eachdraidh | second arrow → VIDEO → both courts

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second arrow → VIDEO → both courts

Mum?

[Somehow Merida's locket has jarred itself open when she hopped off of Angus, coming out from its resting place beneath her dress. Coming towards her is a beautiful woman, storming along the path in front of them, dress in her hands and a stern look on her face. Angus whickers in anxiety, prancing back and nudging his nose against Merida's head as though to tell her something but she's not paying attention to her faithful horse. She hasn't seen her mum in over a month, and the scene replaying out in front of her is too familiar.]

You embarrassed them, Merida. You embarrassed me.

You...I...mum...

[She seems to be stuck on words to say, as Angus bites his teeth down on her locket chain and pulls her back with it, tearing it off and causing it to fall to the side. The angle is haphazard now, but the view still the same. Merida visibly shrinks against him as Elinor comes to a stop a few feet from her, gesturing wildly and the expression on her face only becoming angrier.]

Turnin' me into a bear? What were you thinkin', lass? All I've ever done has been for you, Merida.

I know that...mum, I know that now, just...please, listen to me...

[Elinor shifts suddenly, her entire form lowering itself down to the ground as black fur sprouts over her body, snarls coming from her mouth that's now a bear's snout. She snarls, hackles raising and Angus scampers as she stalks forward, causing Merida to fall back now that she hasn't her horse to lean against. She scrambles out of sight of the locket, and the bear towers over her, roaring as she screams.]

[ooc: people are more than welcome to tag her, as I'll be having her answer messages after the conflict is done with :3]

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[The draw of the dogs had stolen Lancer's attention momentarily. Their numbers were increasing and with them came even darker illusions. With a scowl, Lancer turned his hand over and with a gale, he blew a number of them away with his spear. Magical bodies were best fought with magical weapons, after all.

Despite the fact that he worse the appearance of someone without a bit of fear in him, that had been the opposite fact. Few things terrified the Hound, but they were definitely vast in their own right. Above all else, his fears were among the worst in his eyes.]

Aye. The illusions are just a distraction. So, it wouldn't do to dismiss 'em.

[He opened his mouth to speak, but at that--his own fear caught up with him. The dogs closed in, under cover of the spells they wove. From the forest and among the crowd of Merida's clansmen, came a young man--covered in blood. His body hissed with steam accompanied by a network of throbbing red veins running along his frame, akin to a spider's web.]

...Better yet, no. We ought to run, Princess. It ain't a good time. [As Merida stepped up, the Hound fell back. If ever there was a moment of hesitation in him, it was in that moment.]

[Everyone's fears were the worst in their eyes, and for Merida that was no different. The month spent agonizing over her actions back home had her in nightmares a few times, dreams where the very thing the dog had snatched from her fears happened. She had no magical weapons on her, and she was, suffice to say, too panicked to remember that she was taking magic lessons.

The young man among her clansmen doesn't go unnoticed, a strange sight among the blondes and brunet Scotsmen. Her sword wavers, confusion seeping into her before she realizes it's not her fear. His hesitance makes her stare for a moment, but she realizes even great warriors must be that way sometimes. Merida darts forward to scoop up her locket where Angus had accidentally tossed it aside and snap it shut before springing back, tucking it into the chest of her dress, taking hold of her horse by the reins and swinging around under his neck to step one foot into the stirrup, hefting herself onto his back with practiced ease.

Sheathing her sword, she reached out with a hand toward him.]

C'mon. Angus can outrun them.

[Maybe. She's hoping.]

[A flourish of his spear left a number of the dogs retreating. With his back to Merida, Lancer cautiously assessed the battlefield and tried to figure the best point of exit. He would have to take Merida into account as his priority--as he was uncertain if the dogs would avoid attacking her. Dogs typically didn't like attacking horses, but those weren't exactly normal dogs.

Without thinking, he reached to take Merida's hand. The problem was--he didn't notice his own status. While Merida was kind enough to offer him help in return, it simply wouldn't work out.

Right away, she would notice his hand was scalding hot to the touch.]

[She knew her father's hunting dogs typically avoided frightening Angus but they got along well enough that they didn't bother him anyway. Though these weren't those dogs. She didn't want to put Angus in danger, but it looked like he wanted to run anyway with the impatient on the spot prancing he was doing.

The second their hands touched, she yelped like she'd touched boiling hot water or fire itself, not even waiting for their fingers to clasp before withdrawing it. There was no use sticking her whole hand into her mouth, though looking at the blisters starting to form, Merida looked at him like he was growing a second head.]

You're burning up!

