3rd Roar -- [ Voice ]

[cursedtobe]

[ She'd wanted to get something from the marketplace. It was just supposed to be a quick trip and then run back - but she drew the attention of someone. Or something. She'd intended to turn the Forge on - or perhaps it was accidentally turned on when she was fumbling with it in her surprise, but whatever the reason, it was on now. ]Who are you

Comments

Action.

[impossibly]

[ The whole city is bright with spots of desperation because tonight all the heroes are dying, and River lets her feet lead her through it, like a maze, a long and complicated dance. She leaves a trail of bodies, and there's already gore in her hair, on her boots, dripping off her axe - where did she find sn axe? - when she starts to dip in and out of Dismas.

She hears Freya's screams in person and follows them to the source as unerringly as a hound who's scented blood. Sprinting, axe at the ready, blur of red and black and flashing, deadly silver. ]

Action.

[cursedtobe]

[ She had no weapons to defend herself, and it seemed plenty of people in Dismas were having the same problem, or worse. Dropping like flies. She was being dragged across the ground by an ogre that had her by the leg, her previously tidied appearance now scuffed and messy. She didn't notice the girl rushing to her aide yet, her frantic panic focused on escape with a singleminded urgency. She was scrabbling at the ground fiercely enough to leave scrapes on her knuckles and wear her fingernails down to almost nothing. At least her screaming makes it easy for people to find her! ]

Action.

[impossibly]

[ River is tiny compared to the ogre but there's strength in the way she leaps up to it, flip-kicks its chest and then drops to a low crouch to avoid it's annoyed strike. She swings the axe at its legs, springs again to chop at the arm holding Freya, and kicks high to party another blow. It's dodging well but so is she, fluid and unyielding, demanding with each swing and strike and spurt of viscera that the ogre give up his prize. ]

Action. /h-holy Santa Christ, River XD

[cursedtobe]

[ And to think, that ogre was just two days away from retirement when tiny one-woman army River charges in. When the ginormous beastie's progress stops, so do Freya's screams of protest- she honestly hadn't predicted that anyone would come to her aid.

When the sound of River's axe - wherever she found it - chopping into the Ogre's arm bring forth the beast's roars of pain and inevitably cause him to release Freya's leg, the druidess scrambled forward out of range, twisting around to stare in disbelief at her saviour.

Nevermind the injured leg, nevermind the spray of viscera and god knows what else - and despite everything in her screaming to flee - Freya froze in place to stare at the sight in sheer awe and shock. No way could that thing stand up to an assault like that for long. ]

Action. 8D

[impossibly]

[ Indeed, River's whirling chaos, death by a thousand cuts, first brings the monster heavily to it's knees and then, light as a jete, she hurdles it and uses all the weight of gravity to take the monster's head. It quivers gruesomely for a moment and then the body collapses.

River turns instinctually for her next opponent and, finding none, takes a moment to breath, trickles of sweat and blood tickling her skin. She acknowledges Freya with a piercing stare, something animalistic in her dark gaze. She doesn't move closer. Her voice is small, still breathless, too girlish to match her macabre form. ]

Almost had you.

Action

[cursedtobe]

[ ... she almost feels sorry for the Ogre. Bet it never thought it'd get taken out by someone so tiny, so easily. Staring silently at River for a moment, she almost didn't hear what was said. Wait - that voice. She knew that voice. ]

I feared the worst, had you not shown up. [ It's hesitantly given, but genuine gratitude is filtered in her voice. ]

Thank you. ... we've spoken before, haven't we.

Action

[impossibly]

Nine minus one leaving nothing.

[ A step forward, then another, curious of Freya but also hesitant. She's stranger in person, glancing around without meeting the gaze of the person she's speaking to, or staring too long all together, her movements unnaturally graceful. She tilts her head to the side. ]

We spoke. Can't say who listened.

Re: Action

[cursedtobe]

[ Nine ogres minus one? Nine humans minus one? ... and what was leaving nothing - she had such a strange way of talking. She was profoundly grateful all the same, and now that the adrenaline of fear was wearing off, she could feel the pain from her bruises. A trifle, really. ]

Or understood. [ Listening isn't always understanding, after all. She had to fight the wariness of the girl, as she fought wariness of everyone in this place. Which brought a thought. ]

You ... aren't from this place are you? [ She could mean Dismas, or she could be questioning whether River was a local - she highly doubted the latter. ]

Action

[impossibly]

I'm not from any place in particular.

[ a little closer. ]

Do you know how to play Hide and Seek? I'll count one thousand elephants, two thousand elephants.

Action

[cursedtobe]

[ She retreated a step with a puzzled frown. ]

Hide and Seek? [ ... it ... it was hardly the time for such. Hide, certainly but... ]

Yes, I know how ... it's...[ A game she played when she was little. All the same, it was an interesting way to put a less frightening twist on the scenario - and Freya had intended to hide, but... ]

Are you sure this is the proper time for a game like that...?

Action

[impossibly]

More will come. I've started counting.

[ She lifts a hand and places it across her eyes, blocking Freya from her sight. But she could still feel her there, fragile and wounded and dangerous. ]

Go.

Action

[cursedtobe]

[ This ... was definitely one of the more peculiar things she'd seen yet. She didn't like the idea of just leaving the girl there, but between the two of them, River was the most capable of handling herself at the moment. A small nod followed, and Freya stepped back once, twice - then whirled and sprinted away as best she could, with only a slight limp impeding her speed. She'd seen an alcove hidden not too far from here - she could grab her Forge and hide there until it was safe to come out again. ]