be out alone? Gotta be a trouble somewhere here or there, ain't there?" She asks, not exactly sure what they're doing out at night, but also .. you just can't be obvious sometimes.
"Oh, no I ain't tryin' to scare you youngin', just trying to greet ya'.. the clouds, well, I don't know why they do that so often." She mentions, yet her smell might be best described as 'fresh rain'. And using Vince as a living shield? "Heeehee... hidin' behind the big ol' tough guy? .. He seems kind of puny actually. Ain't there a strong man around?"
The umbrella is used as a 'walking stick' stuck into the ground a bit. "And weather's just so unpredictable sometimes."
"Finess far outweighs mass," Vince retorts, mildly annoyed at her comment. Cautious, absolutely, but be damned if he's not going to make a pointed return! He then glances back to Lexi, now that she's taken to hiding behind him. A little strange, considering what he knows about the girl, but hey. He can roll with that.
They keep mentioning the sky and weather, so Vince finally shoots a look towards the sky. It's.. cloudy. Nothing out of the ordinary there that he can see. Not that he was paying particular attention to the sky earlier or anything, but he'll have to assume -something- was going on with it.
So finally, Vince's eyes return to the older woman. Her and her extremely pale skin and extremely odd white eyes. "I'm tending to my work. What about you?," he fires back to her, in response to her querry about why they're out at this hour.
Alexis peers at the woman and frowns. "Yeah, I guess the weather is unpredictable. Funny you just have an umbrella and it got cloudy right 'round the time you yelled boo at me." For anyone that knows her, they'd be able to point out that she seems nervous, on edge, and definitely not like herself.
When her shield glances back at her, she steps out from behind him and clears her throat. "Well we're not alone, are we? I mean, we're together... and the campus is full of people so uhh..." Wow. Witty.
Both hands come up to rub over her face and she exhales a sigh. She behaves enough so as not to add too much more to the conversation, or make threats for Vince that he might not entirely appreciate.
"Oh, it does, darlin'?" She asks rather simply, more interested not in his response but what she says. No use talking back to that.
As Vince plays 'night in shining armor', Mary doesn't pay attention deeply to the act. It's an annoying one, at least she believes it to be, but she's not going to pry them apart because of something simple like that.
As Vince brings up the reason he's here, Mary does.. somewhat the same. "I'm here for work as well." She mentions, albeit she doesn't explain what it is. It's simple to trust, however, that she'll be spilling those beans in some time. Especially as Alexis makes that remark.
"Yes, darlin'. Remember how I said it jes' seems to follow me around? I don't know at all." She smiles as she goes on to this, but Alexis' words, the later ones, draw a smirk. "Oh yes, you're alone with everyone else, who are alone together. And we all be alone in some way, but that ain't important."
"Like I said, I'm here for work, and I really ain't one to ruin my punctual record, y'hear?" She comments, spinning the umbrella back and forth on the ground.
"It just ain't good." She doesn't actually make any movements immediately beyond that, her other arm to her hips now.
"A teacher, then?," Vince asks bluntly. The woman is really trying him. She actually sounds a lot like that woman who assaulted earlier. Cryptic phrases, quirky behavior, and a very odd manner of dress?
..Let's overlook the fact that Vince falls into this catagory most of the time, himself.
As Alexis moves out from behind him, Vince shoots her another curious look. He remains somewhat silent for the time being now, however. He'll ask -her- about whatever's giving her issues after this is settled.
"She doesn't look like a teacher," Alexis points out. "Though, uhh... I guess she's got a flair for the dramatic, so she /could/ be a drama teacher..." But the odd weather is seriously making her doubt /that/. Plus, teachers wouldn't worry about punctual behavior in the middle of the night, would they?
Hair falls over her eyes as she shakes her head. "/You/ might be alone in some way, but I most certainly am not. You're kind'a morbid, aren't you?"
"Oh, y'might call me that. I have a lot of tests to give. Some might call them pop quizzes or whatever they be called here." She adds, spinning the umbrella around, not very smiley, but not very much of anything, really. "But I have my reasons." As Vince looks away, towards Alexis, whom is moving away from him.. she might give Mary the chance she needs for .. something, in particular. Especially when Alexis points out she might be a drama teacher, and are kind of morbid, but the woman, older as she is, just has to laugh, gripping the edge of her bonnet as to prevent it from falling off. "Oh darlin', you just don't understand! I'm anything but stuck in that death an' life cycle you might focus on." Mainly because, or at least she believes, the G-project has ways of keeping her 'younger' longer, and how long might that be once Urien really does get what he needs.