[Merida's reaction immediately sobered Lancer up. The dogs took a back seat the second he became fully aware of himself. The young man in the forest had disappeared, serving what little purpose he had provided. His eyes fell to Merida's hand and the burn that had sprouted up on her. As quickly as he could, he dismissed his spear, letting it vanish in a cloud of red mist.

What could he do at that point? It had been awhile, but he still recognized the feeling that came before the worst of events. A surge of anger or fear or simply frustration. Entirely unable to handle his own presence, he would lose control of himself in the worst way. At that point, it wasn't even an issue of his own fear. At that point, he couldn't have escaped from it even if he tried his hardest.]

Sorry. Guess I messed up. [The dogs circled, reacting to the presence of a shard awakening--as the one in Lancer's chest began to burn, become a dull red eye in the middle of his upper body. It was no use. The same veins tainting the body of the boy in the forest surged up Lancer's neck, rising up along his cheeks. With a withering, morose smile. The sound of breaking branches, the hiss of steam rising up from his collar and the uneasy look in his eyes should have made things clear.

The Hound of Culann would, in times of great stress, become a monster--]

It's best you run from me, Princess. Looks like I lost.

I don't understand...

[She did though, she'd realize later. His berserk rages were some of the things her father had told her about, though now she was witnessing it herself she wasn't sure it should be something celebrated so, especially if it had appeared there, in the illusions of the dogs. Angus whickered, head rearing and causing her to tighten her one handed grip on his reins.

Merida was already in a predicament, but she wasn't about to leave. Not when he'd come for her when he didn't have to. It wasn't even a matter of honor, simply that he was her friend. Did her father ever mention a cure to his rages? She couldn't remember right now.]

I'm not running from you. [She sounded stubborn when she said that, though her voice wavered, cracking on the edges, worn from screaming so.] I won't.

Princess! [The thought was ghastly. Had she turned and run, his own inclination to run would give good distance--so he thought. Merida on horseback could have made good time. The problem was certainly in her inclination to think of him as a friend.

That was the biggest problem. Every ability Cu Chulainn possessed was cursed. It was rare that his gifts were a bane to his enemy rather than his friends and allies. When Merida answered him, he knew the chances of things ending clean would drop dramatically. All he could do was hope someone else could show up and help. She had shown herself on the locket, after all.]

I'm not playing games! [As he turned, the knight's hair had become red like flame, rising with each of his breaths. His skin knotted and any handsome feature he had left disappeared from the stress that came with barely prolonging the inevitable.

Turning on his heel, he threw himself into the woods, towards the Black Shuck's fallen. There was no fear in him that they would bite or tear him apart. If anything, he prayed they could do something to him. Anything to prevent tragedy, once the worst had been confirmed.

By then, the two voices that left his mouth were layered and enraged, boiling with twin tones that fought one another. Merida's inclination to be kind and look after her friend risked one of the Hound's greater fears.]

It ain't negotiable!

I didn't say you were!

[She'd keep Angus still until it would be the absolute last minute, pulling her bow off her body and knocking in an arrow just in case, but keeping it lowered. Her horse snorted nervously, shaking his head as he became agitated, moreso than usual. He wanted to run from this place, and he made to before she kept him in check, whickering a protest.

Merida heard her blood rushing through her veins, heart pounding in her chest. The pack of fallen seemed to have halted, still snarling and snapping but staying where they were, confused almost, as more came and blocked any exit she had. It was hard to tell from where she was. She stayed there, startled by the dual voices coming from him, having never heard anything like it before.]

I know. I'm sorry.

[She didn't understand what she was apologizing for, or who to. Herself? Him? The fallen? Angus? It didn't matter. Merida kicked her horse into gear, and Angus fell into a gallop, leaping over the dogs that snarled and snapped at his hooves.]

[Seconds ticked away and Lancer repeated to himself constantly: that he would stop himself. Kill the threats and do away with the illusions. Do it quickly, so the chance of any reprisal coming would vanish. Kill and kill and kill--

After Merida had ridden for a half minute or so, the woods shook and an inhuman howl took over the woods. The yelping of dogs being cut apart were cut short with heavy thuds. The seconds passed, the silence of the forest returning as the last of the yelps died down.

The winds went still, as if one draft clashed against the other. Angus would be sharply cut off in his path as the second wind came to pass him. Lancer stood in the path of Angus and Merida, hair billowing from the heat rising up from his body. His face was blank, save for a small and modest smile.]

[Angus' hooves beat against the path in time with her heartbeat thundering in her chest. The howl ripped through her ears, the dog's yelps sending chills and goosebumps along her skin. She was reminded of the time her mother ran away with her while her father faced Mor'du, the day he lost his leg. Merida shook her head, clutching the reins tightly in one hand and her bow in the other.

