2017-04-02: Scrapped Princess
- Log: Scrapped Princess
- Cast: Seraph Ragnell, Alisha Diphda
- Where: Adlehyde - Town Center
- Date: April 2, 2017
- Summary: Alisha encounters Ragnell. What starts as an unlikely encounter turns into quite a fight. Also, I am not sorry about the title at all.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
When Ragnell had run into Edna about a week ago and had a chat with her about this and that, one of the things she mentioned was the Princess of Adlehyde being able to see Seraphim--and thinking them crazy for claiming to be what they are, even though the Shepherd and his supposed traveling companion (Alina? Enisha? Something like that) attempted to explain it to her. Now, there's no guarantee they'd still be in the area, since apparently Shepherd Sorey loves traveling much like Ragnell does, but since there's a Princess around who can see Seraphim, Ragnell figures that's worth looking into too. How many people like that can there be on this dustbowl, anyway? Filgaia might be spiritually blessed in terms of a near-total lack of Malevolence, but a lack of trials means a lack of growth and development.
Though in fairness, Lunar isn't exactly much better. However, it does mean that there's a simple, easy way of picking out who this Princess might be: make a lot of noise in a very, very public place. And hey, if the Shepherd and his entourage are around, so much the better! But what kind of noise? After all, Ragnell doesn't like humans, but she'd not about to start shooting them up. That's the wrong kind of noise entirely. It's got to be something harmless but completely unignorable for anyone who can hear it.
Well hey. These 1-gella novellas are pretty popular. And whether the attention they'd get is positive or negative, they sure seem like they'd get attention.
And so, with the latest of the Rough Riders series in hand, seated atop one of the wagons in the central circle of Adlehyde's town center, Ragnell reads aloud over the considerable noise of market: "AND THEN HE TORE THE DRESS FROM HER VOLUPTUOUS BODY, SEAMS SHREDDING, BODICE RIPPING! 'OH, GIN BULLET, YOU HANDSOME STUD, TAKE ME NOW!' SHE SWOONED. 'MY NAME'S NOT GIN BULLET,' HE REPLIED, LIFTING HER UP IN HIS BIG, BEEFY ARMS. 'I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE,' SHE GASPED. 'DO ME! DOOOO MEEEEEEE!!'"
The rest of that passage is probably best left to one's imagination. Rest assured, Ragnell narrates it with just as much enthusiasm and barely-suppressed laughter as she's been reading with so far.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
To say that Alisha is on edge is an understatement.
The encounter with the cuccos really isn't at fault, but it certainly pushed her to feel on edge. The princess knight has the weight of a world on her shoulders. The problem is that it isn't the weight of this world. Thoughts of home weigh heavily on her, and somehow, being nearly pecked to death by ravenous chickens just didn't raise her mood in the slightest.
So when she walks down Adlehyde's streets, she looks tired. She is quite skilled at hiding how badly she feels -- her eyes have bags under them, but she has a straight-faced look, and she pauses as she comes up, and she looks up at the wagon. She sees a book floating there, in the air, and at first she assumes she must have needed more sleep.
Until she hears a voice.
Her mouth opens -- and then her cheeks burn a bright red. Alisha covers her mouth with her hand and shakes her head furiously, before she darts in close to the wagon.
"M-My lady Seraphim!" she cries out. "P-Please, don't--don't read such things! I-I am aware that Filgaian literature can be quite different from the sacred texts that you are used to, but... but it is not necessary to point out how they stray from the Goddess's teachings in this regard...!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Jackpot. And it only took... how long as she been reading now? Eh, long enough. When Ragnell hears a scandalized, even /horrified/ woman's/ voice beseeching her to stop reading. She does pause, too, long enough to peer down at whoever it was that addressed her not just as 'the reader of this gella dreadful' but as 'my lady Seraph'--a sure tell that not only is this not a native Filgaian, she's actually a pious transport. Not a lot of those these days, though if she can hear Seraphim, that makes sense.
Too bad the Seraph that Alisha has to hear today, after nearly being pecked to death by hell chickens, is Seraph "Don't Give No Fucks" Ragnell.
"Whaaaat? But we're right at the good part!" she declares, drawling out the words on purpose. "That's what you humans call the," she flips a few pages, "six pages of 'and then they fucked and it was totally hot,' only with a lot more unnecessary--good goddess, did the author really write 'bulbous, weeping cock'? Holy hell! I'm weeping too after I had to read that with my own eyeballs!"
Despite this, Ragnell sounds more cheerful than anything else. In fact, she sounds like she's on the verge of uproarious laughter. It only gets worse as some of the nearby townspeople give Alisha funny looks as she cries to someone who isn't actually there to STOP ALREADY OH MY GODDESS.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha's mouth opens -- and hangs open for a moment -- as Ragnell keeps reading. She was already blushing, but now her entire face turns a bright scarlet. She is torn between the impulse to rip the book out of Ragnell's hands or to cover her face and hide. In the end, she sputters aloud:
"Bulbous weeping WHAT!?"