"But 'yknow, talkin' is nice.. but it just ain't doin' it for me. How about we do somethin' else.... somethin' fun."
The clouds begin to sprinkle about, light rain, barely anything falling as Mary holds up the Umbrella towards Vince. And then presses a little button on the end. The front tip, sharp, decorated like man, actually fires out towards him, spiralling through the air.
"Yeah, a game. Sounds fun, don't it?"
COMBATSYS: Mary has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Mary 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Vince has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Mary 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vince
COMBATSYS: Mary successfully hits Vince with Medium Shot.
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Mary 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Vince
"Wha-," Vince starts, turning just in time to see a blade projectile come launching at him. It nails his shoulder directly, jutting out and earning Mary a pained yelp. But Vince isn't the sort to run off and cry over a blade being stuck in his shoulder. Training with his rosettes has given him more than enough experience in being stabbed.
Left hand lifts to grip the blade, and Vince YANKS it back out of his shoulder to toss it to the ground, now growling at the woman. "Just like the last one. Very well. En garde, villain."
Right hand whisks the rapier from its sheath, and Vince makes a quick stroke, aiming to slice the blade from her right shoulder to midsection in fair return. Alexis, unfortunately, will have to go ignored for the moment.
"Wha-," Yes, that sound is echoed in the feminine when she realizes what's happening. "Vince!" Alexis looks between the woman and the fencer, tilting her head curiously. Just like the last one? But the last one wound him up in the infirmary! A deep frown causes her brow to crease a little bit, and she makes a somewhat graceful leap backward.
There is a pause. Should she join? Should she get help? Should she wait and see if he can handle it? Teeth nip to her lower lip and she wrings her hands a little as she does her best to figure out just /what/ to do. The moment she sees the rapier though she makes sure she's enough to the side so as not to be a hindrance.
"Be careful," she calls out, soft enough to hopefully not draw the attention of the rest of the students in the field.
COMBATSYS: Mary fails to interrupt Quick Strike from Vince with No Explanations.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Mary 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Vince
With Vince being the pincushion this time, Mary smiles to herself, looking on as he yanks it out of his shoulder and tosses it to the ground, growling at her. She twirls the weapon in her hands a bit, this way and that, as she spins it around. Tilting her head a bit, she shakes it as Vince tries to compare her to someone else.
"Villain? Ya'll heard me, right? I said I've got a test to do and by golly if I don't take care of it now." With Vince actually whisks the rapier from the sheath and makes that quick stroke towards her, to slice the blade from shoulder to mid in return, Mary thinks about just what might end up the best. And chooses based on Alexis' reaction.
With Alexis leaping away, it leaves Vince and herself, to a point, and the strike, however quick, isn't one that's truly that troubling. The rapier slices.. and making her decision, she dives right towards it. The strike shouldn't hurt enough that even if he manages to zip past her effort, that it would actually harm her.
So it's a perfect time.
Kicking into the air as he's hindered a bit, the blade slices at her.. and catches her legs, causing her to fall backwards away, albeit .. far from harmed. It was basically a light lash. The umbrella was pushed into the way as she fell, but the rain bounces off this time.
"Ah, careless of me. But it ain't gonna stay that way y'see!"
Vince brings his rapier about before his face once the slice has been delivered, then sets into a more traditional fencing stance with a moderately high guard. Despite the new hole in his sword-holding shoulder, Vince carries the weapon with grace with precision.
"Try to keep up," is all Vince says.
And suddenly, the young man is a blur of motion, covering what distance there once was between them in an instant. Along the way, a sudden wreath of swirling smokey gray energy developes around the blade, intensifying rapidly. The moment he becomes more than an unfocused image, his blade plunges heavily at the woman's chest, driving to impale her. As the blade is thrust, the accumulated energy funnels along the steel to lance out along the tip, pushing past the blade with the intention to blast clean out her back.
The decision finally comes. Alexis is no coward, despite the need to keep her abilities hidden. This woman has just injured a friend, and despite the awkwardness that has cropped up between herself and Vince, she's not going to let him stand there and face this woman alone.