The silence of the forest is deafening, the wind no longer howling past them. Angus rears at the sudden appearance and Merida loses her grip given she only has one hand holding her on, sliding down off his back and rolling on the ground, coming to a stop on her side. The arrow tumbles from between her index and middle fingers, and she pulls another from her quiver, rolling to her back and butt as she knocks it in, aiming.]

I don't want to do this. [The whisper falls from her mouth, pulling the bowstring back to her cheek.] I know you can hear me. Please...

Edited 2014-11-16 00:34 (UTC)

[ it was naga who heard the howl of panic, naga who's strong nose lifted into the wind to sniff out fear and blood and rage, folded ears lifting as she tried to pin down where the source was. "what's wrong, girl?" a quiet whispered question in the air told naga that korra was paying attention to the world around her, and it takes no more than a second to pass between them before korra was on naga's back and they disappeared into the beyond to seek out the danger.

yes, you read that right, korra is actively going to danger. head it off at the pass, prevent it from getting closer to home base. gritting her teeth, korra encouraged naga to run faster, to pour her strength into each passing stride as they cut through the forest, and she uses her airbending to push branches and leaves out of her path.

in the distance, korra catches the white of angus's face and the flash of his hooves as he rears up and tosses his rider. with eyes wide, korra feels her breath stop in her throat because the last time she saw a creature like this — ... merida! faster, naga! faster! hackles pulling back from her fangs, there's no affection in naga's eyes as there was before on samhain; they're cold, predatory. korra draws in a deep gulp of air as fire flickers at her fingertips and rockets forward in a great big ball, heading right for lancer. ]

[With a huff, a cloud of steam poured from the Hound's throat. Merida drew her bow, cementing herself as an 'enemy' in what remained of his mind. Like a beast, he poised himself to lunge at her. The woods seemed eerily silent at that time, only their shared breaths, Angus' shifts and Merida's bow-string falling on any ears. Her plea was wasted, especially given that his entire mind was wiped clean, save for the core necessities of survival: eliminating any and all forms of danger.

One ear twitched as Korra made her approach, flames twisting through the air in his direction. He was blown back off of his feet as they struck him head on, sending him skidding back, dragging mounds of dirt up with his feet.

His flesh seared, the beast reared himself up and sprung towards Korra, fast as an arrow fired. She was a new enemy--one he wanted to tear apart the same as the dogs.]

[She noticed the slouch of his posture, preparing herself to scramble back before the fire comes. Merida throws her arms up to protect herself, feeling Angus lean down to nip at her dress again and drag her back with a snort, whickering to Naga as he pranced back with Merida. The redhead looks to where the fire came from, a flash of relief falling on her face when she recognizes Naga's white hide and the rider on her back.]

Be careful! [She shifts her bow, rolling to her knees to stand with a pat on Angus' neck as she drives him away from the two of them.] He's berserk, he doesn't know what he's doin'!

[ she barely has time to register the warning from merida before korra's on the defensive, blasting forward a funnel of wind to try and knock lancer off his path. just because he's berserk — korra would call it possessed, seeing that fire in his eyes and the swift way he moves — doesn't mean she's going to let anyone be hurt by him. she'll shoot for disabling, but if lancer moves in to kill, well...

korra will defend herself, naga, merida, and her horse.

leaping from naga's saddle, korra continues blasting air at lancer in order to keep him off balance as best she can, not aiming to hurt him but maybe stun by slamming him against the trunk of a thick tree. ]

Naga! [ another funnel; another blast; wind cuts through the forest lifting leaves and light frost and twisting them through the air. ] Naga, get Merida and go!

[Pushed quite a bit off course, Cu Chulainn found himself smashing through the ground, uprooting a few trees in his landing. His fists full of dirt, he pulled himself up after tossing one of the trees aside, off of his side. By then, it looked as if he had recovered from his burns fully.

As he stood up properly, another blast of air struck him head on--but, that time, he had been prepared. It funneled against him and dissipated as he grounded himself. Another barrel of wind struck him head on and another, before he simply became further enraged by it. Stabbing one hand into the dirt, the madman gripped solid rock and began to lift up a plate of bedrock, lifting it right out of the ground right before throwing it at both Korra and Merida.]

[She hated feeling this useless. Merida had been taught how to fight since she was young; in sword and bow, combat was her specialty but she stood no chance. There's too much going on to even concentrate on the littlest bit of magic she knows, far from ready to fight with it. The princess slings her bow around her head and places the arrow back in her quiver, clucking her tongue at Angus.

