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Post by Impetuous Cinder on Oct 19, 2015 5:04:58 GMT
Impetuous Cinder's mind had been ill-at-ease for weeks. Each night, she was met by visions from the Unconquered Sun about a powerful man Exalting in the North, feeling the Sun's grace but none of his knowledge. Each morning, she awoke with the realization that it was one more day he would live in darkness. The mortuary caravan she'd melted as subtly as possible into was making good time north, but the end of the line was Sijan. She'd need to find her own way from there.
Of course, the second she arrived in Sijan, Cinder was immediately distracted by exactly how magnificent and uncanny the city seemed. Even compared to Nexus, which was itself a wonder of the world, Sijan was beyond words. Crypts and mausoleums, both glorious and common, were the only thing to meet her eyes, and while there were a few people wandering around on the streets, in the sun, it seemed very...sparse for someone who came from a bustling metropolitan. The front gates had guards, but even by their posts there were stairwells. Stairwells everywhere.
The young Solar had no idea what to make of this city. It was fantastic. It was alien. It defied description in ways that she couldn't even fathom. Not unlike every other tourist in the city, she wandered the streets with awestruck silence. If they'd arrived before noon, perhaps she would have had time to seek passage further north, too. Unfortunately, dusk was approaching, and the idiot blonde had no idea of what might happen to her at night in the City of the Dead.
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Post by Thoughts of Bells on Oct 19, 2015 5:20:18 GMT
Dusk was coming, had to get away. She rounded a corner, only to be faced down by a snarling, tow-headed man in jade, wielding a flail. "She's over here!"
Crap.
She spun on her heel and went back the way she'd come, vaulting over a pair of gravestones, barely ducking an arrow that whistled past her ear and ricocheted off the stone wall of a mausoleum. They were closing in, now. Forming a net. If only she'd been more patient, chosen her point of attack with more wisdom, then this wouldn't be an issue! Hair bouncing, clutching a wrapped bundle to her chest, Vision of Bells hauled ass through Sijan with a Wyld Hunt on her heels. She didn't blame them for being pissed off, but that didn't mean that she was about to give up the treasures she'd reclaimed fair and square.
She just counted herself lucky that she'd long since figured out a way around the usual guard posts, not that they could catch her if they tried.
Bells reached the crest of a hill and threw herself down the stairs on the opposite side, nimbly ducking under a flying high kick thrown by a bald woman in a white gi. Had the bundle in her arms belonged to this monk's sifu or father? Maybe. In no time, she was back in her feet.
The hunt couldn't catch her, if she could only break the perimeter they'd set up. And that monk had been guarding the main gate, from the tone of the alarmed cry 'ANATHEMA!' that rang through the stifling, low light. She was almost free.
Just one more person to get around.
Bells spotted a woman in yellow walking up the path, and decided to pour on the gas - her form flickering from side to side as a feint to catch her last would-be captor off-guard - Perhaps for a silent takedown. That'd be nice.
Once she was out if the city, they'd never see her - or her reclaimed treasures - ever again.
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Post by Impetuous Cinder on Oct 19, 2015 5:57:30 GMT
What? There was... something happening up ahead of her. Even as Cinder returned towards the gate she had entered through, she almost got clipped by a young woman moving waaaaay too fast. Cinder did her best to move out of the way, but a quick look at where she was running from informed even a dim bulb like her of pretty much what was going on. 'Anathema.' Bald people in martial arts clothes. Wyld Hunt. Cinder sprinted after her. While she wasn't superhuman-fast, the young woman had made her entire life out of running from guards through the crowded streets of Nexus. She was slightly good at chasing as well, and wound up at the city gate long before the pursuers did. The moment she was outside, she turned and flicked her wirsts slightly, sending her gauntlets forming along her arm at the same time as she focused her Essence towards the most destructive goal imaginable. Just as she began her maneuver, the Dragon-Blooded chasing the woman in black reached the gate. Cinder gave them a little wink, gritted her feet in the fertile Eastern soil, then smashed her fist into the ground. The resulting crack wasn't unlike a lightning strike, and had the rough destructive impact of a meteor. Geysers of earth shot out of the ground as it exploded away, leaving a massive, several-yard-deep crater. The gates had been reinforced, but the pillars nearby slanted and began to fall inwards, creating an effective obstacle. Cinder blew a quick kiss, then bolted after the woman who had just disappeared into the distance. She was less running from a fight and more trying to chase something interesting. Those Immaculates would always be there when she got back. She'd have plenty of time to destroy them later.
