[hr][hr][center][h2][b][i][color=42A9FF]Princess[/color] & [color=E948FC]Hotshot[/color][/i][/b][/h2][/center][hr][hr] April was pacing back and forth in the training room she and Danni had reserved, her stomach feeling like it was bubbling up with anxiety. She hadn’t been able to train while she was at C.A.G.E., and as much as it had been the right call for her to go there, she was all too aware of how close they were to the Contest of Champions - and how far behind she felt in terms of being prepared. It wasn’t just that she was a bit out of practice now, either - the medication she was on had an unfortunate side effect of causing tremors in her hands. It was supposed to go away soon - hopefully before the contest - but the doctors had informed her that everyone reacted to lithium a little differently. She couldn’t even manage to apply mascara without smudging it everywhere, nearly getting some in her eye. But she wasn’t about to let her team down. Danni had volunteered to practice with her - they’d been sparring ever since they were freshman, their powers complementary. Hopefully the fine motor control wasn’t going to be as much of an issue as she feared - hopefully, she wasn’t going to be the reason that her team failed to take home the crown. [color=42A9FF]”Don’t go easy on me, okay?”[/color] April asked, biting her lip slightly when she saw Danni enter the room. [color=42A9FF]”If - if I’m not able to do this, then maybe - then maybe we can see if someone else can step in for me? Or you can do a smaller team, force one of the Young Avengers to have to sit out.”[/color] [hider=Round 0 Stats]April: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 30 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [i]Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands [/i][/list] Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 60 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [i]Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst.[/i][/list][/hider] Danni followed close on her heels, bouncing his toes. It felt like [i]ages[/i] since they’d sparred. He was itching to get back into it, even with the little voice in the back of his head warning him. But when Princess dared to suggest dropping her, he gasped out loud. It took him a second to recover but he was on her in a second, clamping his hands on her shoulders. [color=E948FC] “Princess, lemme tell ya. I would rat'er lose the CoC wit’ you t'an win wit'out you. You've ‘ad a tough time, but t'at doesn't me we give up on ya and [i]we[/i] don't give up on our dream, got it?”[/color] Danni said seriously. [color=E948FC] “You're back, you're in t'e game, and now we gotta a lotta ass ta kick. So stop avoiding your stretchs so I can kick your butt all over t'is gym.”[/color] Danni laughed pulling his arm up behind his head. [color=42A9FF]”Thanks, Danni,”[/color] April gave him a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek. She’d needed to hear that. The anxiety levels faded down - not completely gone, but a little easier to manage, at least for the moment. This was a spar with Danni - she’d done this a million times before, and no matter what happened in New Orleans, she’d get to spar with him a million times again. She tried to tell herself that she had nothing to be worried about - and that even if she did badly today, he wasn’t going to judge her for it. He wasn’t going to get mad. The only person judging her was herself - something she was coming more and more to terms with. She went through her stretches somewhat quickly, working her arms first - the wrist stretches were more challenging than normal - and then switching to her legs. Once April finished, she bounced lightly up and down, shaking her body out. [color=42A9FF]”Okay, I think… I think I’m ready,”[/color] she affirmed. There was a small barrel of water off to the side - she couldn’t generate it, and pulling the ambient moisture in the air was beyond her skill level. Danni felt the rush of exhilaration as he finished his stretches, shook himself out, and kicked it into high gear. Fire ignited beneath him and he put a soke distance between them, and headed up out of melee range. [color=E948FC] “T'ere's my Princess! I ain't goin’ easy on ya!”[/color] Danni laughed, spinning as he fired a HotShot and traced the flame in an arc at her side. [hider=Round 1 Stats]Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 60 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [list][*]Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 6 5 2 = 13 then adds his Agility, 13 + 3 = 16. [*]April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits and he decides not to use his Edge to reroll a die. [*]Danni's agility damage is the middle value x 4+ 4, or 5 × 4 + 4 = 24.