Re: The Battle Majestic (Round 2 - Firestar)
03-06-2010, 01:07 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.
<Alright, no, gotta keep it together. If I'm pissed, then it's got an advantage. I just lost my sword, but I can get it back easy enough. It's not expecting me to attack; I've got the element of surprise. All I have to do is lure it into a false sense of security, one quick swipe, and we're outta here. It'll never see it coming.>
The human brain is a wonderous marvel of natural bioengineering. How it processes thought, how efficient it is, whether or not it's just a heat sink for the cardiovascular system; none of these were fully understood in Jacob's time, and would not be for some centuries yet. Jacob had never learned neurology, psychology, or any of the sciences related to the mental faculties. Despite this, he was quite certain that no one could possibly have any idea how his train of thought changed in the few nanoseconds' time it took to travel from his brain to his mouth.
"DAMN IT <font size="1">DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!"
He paused in his metronomic path, whirling towards the callous Tender, accusatory finger primed and locked. "What the hell kind of a name is 'Sen,' anyway?" At the mention of his name, the great green beast cocked his head and chirped, but Jacob had resumed pacing. A short while later, he stopped again, throwing his hands in the air. "Who bothers to name something like you?!" Hissing through his teeth in frustration, he turned back to the Tender.
"Look. Look." The chronomancer pinched his brow. <Why am I bothering to explain this? It's not like it's gonna understand me.> He sighed, trudging slowly towards the alien creature. "It's like this, alright? Unless somebody dies, we're gonna be stuck on this island." The metal-clad hand swept out, encompassing the island at large. "You, me, the others. I'm pretty sure everyone wants to go home." Sen, unable to properly follow the conversation, began pawing tentatively at the ground. "But the thing is, so long as you're here, somebody's going to die. I know," he added hastily, "it's not entirely your fault, you're just planting stuff. I guess that's what you do."</font>
Sen glanced up from the small pit he'd dug. Eager as he was to see his beloved tree burst forth once more from the earth, his current location wasn't particularly suited to plant growth. Too many trees competing for for room and nutrients, a towering wall of earth inconveniently close, the proximity to a river; nothing the World Tree couldn't negotiate, but they weren't all that helpful either. And that prattling, fidgety man didn't seem very friendly. At least, he hadn't moments before... "Essentially, for the rest of us to be able to go home, you're going to have to die, alright?" By now the guy was close enough to pat the Tender's shoulder consolingly, if a bit lacking in the necessary hight. Sen recoiled slightly, but what may have been intended as I don't understand what you're saying was unintelligible to the man, who had turned away and resumed his speech. "I know, I know, I don't want to be the one to do it, but..."
Jacob retraced their path through the forest in his mind. A small river, trees, a turn, tees, a bush, trees, another turn, the giant log, more trees, and a tree that was probably missing a chunk of bark. Opening a tentative tunnel, he reached about with his mind for the telltale magical signature of his sword. While he wasn't dead-on, he was close, and a second tunnel yielded better results. Though the effect of drawing his sword from thin air was somewhat lost due to his facing away from Sen, he was going for a quick kill, not a flashy one.
"...Actually, no. That's a lie."
He swung around, blade outstretched. A single slice, a clean decapitation, and they'd be gone and rid of this nuisaince. The Tender never saw it coming.
Jacob hadn't been counting on the wooden spear embedded in Sen's neck to whip around and deflect his blow.
"SONOFA-" His curse was cut short by the sudden decompression of his lungs. Giant, spidery hands slamming into one's chest tend to have that effect, plate armor or no. Somehow he managed to keep a hold of his sword despite being flung through the air and heavily impacting a tree.
Jacob rose slowly, both from pain and for dramatic effect. "Okay. That's it." He'd seen Sen fighting with Alex in the previous round, and knew the direct approach probably wouldn't work so well. Fortunately, he preferred the defensive, and while ducking and weaving was made slightly problematic due to his chestplate, he was confident his finely honed parrying skill would not only protect him, but harm his unarmored attacker as well. He only hoped the tender wouldn't have an environmental advantage, but if their flight from the savages was any indication...
Sen hissed angrily, and began circling the clearing. Jacob followed suit, both ready to strike at a moment's notice. The Tander bared his teeth, hissing angrily, while the chronomancer's face was a mask of grim determination.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?"