Which only draws a few more stares up at her. She backs away, then, and shakes her head quickly. "No," she says to the townspeople staring at her, "you must understand, there is a sacred spirit on the wagon, reading--a... a--" She realizes, part way through saying that, that she has no defense. She ducks her head down.
Her eyebrow twitches, before she looks back up. "Please!" she says. "I-I implore you, please stop. I--I don't... think... that this is something that we should--should be speaking of aloud, in public, like this! The Filgaians are unaware of your nature!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Alisha would have a hard time of it ripping that book out of Ragnell's hands anyway, given that Ragnell is a) sitting on top of one of the wagons b) taller than her anyway. Then again, Alisha *does* have her spear, but that might be escalating too far.
It's when Alisha yelps, then attempts a feeble defense, that Ragnell finally breaks out cackling, slapping one knee with her free hand. You can't *get* entertainment better than this! And hey, all it cost her was one gella! (That's a lie. Ragnell straight up took it from the stand without paying. Ask her if she cares. Go on, ask.)
But Alisha begs again, this time citing the time and place and the nature of the Filgaians. Ragnell affects shock, pressing a hand over her chest. "Oh! *Beggin'* your pardon, little lady! I didn't know I was offending the locals!" Ragnell replies with such plainly faked innocence that it may as well be . "DO ANY OF Y'ALL MIND IF I READ THIS BAD SEX OUT LOUD? ANYONE? ANYBODY AT ALL?"
There are lots of sounds that follow, it being a busy marketplace and all. However... After a brief moment of listening, Ragnell grins wickedly down at Alisha. "I'm not hearin' any nos!!"
However, she hasn't *actually* started reading again yet. This would be because Alisha is way more entertaining to her than the Rough Rider novel is. Whether Alisha realizes that is another thing entirely.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"That--"
They can't hear the Seraphim, of course. Only Alisha can, which she would ordinarily call a blessing. Ordinarily. She stares up at Ragnell, though it is slightly off to her side instead. She covers her mouth with both hands, and then she shakes her head quickly.
"--That is quite beside the point!" she stammers out. "It... it still isn't appropriate to read such things in public. Some things should be kept to private spaces! Such as--as reading that sort of literature! Even if... even if there is no one around to hear that."
She hangs her head down and sighs. "...But I certainly do not have the authority to tell you what to do."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ordinarily.
Ragnell grins back at Alisha, one hand propping up her chin, elbow leaning on her knee, other hand casually waving the still-open novella with languid indifference to her discomfort. Hmm... Is she looking off to one side...? Then this girl can hear her, but not see her? Well, one way to test that out.
"Don't be so uptight, little lady," she drawls. "Here, think fast." And with that, she tosses the novella down at Alisha. That's not the test; being made out of ordinary materials, naturally Alisha will be able to see it. However, Ragnell hops off the wagontop to land closeby to Alisha--it might be a little hard, given the crowds, but Ragnell manages to find a spot. She's tall, too, so Alisha would be able to spot her if she can see her. The question is: can she?
Once she has the answer to that question, she'll insinuate herself through the crowd to come up right behind Alisha, then continue at the exact same volume as before, "So what brings you to these parts, little lady? You look pretty fancy in that gear--you a knight or something?" It does look like a uniform, anyway, and no random soldier would be able to get something that nice. She recognizes the uniform pattern, too, but it's taking her a moment to figure out where exactly she's seen it before. A knight would naturally belong to a kingdom... which kingdom was this uniform again...? It doesn't help that Alisha's is somewhat different than normal.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha, despite being flustered, has quick reflexes. She reaches out, hand snatching the book out of the air with the sort of speed that only comes from training and real talent. She clutches the book, then tucks it underneath her arm -- and she looks down at the title. She does not notice that Ragnell leaped down beside her. She doesn't even look away.
So when the voice comes from behind her, Alisha yelps -- and jumps forward. She spins to face Ragnell, and then she turns to look in the other woman's direction. She has a lot of practice in speaking with Seraphim who she cannot see.
"I--" She hesitates a moment. "I am Princess Alisha Diphda, of the kingdom of Hyland." She does a short bow at her waist. "And a knight of the same. But... I am a companion to the Shepherd. We were brought to this world from the Silver Star. The... the same as you, I should think."
Her expression turns downward, ever so slightly. She doesn't ask if Ragnell knows a way back.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Huhh... So the little lady has some skill, too; Ragnell, even in mid-jump, can see how quickly Alisha grabbed that book out of the air. Which means, given that Ragnell surprised the hell out of her, must mean that she really can't see her. Despite that, she does an excellent job of triangulating on Ragnell and facing her as if she does see her--so good that for a moment, the Lightning Seraph wonders if maybe she just caught her off guard. Well, if one trick doesn't work--she reaches out a hand and waves it in front of Alisha's face.
That hand stops when the Princess introduces herself properly. Ragnell's eyes widen, then narrow, as she regards the young human. "Yup. The same as me," she murmurs. "Huh... Edna mentioned Shepherd Sorey had a traveling companion named Alisha." Her lips thin. "She didn't mention you were Princess of Hyland, though."