[/list][/list][/hider] Reflexively, April threw her hands up towards her side, water jumping out of the nearby barrel and rushing up to her, flattening out to create a shield of sorts - his flames crashed into the liquid, vaporizing it immediately, as her heart pounded from the spike in adrenaline. She then snatched up a sphere of water, the edges of it shaking in a way that matched the tremors in her hands, and she lobbed it across the room at Danni, narrowly missing him. The anxiety and shame pooling in her stomach only increased - sure, she’d managed to block his flames, but if she couldn’t even hit him… [hider=Round 1 Stats]April: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 25 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [i]Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands [/i][list] [*]As a reaction, April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water). [list] [*]This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus from 30 to 25. [*]As Danni’s attack did more than 10 damage, the water protection is destroyed, but April takes no damage[/list] [*]As an action, April then uses Elemental Burst (Water). [list][*]April rolls 3d6, but has Trouble, so her highest die will be re-rolled and the lower number taken. She rolled 5 2 6, so the 6 is re-rolled, and became a 1. 5 2 1 = 8. She adds her Agility to this, 8 + 3 = 11. [*]Danni’s Agility Defense is 14, so the attack is a miss.[/list][/list][/list][/hider] [color=E948FC]“Damn, I t’ought I was gonna getcha wit’ t’at one!”[/color] Danni cheered as he twisted away from April’s shot. [color=E948FC]“Let’s try t’at again! Round two, coming up! Which way am I gunna blast it? Who knows, not even me!”[/color] Danni cackled, firing off a barrage of shots and only letting one curve back down towards April, marked to strike directly on her shoulder! [hider=Round 2 Stats]Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 60 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [list][*]Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]Danni used his fly speed and used his Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 4 5 6 = 15 then added his Agility, 15 + 3 = 18. [*]April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits and he decides to use his Edge to reroll the Marvel die for a fantastic Success. The 5 becomes a 6, which he keeps. [*]Danni's agility damage is the middle value x 4 + 4, or 6 × 4 + 4 = 30.[/list][/list][/hider] She couldn’t help but giggle a bit at Danni’s energy - it was infectious. That was one of the fun things about sparring with him - the way he really got into it, just letting loose. And while he was throwing fire at her, she was never afraid that he was actually trying to burn her - and if he did, it wasn’t anything that a quick trip to see Nurse Annie wouldn’t fix. [color=42A9FF]”No way!”[/color] April called out, throwing up a water barrier again, the molecules quickly converted into steam that floated up harmlessly towards the ceiling. [color=42A9FF]”You’re gonna have to try harder, HotShot!”[/color] she teased. But she couldn’t just taunt him, without trying her hardest in return. A little burst of water wasn’t going to be enough - so she switched tactics ever so slightly, reaching for a little more power. This time, her hands were a little steadier, as she grabbed as much water as she could, throwing it straight at Danni in an onslaught. [hider=Round 2 Stats]April: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 15 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [i]Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands [/i][list] [*]As a reaction, April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water). [list] [*]This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus from 30 to 20. [*]As Danni’s attack did more than 10 damage, the water protection is destroyed, but April takes no damage[/list] [*]As an action, April then uses Elemental Blast (Water). [list][*]This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus down from 20 to 15. [*]Elemental blast comes with an Edge on the attack. [*]April rolls 3d6, but has Trouble and an Edge, so no dies are re-rolled.She rolled 3 4 5 and 3 4 5 = 12. She then adds her Agility, so 12 + 3 = 15. [*]Danni’s Agility defense is 14, so the attack is a hit. [*]For this power, the damage is that number, so she deals 14 points of damage. She then deals an additional 2 points of damage, as she used 5 Focus points, so 14 + 2 = 16 points of damage.[/list][/list][/list][/hider] Danni beamed at the little giggle she let out. She’d been pouty about her lack of training and he knew once he got her back out here, she’d loosen up and enjoy again. She was a little rusty but… [color=E948FC] “Princess, what t’e ‘ell!”[/color] Danni yelped as she hurled what looked like a whole swimming pool at him! He dug in deep and exploded, boiling away the water that was the [i]immediate[/i] problem, momentarily falling as his concentration waivered. [color=E948FC] ‘Damn, girl. Where you ‘idin’ all t’at muscle? You been tryin’ ta get me ta lower my guard? Betcha can’t do it again!”