Kronshi

Afterimages: The Mirrored World

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Prey Upon The Weak

The walls of the room had been moving just a moment ago. Fubuki hadn't noticed due to more pressing concerns such as the strange glass-man and equally strange but less-threatening wolf-girl, but when they stopped the contrast made it evident. It was as off the very space they occupied had become scared of him, and the monster in front of him reacted similarly. He watched as it stiffened up, the reflections within its face getting smaller like when someone's pupils constrict out of shock. The smell of sand reached Fubuki; glass was odorless and yet he smelled sand as if the glass was shivering and cracking, degrading into its previous form. The monster turned away from him to face the boy that he had previously heard, and that made him certain. Three versus one, the loner will always aim for the weakest link and yet there was no notable difference between the girl and the boy, so why change his target when he was already after the girl?

The glass-man was scared.

Fubuki grinned, the opening of his maw reaching farther down his face then he would've thought. Returning to all fours, he charged the beast and pounced onto its back. One hand had a clawed grip on its left shoulder, and the other grapped its chin and lifted its head up as he leaned over from its back. "Don't you know you're supposed to face your fears?" Fubuki asked, the end of his speech being said with a low growl. The glass-man reached its right arm up to strike at its back but Fubuki was expecting that and an advantageous position. He let go if its head and grabbed its arm, and using its own weight already leaning onto its left, pulled hard to roll them both over onto the ground.

His advantage didn't last long, his grip onto the shoulder was just enough to keep him from falling off its back and he only had one arm pinned. He also had no idea how this creature was capable of moving. The laws of physics don't hold here and this creature wasn't organic in nature, its limbs didn't need worry about ripping flesh and muscle. Its pinned arm spun around in its socket, the monster now facing Fubuki and struck its claws down towards him. He rolled out of the way and quickly grappled its other arm. With both arms held, Fubuki and the creature continued to wrestle for control on the ground. Fubuki was physically stronger, but he couldn't ignore the laws of anatomy like this thing could. He knew he'd have to try and land a kick on this thing, and so he allowed it to get above him in order to get his legs positioned. He kicked upwards and hit the glass-man squarely in the stomach. He heard glass shatter, but felt nothing but a brick wall under it. Fubuki could crack its shell like this, but not really hurt the beast.

Damn it, I can't hurt it without putting my whole body behind my strikes. And I can't do that without getting up. And I can't do that without letting this thing get a pot shot off on me and go after those other two. All I can do is hold it here until they run away.

Afterimages: The Mirrored World

---

Orientation Lost

Foundation Gained

Before any processing could be done, reality shifted around Fubuki and dropped him off in a new location. He felt more connected, more grounded to this place then before but something was off besides the change in scenery. He followed the path in front of him, until he reached the first new intersection and then he realized what was wrong. The deer was gone, but Fubuki guessed that it must have been left behind wherever he had come from and was probably also questioning the boy's disappearance. He wondered which path he was supposed to follow, but that was answered for him when he heard a loud, shrill screech like nails on a chalk-board or a sharp instrument carving into glass.

"Not that way," he attempted to think aloud but realized that it had come out more as Naawt taah ay in a deeper growl. Reaching for his throat, feeling that it was sore, Fubuki saw a clawed hand reaching for him and he flinched. As did the hand. It, no, most of Fubuki's body was covered in a frost blue pelt that was coated in ice. The fingertips were hairless, and no ice covered them, and so he could see the shriveled skin that revealed the shape of his bones underneath. This body was corpse-like and his breath was cold, so cold that it created a fog in the air in front of him. Then he noticed that all of him was surrounded in a similar but thinner mist, his entire body was chilling the air around him. He was further from the ground, and his legs were bent awkwardly like a deer's. It reminded him of a horror story he knew was big in the west. The screech from before still rang in his mind, and he felt it reverberate his entire new form. This body wanted to fight and Fubuki guessed that if he was going to get any answers about what happened to him, then he'd have to cooperate.

Rushing towards the noise, it continued to ring in his head. It plagued him as if begging to be silenced. Fubuki turned a corner and could see movement down the hall. He then heard a girl's voice panicking and soon after a boy's voice commanding something but he wasn't close enough to make out words. He knew he had to get there quickly, and his elongated arms offered him a faster option. He began running on all fours, galloping into the room. He noticed the odd creature clawing its way out of the wall and towards a, wolf, girl, wolf-girl? Fubuki raised his body back onto its legs and stood upright. He wanted to shout at the beast to get its attention, but what came out instead was a chilling howl that even caused Fubuki to metaphorically shiver. Although his new form seemed unfazed by the sound.