And yet, she's rushing off across the field as quick as her feet can carry her. Perhaps she's simply a yellow-belly after all? Whatever her reasoning is, as she reaches the edge of the field, she stops and drops into a crouch. The darkness shrouds her from most, her intentions going hopefully unnoticed as she begins to pilfer through her gym bag.
COMBATSYS: Vince successfully hits Mary with Venteuse.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Mary 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Vince
As the blade comes towards her, Mary attempts to raise the umbrella upwards, but it ends up .. rather poor in the end. She couldn't, in time, raise the weapon as the blade plunges towards her chest, and the energy ends up striking into her. It doesn't really impale, why no, that would be ludicrous, but it does get through her attempt at preventing the strike from mostly doing anything.
But when the blade is done, Mary isn't gone either. It's just not enough, and spinning the umbrella to face Vince, she smirks slightly. Fine, let the boy be that way! He's certainly a lucky one. But he's just not going to get the desired reaction he hopes for.
A moment later, the chain arcs out towards Vince, as the umbrella is swung, attempting to grab him by the leg and them hoist him skywards, dragging him along the gravel for a bit before the set up.
He's, if it works, simply dragged and tossed upwards, sent flying!
Let the girl run away then, Mary certainly doesn't have time.
COMBATSYS: Vince blocks Mary's Go Fly a Kite.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Mary 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Vince
The chain's manipulation comes as a surprise to the swordsman, guard temporarily fuddled. All he really has time to do is give his leg - and the chain now attached - a confused look, before he's sent into the air. On the descent, Vince tucks his body in, landing heavily in a roll. The impact is sound, but the compact position allows him to spring up afterwards to land on his boots again.
As soon as he's landed, Vince's left hand has plucked one of the rosettes from his belt. The polished stiletto no sooner leaves his belt than it's searing through the air, careening for the girl's torso.
COMBATSYS: Alexis has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Mary 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Alexis
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Vince
Aha! Procuring the item she was so desperately seeking in the dark, the gymnast smiles. She is /not/ a coward, and she's not going to leave a friend like that. Throwing herself into a cartwheel, she quickly flips her way back toward the fighting duo. As she settles her balance on her feet, a bright pink ribbon whips through the air toward the odd woman's legs.
A quick snap of her wrist sees the ribbon twisting outward, trying to lash about the legs, and should it make purchase she quickly jerks her arms backward. The goal, in essence, is to trap the woman and force her to flip toward the grass on her front.
This might not coordinate well with the fencer's attack, but she's trying her best to keep him from being injured.
COMBATSYS: Mary endures Vince's Sudden Fling.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Mary 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Alexis
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Vince
COMBATSYS: Mary fails to interrupt Snare Whip from Alexis with Beg Your Pardon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Mary 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Alexis
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Vince
And yet, it fails rather spectacularly. The whip doesn't get it's target, and to make matters worse, the stilleto, while thrown, is unable to be used efficiently to drive the umbrella in the way of the whip.
Instead, Mary's picked up about the legs and jerked, thrown onto the grass on her front. Almost made a fool of, as you would assume.
But the woman staggers to her feet, heavily wounded, yet at the same time, somewhat enjoying the feeling of just being able to do such things. A poor reaction, of course, yet there's little more that can be done in the situation it seems, and she's paying for each and every one of them.
Blood about her pure white skin causes her to stagger, and she's certainly not enjoying being tossed around, but she'll just have to achieve something yet, and make one of them remember her. The hard way.
The stiletto making its mark is enough to bring a dry smile to his lips. She stabbed him, now the favor is returned. But just as he begins to move in and press the exchange, the ribbon is noticed. Eyes immediately turn to Alexis, and his smile brightens a little.
Lexi.. is fighting without a mask or disguise.
Vince's smile turns a little more authentic.
Icy blues turn on Mary with a renewed intensity. His left hand thrusts into the air, and he pauses, just now realizing it's raining. Huh. But despite this, he presses on with the motion.
The rolling clouds overhead split, permitting a single shaft of moonlight to penetrate to the grassy field below. Along with this comes a distinctive avian shriek, and an image sweeps low through the sky. As it speeds closer, the entity becomes more clear as a smoky gray falcon with opaque obsidian eyes, wings angled back and talons reaching forward, aimed to collide with the woman to swoop back into the air after impact.
There is little time to assimilate everything that is going on. All Alexis can think of is that her ribbon-whip struck true. And to think, earlier today she was saying that she needed to train more with it.