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Post by Thoughts of Bells on Oct 19, 2015 6:07:32 GMT
Something exploded behind her, and Bells reflexively dove for cover - rolling behind a especially large ash tree to shelter herself from an incoming shockwave. A quick peek around the corner revealed that she'd only been half right - the blonde woman from before had demolished the city gates and was smugly jogging away from them. The only reason she wasn't being actively attacked, most likely, was because the Monk was waiting for her reinforcements. The obstacle was likely more intimidation than obstruction.
Dragon-blooded didn't casually destroy ancient pillars so easily, or readily. Bells had thought she'd go her whole life without seeing an actual Sun-child in person.
The young Lunar carefully stood from behind her hiding spot. "They'll be after you, now." She stated, her voice nearly a whisper. "Can you run?"
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Post by Impetuous Cinder on Oct 19, 2015 6:17:58 GMT
Cinder had thought to cup her hands to her mouth and call out for the little woman she had been chasing only shortly before she showed herself of her own volition. Slowing to a stand, she smirked and crossed her arms under her breasts, gauntlets still extended. "Run? Pfft. Unless they've got a battalion in there, they're outnumbered." Suicidal overconfidence, appropriately thy name is Impetuous Cinder.
"A better question is 'can you fight?' Because I say we stand and knock these idiots' heads around until they can't tell up from dirt." She'd already stalled for time. They could find a defensible position and murder a few Dragon-Bloods before making their way casually away. Right? Solid plan. When you're being pursued by an inferior force, turn around and blow it to smithereens.
Just in case that was the case, Cinder smashed her fists together and cracked her knuckles, signifying her readiness. "If you want to run, go ahead. I think I'm going to stand right here and do a little preaching."
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Post by Thoughts of Bells on Oct 19, 2015 6:36:58 GMT
On one hand, one less hunting party in the world was absolutely a good thing. On the other, they had an absolutely solid reason for to get their hands on Bells - not that she intended to let them, but she could see why they'd be upset that she'd grave-robbed their sifu to take what should have been hers. Violence begets violence, or something like that. She'd gotten revenge, now they wanted revenge. Where did it end?
The thin, pale young woman hesitated, caught up in the threads of her own conscience. Did she open her mouth and tell the Sun-Child the situation? Was there even time to? What if the blonde turned her gate-wrecking fists on her in retribution? In Sijan, there were few crimes more contemptible than stealing from the dead entrusted to them, and this would likely always color Bells' ideas of right and wrong.
Hugging her bundle to her chest, Bells took up a position half-behind the Solar, yellow eyes focused warily on the Hunt now more or less over the ruins of the gate. "There are seven of them." She relayed quietly. There was a long pause as she tried to figure out exactly what to say - how do you confess to a crime to a person about to - even just for the fun of doing so - defend you from justice for that crime? "Please exercise mercy." Bells added for good measure, looking not unlike she was about to throw up.
Because she felt she might throw up, honestly. Guilt was a powerful thing, and although she could handle it or hurting someone, both at once was asking a bit much. She'd never taken a human life in all her years of training and practice. She'd never had to. She didn't want to, because knowing that you would be terribly good at doing so had been enough for her master, and was good enough for Bells.
Please, stranger, don't kill for me...