Although her tone is more or less neutral, considering the way it's abruptly cooled compared to earlier, this may not be a great thing. Naturally, also, Ragnell can't answer questions she's not asked... but even if she were, she wouldn't have one for her. Ragnell has no idea how to get back, nor is she particularly inclined to figure a way out. Filgaia or Lunar, they're all the same to her as far as the humans go, and the climate of this world agrees with her.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Oh!" Alisha exclaims, and there is actually a hint of excitement in her voice. Despite the differences in personality, she is quite fond of Seraph Edna. Even if Edna may enjoy teasing her, more than anything. "You know Edna, then? We are--ah--friends."
She hopes.
She shakes her head once. "I am a companion to the Shepherd. I was there, when he drew the sword in the Sacred Blade Festival and assumed his position." She still speaks of the event reverently. "I know... several groups have been brought to Filgaia, from Lunar. At least two adventurers that I know of," she says. "And members of Althena's Guard. And..."
She hesitates, her eyes flickering to the side. But, there is no use in hiding it. Ragnell would be able to see the malevolence for herself, after all, if she encountered her. "...The Lord of Calamity, and a band who work with her."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Friends, huh. Ragnell eyeballs Alisha at that, now that she knows for certain that Alisha can't see her--just kidding, she'd do it whether Alisha could see her or not. The Edna she knows isn't too keen on humans... though Edna also said the other day that some humans aren't so bad. It's because of that alone that Ragnell leaves that comment alone without even a derisive snort. Who knows? She hadn't seen Edna in a few hundred years.
"We're pretty well acquainted," she replies. "She usually stays in one place, I usually travel around, so we're not buddies, but we get on all right." Not exactly friends, but--they did have a good chat. A very good chat indeed. As Alisha goes on, talking about the Sacred Blade Festival and what on else, she listens, frowning, until the end.
"Lucia the Destroyer. Yup, heard 'bout her too," Ragnell says. "An' how the Shepherd couldn't purify her." She's heard a few other things about her, too, but Lucia's not of interest to Ragnell right now. Instead, what she's interested in is-- "So, what? You tossed off your country to follow the Shepherd around? When Hyland's teeming with Malevolence? And His Shepherdness just *let* you? Or d'you think your position means you can flit off on adventure whenever you want?" Ragnell's eyes narrow further. "For a gal so pious, I gotta say... you're really treating this like a joke."
--gauging exactly who and what Alisha is. And that means making at least a few verbal blows and seeing how she deals with them. If it comes down to it... it might even devolve into actual blows.
Hiro pages Alisha Diphda and Seraph Ragnell: Hello! Would y'all mind an observer?
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Ah... yes. She was on Rayfalke, until..." Until she decided to join Sorey, because of the promise he made: to find a way to purify Eizen. She doesn't know if Edna mentioned that, and she isn't sure that is a secret that she should mention to someone else. The princess knight looks up, then, and is momentarily relieved that she heard of the Lord of Calamity.
But only momentarily. Her eyes widen at the accusation -- and then she shakes her head, quickly and firmly. It looks slightly off, with how she can't quite look in Ragnell's direction.
"That--" It clearly struck near the mark. "--This is not a joking matter in the slightest! The Shepherd was helping to purify Hyland of the Malevolence gripping it. He had never traveled there before and I was escorting him to Marlind, when--when we ended up here!"
Her eyes narrow. "We had improved matters in Ladylake considerably! And that--that is one of the best things I could do, to protect my people!"
Last connect was from cpe-70-115-140-199.austin.res.rr.com on Sun Apr 02 13:24:05 2017.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
That *is* something that Ragnell knows, but just as Alisha's in no hurry to share another's private matters with someone she doesn't know also knows them, Ragnell isn't about to blab someone else's family matters. Chances are pretty good Alisha knows, if she's been traveling with her? But Ragnell's not going to assume. That's Edna's story to tell--and Ragnell, for all her reading-porn-aloud-for-all-with-sufficient-Resonance-to-hear ways, is discreet enough to keep such matters under her hat.
"Hmmm...? Is that so?" she replies, damning in how light and casual it is. Objectively speaking, assuming Alisha's telling the truth, she's probably right; a newbie Shepherd can only purify so much Malevolence, and if they were transported over to Filgaia in the middle of that, there's no helping what happened to them. But... "Malevolence is like a disease. You can't take part of a medicine and then stop once it looks like things are better. You gotta keep going until it's been burned down to the roots." Ragnell, you're mixing your metaphors. Unknowing or uncaring, she concludes coolly, "If you don't, the sickness comes back stronger than ever. Now, you *say* you were escortin' the Shepherd, and doesn't that sound nice and proper on the surface?"
Ragnell starts to pace a tight circle around Alisha--no mean feat, considering the crowds still in the area. It helps that most people are keeping their distance from Alisha at this point, crowds be damned. "But did it really HAVE to be YOU? If you're a princess, you coulda ordered one of your knights to guide 'im. Someone from your personal guard, if you needed it to be someone you trusted." She comes to a halt directly behind royalty. "Goin' yourself, when the biggest influence you've got is in the palace... or should be, in theory. What were you *really* aiming for, 'Princess'?"
