Callan | Zoe
๐๐๐ก๐ฅ. ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ / / ๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐ฃ๐, ๐๐๐ฃ๐ช๐๐๐๐ / / ๐๐ ๐จ๐ / / ~๐๐๐๐
Collab with @Lasrever @BaklavaWhat was left of Callan's arm didn't seem to be going anywhere. Hardly a comfort given what had just happened. And there was no telling if it'd start up again. Looking past her bleeding stump, the monster girl she'd been wrestling with didn't seem to be faring very well, either. She convulsed even more violently, screeching in pain as the side of her face began to wither away. There was something familiar about it. The way her hardened flesh came undone like sand caught in an updraught--
Zoe.
But... didn't Zoe need physical contact to activate her ability?
A-and why would she use it on me?She wasn't given much time to think about it, between the agony pulsing through her arm-- or was that her blood?-- and a vague understanding that she was only floating higher with every passing second, there wasn't much room for anything else. Maybe something heavy could help get her down. Then, she could try and stop the bleeding.
Could she summon a weapon? Would that work? But she'd have to be able to reach her shadow.... Callan shivered from the pain, but forced herself to move. She grabbed the petticoat of the quickly disintegrating gargoyle beneath her. It was a struggle to do so one handed, but she finally managed to draw out her hammer as her opponent stopped moving, Zoe's ability having made quick work of her brain.
The instant the hammer snapped into its form, it fell. Caught off guard by how suddenly it worked against the levitation field, she nearly lost her one handed grip on the thing. As she started to fall, Callan spotted Zoe beneath her. If the redhaired mage noticed and hadn't actually decided to turn against USARILN, Callan would have to apologize later for the way her body instinctively tried to avoid her during the fall.
Zoe herself had come to the realisation that she wasn't actually reaching anyone at this rate. Probably should've checked how fast the field was working before throwing herself in there. Floating uselessly, her eyes darted around, looking for some sort of way down. Nothing. Paddling was basically pointless as well, leaving her with no real options.
Suddenly, there was someone falling past her, and Zoe twisted and lunged to grab them, her hands just barely managing to grab onto their foot. The suddenness of the movement almost made her lose her grip, but keeping hold, she looked down to see who she'd actually grabbed.
"Callan?"Well, this was awkward. Hopefully her arm wasn't too--
Shit.The redhead didn't even think to hide her shock as she realised what she'd done. She hadn't expected the rot to work so quickly, but it seemed like she really didn't know her own strength. Or more likely, hadn't cared as much as she should have. Either way, Zoe quickly realised Callan was probably well within her rights to punch her face in. There wasn't much she could say that wouldn't sound hollow, though, so she stayed silent.
Feeling Zoe latch onto her shoe, Callan flinched. The head of the hammer hit the pavement, ending its descent, but still pulled the pair a bit further due to the momentum. Callan looked down-- or, more accurately, up-- at Zoe with wide, anxious eyes as she suddenly fumbled with her grip on the hammer. Misery clearly wasn't fond of the current circumstances-- trying to squirm out of the weapon's form. When did she get so sweaty?
Hearing her name, her gaze flickered to the hand on her foot. If she'd wanted to rot her leg, she would have done it by now... right? A hopeful thought spurred by her teammate's questioning tone. Had she simply mistaken her for someone else? An honest mistake. Aquamarine hair was all the rage these days afterall. An iota of sarcasm amidst the growing fog in her head that was urging her to close her eyes and forget about it. When did it get so damn cold?
"
Zo--" She opened her mouth to speak-- to ask why or maybe tell her to let go and get away-- but all that came out was half a syllable and the rest of that bloody cough she'd been trying to hold in all this time. Ingrained manners prevailed and she turned away to cough into an elbow that simply wasn't there anymore. "
Ugh" she wheezed, shuddering again. Through watering eyes, she watched the stream of red still pulsing out into the world, floating up into the sky and leaving her behind.
Zoe was unnerved as she watched the blood floating past her, though perhaps not as much as she should have been. From the looks of things, Callan wasn't in a good way, and her actions certainly hadn't helped matters. Plus, the arbiter seemed more than a little scared by her presence, which was understandable. She'd been freaked out enough by Zoe's powers this morning, and that hadn't been on anyone real, never mind her.
"I'm..." What? Sorry? Seemed a little late for that. Besides, apologising implied she wouldn't do it again - Not a direct promise, but still one she was uncomfortable making. After all, Zoe figured she was bad enough without being a liar as well. Still, beyond what she'd done, the coughing was worrying. Zoe was certain that the arm was the only thing she'd targeted, so this meant something else was wrong.
"You okay?" She spoke out of genuine concern, not quite realising how it sounded coming from her at that particular moment.
The short answer was no, but in between coughs, Callan couldn't even manage that. Savannah was dead. Lawrence, too. And the others were still in trouble. But more than that, something felt wrong. Really really wrong. And it wasn't her arm. She shook her head once, instantly regretting the movement. She felt dizzy.
Wrapping her good arm around the hammer's shaft, she applied as much pressure as she could to the bleeding stump and pulled the rest of her body down with Zoe in tow. She could see a figure some distance away. The only other person who wasn't floating.
"
Can you reach her from here?" she asked hoarsely. Zoe asking if she was alright must mean she wasn't planning on killing her, right? She could only hope. And if Zoe didn't have to touch people to activate her ability anymore, then maybe this fight could be over sooner rather than later.
Zoe glanced over at the gravity-wielder. They weren't far away, but the field sent them upwards pretty fast. Still, it was worth a shot. No point waiting around for someone else to save them.
"She's not in range, but I think I can grab hold of her if you give me a shove. See if I can convince her to lower the others safely."Her expression was conflicted as she tried to right herself without floating away. Somehow she doubted Callan would approve her brand of 'convincing', though it wasn't about to stop her. This would be so much easier if she could actually stop herself from giving a damn, but she was only human, at the end of the day. No matter how how her stigma twisted her emotions. Still, someone had to do it.
"Send me that way, then go find a healer. You look like you're about to pass out." She forced herself to try and lock eyes with Callan, a little of her usual sternness creeping into her tone.
"I owe you an explanation once we're done here, and I can't do that if you're dead, got it?"Callan nodded faintly, not meeting her eyes. Her feelings concerning Zoe had yet to solidify into anything certain. Scared, confused, a little agitated... mostly tired. But she could manage that much. Probably.
An explanation would be nice, but her concern for that and almost everything else was dwindling. "
Hold on tight," Callan instructed. She set her feet against the handle facing the enemy mage. She teetered there for a moment as another dizzy spell passed before she finally kicked off, pushing her legs with as much strength as she could muster.
They made some good distance, but by the time they were close enough, the lift had done its work, causing them to pass overhead.
"
H-hurry. Kick off of me."
It took Zoe a second to make sure she was aiming for the right place, focused on the black-haired girl at the centre of the field. As soon as she got her bearings, she grinned.
"Got it."Pushing off of Callan without another word, Zoe sent herself flying almost headfirst towards the girl on the ground. Of course, it was tempting to just try and kill her right there, but with all the extra time the approach had taken it was obvious that the others were unlikely to survive the fall. For now, Zoe wrapped her arms tightly around the gravity-user's shoulders in what was possibly the world's most threatening hug.
"Do me a favour and let them down safely, would you?"
Dervish
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Felicia Reid
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