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Post by Impetuous Cinder on Oct 19, 2015 7:54:36 GMT
There was a helpless, terrified girl standing behind her like a wall. She wanted mercy. She wanted to run. One of those things was much more amenable to Impetuous Cinder's sensibilities than the other was. She stood her ground calmly, back straight, shoulders relaxed. There were many heartbeats before the men caught up to them, and the Solar had plenty of time to prepare. When her voice came, it was as warm as a summer day. Just quiet enough to be heard, but infinite in confidence and application to her cause. A mountain - a Pillar of Heaven - did not flee. It stood, indomitable and unyielding. "Stand behind me. I'll try to leave them with broken bones and their lives, if possible." That was the last quiet moment out of Impetuous Cinder. Smashing her gauntlets together as she had done before, this time she exploded with Solar radiance. The brilliant light of the Unconquered Sun shined like a beacon, the air around her lighting aflame as she prepared herself for battle. Red, yellow, and white embers danced away from her body in a magnificent ring, and her golden hair took an even more brilliant shine. The disc of the noon sun, her Zenith Caste Mark, glowed with spotlight brilliance on her forehead. Essence suffused her body, practically crackling with readiness to push aside any blow. The Sun has arrived. The wicked shall tremble, and the weak shall find shelter. Over the sudden shine and roar of her own anima waves, Cinder's voice came as a boom. "This woman is under my protection! Take one more step and I'll feed you your own teeth! Heaven's Thunder is upon you, and you will tremble at its approach!"
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Post by Thoughts of Bells on Oct 19, 2015 9:11:51 GMT
The roaring voice of a Zenith's command was fit to give all but the hardiest of souls pause - even those of the Immaculate Order. These were no seasoned and weathered veterans, but young men and women mourning a teacher... And for a moment, the three warriors of the Realm were given pause by Impetuous Cinder's (literally) fiery defiance. But not for long. They were, after all, Immaculate Monks. And they did, after all, have a bone to pick with the pale woman standing behind Cinder.
They were only three, now, but knew that the rest of their party was soon behind. The soldier in front, livid with fury and gleaming in articulated plate armor, leveled his lance at Cinder, while his two white-haired compatriots drew and flourished jade chakrams. The Air-aspects began to circle slowly, keeping twenty feet between themselves and Cinder, while the man in plate armor stayed dead ahead of the Solar.
They were looking to play out the clock until backup arrived, it seemed, and flank her to prevent a clean escape. Killing a Lunar was impressive and satisfied they're desire for revenge - but a Solar was not taken so lightly, and it would not do to rush into combat against her.
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Post by Impetuous Cinder on Oct 19, 2015 10:37:02 GMT
Hesitation. They were content to threaten and wait for reinforcements before fighting. They also seemed to believe that circling a mere 20 feet from her body would keep the Solar from closing on them. Cinder's purple eyes narrowed, and she burst into action with a growl slowly becoming a mighty roar at the back of her throat. " COWARDS!!" The cry sent her banner into overdrive as she poured Essence into her fists for her first strike. Closing the gap in the space of a breath, she was upon the albino Terrestrial she had seen hesitating. As she closed in, the white-gold flames of her anima detonated into an inferno around her. A beam of pure sunlight exploded from her body up into the sky above, trailing with her like a laser beam with every step she took. Her first punch, spiraling with Solar flames, tore through the air like a bullet, and crashed against her enemy with a mighty sonic thump that shook the soil her property destruction earlier had loosened. Even as the Dragon-Born rolled his shoulder against it, softening the blow, her second attack came through. A left hook caught the Immaculate in the ribs, hard enough that a shockwave formed out of the back of his body, trailing white-gold flames across the ground behind him. Impetuous Cinder stood over his unconscious (but still breathing) body and turned her attention to the other two. "Anyone seen that guy's rib? I think he lost it."