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"I know that we did not eliminate it entirely, nor forever! But we lessened it, and Marlind--a plague broke out and I was ordered there! And Sorey decided to go, too! I--"
Alisha's eyes widen at the accusation. Part of her wants to laugh, bitterly, at the idea that she has influence in the palace. Her father certainly wouldn't care -- not about Alisha Diphda, the last in line, and with a commoner mother that they were all glad to see dead. Something genuinely angry enters her eyes, then, and they narrow -- in Ragnell's direction, though she paces away from her.
"I could have ordered my men to. But I--I am a knight before I am a princess! I am far more use to Hyland there! The only thing that I am 'aiming' for is to protect my people!" she says, and it becomes a shout at the end. A few more people start to back away from her. Her face is red for reasons entirely separate from being flustered, now.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Of course they didn't eliminate it entirely or forever. Really, Ragnell's accusations are unfair at best; there's a lot of the situation she doesn't necessarily know, and on top of that, she knows damn well it's impossible to get rid of Malevolence permanently. As long as humans exist, those fonts of ill will and hatred, it will keep billowing back into existence--but the fact that that's Ragnell's view means she's not going to let up so easily on Alisha, either.
Especially not when she sees real anger in the girl's eyes. Is it because Ragnell struck a blow to her pride? Or is it something else? If nothing else, it draws her sharp-eyed, calculating interest far more than even being someone with enough Resonance to hear a Seraph did. This Princess doesn't care that they're in public, surrounded by people who're giving her stronger and stronger strange looks. Despite all that pious talk earlier, she doesn't hesitate to talk back to a Seraph. Is that because she's that dedicated? Or was the piety only skin deep?
Well then... doesn't this look like a gal who needs a good tempering? A few whacks to see how the quality of her mettle turns out? Ragnell smiles, but aloud, she makes a low, outwardly thoughtful hum. "I see. I get what you're sayin'.
"What you basically mean is, you're useless as a princess--is that right?"
She laughs, and this time it's mocking--contemptuous. "If you can't even command the respect of your countrymen... what makes you think you're any good to anyone else, let alone the Shepherd?" She lifts a hand, making the 'come get some' gesture despite knowing full well Alisha can't see it. A certain electricity charges the air, enough so that even normals can feel it by way of sudden static shocks. It's like a storm's brewing--save that there isn't a cloud in the sky. "An' if you insist on sayin' otherwise... how's about you prove it, little Princess?"
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha has thought, before, that there is a way that a princess carries herself. She has thought it in regards to Cecilia Lynn Adlehyde, the princess of this land, who has those behaviors and habits she finds so familiar precisely because she sees them in herself. Her eyes narrow, and despite being the same green as a forest, they look terribly cold in that moment.
"Be silent," she commands, and it has the weight of seventeen years of inherited authority behind it. She stands up, a little straighter, then.
Her eyes glance down the street and at the people around her. The fact that this is Cecilia's kingdom, and that she owes it to her to respect the peace, keeps her from lashing out on the spot.
"If I didn't know better, I would think you aren't a Seraph at all," she says. "But you are. If you insist, then we can settle this where it won't cause innocent people undue harm. Otherwise, I am taking my leave of you."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
The thing about authority is that it only holds sway against those who are influenced by it--and Seraph Ragnell is beholden to no human. The command thus gets her a loud and obvious snicker.
But--and this may or may not make a difference--she doesn't try to verbally needle Alisha any further. Whether Ragnell's on the mark or not, Alisha's not the kind to just lie over and let a remark like that stand. Is that good or not? Well, that's the whole point of this exercise, isn't it? But, for whatever it's worth, Ragnell does note the way that Alisha takes note of her surroundings and the people still around them, and draws a line in the proverbial sand. She might be baited into a fight, but she's not baited into fighting blindly. That is definitely a point in her favor, and Ragnell nods, smiling to herself.
"Fine by me, little lady," she says, and she lets a note of approval sound in her voice--though not too obviously. Insinuations of un-Seraphic behavior go unremarked upon. She is what she is; let Alisha think what she will. "Let's take this outside."
As in, outside the city limits. And, again for whatever it's worth, Ragnell won't speak again until they've made it to a properly isolated patch of wilderness.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Very well, then," Alisha says, with a scowl on her face.
She turns and starts walking, along the broad avenue that leads outside of the city. She scowls as she does -- and her expression doesn't slip, because for all she knows, Ragnell is looking right at her. This could be a problem, she realizes. She can't see Ragnell. Will she be able to see her sorcery? She can usually see Lailah's, Edna's, and Mikleo's -- but not them.
For all that she is angry, she knows this could end shortly if she can't even detect Ragnell's attacks. Alisha frowns, slightly.
But she doesn't stop walking. When she gets out of the city, she turns up a dry and dusty hill. Most of the grass has gone brown, and the tree is withered and smaller. Alisha turns, then, and she looks towards where she thinks Ragnell is. She takes stock for a moment.