Korra's order to Naga makes her hesitate, not liking leaving either of her friends to fight this out but she didn't really have much of a choice. She goes to speak, then turns her attention towards the bedrock coming for them, a shriek ripping from her.]

[ ohhh no you don't. there's no hesitation to korra's actions as she throws herself in front of merida and angus, planting her feet and holding her hands out to completely shatter the bedrock flying towards them, sending dust and chunks of earth flying to the side and harmlessly back to the ground. pressing her lips together, korra lets out a hard breath to steady herself before reaching out with her chi and grasping the earth at the roots of a couple trees.

without so much as touching the wood with her fingertips, korra throws them at lancer by the earth about the roots, eyes narrowed. she has to make sure she never takes her eyes off of the blue knight, has to make sure she never loses sight of him because otherwise — things could go very, very bad. ]

Merida, you need to go! [ it's not that korra doesn't think that merida is incapable of defending herself, but with the way things are looking right now, it would be best if she got as far away as possible. ] I can handle this on my own!

[ though if what lancer said about getting power from the queen is true, then... well, she'll figure something out when the time came. ]

[Whatever this thing was, the beast recognized it as a foe that could steal his attention. Trees crushed his body, compacting him into the ground. More and more, his anger built upon itself. Despite that kind of crushing attack, he stood up, lifting one of the great trees under one arm before he threw it aside, as if casting away a twig.

The trees still touching him boiled, beginning to catch aflame from the heat running along his body. One step forward and the ground beneath him blackened from exposure to him. Unlike the classic 'Berserker', Cu Chulainn was enraged by his own body rather than his mind. The Gift of the Gods given to him in birth had been a maddened form which knew nothing more than fighting and killing. In that sort of scenario, he was the most at home. It became worse and worse when he was confronted with an enemy who didn't succumb to him easily--as Korra's counter-attack infuriated him immediately.

Then, as if he had simply become vapor, Cu Chulainn charged Korra once again, clawed fingers coming down for her with the bestial speed and inhuman force. It would be the akin to dealing with a runaway train.]

Call me when it's over! An' tell him to as well!

[She couldn't stand not knowing what happened, knowing that both of them were in danger because of her. Guilt would eat her up inside if she didn't find out. Merida was watching a legendary warrior in battle, and she knew just from what she was witnessing that she was far outmatched by either of them. She'd just be a nuisance to Korra if she stayed.

Since Cu Chulainn's attention was on Korra, she took Angus by the reins and started running from the area, blocking out the sounds and promising herself that she'd start learning magic for a different reason. To protect those she cared about. Angus slowed into a trot so she could heft herself up onto his back, struggling a bit with the pace but managing it, leg swinging over his saddle.]

Hyah!

[ he's too fast he's so fast korra didn't realize just what kind of speed this guy was harboring in that slender body of his. her eyes went wide as she watched him dart forward and she knew she had no time nor strength to actually stand up to his attack. dodging out of the way was her only option, and as she flipped herself to the side she used her energy to lift up a huge block of earth for lancer to slam into, hoping that he can't corner on a yuan like some of asami's machines.

she can't afford to be hit, and she wastes no time trying to pin lancer down by pulling up earthen blocks around him, over and over, ready to reconstruct any of them that he destroys. but she has to remember, that fact at the back of her mind, that his master is queen solais, and korra can't risk fatally injuring one of the seelie's best warriors. ]

[His fingers curled and met with open air, but the impact of his swing was enough to rip the forest open. Trees collapsed in the wake of his hand's immense strength. Korra's gesture came at just the right moment, too--as instead of being conscious enough to weigh a counter-attack on his mind, Lancer began howling in frustration and pain. The walls of stone came against him and forced him to his knees, one by one.

The rocks began to crack, splitting as the Hound put his weight against them. His muscles expanded, blood rising up from his skin in droplets at first until blood simply poured from his skin, eyes, nostrils and mouth.

The continuous constructs that came up were cracked and shoved aside, but they still came and came as Korra battered at him. Eventually, the small little bit of land he was trapped in simply exploded as he jumped with full force, shaking the ground. Hanging in the air for a moment, Lancer set his maddened gaze on Korra, unrecognizing of her as a human being. At that point, she was the very definition of his 'enemy'.

In each one hand, he held three small stones he ripped out of the boulders Korra had crushed him with. In the other, he held a slender shard of rock from the same boulder. Before he even landed, Lancer reared back his hand in the air and tossed one of the rocks up. He came down with the hand that held the slender shard of rock and hit the smaller rock hard. Normally, it was a gesture that would have turned the small rock to dust--but, 'Cu Chulainn' had been a star hurling champion, even in the throes of his madness. That 'game' he played could easily be turned into a war-time event.