The thought leaves a smile upon her lips which only broadens when she catches Vince's smile from the corner of her eyes.
A shift of her gaze sees her noting the falcon, and she twists her wrist again to jerk the pink ribbon back toward her. Even so, she begins to back up. One step. Two steps. The ribbon begins to sway and shift about in a horizontal snaking pattern. Three steps. Four steps.
Suddenly, she's leaping forward again. Two swift, graceful leaps that should bring her past the woman. As she comes to the front of the woman, the ribbon-snake snaps forward, energy coursing along the outer edges of the ribbon causing it to glow brightly. With a flick of her wrist the ribbon snaps forward, the very ends of it acting like the pointed teeth of a snake, attempting to bite into the woman in white's shoulder to hold her in place for the swooping falcon.
COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Mary with Serpent de L'eau.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Mary 1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0 Alexis
> ///////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Vince
COMBATSYS: Vince successfully hits Mary with Spirit Falcon.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Mary 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Alexis
> ///////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Vince
Mary doesn't even make an attempt this time to prevent any of the assaults. Instead, she simply throws herself towards them. This does not provide her with much success, in the end, including the energy that slams into her.. nor the ribbon that attempts to bite her and hold her in place. Infact, it does just that, and she's slammed into the ground, the flacon striking her as well.
It isn't exactly enjoyable, but few things tend to be, you see.
Bringing herself to her feet, Mary is rather beaten now, more bloody than before. But she doesn't mind. Not at all. Even in this, she feels more alive than she had ever been before, and Urien would perhaps be happy to hear of what she had learned. It wasn't important on her success.. but she would have to track them down individually, and perhaps perform a more through investigation, like many she had already met.
Yet, she still bled, and the clouds about still grew darker, swallowing up the light which 'broken through'.
"Oh what a game, what a game!" She cries, before spinning about, and in her attempts, grappling Alexis with the end of the hook as she decides to get close enough, and whip her about through the water and puddles that are gathering. She begins to slide on the ground now, wet with the rain that she has been producing.
Perhaps aiming for something, in the end.
The falcon, its work finished, curves back up into the sky and disappears amidst the darkened clouds with another piercing cry.
Vince, meanwhile, lowers his left hand and settles back into his stance once more. Things seem to be going well enough for him and Alexis, but those rolling clouds really don't bode well. The woman very probably has everything to do with that.. and it's likely very deliberately. This needs to end soon.
When Vince begins to close in, however, the assailant is attempting to spin and hook Alexis! His blue eyes widen, and he surges forth. The young swordsman leaps into the air and lashes his boot over, aimed for her head in an aerial snap-kick.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Apparently Vince doesn't care if they attract attention.
COMBATSYS: Alexis interrupts Singing in the Rain from Mary with Aqueous Illusion.
[ \\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Mary 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Alexis
> ////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Vince
Both energy 'animals' strike true, though in Vince's case it is actually an animal, and in her case it's just a ribbon pretending to be an animal. Either way, they succeed in tandem, causing the gymnast to smile. First time she's ever fought side by side with someone, even though she was on a team to do just that before!
Since things have begun though, she's been ignoring the odd weather patterns. Perhaps this is her bad for not paying attention to all of her surroundings, but focusing on what is important is a survival tactic too, isn't it? When the end of the hook is sent in her direction, her smile merely broadens.
For you see, Alexis still keeps hold of that bright pink ribbon. A ribbon which is quickly whipped about her head in a series of rapid, random figure-eight patterns. With each graceful swirl of the ribbon, more and more watery energy builds up along the sides of it, which cascade down about her forming a bubble-type wall.
Oh, she's still whipped through the water and puddles, but she's able to slow down the initial grapple attempt and stop herself from being flung too hard against the ground, all the while delivering a jolt of energy back at the weird woman.
From her new position in the wet grass, she just smiles up at the fencer. It's a somewhat goofy looking smile of thanks, but she just can't bring herself to say anything yet. She's wet. And dirty. And busy focusing on getting back up to her feet before some weird grassy mud golem springs up to attack or something.
COMBATSYS: Mary fails to interrupt Light Kick from Vince with Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious.
> //////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Alexis
> ////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Vince
COMBATSYS: Mary can no longer fight.
> //////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Alexis
> ////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Vince
The aerial snap kick is all the woman has going for her, or at least, all she has a chance at breaking through as Vince closes in.