[/color] Danni taunted, giving himself a little more room to maneuver. [hider=Round 3 Stats]Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 55 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [list][*]Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]As a reaction, Danni used Elemental Protection 1 (Fire) . [*]This cost 5 Focus, bringing his focus down from 60 to 55. [*]As April’s attack did more than 10 damage, the fire protection is destroyed, but Danni takes no damage. [*]As an action, Danni uses Dodge so that all attacks against him have trouble until his next turn.[/list][/list][/hider] [color=42A9FF]”Oh really?”[/color] April laughed. She was already feeling her focus begin to slip, the mental muscle not as exercised as it could have been… But she couldn’t just [i]back off[/i] from a challenge like that! She had to respond to it - otherwise Danni would tell her that she was fighting like a straight person - a fate worse than death! But instead of just hitting him with a blast of water, April shot out water at him like a tendril, attempting to grab him. He was too fast though, dodging out of the way before she could ensnare him. [hider=Round 3 Stats]April: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 10 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [i]Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands [/i][list] [*]No reactions used. [*]As an action, April uses Elemental Grab (Water)[list][*]This requires 5 focus, bringing her focus down from 15 to 10. [*]Danni is dodging, so she has Trouble from that. April also has Trouble from the tremors in her hands. Trouble stacks. [*]She rolls 3d6 and rolled 1 2 2. For the first trouble, she rerolls the right-most 2, and gets a 1. For the second trouble, it technically doesn’t matter, as lowering the middle die from a 2 to a 1 would actually be a Fantastic result. And a 1 on the left-most and right-most dies are already the lowest she can go. This is then 1 2 1 = 4. She adds her Ego modifier, which is a 3, bringing her number to 7. [*]Danni’s Melee defense is a 10, meaning this attack is a miss. [/list][/list][/list][/hider] Danni wolf whistled at the cool way she worked the water, shouting in excitement as she danced around it. [color=E948FC] “Damn, gurl! I t’ought you said you ‘adnt been practcin’! That’s a new move and you waited ‘til you t’ough I was distracted! Sneak, sneaky.”[/color] Danni tsk, tsk’d. [color=E948FC] “I love you even more for it!”[/color] Danni laughed, firing another Hotshot that fell just left of her as he spun just a little too far. [hider=Round 4 Stats]Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 55 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [list][*]Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 1 3 1 = 5 and used his Edge to reroll a one. [*]Danni rolls a 3, changing his rolls to 3 3 1 = 7 then added his Agility 7 + 3 = 10. [*]April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack missed[/list][/list][/hider] [color=42A9FF]”I haven’t been!”[/color] she affirmed. [color=42A9FF]”All there was to do in C.A.G.E. was, like, read books, talk to people if they came to see me, and try to explain to August the rules of Monopoly.”[/color] And therapy. A [i]lot[/i] of therapy. And crying. But she didn’t want to talk about that stuff right now - it was still weird to know where the line was, what things were okay to talk about, and what ones would make her friends look at her like she was moments away from breaking. She was trying, though - trying to be more honest, with herself and with her brothers. There was a slight pause in the flow of the fight, and April decided to try to take that moment to recollect herself - to try to keep her thoughts from wandering back to everything that had happened, and refocus more on the task at hand, on the spar. And once she had found her center, she got ready for Danni’s next attack. [hider=Round 4 Stats]April: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 30 [*]Karma: 1 [*]Notes - [i]Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands [/i][list] [*]April is going to spend 1 point of Karma to attempt to regain some Focus as an action. [list][*]She rolls 3d6, with a TN of 10. She rolls 4 1 2. This is a Fantastic result, meaning the actual value is 4 6 2 = 12. She adds her vigilance modifier as well, which is a 1, bringing the total up to 13. This is then a Fantastic success. [*]She gains then her rank times the total number times two back in Focus points, or 2 x 13 x 2 = 52. Her max, however, is 30, so she only gains up to her max. [*]No reactions used.][/list][/list][/list][/hider] Danni paused as the water stilled and he watched April gather herself. Shit, he’d been having so much fun, he’d given her a moment to relax! [color=E948FC] “Whoa, whoa, whoa! T’en all t’is is natural talent? Daaaaaaamn, Princess. I always told you you were special. But let’s see what ‘appens when we crank up t’e ‘eat!”