"I didn't think that I would fight a Seraph," she says. "But... I did not think that I would find one like you." She frowns, a little more. "On three, then."
There is a pause -- one long enough for Ragnell to speak up, whether to disagree or otherwise. Then, unless she indicates otherwise, Alisha turns just a little to the left. Her eyes track where some dust blows, and moves around something instead of through it. She sucks a breath in.
Then her spear drops into her hand, and she sweeps the blade up. A fang of light erupts off the edge of the sword-like blade on her spear. It shoots along the ground, whipping quickly towards Ragnell--or so Alisha hopes.
"Demon Fang!"
GS: You do not have enough Force to pay that attack's cost.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Very well, then," Alisha says, with a scowl on her face.
She turns and starts walking, along the broad avenue that leads outside of the city. She scowls as she does -- and her expression doesn't slip, because for all she knows, Ragnell is looking right at her. This could be a problem, she realizes. She can't see Ragnell. Will she be able to see her sorcery? She can usually see Lailah's, Edna's, and Mikleo's -- but not them.
For all that she is angry, she knows this could end shortly if she can't even detect Ragnell's attacks. Alisha frowns, slightly.
But she doesn't stop walking. When she gets out of the city, she turns up a dry and dusty hill. Most of the grass has gone brown, and the tree is withered and smaller. Alisha turns, then, and she looks towards where she thinks Ragnell is. She takes stock for a moment.
"I didn't think that I would fight a Seraph," she says. "But... I did not think that I would find one like you." She frowns, a little more. "On three, then."
There is a pause -- one long enough for Ragnell to speak up, whether to disagree or otherwise. Then, unless she indicates otherwise, Alisha turns just a little to the left. Her eyes track where some dust blows, and moves around something instead of through it. She sucks a breath in.
Then her spear drops into her hand, and she quickly charges. Her feet shoot across the ground faster and further than Ragnell might expect -- before Alisha does a tight leap and thrust, stabbing her spear for the Seraph, or so she hopes.
GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Blitz Strike! GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action. GS: Seraph Ragnell takes a glancing hit from Alisha Diphda's Blitz Strike for 50 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell does watch Alisha, too, though she doesn't watch her 100% of the way; there's also their surroundings to take into account, from as they leave Adlehyde proper to when they reach a dusty hill outside of town, where Alisha leads her. Ragnell strolls on over to the other side of it, then turns to face Alisha. She *could* start up somewhere other than where she's facing, but she has something to say, and her voice alone would give away her position, so no point in being cute about it.
"Not every Seraph you meet will be the holy ideal you might got built up in your head," Ragnell drawls. "We all got our different ideas of what's right and how to get 'er done. Woulda thought meeting Edna alone would've shown ya that. But we'll see what you're made of, soon enough."
On three, then. Ragnell draws her twin pistols, watching Alisha, moving carefully to one side. And Alisha's eyes... track her through the dust as it billows up...
For one, she has keen senses. Weak Resonance doesn't necessarily hold her back, and if she's traveling with the Shepherd, she's probably got experience with dealing with people she can't actually see. As Alisha charges, Ragnell dances to one side; that spear slashes by her, scoring a hit, but not a deep one. In response, Ragnell fires off a pair of lightning bullets. If they hit true, they'll sting more than a little bit. Either way, Ragnell's eyes have lit up with intensity and battle-lust; too bad Alisha can't see them. Well, well... This ought to be a good fight, sure enough!
GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Alisha Diphda with Double Bullet! GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action. GS: Alisha Diphda critically Guards a hit from Seraph Ragnell's Double Bullet for 8 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Perhaps Edna isn't what I would expect in a Seraph... but I have seen her work hard to help the Shepherd! And I certainly haven't heard her insult someone in such a way!" Alisha cries back to Ragnell. She didn't, however, expect guns.
The shots have a familiar sound, though, and Alisha has spent the past few weeks inspecting ARMs and getting to know them. When the lightning shots come in, she brings her spear up over her body and focuses -- and they impact the spear and her gauntlets. Except, of course, they discharge lightning.
The shower of sparks that erupts sends Alisha flying backward. Her boots scrape in the dust, and that gives her all the clue that she needs. She takes off, running to the side of where Ragnell fired a moment before. Her blade sweeps up, edge touching along the sand. When she does, a line of light flashes across the spear edge.
Then it shoots across the ground, hurtling to intercept Ragnell. "Demon Fang!"
GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Demon Fang! GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action. GS: Seraph Ragnell takes a glancing hit from Alisha Diphda's Demon Fang for 28 hit points! GS: Disrupt! Statuses applied to Seraph Ragnell!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Hmmm... Is that right?" Ragnell says. Of course, it would be difficult for someone who hasn't even met the current Shepherd to help him, so there's nothing to say there, but: "An' out of curiosity, which part were you the most insulted by?" What gets under someone's skin the most says a lot about who they are--and although Alisha pretty much got offended by all of it, it makes a difference what she was offended by the *most*.
That Alisha's never heard Edna insult someone that badly before really only indicates to Ragnell that Alisha hasn't known her very long, though, and that pretty much goes without saying, comparatively speaking.
