so en garde! who knows what the fates have in store

[forgotmyforge]

Characters: Bellflower (wayofflowers) and Presea/Flame (forgotmyforge)
Date/Time: 27 June, early evening
Location: Captain Planet
Rating: PG with potential for something worse, depending on what happens during the fight.
Summary: Bellflower and Presea run into a Hollow. Hijinks ensue, only not really in a fun way.

Comments

[wayofflowers]

There had been an uneasy feeling in the air the last few days - Bastet had said she'd seen a Hollow, outside of the Wilderness. Bellflower hadn't had time to visit the Wilderness, yet, but the others from her world had told her about the creatures and she had no wish to meet one unarmed. So she had taken to carrying her longsword with her, strap slung across one shoulder, as she went to and from home and work.

But she wasn't about to let it keep her from enjoying the good weather they'd been having, so lunch found her wandering the footpaths in the park, carrying a small bag with some steamed pork buns with her.

[forgotmyforge]

When Presea saw Bellflower, she relaxed visibly. Clearly she'd just been making herself paranoid. She waved cheerfully.

"Hey!" she called out, getting up from her perch to approach the other woman. It'd been a while since they'd spoken, and here was a nice opportunity to catch up.

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower returned the wave with one of her own. "Hello, Flame-san - or Presea-san now, I suppose." She had meant to congratulate the other woman on remembering her name, but she'd been a little too wrapped up in her own thoughts at the time.

[forgotmyforge]

Presea beamed. "You read, then? It's nice to see you again, Bellflower. How have you been?"

Something rustled in the brush, but she wasn't really paying much attention to it. It'd be nice to catch up with Bellflower a little.

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower returned the smile. "I did. And well enough - yourself?" The usual calm was clear on her face, but something was starting to niggle at the back of her senses. Something bad, it felt like, but she wasn't sure what or where - or even if it was simply in her imagination.

[forgotmyforge]

"I can't complain," Presea said, grinning, and that was when the creature burst out of the brush behind them. She whirled in surprise, attempting to take it in, although her senses were screaming for her to get away. There was something wrong about it -- not just something, everything. It felt dangerous, and it looked off-kilter, like a creature made rather than born. Although she was already running in an attempt to get out of immediate range, her eyes were drawn to the strange hole in the middle of its chest, as if someone had already tried to attack it and not succeeded. But the wound was sealed and did not leak blood. It was unnatural.

"What is that?" she shouted, just out of fear and shock.

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower's hands went to the sword sheath on her shoulder, without even thinking about it - combat instincts. She hadn't seen the creature before, here - but at the same time, she knew it instantly.

"It's a Hollow. A monster from my home." She could feel the wash of it's power over her - twisted, hungry. Something that would just keep destroying until it was destroyed itself.

[forgotmyforge]

Presea drew her sword as well. It was strange, to have a monster from elsewhere burst into the Sphere, but they could wonder about that later. She was... pleased wasn't quite the word, but grateful, perhaps, that Bellflower was at least familiar with the beast. That would hopefully come in handy during this fight.

The creature grinned at them, unbothered by their weaponry, and it kept coming toward them. At least there didn't seem to be anyone else around. Perhaps they could stop it before it got in among the rest of the people here.

"Weaknesses? What should we do?" she asked. She took a defensive sword stance.

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower shifted slightly, so her back was tilted towards Presea's. Make it harder for the creature to get around them - that was a first step, anyway.

"It should have a mask. Destroy it." It wasn't much to go on, but it was all she knew. And hopefully it would be enough - anything else she'd been told about them fled as the creature raked a shadow clawed hand at her, unexpectedly fast, and she moved to block.

[forgotmyforge]

A mask. A mask? Okay. Perhaps that was why the creature's face was so strange, although that meant one of the other of them would have to get closer than she'd like. In any case, she was distracted by the creature's other hand. Apparently he thought they'd be easy. Presea laughed a little, grimly, and she blocked, pushing back against the attack.

It was strange; she wasn't very interested or comfortable when sparring with other humans, but this was... not easy, but more instinctive. Less hesitations were necessary. It was kind of freeing.

[wayofflowers]

With a twist of her arms, Bellflower freed her sword, the creature's claws slipping free to slide into the empty space between her head and shoulder. Her blade gave her an advantage here, with it's length. Even though the creature was taller than she was, she still had better reach, and she used it to her advantage, lunging forward for an upward sweep with her sword. Not quite enough - it scored the surface of the hard white bonelike substance covering it's face, but did not penetrate.

[forgotmyforge]

Ooooh, that had seemed like a close one. Still, Presea couldn't hesitate in concern for Bellflower. Now that she knew what to aim for, she could be a bit more daring. She darted in for a strike of her own, attempting to avoid the claws as best as she could. Something hooked into her calf, quite painfully, and she had to swipe at the arm to get it to let her go. Although the creature shrieked when her sword struck, it was hard to tell if the cry was in anger or pain. In any case, it let her go, and she had wounded it. Not in a critical area, but perhaps enough to make it upset enough to make mistakes.

[wayofflowers]

Some part of Bellflower could sense the momentary pause in it's attack that Presea's had created - pain, surprise, it didn't matter. She reacted, all muscle memory, ande lunged. The tip of her sword drove deep into the mask, and a crack fractured out along it - and then, suddenly, the creature was dissolving into dust.

[forgotmyforge]

Presea could only sigh in relief and try not to lean on her injured leg too much. She was still breathing hard from the fight, but it was impossible to resist the feelings of relief. The creature wasn't going to attack anyone else.

"That was really nice swordwork," she said, admiring. "That thing could really have been trouble. What was that you called it -- a Hollow?"

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower relaxed slightly - the immediate threat was gone, and the oppressive, hungry feeling to the atmosphere had abated significantly. She resheathed her sword - whatever it had dissolved into, it hadn't left any residue behind. Convenient, that.

"Thank you - and yes, they're called Hollows apparently." The way Presea was carrying her weight was hard to miss - as was the trickle of red. "Is your leg alright?"

[forgotmyforge]

Presea looked down. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the injury was hurting more, but at least the cuts weren't extremely deep. She would ache for a few days, and Cephiro would probably fuss, but she'd be all right. Lucky, that.

"It will be," she said, trying to be reassuring. She didn't like to make people worry. "I'll stop by Medical before I go home. People should probably know that more Hollows are around, anyway. I'll tell them."