[/color] Danni hit the ground, a small flame in his palm flickering and growing. As it did, he took a few steps forward and pitched a screaming fireball at April. [hider=Round 5 Stats]Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 50 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [list][*]Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Blast (Fire) with an edge on the attack. [*]Elemental Blast costs 5 focus, from 55 to 50. [*]Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 2 4 5 = 11 but has Edge on the attack so rerolls the 2. [*]Danni rolls a 5, so he has 5 4 5 = 14 and adds his Agility, 14 + 3 = 17. [*]April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. Since he spent 5 focus, he gains +2 damage so his damage is middle die x 4 + 6, 4 x 4 + 6 = 22[/list][/list][/hider] [color=42A9FF]”Not at all! I just have a great sparring partner!”[/color] April’s eyes then widened, as she saw the flame in Danni’s hand [i]grow[/i] and [i]grow[/i] and [i]grow[/i]. He really [i]wasn’t[/i] holding back on her. A gigantic ball of fire flew directly at her, and she could already feel its heat on her skin. She threw her hands up in front of her, water springing all around her in a massive sphere, evaporating away the moment the fireball collided with it, but leaving her unscathed, unhurt, her heart pounding furiously. That would have [i]really[/i] hurt if she’d been hit - but instead of feeling angry or scared, she felt exhilarated, the adrenaline pounding in her veins. If she was still good enough to protect herself from that… then maybe the Contest of Champions wasn’t such a lost cause after all. Her hands were still shaking, but she’d managed to hold off Danni, at least for now. And he was an omega level mutant, as much as he didn’t brag about it, he was [i]incredibly[/i] powerful - that had to count for something. [color=42A9FF]”Shit, Danni - that was so cool!! I didn’t know you could make it that big!!”[/color] But since Danni had turned up the heat… Maybe it was time to cool things down a little bit. This time, as she grabbed small spheres of water, April froze them, becoming little bursts of ice. [color=42A9FF]”Think fast!”[/color] she teased, before lobbing them towards him. [hider=Round 5 Stats]April: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 25 [*]Karma: 1 [*]Notes - [i]Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands [/i][list] [*]April uses Elemental Sphere (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of focus, bringing her focus score to 25. [*]As Danni’s attack did 22 points of damage, her sphere breaks, but she is left unharmed. [*]As an action, she uses Elemental Burst (Ice). [list][*]She rolls 3d6, with Trouble, and gets 3 1 5. This would be a Fantastic result, but since she has Trouble, the middle die has to be re-rolled… but she rolled a 1 again, giving her 3 1 5 = 14. She adds her Agility modifier to this, so 14 + 3 = 17. [*]Danni’s Agility defense is 14, so the attack hits and is a Fantastic success. [*]Because it is a Fantastic success, Danni suffers the special effect for ice, and is paralyzed for one round. [*]April’s Agility damage is the middle die value x 2 + 3, or 6 x 2 + 3 for 15. Because it is a Fantastic result, it doubles to 30 damage. [/list][/list][/list][/hider] Danni's eyes widened as he got caught on the ground. He was so much more agile in the air and he'd maybe, sorta, kinda stop his training on the ground (He would never tell Poisson-Pas or he'd get chewed out) because being in the air was just that much more freeing! He tried his best to dip, duck, and dodge but there were [i]so many[/i]. Water was one thing, but ice was another and he didn't feel like having hail sized bruises on his flawless skin. Again, fire rushed out all at once, layers of it this time, to melt the ice. [color=E948FC] “Sweet shots t'ere Princess, but I'm just too ‘ot ta ‘andle.”[/color] He threw her wink. [color=E948FC] “Let's play a game now, yeah? Floors lava!”[/color] He snapped and flames erupted around April, skimming up her side unintentionally, and imprisoning her. He kicked back into the sky while she was safety tucked away. [hider=Round 6 Stats]Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 40 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [list][*]As a reaction, Danni used Elemental Protection 1 (Fire) . [*]The Focus cost is 5, bringing 50 to 45. [*]April’s attack deals more than 10 damage, so he loses the protection, but is unharmed. [*]Danni used Elemental Prison (Fire). [*]Elemental Prison (Fire) costs 5 focus, from 45 to 40. [*]Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 4 1 6, which is a fantastic success because of the middle die. This counts as a 6 as well. [*]Danni has 4 1 6 = 18 and adds his Ego, 18 + 4 = 22. [*]April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. April is trapped inside the prison and since it was a fantastic success, takes full damage and the elemental effect. He deals 6 x 2 + 4 = 16 and April is ablaze, taking 5 points of damage at the end of each of her turns.