Avatar: The White Jade Gambit

---

As he awaited the monk's response, Ryschi felt the ground move beneath his feet as the soldiers had recovered and begun raising a conical cage to surround them. He lowered his stance and quickly jabbed twice at the raising wall with his airbending. One shot a hole into the rock and the second shot through the hole and struck the soldier in the chest knocking him back and leaving the wall only 75% raised. His swampy friend outside the cage had also assisted by taking a guard out before his work was complete.

"I share allegiance with no aggressor. My 'side' is my own." claimed the monk as he leapt out the hole in the top of the cone.

Of course. The man sounds like the elders. 'My side is my own, I'm so unbothered.' I hate that guy already.

"Ryschi, can you tell yer friend in there to cool his gourd?" He heard the waterbender yell as the uninterrupted half of the earthen cage closed.

Ryschi launched himself upwards, through the gap left by the unfinished walls. He stood atop the structure and saw that the two guards had already gotten back up and the other two were watching the large monk leave. Suddenly, a wave of air collided with the men and they were down yet again. "I was working on it!" he called back to Huo as he ran over to him, "I heard that woman earlier call out for Shunon when half the guards ran off to chase a suspected firebender. We need to clean up here and go after her." Ryschi stood to Huo's left and turned to face the four soldiers and their captain.

Two soldiers took off to give chase for the other airbender, the other two held their ground against the pair. Two versus two might seem like fair odds, but Ryschi knew that this would be light work for him and Huo. He spun to his right, swinging his right arm outwards after it would no longer collide with the waterbender and brought his left arm inwards, the air gathering at his fist and becoming wider as he spun. Once he made a full circle, he fully extended his arm and let the wide blast fly towards the one soldier. He then stepped forward with his left leg and switched his arms positions, jabbing a smaller but quicker blast through the first. When the small blast struck the soldier, he would be knocked off his feet only for the large blast to catch up and continue to drag him all the way to the edge of the makeshift battlefield.

Trusting Huo to handle the other guard, and seeing that the captain still seemed to busy barking orders to also fight, Ryschi took off in the direction he saw the lady run in. He made his way along the docks using his airbending to increase his stride and quicken his pace. He made sure to keep close to water as he ran so that his ally could follow him at this speed. Upon reaching the textile district, he heard commotion going on further in but also saw other guards heading towards the sound themselves and elected to wait for Huo to catch up fully before making the decision of whether to head in or not.

---

Afterimages: The Mirrored World

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Opposites at war within the very air.

Refreshing yet drowning, like a riding a raging rapid while in a very shitty kayak. The cracks of space and time, all but invisible a moment before, revealed themselves to Fubuki. Everything was a reflection of a reflection of a noiɟɔɘlʇɘɿ. Every breath felt as though he was inhaling what existed between these cracks, it was the vacuum of space, it was the real world, it was nothing at all. Nothing and everything existed simultaneously within the essence of Fubuki's wake, his steps resounding like the echoes of an icy cave, hollow but full.

He felt as though his feet were frozen to the floor, but he knew that he had summoned the metaphorical ice, and he knew that he had to power to break free. Fubuki followed the creature, an act of obedience, an act of rebellion, an act predestined by fate. He could tell he was being lead; to a heated fight, to protect someone's peace, to his next step towards purpose for his rage.

The trinity of expressions within him kept expanding and contracting, and at their collapse there was an emptiness, a fourth that should be present put wasn't. One Reflection was Hot, another Reflection was Peaceful, but in that void existed something that wasn't mirrored, but instead existed as the opposite end of the infinite reflections. With this realization, the connections were complete, a whole was formed.

Structure reforming, space restoring, time returning, and then it all disappeared again. Cracks spreading, void growing, entropy rising, and then it all reappeared again. Existence and non-existence combined, Structured cracks, spacial void, entropic time. What was, what is, and what could be coalesced into a single form. The conflict was still there, but it had been crystallized like melting ice.

Fubuki's mind recentered, and he realized that the world had distorted around him. He had both continued following the deer and stayed frozen in place. The ideas became unified as he willed to be ahead of the deer, following his own warpath as general instead of soldier. Whenever Fubuki would reach an intersection, he would wait for the deer to catch up and have it gesture the next direction. He looked back at the deer as the path continued, thinking about what he had been tasked to do, "Shatter the Veil huh, is that all?"

Afterimages: The Mirrored World

---

Noblesse Oblige.

