towerofanimus

Entry tags:

Heel

Characters: open to characters who signed up for the Heel event
Setting: a familiar labyrinth
Format: any; party style
Summary: A game of hunters and prey.
Warnings: potential for violence, gore, angst, etc.

Event details are here. Please make sure to include the IC date and if your thread is open or closed in your subject lines. Please mark threads for any specific warnings.

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[Sephiroth stops mid-stride and turns a little to look back over his shoulder. Did he just hear something from around the other way of that last junction? The silence is so absolute that there is only one way to tell.

Smoothly, his swords edge slicing the air as he turns, Sephiroth heads directly for that particular corner and without hesitation rounds it. He slips into view of the prey-group, a reasonable distance down this corridor, and quickly picks up red bracelets before even registering faces. They are multiple red flags and that's all the invitation he needs. That body, is as good as his.

Strong, confident strides quickly close the distance as Sephiroth raises his sword to prepare to strike.]

Sephiroth.

[Zelda answers with steadily growing horror. The hands on Tetra and Sealand's shoulders tense and squeeze, and then she's yanking them back behind her, putting as much distance as she can between them and Sephiroth's blade.

The odds against Lancer and Ken were favorable, but Sephiroth is one of the most feared men in the Tower now that Ganondorf is gone, and she'd rather not take any chances.]

Run!

Who--?

[But his question for Tetra is caught short. Sealand falls over himself as he's pushed back, panic coursing through him when he looks up and sees a hunter with a sword upon them. And with his panic comes the spark of flames that suddenly surround him as he scrambles backwards. He's terrified, but he doesn't want to run, he has to help--]

[Ruler isn't familiar with the name either, but just by the way the two react, this person is serious. Ignoring the icy-hot claw of fear gripping her chest as the flames around Sealand flare to life again, Ruler dashes forward, putting herself between her group and the newcomer, the stolen spear from their skirmish with Lancer and that boy the previous day held firmly in her hands.

She wishes she had a sword, but this would do. This will be enough to hold him off for now, she hopes.]

Go, run! I will cover our retreat!

Zelda-!

[She trips backwards, reaching to try to pull Zelda with her. She can't die, she can't protect them. Not from Sephiroth. He has no problems killing them, he'll enjoy it. And Zelda can't be one of the people he hurts.]

Ruler, he'll kill you!

[The fleeting eruption of fire around one of the smaller prey earns Sephiroth pause enough, stalling his approach. He takes half a step back and narrows eyes a little in Sealand's direction as he scrambles away. So this was the nature of the game was it? Pit a group of hunters, stripped of their powers against a group with a clear advantage. Well, he cannot let that stop him from winning.

And then Ruler comes forward, armed with two spears. Sephiroth smiles, satisfied that one of them has the gall to come to face him - he really needs to expend the energy in fighting rather than chasing so it suits him just fine. He knows all about the sort of range that spears provide, and wonders how this warrior will handle the hallway. Point against him, his sword is only a standard broadsword type and isn't all as long as he is used to wielding.]

Come on then, lets not make this any longer than it needs to be.

[He flexes his hand around his sword just once, before swinging it in a well-trained arch towards his prey; just to test the defense he'll have to break first. He doesn't know Ruler at all, so he'll need to learn the way that she fights - and fast.]

[Zelda quickly reaches down to help Sealand back up when he falls, adrenaline and the need to get away overriding any fear she might have of his powers. Her other hand remains on Tetra's arm, pulling both children back and away from the battle that's commencing.]

She's strong; she'll be fine!

[She reassures them, though she can hardly believe her own words. Still, she knows she needs to get the young ones far enough away that they'll be able to run if the worst comes to pass. Once they're in relative safety, hopefully she'll be able to help...]

[Sealand struggles upright, realising only as he's on two feet that the fire, his fire, is dangerously close to Zelda. He calms himself as best he can, pulling away before she can be burnt. He backs up along with her and Tetra, but his eyes remain locked on Ruler and the hunter she's fighting.]

But-- shouldn't we help...?!

[Ruler is indeed strong, and when her powers are working properly, she's much stronger than most people may realize. But she doesn't often rely on the peak of her strength to fight, and so fighting at the level of a normal human isn't as devastating to her ability as it might be to some other fighters.

She is hindered a bit because she doesn't have her preferred weapon, but her determination to protect the rest of her group certainly helps make up for that. When the silver-haired man's sword comes down, she brings her spear up to block it before it could be brought down on her head. Without pausing, she lashes her foot out, hoping to catch him in the gut and wind him for a moment.]

I will be fine! Focus on protecting yourselves!

But-!

[It's Sephiroth. And he's strong. Stronger than she knew a person could be but then, she doesn't know just how strong or skilled Ruler is. She should trust her and Zelda but it's hard. Tetra hates leaving people on their own.

She takes a step back though as Zelda pulls her but she's hesitant. Even knowing that she'd be more of a bother than a help right now.]

[Fighters exactly like Sephiroth, usually, who don't apply themselves to any sort of combat at his lethality without full reason for doing so and therefore will throw everything of themselves at it. However, a frequent symptom of ones stay in the Tower is to sooner or later end up without such abilities by way of a Glamour drop - so logically it's always been for Sephiroth's prerogative to at least keep his sword skills as sharp as they need to be. However lacking they may be by his more-human limits right now.

Despite the major difference in the type of weapon, this skill shines through. The blade is disconnected almost immediately from the block with a spear and swung down and around for the next strike - which is quickly turned into a parry with the flat of the blade at Ruler's incoming foot. It does however, force him to take a step back in his stance with the momentum.

Resetting his stance, Sephiroth doesn't hesitate in following up with his next attack; this time more of a fencers lunge forwards than a sweep.]

[Fencing? Fencing Ruler knows. She'd seen plenty of the knights she was once comrades with fight with that style, and she had picked up a few tips from them. But the weapons they were provided aren't the same as a fencer's rapier, so extra caution must be taken.

Instead of jumping back, Ruler quickly sidesteps to her right, just barely dodging the sword that would most certainly have pierced her gut if she had been a second slower. Quickly adjusting her grip on the spear, she too lunges forward, aiming for the shoulder of his sword arm. If she can incapacitate him, maybe that will be enough...]

[And this is the problem in stripping him of supernatural abilities. He's only as fast as the faster person in the Tower, there are none of his supposed-to-be bonuses and it shows as Ruler dodges around his blade and then lunges forwards with her spear for his shoulder.

Sephiroth too dodges backwards, having to abandon his attack. The very tip of the spear slips along the top of his shoulder, in a red line, it bleeds but it's not so deep that Sephiroth can't ignore it.

He tucks his blade around and up into the spear to deflect it expertly away from him and then comes in with a flurry of consecutive attacks. Aiming primarily for Rulers arms first, it seems she's not the only one who would look to disarm - at least to start with.]

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I guess we tit-for-tat a little... :3