[/list][/list][/hider] Her eyes widened, seeing the roaring flames completely surround her, blocking out her view of Danni from up above. It was [i]so cool[/i] - his control had come a long way since they had been freshman, paired up together in a teacher’s desperate attempt to keep them from destroying the school infrastructure. It threw off so much heat, the fiery cage, that it was like the middle of summer at a theme park - and not the dead of winter inside an air conditioned gym. [color=42A9FF]”Okay you [i]have[/i] to use this against Wiccan! This is so cool! Well, not cool, hot, but you know what I mean!”[/color] She’d managed to surround herself in a thin layer of water, dissipating the initial round of flames, but if she remained inside this cage, she was [i]definitely[/i] going to get burned. She gathered up as much water as she could, thankful for the small puddles that had formed all over the training floor at this point, and blasted it outwards, attempting to break open the cage from the inside. But it was no use - the flames were too hot, and she couldn’t douse them, the fiery prison remaining all around her. [hider=Round 6 Stats]April: [list][*]Health: 60[*]Focus: 10 [*]Karma: 1 [*]Notes - [i]Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands [/i][list] [*]April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of Focus, bringing her focus down to 20. As Danni did more than 10 damage, the elemental protection breaks, leaving her undamaged. [*]April then uses Elemental Blast (Water) as an action, spending 10 points of Focus to try to increase her damage output. [*]She has Trouble on this attack but also an Edge, and rolls 3d6, getting 1 4 4. So she doesn’t need to re-roll any numbers, meaning 1 4 4 = 9. She adds her agility modifier, which is 3, bringing the total score up to 12. [*]Because she is attacking the barrier, she is rolling against Danni’s ego defense, which is 14, meaning the attack misses! [/list][/list][/hider] Danni rose a little further, maintaining his flames despite April’s attempts to smother them. His poor babies, being bullied by one of his favorite people. Still, he shouldn't waste the moment and he lined up his shot, the fireball growing in his hand. If he timed this right, he might be able to catch her off guard! He bounced it between the two, popping it off his knee, and batting it down at April. When it was a second away from hitting he dropped the prison. [color=E948FC]Surprise!”[/color] [hider=Round 7 Stats]Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 35 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [list][*]Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire). [*]Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Blast (Fire) with an edge on the attack. [*]Elemental Blast costs 5 focus, from 40 to 35. [*]Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 5 5 4 = 14 but has Edge on the attack so rerolls the middle 5 to try and get a better result, but rolls another 5. [*]Danni has 5 5 4 = 14 and adds his Agility, 14 + 3 = 17. [*]April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. Since he spent 5 focus, he gains +2 damage so his damage is middle die x 4 + 6, 5 x 4 + 6 = 26 [*]Danni dropped Elemental Prison (Fire) as a free action.[/list][/list][/hider] April screamed - not in a terrified sort of way, but more in a genuinely surprised way, as the fiery cage fell down around her, only to reveal another fireball heading straight at her. She threw up her hands again, to at the very least shield her face, and water sprang up around her in a sphere, instantly vaporized by the sheer heat - but leaving her otherwise unscathed, as the steam rose up around her. It was a good thing the barrel of water she was working from had been enchanted - Nimue had set it up earlier in the year. Her focus was starting to slip, though, and she could feel herself beginning to tire - it had been a while since she’d trained, but she wasn’t about to give up! She grabbed more water, yanking it out from the barrel, and she swung it around, sending a burst of ice towards Danni as it solidified, but her aim was poor, and it sailed past him harmlessly. [hider=Round 7 Stats]April: [list][*]Health: 60[*]Focus: 5 [*]Karma: 1 [*]Notes - [i]Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands [/i][list] [*]April uses Elemental Sphere (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of Focus, bringing her Focus down to 5. [*]April uses Elemental Burst (Ice) as a reaction. [*]She has Trouble, and rolls 3d6, rolling 1 3 3. She re-rolls the right-most 3, and rolls a 1, making it 1 3 1 = 5. She adds her agility modifier, a 3, making it 5 + 3 = 8. [*]Danni’s agility defense is 14, so the attack misses. [/list][/list][/hider] Danni spun out if the way, just to be safe, but April's attack had swung wide. Really wide. Danni paused. She'd be hitting hard and fast, pinpoint precision and then… Danni let himself to the ground, hands up and a smile on his face. [color=E948FC] “Princess, you doin’ alright? Wanna take a break, grab some… well, you ‘ave a lotta water but you know drink some instead of swattin’ me like a fly? Don't wanna overdo it right before the contest! We can even cuddle for a bit, yeah?”