It wasn't a philosophy that Fubuki was even aware had a name, but his soul was familiar with the concept. The chill in the room felt solid and as he stepped forward, he could feel cracks in the air and ground form behind him. The labyrinth that previously seemed invincible now gave way as if it was the frosted dew of a winter morning. As he thought on the vague question posed by the deer, Fubuki felt a shot of energy run through him, the smell of alcohol on his father's breath, the taste of rotten food, a flash of his mother's face that he hardly remembered, and a loud bang that rippled through his memory but found nothing. In the emptiness, he found his answer. The world seemed to hold its breath as he prepared to speak, and he could taste glass and blood as he did so.

"Rage should be a tool, used to tear away the pride of the strong, and to protect the weak and innocent. That's how one wages war against this cold, uncaring world. I want to freeze my unbound anger, and control it, so that I can bring its full weight down on those who deserve it with no collateral. You're offering me the power to do that, aren't you?"

Fubuki continued his stride until he was within arm's reach of the deer. He held out his hand, unsure of how a deal like this was made, and placed it on the creature's brow between its eyes. "Just answer me one question, I'll accept your deal regardless of the answer. What do you want me to do with that power or who do you want me to use it against?"

Afterimages: The Mirrored World

---

Drip.

Drip..

Drip...

DRIP

Blood. It dripped from the beasts mouth, the cold drops falling onto Fubuki's forehead and mixing with what was already there. The beast hunkered down to his ear, the growling words bringing him back to his senses. The predator was right above him, and he was but helpless prey at this moment. Fubuki opened his eyes and saw the creature staring directly into them, a cold glare that sent chills down his spine.

"The only way to change the way things are, is to break through the veil. You fear me because you know deep down what I am. I am you, the side you try to hide but comes out anyway. You stand stalwart, triumphant. So why do you run?"

I am you. Why Do I Run?

The words echoed in Fubuki's head as they warped into his own voice. He stood up and faced the deer, the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing, and threw a side-kick into its bloodied maw. The beast's head violently jerked to the side, but its body remained stationary and it looked back at Fubuki again. He swallowed hard, trying to swallow the fear in his throat and readied for a fight.

"Who said anything about running?"

The deer acted first, charging Fubuki with its antlers pointed forward. He grabbed hold, his feet slid across the floor as he was pushed back. He sturdied his stance, and used the beast's momentum to fling it over his shoulder and slam it into the floor. Fubuki never saw it stand up. In the millisecond it took him to go from throwing the beast to turning to face it properly, it was already reared onto its hind legs as if it had turned to mist and reshaped into this form. Quickly, the creature brought its front hooves down, aiming for Fubuki's already injured head. He slipped under, crouching and then pouncing into the creature's chest to hold it upright and keep it from fighting back. He should have expected its response, the thing merely looked like a deer, it didn't have to fight like one.

The beast bit down into Fubuki's left shoulder, pain ran through his body and the fear and rage that was lodged in his throat was released in a bestial scream. In turn, Fubuki bit into its neck and the two were locked in a battle of attrition. Who ever bled out first would lose... but that wasn't how Fubuki did things. A fight should be quick, with powerful, decisive strikes to bring conflict to a close. He released his hold on the thing's neck and instead grasped at its mouth, one hand on each jaw, and pried its mouth open. Fubuki shoved its face upwards and threw a jab into its chest with his right arm, cracking its ribs and causing it to fall backwards.

"How's that for breaking the veil asshole?!" Fubuki shouted at the beast, fully aware of his bloodied and weakened arm. Fully aware that if this creature got back up, he was dead.

Avatar: The White Jade Gambit

---

"The storm is already here. Best we follow the tracks now 'fore they wash away."

Stepping out directly after Huo, the street was empty and then suddenly filled with a man running away, followed by four guards screaming for him to stop, followed by the citizens trying to escape the crime scene. It happened in a manner of seconds and the chaos had caused the two's approach to slow. Ryschi was about ready to reveal his airbending and get himself and Huo over the crowd when the waterbender broke off towards the shore. Ah, he wants to enter in a more discreet way. Alright, I can manage that. He then made for a nearby alley where he was out of eyesight and leaped up onto a nearby building, thrusting his open palms towards the ground causing hot air to hit the ground and then rise back upwards with equal force assisting Ryschi's ascent.

He jumped from building to building, careful not to reveal himself to any leftover guards but thankfully they all seemed preoccupied with other affairs. The nearest building to the wall gave him a bird's eye view. He saw a woman fighting the guards all on her own yet doing remarkably well, and the monk was also still there, trying to broker peace and doing no more than deflecting boulders from striking anyone. Ryschi was unsure who his target was supposed to be and assumed the guards were what stood between him and Shunon but right before he was about to leap in, Huo arrived and also attempted to dissuade the guards from fighting. One readied an attack, but was quickly knocked aside by his companion's reflexes and skill. It seemed a fight would be about to begin after all.