A line of power, channeled through her spear, courses along the grounds towards Ragnell's last position. She doesn't stop moving, but neither does the Demon Fang, and it too clips her, blasting against her body with not insignificant stunning force. Ragnell lands, boots crunching onto the dirt, and shakes her head, but the wooziness doesn't quite go away. That's fine, though. Alisha's doing pretty well so far, and that *is* a good thing. She needs to be at least this strong if she's going to be traveling with the Shepherd.
This time, when Ragnell fires off the pair of strikes, they're infused with significantly stronger magic than the previous ones were. Alisha might have a tougher time blocking these compared to the last time.
GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Alisha Diphda with Twin Bullet! GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Alisha Diphda takes a solid hit from Seraph Ragnell's Twin Bullet for 126 hit points! GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Alisha Diphda!
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"I--all of your words! Do you think I am some child, playing at this? I am doing the best I can, with what I am given!" Alisha snaps. That may be an answer: the question of what good she is.
She sees where Ragnell landed because it throws up some of the fine dust that is so ever present on this world. She can see the two shots, too, but those are much harder to dodge. Alisha tries to leap aside, then rush at Ragnell, but the two slam into her. Her armor saves her from being shot clean through, but when the lightning explodes, she goes flying back. She slams down into the ground.
She rolls twice, and then Alisha throws a hand out. She pushes herself up to her feet, and lets out a shaky breath. Then, she goes running forward, studying the way the dust moves -- until her spear sweeps up through that dust. She swings the pole for Ragnell's legs, trying to knock her off balance, before Alisha does a tight pivot on her foot.
"Spinning Top!" she cries out, before she stabs the spear down at the Seraph -- or maybe just into the dying earth of Filgaia.
GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Spinning Top! GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action.
DC: MISS! Seraph Ragnell completely evades Spinning Top from Alisha Diphda!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Well, yeah," Ragnell replies, letting the shrug she makes suffuse her words. "However old you are, little lady, I guarantee I'm at least ten times older." That's not quite the point, but the rest of what Alisha says is. She smiles grimly. "If you're doin' your best, and you know you're doin' your best, then why's some random asshole got you so worked up? We just met half an hour ago. What d'you care what I think about you?"
It sounds like a rhetorical question, and if one assumes it is it doesn't really jive with what Ragnell's been saying this whole time, but it's anything but. After all, if it's because it's criticism from a holy Seraph, why is she willing to fight her nonetheless? And if it's something else entirely... Though whether Alisha will stop to think that through in the heat of battle is its own question entirely.
But while Alisha is blasted back hard in the wake of the powered bullets, she doesn't stop fighting either. Of course, if it's her pride on the line, one would figure so, but Ragnell's still feeling that out--just as she is the fight itself. By watching Alisha's eyes, she can track where Alisha is going to attack next. So, she's tracking her by watching how the dust moves... That's damn clever. No wonder she brought her to this spot. That's another point in her favor. But if she crumples under one assault or another, she'll still be no good.
The spear sweeps for Ragnell's legs, then pivots and slams down. Unfortunately, Ragnell's already moved out of the way, using timing to move out of the way the split-second before Alisha attacks. While she's in the middle of that attack and unable to stop herself from committing to it, Ragnell crosses an arm over her chest as seraphic magic flows up around her.
"Lightning!" she calls, completing the spell A bolt strikes down from the blue over Alisha's head--or where she was a moment ago, if Alisha's reaction time is good enough to get her out of dodge.
GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Alisha Diphda with Lightning! GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action. GS: Alisha Diphda guards a hit from Seraph Ragnell's Lightning for 64 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"That--yes, I suppose that you would be!"
Alisha hasn't asked the Seraphim their ages, but she has gathered that much from simply talking to them, with the exception of Mikleo. She frowns, at the question, and she scowls. "I have my honor to consider, and I do care about that--it is one thing that is firmly within my grasp!" Sometimes, it may be the only thing that is.
Her blade strikes down into the ground, not touching Ragnell, but plunging into the dirt. She yanks it back -- and then gasps as she hears the crack of thunder. She can't move in time, and the lightning slams into her. She yelps, before she moves to the side. Sparks fly from where the magical lightning struck, and smoke wafts away from her.
Her nose wrinkles at the ozone smell. She doesn't let that slow her down, though. Alisha swings her spear down again -- in a diagonal slash across the front of her, using her spear's blade like an edge to cut hard for Ragnell -- or where she hopes she stood.
"If you want to see my worth, then this is one way to demonstrate it!"
GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Rending Strike! GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action. GS: Seraph Ragnell takes a solid hit from Alisha Diphda's Rending Strike for 94 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell just laughs when Alisha basically throws up her arms and goes "I GUESS" at her. Age, and how much one is an adult or child based on it, is never an argument a human should get into with a Seraph. Unlike her previous laughter, though, there's something of unmalicious amusement there. It's hardly affectionate or even kind, but it's... a step up from earlier? Maybe?