When he struck the rock, it released a sound more like the rupture of air that came with a sonic boom. He missed Korra, if only because he lost sight of her in the forest--but, the rock itself speared into the dirt a ways away from her with the same impact of a mortar shell exploding. At that, he had two more rocks left in his hand.]

[ lancer was unlike any bender — or any fighter, for that matter — that korra had ever faced before. even unavaatu was more predictable than this, possibly because korra had her fingertip on the pulse of the universe at the time, and she could feel every shift of energy slide through her with each passing second. but this — this reminds her of the assault on unalaq's camp, when bolin bend discs of earth down to the ground from asami's plane. this was... something she was never trained for, and the rocking of the ground beneath her feet sends her onto her backside, off balance and almost panicked.

she couldn't react in time to stop the first stone from meeting the forest floor, and quickly the only thing she could think to do was cover her face to prevent any injury. she felt stone and dirt scrape against her forearm and soon a warmth she recognizes as blood spreads across her skin. she's injured but she's not out, and this time she scrambles to her feet and dives forward, deeper into the woods, trying to make it more difficult for lancer to follow.

from her spot dozens of feet up the path, naga turns from where she'd been keeping pace with merida to boomerang back to korra's side, loping in tandem with her friend's running for a few seconds — korra uses earth to catapult her forward, air to navigate; she lands with a thump on naga's back. go, go, she hisses, grabbing at fur instead of reins as naga winds her way through trunks, branches and fallen trees, leaping and dodging until the ground gives way beneath her, sending both polar beardog and rider down a muddy hillside end over end and to the shallow river below. ]

[The moment he landed, Lancer had struggled to move. The transformation itself was painful, wrenching screams of agony and rage from him. Blood gushed from his mouth as his body simply wanted to reject what was happening. He wasn't completely immortal--his body simply wouldn't tolerate what was going on so easily. When he came to, he heard the furious thud of Naga's movement across the glade, to which his fury returned and once more with a direction.

His skin knotted, the anger in him reaching a tipping point. By then, Lancer no longer resembled anything human. He threw himself forward, chasing after Korra blindly. The saving grace she possessed was that Naga would avoid obstacles. Lancer continually battered through the woods, stopping only when he reached something he couldn't easily overcome, jumping over it in an attempt to reach her.]

[ when korra's eyes finally open, she's not sure how long she's been out. next to her, naga's whimpering in pain and holding her paw up, tail snapping from side to side in agitation. from their tumble down the hill korra could only assume it was a twisted ankle, something that will heal up quickly, but she has to get her bearings before she can worry about healing naga up to continue their run through the wood in order to tire lancer out.

her arm hurts; her back hurts; actually, everywhere hurts. the kind of pain that comes from blunt force trauma, not from exhaustion, is sinking down into her bones and korra hisses as she holds her arm steady at her side. the howl of pain and rage from lancer tells korra that she's only been out of it for a few seconds, but there's no time for anything else and finally panic sets into the pit of her stomach as she watches lancer burst out from the wood above the riverbank. as she watches him she feels the world slow down as recognition blooms in her mind. there's something familiar about his coloration, the way he moves; it's like he's more... spirit than human.

it's a longshot, but with the water lapping at her ankles and shifting against her boots, it's the only idea korra has. her eyes close; she centers herself with knuckles meeting in front of her chest. three steps back and she's out of the water, waiting for lancer to reach just the right spot in the river itself before her arms fan out and move in slow arcs around her. the water suddenly shifts, hums gold and lifts itself up into the air and around the servant in long, thin tendrils.

oh, spirits, she hopes this works. ]

[Steam rises off of him. Landing on the shore, Lancer's hastened pace ended. Korra had stopped running, so he didn't need to do the same. One step after the other, blood dripped from the lumbering madman, leaving a long trail from the forest. He stalked towards Korra, the stone club he ripped into his hand dripping with his own blood. As he got closer, he noticed the tendrils of water, but didn't recognize them as dangerous.

Instinct didn't kick in. Bit by bit, as the water surrounded him, the rage withered from Lancer's expression. The club dropped out of his hand, along with the stones. The shift of water, the calm that came from Korra's manipulation of his disposition--it slowed him until he was standing a foot in the water, simply staring at her.

Recognition. He didn't say anything to her, the only thing interrupting them being the current of the water. The only expression he could muster was one reminiscent of absolute weariness and melancholy.]

second arrow → VIDEO → both courts

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