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Post by Thoughts of Bells on Oct 19, 2015 17:44:49 GMT
The remaining Air aspect - the bald woman Bells had ducked around earlier - might have given a sharp cry of fury, were she not an Immaculate monk and thus highly trained and disciplined. She really, really looked like she wanted to, though, and perhaps it was only because she had retribution to enact that she didn't. When fighting a Solar, every ounce of one's attention and focus had to go into the task at hand. To fight with anything less than your full body and mind was to foolishly embrace death. With her jade chakram in hand, she stepped forward and spun on the ball of her foot, bending at the knee to sweep low. Once she was near the ground, she threw her chakram, the jade weapon whistling through the air in an upwards arc at her Anathema foe. The good thing about infinite jade chakrams was that it was nigh-impossible to get rid of them. As soon as she'd released the deadly spinning blade, another appeared in her hand. Still spinning, she leaned forward and planted her free hand on the ground, cartwheeling smoothly forward - another whistling blade whirling through the air at Cinder. Her advance continued as she hopped a couple feet into the air to launch a pair of the deadly weapons at Cinder, the arcing blades crossing over one another in a lazy 'X' before continuing to close the distance on the furious, cocky blonde and her furious, cocky face. She finally found herself on her own two feet, chakram in hand, the wind around her whistling at roughly the same pitch as her blades... with the white crest denoting her status as a child of Mela blazing proudly on her brow. She would not get another attack, if Vision of Bells had her way. Although she was carrying the deadly, flexible blade of Shatteredpaw, the somewhat timid Lunar was determined to end this fight in as non-lethal a manner as possible - and so opted to safely secure her bundle to her hip before taking a step out from behind her Solar comrade. Slicing and dicing would not do, here - hands-on it was. The skinny Lunar assumed a casual stance - almost like she were simply standing and waiting for a friend. A trained eye might notice the minute tension of her legs building, or the carefully-calculated relaxation of her hands in her fingers twitching, but by the time they paid attention to the details, it'd be too late. Bell's anima began to coalesce behind her - whisps of silver and red, coming together to form a prancing creature of rough shape, while a perfect, hollow circle lit up on her brow. Normally, her Anima would give away her true form - until Bell casually reached behind herself and shattered the image into a thousand shards of crystalline energy. The prismatic shards of raw energy, fractured as they were, made her true outline hard to discern - as though she were moving through a funhouse of broken mirrors, each line and patch of white or black or tan a possible false lead. And then Bell launched herself at the bald Air Aspect with frightening speed, blurring across the ground like a rocket. At the last minute, she whipped herself around and launched herself into the air, throwing a whistling, flying kick that, thanks to the Immaculate Monk's rigorous training, she only managed to block at the last second as an alternative to possibly having her jaw broken. Bell's onslaught continued, as she bent backwards at the waist and put a hand on the ground, spinning nimbly, bringing her other leg around at the midsection. The Immaculate blocked this attack as well, but the speed at which she was moving and the way her shattered anima cloaked her movements made the block clumsy - and painful. Bells, both of her attacks mitigated, slipped into a full handspring and curled her midsection up, before launching herself at the Immaculate feet-first. This attack hit with her full - though not incredible - weight behind it, as the gymnast pushed her opponent back a couple of steps and nearly knocked the wind out of her. With the Lunar between the Air Aspect and the roaring Solar, it was clear what her attention had been all along... to distract the less hardy of two targets so that her heavy-hitting new friend could take care of the other one. The Immaculate, not one to be dissuaded, lunged forward and pressed the attack. As with any true Air-aspect, her hands were a blur of motion and decisive action, striking for Bell's weak points, her medians and chakras. The sudden attack of (surprisingly savage) touches and pokes put Bells on the defensive, though only for the time being. Her entire focus was on slapping aside jabs, deflecting knife-hand strikes and the like. Cinder, though she hardly needed Bell's assistance in the first place, was on her own. The obvious Earth-Aspect in green armor roared forward, lifting his white jade lance. As a big and fearsome Dynast, he had no shame about going after the biggest, most fearsome target, confident in his natural sturdiness and armor could hold the Demons at bay until backup arrived. His lance shone, then sheathed itself in a wreath of green-and-brown energy, thrust forward with likely enough force to spear a pair of boars in a single strike. But this was no boar. Not even two boars. This was Cinder - and she could likely parry such a brutal, obvious strike without much concern. After all, what is the strongest ant in the world compared to virtually any human?
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