Noctis
Zapdos
Damycles
Izurich
Teyao
Dark Cloud
Lucid Dreaming
xenon
CharybdisSorry I'm late! Posted and ready to go xD
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Why? Of all nights to fall asleep in the halls of the Citadel... it had to be the very same night that the assault would begin. MacKensie pushed through the crowds of citizens and militia in the hall, ignoring the calls for calm and order. One hand was up, leading her way, a gentle push here, a turn of the shoulders there. Her other hand held - tightly to her side - her weapons belt, hanging from which was her two crossbows, dagger and pouch of bolts. Strangely, she felt the missing weight of her cloak that she'd given to the boy. Perhaps it was just her paranoia and caution in the wake of battle, making her feel naked without it, or in some way lesser. No matter. As long as she had a weapon - any weapon - her required presence as a leader bid that she hurry.
She barged through the door without stopping to close it, out into the cool night air, finally clipping her belt around her waist and adjusting it so that her weapons were at the ready. She hadn't any idea what time it was. She only knew how far she was from the Rabbits' rendezvous point, which was to say; Extremely far. About as far away as one could be, in fact. The streets atop Citadel Mountain were chaotic as mages, guards and the citadel soldiers rushed around. MacKensie was about to stop someone for directions when the light of the flare shooting into the sky caught her eye. "That way," she said aloud to herself.
There was no time to use the long-winded roads to get down from the mountain. She made a beeline northeast, running as fast as she could, making her way between buildings, climbing walls, jumping gates, until she found herself looking out onto the city, a steep drop before her. She stopped to briefly scan the vista ahead and the mountainside below, then burst into action.
Straight down to the city.
It started with a few jumps down the slopes to outcroppings of rock, but quickly became a straight sprint - almost vertical - down the cliffside. Pure footspeed, mixed with some smart skipping and face-down abseiling with her magical grapplehook - This is what kept her stuck to the mountain. But defying gravity this way only minimized her acceleration, it did not stop it completely, and soon she was approaching freefall speeds that even her feet could not keep up with. And so - in the blink of an eye and a single step - she bent her knees, planted her feet and sprung from the cliffside into a soaring nose-dive.
One hundred feet above the rooftops? Two hundred feet? Five hundred feet? Who knew? Whatever it was, it was a distance that quickly vanished when falling through the air. With pinpoint precision and timing, MacKensie fired the beam/wire of blue light at the corner of a tall building, turning her fall straight downward into a curving swing that took all the speed and momentum of freefall and turned it northbound, her grapplehook releasing so she could fire again, ahead, as she soared through the air, and swung again. She had truly become like Spiderman.
Don't think... feel.
This was the mantra that allowed her to manage this new sense of speed, agility, reflexes and perception. Thinking rationally was far too slow to govern her body when dealing with the upper limits of the magical gauntlet's function. It had to be instinctive. The magical grapplehook and beam/wire was attached to her very nervous-system. To try and use it like a tool would be like having to actually think to control one's breathing - it was simply untenable. But to master it as an extension of herself was what made MacKensie Trydant no ordinary Ranger. No ordinary adventurer. She was a hero from another world.
Don't think... feel.
The northern wall ahead was reached in a few swings - between each swing she sailed a great distance too. And as she sailed, she managed to look to her right and see the chaotic magical battle that had begun along the northeastern sections of the city walls. The northmost, tallest building was when she fired her grapplehook to the roof and held on tight as she swung around the corner, the centrifugal force threatening to tear her left arm from her socket. Her body found the eastward vector she was looking for and the grapplehook released, sending her once more sailing through the air at high speed toward her destination.
Not long now...
For the part of Gregory Grimes, Sergeant First Class and second-in-command of The Rabbits… he was keeping the soldiers in line and cohesion. The Rabbits moved around the vicinity of the rendezvous point, keeping clear the streets of any ghouls that hot-dropped into the area.
When the blue breeze that was the captain was the one to appear from above, Grimes was quick to act.
“Ten Hut!” he shouted powerfully. “Captain's here!” MacKensie ran over to the block and Grimes anticipated what she was about to say from the look on her face. He cut her off before she could apologise. “Your orders, Captain.”