One thing that's firmly in her grasp... huh. Ragnell narrows her eyes at Alisha, but this time in consideration. That's understandable. If Ragnell's earlier barbs had cut so deeply because they rang true, in whole or in part, then it'd follow that this little princess wants to hold on to the things she's able to do--and *that* is something she can approve of. Better to do what you can than lament what you can't. More tellingly to an outsider, this time, she doesn't have a retort or cutting remark for her.
If Ragnell had expect that to slow Alisha down, she's wrong--but not disappointed. As she sees that attack coming in, she braces herself--but doesn't defend herself, accepting the full force of the attack. With a loud 'OOF,' that blade slices deep, and might well have cut her wide open if Ragnell hadn't rolled with the force of the attack to let herself get knocked backwards off her feet. She tumbles into a roll and staggers up to her feet, half-smiling.
"Damn right it is," she replies, calling again upon her Seraphic magic. This time, it crackles in front of her, then loosens like an arrow across the battlefield to shoot towards Alisha. "Thunder Spear!" Ragnell calls.
GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Alisha Diphda with Thunder Spear! GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Alisha Diphda critically Guards a hit from Seraph Ragnell's Thunder Spear for 30 hit points! GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Alisha Diphda!
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha sees the energy crackle in front of Ragnell without seeing Ragnell. Her eyes widen and she cries out: "Brace!" She holds her spear in front of her. The weapon has an ancient blade on it -- and much of her armor is crystalline, from the ancient era. She stands her ground, grits her teeth, and focuses. The lightning arrow slams into her, driving her backward, and a shockwave blows out past her.
But the princess knight stands her ground against it, as smoke and dust waft away from her, and she lets out a shaking, rattled breath. She stood, but it hurt, and her head lifts to look into Ragnell's direction.
She doesn't speak now. Instead, she swings her spear up over her head. Like before, light floods along the weapon's edge and glints -- but it holds there, before she leaps up into the air, and comes crashing down towards the Seraph. She extends her spear-blade outward, and the light flashes right off it as she lands, thrusting when she does.
"Rondo of Light!"
GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Rondo of Light! GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action. GS: Seraph Ragnell takes a solid hit from Alisha Diphda's Rondo of Light for 111 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell lets out a low whistle, one muzzle pushing up the brim of her hat, as she watches Alisha take that last attack... well, not precisely head-on so much as deflect it off her weapon, which she holds against her. "Good reflexes," she remarks, which might be a funny thing to hear from someone who just spent the last half-hour insulting you and everything you hold dear.
Even better when Alisha swings back into action, eschewing words for focus as she channels light into her spear's blade. Ragnell prepares to evade this attack, but she doesn't expect the spear to thrust out at her at the last second, and it hits her dead-on, slamming her back and hard onto the dusty ground. She lets out a loud, pained grunt at that, then hisses low under her breath as she rolls over to get back to her feet. Staying down in a fight is certain death--that's something Ragnell's always had pounded into her, and never mind that she's invisible to this foe. Alisha's already proven that doesn't matter THAT much.
She keeps running, too, tracing an arc around Alisha. It's not just a run, though; she fires off a series of bullets at Alisha as she goes, blam-blam-blam-blam, each of them homing in on her location, arcing through the air while crackling with electricity. So many bullets while in motion might also make it harder for Alisha to track Ragnell's movements, since to someone who can't see her opponent, it might look like they're coming from multiple directions at once. But then, Alisha has good battle instincts so far--maybe she won't be so easily fooled.
GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Alisha Diphda with Storm Runner! GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Alisha Diphda takes a solid hit from Seraph Ragnell's Storm Runner for 106 hit points! GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Alisha Diphda!
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha blinks, but otherwise doesn't comment on the compliment. That surprises her, and she turns. She can't follow Ragnell as easily when she moves -- and enough dust has stirred up that this is a difficult proposition. This is made worse when she begins firing, and bullets rain down towards Alisha. She moves, trying to get through a couple -- and she still gets clipped several times, leaving bloody gashes on her.
And, worse, one shot punches into her thigh, ripping through. She stumbles and avoids being hobbled only through sheer willpower, though she is bleeding. "Gh--so you have an ARM," she says. "I thought I recognized the sound of it. Quite a surprise!"
She didn't expect any Seraph to use an ARM. (But, she had never met Zaveid.)
She decides that she has to try to end this. Alisha leaps, again, and light gathers at the tip of her spear, as she bolts towards the last place that Ragnell shot from. Her spear stabs out -- and then again and again, making multiple thrusts to test her defenses. Then, Alisha turns on a foot, wheels the spear back, and cries out:
"LIGHT BLAST!"
She stabs the spear forward. The light gathered on the tip of the spear-blade releases, all at once, and a beam of light explodes off the spear and directly for the Seraphim.