Alexis, meanwhile, is capable of breaking through her assault, the energy building to a wall.. and as she gets back up, Mary is unfortunately finding herself at the end of a jolt, with only Vince left to assault her.
Really, the choices in this are immense. Mary has never done anything 'sane' or 'logical' and such, as Vince moves towards her with the yell, she's happy to oblige, attempting to get the hook around his leg and leap straight upwards.
But it fails, the foot going a bit out of the way.
It's enough to cause her to crash down, rather pathetically. But after the crash, she staggers to her feet, brushing off the dust, dirt, and blood. "Hahaha.. What a game, isn't it!? And that ends our game for today, but there are always more to be played, even when work is involved isn't it!?"
"Ya'll be seein' me later!" She exclaims, before the sky climbs .. and she.. somewhat vanishes away.
More red than white, unfortunately.
Vince lands in a crouch after the aerial kick, those not usual maneuvers he employs. But he rises along with the woman, assuming his stance again.
And instantaneously, she seems to lift and disappear.
Needless to say, this leaves Vince a little confused. But quickly enough, he moves quickly to the downed Lexi in the soggy ground, crouching and offering his left hand to help her up. "My lady..," he says quietly, but with intensity. "Are you alright?" Dirty, for certain now.. but he's concerned for her health moreso. To heck with his bleeding wound.
COMBATSYS: Vince has left the fight here.
> //////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Alexis
Peridot eyes catch the kick, watch the crouch, see the woman seemingly disappear before her eyes.
Scrambling up to her feet? No longer a great big concern. This day? Just somewhat weird all around, she supposes.
Then there is a hand in her face, and she blinks up at Vince. Her right hand is placed into his left and Alexis draws herself up from the wet grass. "Oui... just a little dirty, and perhaps bruised. I will be fine." Eyes avert to the side, and she timidly glances back at him. "Thank you, Monsieur LaRose..."
COMBATSYS: Alexis has ended the fight here.
With the fight over, Vince's right arm slouches until it's more or less just hanging at his side. His fingers remain tightly curled around the handle of the rapier, index finger still looped around the ringlet under the hilt. But now that he's standing along with Lexi, and the threat is apparently gone - albeit with rain still falling - his shoulder is just in pain. More pain to lift a sword.
"You're welcome. ..Alexis," Vince says, voice softening, eyes widening. "You.. fought alongside me without guise."
"I..."
Quickly, her eyes seek the ground again. The blonde gulps a few times, then simply nods her head. "I did what was necessary to protect a friend and protect the school." Defiantly Alexis lifts her eyes to meet his, her head tilting upward. "I don't care if that weird old lady saw me. She doesn't know who I am!" Hopefully.
Her voice drops a little, "And I don't think anyone else on campus was paying /too/ much attention." Hopefully.
"You are injured, Vince... you should go see the nurse and have the wound cleaned..."
"That was...," Vince trails, eyes meeting with hers. "..I'm very proud of you. You did well." And suddenly, he's attempting to lift her still-held hand to give its back a soft kiss. Who cares if it's dirty? She earned that much, at least!
Vince releases her hand as he looks back to the shoulder, frowning. "Ah.. yes. But my rosettes.. and the dyes.." He looks back to the towel, now soaked in the rain, along with the three uncolored rosettes.
Earned or not, that little kiss to the back of her hand causes her to blush for more than one reason. Alexis averts her eyes again, her free hand setting to the back of her neck to rub at it. "T-thank you..." It is a rare treat to be told that someone is proud of you -- someone not in the parental units that is.
"You should get your shoulder taken care of, Vince. No telling here that bladed thingy was..." She glances over at the rosettes and dyes and then peeks at him. "With your permission I will bundle these things up for you and leave them by your dorm room. No reason for the dyes and blades to become ruined by the wet weather..."
With a little strain, Vince lifts his blade and overturns it, sliding the weapon back into its sheath. "Alright," Vince agrees. "So.. I'll venture to the nurse's office, and I'll look for the trinkets when I get back to my dorm." He then turns to begin towards the main building again.
Step.
Step.
Vince pauses to look back over his shoulder to her again. "It was good, what you did. If it means you're found out... at least take solace in knowing it was for a good cause."
And then Vince begins moving on.
Log created on 23:25:56 06/20/2008 by Alexis, and last modified on 17:25:28 06/21/2008.