She stumbled over her apology and he shot her a glare - one so complex with warmth and well-meaning, but urgency and demand. She seemed to get the message and hardened her expression.
“To the walls!” was the command. “Let’s go! Remember your positions!”
Grimes couldn’t help but feel a note of pride in his heart for the strength and steel of her voice. The hero from another world had always had it in her, but Grimes had helped to bring it out of her in their time together. She was ready to lead them. And with her innate power, he had some hope that they might just survive this threat.
But he was an experienced soldier and one who had already seen battle in this war. He knew that the odds were slim. This would not be easy.
I will try to finish my post tonight. Most of it is done already.
Lol I definitely put on a few pounds myself. Just sooo many get-togethers due to the hubby's mother's birthday being two days after Christmas too and his sister always hosting a New Year party for the family. With our tour of my huge-ass family on top of that, it was just a constant food-fest. And you've probably heard how the Irish like to drink so I needn't say more on that lol xD
Hello! xD
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! Have a great night tomorrow xD
<Snipped quote by AvaP>
seems like a pretty plain hobby to me
I don't think another pun war is going to take off, Saiyan.
Booooo! Not this again. It's like a bi-annual event for you boys >:(
@AvaPOh my gosh. Wow. What's that like? How long have you been doing this kind of thing? That's amazing xD
@AvaPWait, is that from a cockpit, or am I being silly?
"You won?" a child asked.
"Not yet," MacKensie answered. What was intended to be a story to stop one child from his constant crying, had become a tale captivating an audience of at least a dozen, children and even some adults. "Aurok was not done with us yet. With his dying breaths, he began charging his most powerful attack. A magical explosion - intending to destroy us and half of the canyon along with him." There was a pantomime-like gasp from the ring around MacKensie. "We had no way to stop him. All we could do was look on as the magical ball of destruction got bigger and bigger - the screeching noise getting louder and louder." The emotion in her voice translated the fear and intensity of that day, the frenchwoman's eyes almost sightless as she relived the memory. The audience felt it. "But then... Arthur - a valiant knight of our party - appeared above us, at the summit of the canyon. He dove from the top, swinging his incredible anchor above his head like a lasso. And with one powerful lash, his giant anchor flew towards Aurok, striking the monster's heart, killing the beast and saving us all."
"Wow," was the breathless sentiment.
"Arthur lost his life in that heroic attack - hit by the dangerously sharp tail of Aurok - but his noble sacrifice averted calamity for the rest of us. And rid Mytheria of that dangerous monster once and for all. He will never be forgotten."
"What happened to the water ninja?" one older girl asked.
MacKensie smiled, more out of picturing Arthur's face than anything else, but with a mischevious tone, she said, "That was not the end of our epic struggle with him. And I promise to tell you what happened tomorrow..." Big groans and moans ensued. "...if you are all good, and stay strong for your parents, and do as they say - we will continue our tale. Okay?"
It was an agreement 'signed under great duress,' one might say. MacKensie smiled at them. Then she set her sights back on the original crying child, a boy no more than seven years old, with big brown eyes and a smile making space for future adult-teeth. She detached her blue cape from her shoulders and wrapped the boy in it, much to his delight. He was so small that it went around him a full time and then over his shoulder, swallowing him up. MacKensie covered a giggle with her fingers. He was so cute.
A short exchange afterwards saw storytime come to a close. MacKensie got a quiet 'thank you' from the mother of the boy who was no longer crying but proudly sporting his new adventurer cloak. She continued to see to the needs of the citizens, but was stopped at the bedding supplies by a woman.
"You had them in the palm of your hand?" the woman said, making herself known. MacKensie gave her a warm smile. It was clear from the woman's garb and necklace that she was not of the working and middle classes who were staying in this hall. "Agatha Pendlebury."
Pendlebury? MacKensie echoed in her mind. That name was familiar but she could not place it. "MacKensie Trydant. How do you do?"
"How do you do?" Agatha returned. "Come. You've more than earned some tea and dinner."
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