GS: Alisha Diphda has activated a Force Action! GS: You have activated the Force Action Lock On! GS: Alisha Diphda has attacked Seraph Ragnell with Light Blast! GS: Alisha Diphda has completed her action. GS: Seraph Ragnell takes a solid hit from Alisha Diphda's Light Blast for 161 hit points! GS: Alisha Diphda takes Cover! She gains 50 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Alisha's battered, bruised, and bleeding--but not down yet. Ragnell may hate humans, but likes that kind of stubbornness, that will to keep going no matter what--and when Alisha calls her weapons ARMs, Ragnell chuckles. "I like to keep people on their toes, Princess," she replies, half-teasing, half-taunting. If an opponent thinks that these simple guns are ARMs, so much the better; the only thing that makes them ARMs is the fact that they're being used to channel Seraphic magic. Then again, that's part of why she decided to switch to the local weapons.
The other part is that she just plain thinks they're cool.
But with stubbornness and a will to keep going also comes a will to end things quickly as things near their end. Ragnell is a quick one, but in return, her defenses are... not that great. She avoids that first blow, thinking that'll be the end of it--but then Alisha unleashes a storm of them, feeling out where the edges of Ragnell's defenses are, then hooking onto the edge and making multiple blows. While Ragnell staggers from them, Alisha unleahes that beam of light, and it sears forward onto the Lightning Seraph, slamming into her body and rending old and new wounds like. She snarls in pain, thrust backwards several feet, and staggers to her knees, panting. She's not actually displeased, though. This human girl... she's still a fledgling, but yes, there's potential there. There's mettle worth tempering, in body and in spirit. This one should raise up nicely.
But that doesn't mean that Ragnell's about to go easy on her--though at the same time, she's not out to kill Alisha, either. She sucks in a breath, forcing herself upright, swaying as her entire body pounds with pain. Seraphic power whirls up around her as she begins to cast. "Blade of heaven's will, pierce mine enemies!" she chants, lightning coursing and surging through the air. A six-pointed star within a circle appears at Alisha's feet, sending down lightning strikes at each of those points. Ragnell sweeps her arms out and completes the arte with a shouted, "DIVINE SABER!" The final lightning bolt surges down from above, dead center, a massive bolt to electrify any who still stand in its path.
GS: Seraph Ragnell has attacked Alisha Diphda with Divine Saber! GS: Seraph Ragnell has completed her action. GS: Alisha Diphda takes a solid hit from Seraph Ragnell's Divine Saber for 167 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Nnh, so I see!"
Alisha didn't expect the stronger Seraphic spell. She has seen Lailah and Edna use some impressive magic, but she hasn't ever been the target. The six-pointed star appears under her feet, and Alisha can't move away in time. Then, the lightning bolts crash down, and the final one. The princess knight cries out -- sparks and lightning explode away from her in arcs.
She doesn't fall...
...but she does go down to a knee, panting hard, and blood runs from the gunshot to her leg -- and the nicks to her arms, face, and shoulder, where she had a few near-misses. Smoke wafts off her. She spits, most unladylike, to the side, and then looks back in Ragnell's direction.
"...You are strong," she admits, as she breathes hard. She could keep fighting -- but she had no plan to kill her opponent, nor be killed. "Even if you are rude."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
That's fine by Ragnell. If she absolutely had to, she could keep fighting, but a spell that large would have left her open for a moment--and while it's clearly given Alisha a whalloping, she's still on her feet. Ragnell's taken a beating herself too, but with Alisha pushed to the edge and effectively conceding defeat, she's satisfied with this outcome too. She holsters her guns, then flops onto her ass, waving away the billowing dust so she can get a good breather.
"You're not half bad yourself, Princess," she replies. She snorts, then laughs, when Alisha calls her rude. "I am what I am. I don't apologize for it. The life lived best, in my opinion, is one where you're true to who you are--what you want and believe." She pauses a beat. "I don't like humans. But someone who puts their all into what they do? I don't mind people like that."
She weighs her options for a moment. She's not really super-inclined to help humans... but a little reinforcement now means later tempering will toughen her up rather than smash her, and Goddess knows none of the others she knows will offer Alisha any help. Thus, the Lightning Seraph adds, "Word to the wise: funny thing about things like honor and pride is, the more durable they are, the more petty shit like insults from strangers will bounce right off 'em. When you're quick to jump to their defense, you're betrayin' how fragile they really are. And fragile feelings splinter easily, and splintered feelings are a breedin' ground for Malevolence. If you're gonna get stronger--strong enough to be able to help the Shepherd--you'd best remember that."
With a grunt, she rolls up to her feet, wobbling and listing to the left. "The name's Ragnell," she says, maintaining a cool tone since she doesn't have to worry about how she looks. "I'll see you 'round, little lady."
...still not calling her by name, though.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Mm..." Alisha stands up, though it's shaky. She has a wobble in her legs when she does -- especially the one that was shot through. She hisses, softly, and then looks up. A Seraph that doesn't like humans is--after Elysia--not such a great surprise.
But it's sad.
She frowns, a little, at those words. Alisha looks away -- but she doesn't say that Ragnell is wrong. She knows that she isn't wrong. She knows what she tells herself and what she feels, and those are different things indeed. She looks down, but she nods slightly.
"Until... until then," she says, with a frown, and doesn't trust herself to speak. Ragnell, the princess thinks. She doubts that she will forget the name anytime soon.
She waits longer than she has to. She can't see Ragnell walk away, anyways.