<Alright, no, gotta keep it together. If I'm pissed, then it's got an advantage. I just lost my sword, but I can get it back easy enough. It's not expecting me to attack; I've got the element of surprise. All I have to do is lure it into a false sense of security, one quick swipe, and we're outta here. It'll never see it coming.>
The human brain is a wonderous marvel of natural bioengineering. How it processes thought, how efficient it is, whether or not it's just a heat sink for the cardiovascular system; none of these were fully understood in Jacob's time, and would not be for some centuries yet. Jacob had never learned neurology, psychology, or any of the sciences related to the mental faculties. Despite this, he was quite certain that no one could possibly have any idea how his train of thought changed in the few nanoseconds' time it took to travel from his brain to his mouth.
"DAMN IT <font size="1">DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!"
He paused in his metronomic path, whirling towards the callous Tender, accusatory finger primed and locked. "What the hell kind of a name is 'Sen,' anyway?" At the mention of his name, the great green beast cocked his head and chirped, but Jacob had resumed pacing. A short while later, he stopped again, throwing his hands in the air. "Who bothers to name something like you?!" Hissing through his teeth in frustration, he turned back to the Tender.
"Look. Look." The chronomancer pinched his brow. <Why am I bothering to explain this? It's not like it's gonna understand me.> He sighed, trudging slowly towards the alien creature. "It's like this, alright? Unless somebody dies, we're gonna be stuck on this island." The metal-clad hand swept out, encompassing the island at large. "You, me, the others. I'm pretty sure everyone wants to go home." Sen, unable to properly follow the conversation, began pawing tentatively at the ground. "But the thing is, so long as you're here, somebody's going to die. I know," he added hastily, "it's not entirely your fault, you're just planting stuff. I guess that's what you do."</font>
Sen glanced up from the small pit he'd dug. Eager as he was to see his beloved tree burst forth once more from the earth, his current location wasn't particularly suited to plant growth. Too many trees competing for for room and nutrients, a towering wall of earth inconveniently close, the proximity to a river; nothing the World Tree couldn't negotiate, but they weren't all that helpful either. And that prattling, fidgety man didn't seem very friendly. At least, he hadn't moments before... "Essentially, for the rest of us to be able to go home, you're going to have to die, alright?" By now the guy was close enough to pat the Tender's shoulder consolingly, if a bit lacking in the necessary hight. Sen recoiled slightly, but what may have been intended as I don't understand what you're saying was unintelligible to the man, who had turned away and resumed his speech. "I know, I know, I don't want to be the one to do it, but..."
Jacob retraced their path through the forest in his mind. A small river, trees, a turn, tees, a bush, trees, another turn, the giant log, more trees, and a tree that was probably missing a chunk of bark. Opening a tentative tunnel, he reached about with his mind for the telltale magical signature of his sword. While he wasn't dead-on, he was close, and a second tunnel yielded better results. Though the effect of drawing his sword from thin air was somewhat lost due to his facing away from Sen, he was going for a quick kill, not a flashy one.
"...Actually, no. That's a lie."
He swung around, blade outstretched. A single slice, a clean decapitation, and they'd be gone and rid of this nuisaince. The Tender never saw it coming.
Jacob hadn't been counting on the wooden spear embedded in Sen's neck to whip around and deflect his blow.
"SONOFA-" His curse was cut short by the sudden decompression of his lungs. Giant, spidery hands slamming into one's chest tend to have that effect, plate armor or no. Somehow he managed to keep a hold of his sword despite being flung through the air and heavily impacting a tree.
Jacob rose slowly, both from pain and for dramatic effect. "Okay. That's it." He'd seen Sen fighting with Alex in the previous round, and knew the direct approach probably wouldn't work so well. Fortunately, he preferred the defensive, and while ducking and weaving was made slightly problematic due to his chestplate, he was confident his finely honed parrying skill would not only protect him, but harm his unarmored attacker as well. He only hoped the tender wouldn't have an environmental advantage, but if their flight from the savages was any indication...
Sen hissed angrily, and began circling the clearing. Jacob followed suit, both ready to strike at a moment's notice. The Tander bared his teeth, hissing angrily, while the chronomancer's face was a mask of grim determination.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?"