[/color] [hider=Round 8 Stats]Danni: [list][*]Health: 60 [*]Focus: 35 [*]Karma: 2 [*]Notes - [list][*]Danni was concerned for April so wanted to see if he could tell she was tired out. [*]As there are no rules, the GM decided that it would be a Vigilance vs. Ego defense roll. [*]Danni has Trouble on Vigilance checks to notice things due to Clueless and because of this, Danni needs a full action to do this. [*]Danni rolls 6 1 1, which is a Fantastic Success, but because Danni has Trouble, he rerolls the middle 1. [*]Danni rolls a 5, which is 6 5 1 = 12. [*]Danni adds his Vigilance, 12 + 2 = 14. [*]April's Ego Defense Is 13 so Danni was able to tell April was starting to wear down.[/list][/list][/hider] She hesitated for a moment, debating about trying more - about pushing herself harder, and insisting that she was fine, that she could keep on going so they could practice more, that she just needed a little more time to get in shape for the Contest of Champions. But she [i]was[/i] really tired… And her head was starting to pound a little bit from the strain, and the shaking in her hands was getting worse. But… If they lost the Contest of Champions because of her, and she could have spent another few minutes practicing, then didn’t she have to? [color=42A9FF]”Yeah, I’m doing - I’m doing great!”[/color] April lied. [color=42A9FF]”I can keep on going, I promise!”[/color] she doubled down. Danni paused an arm's length away and gave her a slow look over. Was she fine? Beanie did tell him that his good intentions were sometimes ones and he'd been informed that he sometimes didn't consider other people when he made decisions, but ever since… Ever since they found out about what happened, Danni couldn't help but watch a little closer, cuddle a little longer, dote on her more than he did before so she knew she was loved and had a place with them always. He still wasn't sure why she wanted to leave them. [color=E948FC]“No, you're not.”[/color] Danni tried to keep his cool, the confidence and the fun, but he wanted to cry so bad. He wrapped her up in a hug. [color=E948FC] “You're not and t'at's okay, Princess. You need some time. We'll get you back into shape, but pushin’ yourself past your breakin’ point’s just gunna ‘urt you. I told you, I'd rat'er lose 100 Contests wit’ you t'an win one wit'out you so please? Let's take a break?”[/color] She bit her lip, before nodding slightly as her shoulders slumped. [color=42A9FF]”… Okay,”[/color] she mumbled, resting her head on Danni’s chest as she returned the hug. [color=42A9FF]”… I don’t know why I - why I feel so strongly that I have to be good at things, or I’m letting people down,”[/color] she added, hugging a little tighter. [color=E948FC]“You don't have to be like that wit’ us at least.”[/color] Danni promised, rocking them back and forth a little and placing a kiss on the top of April’s head. [color=E948FC]“We just want you, regardless of everyt’in’ else. We’ll always want you just ‘ow you are. So yeah, a break? We’ll get Amélie, and Dee, and Amor and maybe take a nap?”[/color] April sniffled a bit, trying to hold back tears - not sad ones, at least. She didn’t know why it hit her so hard, every time Danni affirmed that he and Dorian just loved her the way she was, and that she didn’t need to pretend, but it did. She was so used to forcing herself to be okay, it was genuinely challenging to accept that she didn’t have to be. [color=42A9FF]”Maybe we make cocoa too?”[/color] she suggested. [color=E948FC],“Yeah. We can make cocoa too.”[/color] Danni giggled, squeezing a little tighter before breaking away. He slid his hand into hers and swung it obnoxiously. [color=E948FC] “Gunna get the little marshmallows too!”[/color] She grinned, perking up a bit at Danni’s antics. He never failed to make her feel better. [color=42A9FF]”What’s the point without marshmallows?”[/color] she agreed, giggling a bit herself. [color=42A9FF]”… Thanks, Danni, for helping me. And being here.”[/color] He was always there for her when she needed him, and it meant more to her than she could say. Danni beamed, thrilled with April's mood. [color=E948FC]“You're gunna ‘ave ta scrap me off wit’ a putty knife. I'm wit’ you like gum under a desk. And even if soemt'in’ ‘appens and we split apart, Dee and I would take t'e world apart looking for you.”[/color] Danni laughed. [color=E948FC] “You're family and we love ya. We'll always be t'ere for ya. You don't ever ‘ave ta ask, ya don't ever gotta pretend. Especially when we can get Pa ta make as much marshmallows as we want!”[/color] [color=42A9FF]”Daaaanniii you’re gonna make me cry!”[/color] April complained, before pulling him into a hug again. [color=42A9FF]”I love you both too… You and Dori are what’s worth living for,”[/color] she added, her voice practically a whisper. Danni teared up and couldn't stop them from falling, even as he smiled a softer smile. [color=E948FC] “Then we'll make sure its’ wort’ it.”[/color] Danni inspired back, happy to bask in April’s presence.