The monk strode into action suddenly, taking Ryschi by surprise and causing him to hesitate further as two guards were blown away into the water. When he arrived at this town, Ryschi had hoped to find his contact and figure out what needed to be done before he fought on behalf of the rebellion and potentially ruined any element of surprise they were relying on but now that seemed impossible if an airbender was fighting back. At least fighting was something he knew how to do quite well, and he jumped off the building and over the wall to join in. His target was a guard on the far side, but before he could even line up his attack, the monk acted again and knocked Huo away as well. His target changed.

Ryschi brought hot winds into one palm and cold winds into his other, and with a swift motion the two air currents swirled against one another. This attack is more effective under different circumstances, Ryschi hadn't built up enough heat for one current and was too focused on his target to chill the other, but as he landed he expanded the swirling sphere outwards. The border of the tornadic sphere approached the guards, the woman, and the monk with a speed and force enough to rattle their stances and unbalance any who were distracted. This would buy Ryschi enough time to act, and he lowered the center of his gravity and took a wide stance like one would expect from a firebender. A strong step towards the monk, followed by a palm thrust aimed at the large man sent a gale at him that would be capable of punching a tennis ball sized hole through the raised rock wall if taken directly. Ryschi knew that the monk would be capable of defending that though, and was only doing it to show he meant business.

"What do you think you're doing big guy?! Years of airbenders sitting back and watching the world suffer, and the moment some individuals that have nothing to do with you decide they want to stick up for themselves, you decide to intervene against them! You just swept two guards into the sea but I'm almost convinced you're on their side! How pompous of you to decide that now you want to get involved and try to tell these people how they can and can not protect themselves! This is their fight, not ours, so pick a side and shut up or get out of here with your naive idealism!"

---

@Asura

Afterimages: The Mirrored World

---

Four responses to fear and confusion could be found within the minds of organic creatures.

Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn.

Fight: Fubuki rose his head from his desk, worried that his teacher would notice that he had fallen asleep. Instead, the room was empty. No teacher, no students, no chalkboard, no other desks besides the one he was sitting in. He stood, and went to check the hall and found it equally empty. More concerning though, the hall seemed strangely long, with no other doors for other rooms, and it bent at odd angles at the end of his vision. He turned back and his desk was also gone, and now he noticed the room had also been absent of any windows. Fubuki decided this must be a dream and that it was about time he woke up. He raced to the opposite wall in the hall and began bashing his fists and head into it, not noticing the pain until blood began to run down his face. He looked down at his bloodied knuckles and realized that they hurt. He shouldn't be able to feel pain in a dream. Fubuki looked around again, trying to find any sign of a culprit that would have put him in this situation. There was no one to fight, and his fear heightened.

Flight: Fubuki dashed through the halls, no thought into what direction he was going. The only consideration he made was to insure he didn't run in a circle. No doors, no people, just a labyrinth of halls and the occasional stairs. With no doors, Fubuki figured downstairs would be a deadend, and would only head upstairs in the hopes of finding an eventual roof. Then, he began to see the outlines of shadows peeking around the corners and would run after them, only for the shadows to disappear as he approached. This continued for what felt like an eternity, and Fubuki could no longer remember how many flights of stairs he had gone up. There would be no roof, this place seemed infinite. He would then find himself in a place where the halls opened up into a wide rectangular room with multiple halls branching off of it. This room was cold, almost too cold for even Fubuki, and at it's center stood a deer. There was no where to run, and his fear heightened.

Freeze: The deer smiled that terrible smile. The temperature in the room lowered further. Fubuki froze in place, paralyzed by what was in front of him. His head and hands bleeding the same as the deer's mouth. The pain was the only thing keeping him in the moment, but he didn't dare move. The deer looked at him, stared straight through his soul with a bone-chilling glare, and then turned around and wandered off. Fubuki still couldn't move as he felt the adrenaline crash hit him. He couldn't even make his legs hold him up any more, and he fell backwards onto his ass and sat there. There was no telling if he should stay or leave, not that he really had a choice to make, and his fear heightened.

Fawn: Fubuki couldn't keep his body upright anymore, forcing him to lay down. No more movement, no more thought, just a complete surrender to the elements and to any predators that may be hunting him. He felt as though his consciousness was slipping, and he had no will to keep his eyes open. Eventually, the pain and cold was all he could feel. Whatever would happen, would happen. There was no more he could do, this was his limit, and his fear left him.

Afterimages: The Mirrored World

Also, I'll be posting my part tonight. Eta: 6-10 hours from now.

Afterimages: The Mirrored World

I'm cool with it. Already doing that for another rp I'm in so I don't see why not.