Re: Inexorable Altercation [Round IV - Hezekiah]
09-16-2012, 11:41 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by PlumFinder.
Annaliese let out a short shriek and reached to the floor for her knife.
'Oh now, who is this?' said the elderly creature, looking over Loran's shoulder.
'Annaliese Nibbs, isn't it?' asked Loran.
Annaliese didn't answer, pointing her knife in his general direction. Her arm was shaking so bad that Loran wondered if she would even hit him if she swung. Loran remembered wondering what powers had gotten her a spot in this competition, but it was apparant that it wasn't her combat skills. The way she held her knife would probably lose her a few fingers if she tried to stab anything. Loran smiled reassuringly at her. Annaliese grew pale and stepped backwards, until her back was against the wall.
'Don't come any closer!' she said shrilly. 'Just - Just go, and I will not follow you!'
'Is that a threat?' Greyve said, sounding amused. 'That girl's got spunk.'
'DON'T KILL HER,' Voitrach formed. Loran tried to wave the rocks away from before his eyes, but they were unaffected by his hands.
'I'm not going to,' he said. 'Weren't you paying attention?'
He took a step towards Annaliese, who now appeared to try to walk backwards through the wall.
'Please!' she said. 'Please just... don't...'
She hesitated for a moment, as if listening to someone, then said 'No!'
Loran tried his smile again. Anneliese flinched. He took another step and saw her tense, her eyes shooting from left to right rapidly. He knew the look. It was how everyone looked when they were trapped without escape. When he killed someone like that, he always moved as close as he could for them to stay where they were, and then closed the final distance as fast as he could. Moving too close too slowly would without exception cause them to make a final attempt at escape, and while they never succeeded, they had an unfortunate tendency to cause more damage than they had any right to. Nothing was more dangerous than a victim with nothing to lose.
Of course, the problem here was that he wasn't trying to kill Annaliese.
'Guys, any ideas?' he said.
'DON'T KILL HER.'
'Besides that.'
'Calm her down,' Felix said. 'Just put her at ease.'
'Yes, I know that,' Loran said. He had to fight the urge to turn towards his hallucinations. 'But how do I do that?'
'You don't know how to calm someone down?' Felix asked.
'My usual way of calming people down involves bleeding them empty!' Loran said. 'I'm an assassin, remember? Nobody ever asked me to find a victim and not kill it.'
He snapped his eyes back to look at Annaliese. She didn't seem to have any intention of attacking him, but it was never wise to not watch the creature with the knife. She still stood trembling against the wall. At least that gave him time to figure out how to defuse the situation.
[color=#8000BF]'Watch his eyes,' the Vorlon queen told Annaliese in her head. 'See how they keep drifting to his right, as though he is trying to watch something else at the same time?'
Annaliese answered with the slightest nod of her head. She wasn't certain what the queen was going to ask of her, but she had a feeling she could guess. It wasn't a good feeling.
'It's probably where he he sees whoever he is talking to,' the queen continued. 'The next time he does it, slip past his left. If you are fast enough, you might get past him before he can react.'
Truthfully, Annaliese didn't think she was fast enough, but she had already rejected two of the queen's plans ('try to duck beneath his arm and stab him with that knife you have there' and 'bargain for your life with the promise of powerful magic') and she didn't want to sound unco
Annaliese let out a short shriek and reached to the floor for her knife.
'Oh now, who is this?' said the elderly creature, looking over Loran's shoulder.
'Annaliese Nibbs, isn't it?' asked Loran.
Annaliese didn't answer, pointing her knife in his general direction. Her arm was shaking so bad that Loran wondered if she would even hit him if she swung. Loran remembered wondering what powers had gotten her a spot in this competition, but it was apparant that it wasn't her combat skills. The way she held her knife would probably lose her a few fingers if she tried to stab anything. Loran smiled reassuringly at her. Annaliese grew pale and stepped backwards, until her back was against the wall.
'Don't come any closer!' she said shrilly. 'Just - Just go, and I will not follow you!'
'Is that a threat?' Greyve said, sounding amused. 'That girl's got spunk.'
'DON'T KILL HER,' Voitrach formed. Loran tried to wave the rocks away from before his eyes, but they were unaffected by his hands.
'I'm not going to,' he said. 'Weren't you paying attention?'
He took a step towards Annaliese, who now appeared to try to walk backwards through the wall.
'Please!' she said. 'Please just... don't...'
She hesitated for a moment, as if listening to someone, then said 'No!'
Loran tried his smile again. Anneliese flinched. He took another step and saw her tense, her eyes shooting from left to right rapidly. He knew the look. It was how everyone looked when they were trapped without escape. When he killed someone like that, he always moved as close as he could for them to stay where they were, and then closed the final distance as fast as he could. Moving too close too slowly would without exception cause them to make a final attempt at escape, and while they never succeeded, they had an unfortunate tendency to cause more damage than they had any right to. Nothing was more dangerous than a victim with nothing to lose.
Of course, the problem here was that he wasn't trying to kill Annaliese.
'Guys, any ideas?' he said.
'DON'T KILL HER.'
'Besides that.'
'Calm her down,' Felix said. 'Just put her at ease.'
'Yes, I know that,' Loran said. He had to fight the urge to turn towards his hallucinations. 'But how do I do that?'
'You don't know how to calm someone down?' Felix asked.
'My usual way of calming people down involves bleeding them empty!' Loran said. 'I'm an assassin, remember? Nobody ever asked me to find a victim and not kill it.'
He snapped his eyes back to look at Annaliese. She didn't seem to have any intention of attacking him, but it was never wise to not watch the creature with the knife. She still stood trembling against the wall. At least that gave him time to figure out how to defuse the situation.
[color=#8000BF]'Watch his eyes,' the Vorlon queen told Annaliese in her head. 'See how they keep drifting to his right, as though he is trying to watch something else at the same time?'
Annaliese answered with the slightest nod of her head. She wasn't certain what the queen was going to ask of her, but she had a feeling she could guess. It wasn't a good feeling.
'It's probably where he he sees whoever he is talking to,' the queen continued. 'The next time he does it, slip past his left. If you are fast enough, you might get past him before he can react.'
Truthfully, Annaliese didn't think she was fast enough, but she had already rejected two of the queen's plans ('try to duck beneath his arm and stab him with that knife you have there' and 'bargain for your life with the promise of powerful magic') and she didn't want to sound unco