2019-03-23: (Not) Taking (A Lack Of) Names
- Log: 2019-03-23: (Not) Taking (A Lack Of) Names
- Cast: Ratatoskr, Kourin
- Where: Northern Steppes
- Date: March 23rd, 2019
- Summary: (Takes place before any of the Chapter 1 Epilogue finale events.) Ratatoskr, busy indulging in his investigations of warrior history out in the Elru tundras, catches sight of a most curious swordswoman who does not practice a style he recognizes. So he goes down to fight it and take a name. Will Kourin give them the name of the fighting school that schools them?
=================================================<* Northern Steppes *>================================================= The northern regions of the Elru continent are composed of broken, barren hills, their soil frozen and crusted over with rime. Little grows there, and even less lives. The monsters and wildlife of the region are notoriously fierce; a monster seeing a traveller will chase that person down for weeks if necessary, as that may be the only protein it sees in that time. The Steppes have been the dominion of the military Kingdom of Arctica since before the Day of Collapse, but in recent years their castle has been silent and unresponsive. The walls sit shattered and broken, the gate open and scored with long-dead flame. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfRBmqBlzzQ
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
SOME TIME DURING THE SEARCH FOR THE LOST SANCTUARY
Ratatoskr braves the Elru wilds, because all of a sudden there's a lot of Drifters coming up this way and that must mean something cool is about to go down. Some sort of history. There's probably going to be a lot of fighting. But it's not clear... what.
(honestly it is ratatoskr what excuse does he need to just be)
He's located an abandoned watchtower for a temporary base of options. It is less a matter of 'shelter' and more because there is so much abandoned junk in it, like there was a party that was here that made use of it and never returned. That means he gets a look at the rations, the ARM ammunition, a few left-over weapons, and gets to try and really envision who these people were.
Currently he's on top of it, with a clear view of the Elru tundra surrounding him below as he is admiring a sword.
"...Oooh, this one's from Lacour," he remarks as he runs a clawed finger down towards the signature. "...Hyahaha--! This was made by the sponsor of that year's runner-up for the Tournament of Arms? This was made by the sponsor of that year's runner-up for the Tournament of Arms!"
This outpost is a veritable Ratatoskr Candy Shop For Ratatoskrs. What could possibly distract the squirrel-like Hyadean from his nerding out?
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
What about an oddly-underdressed (though still modest, it's just cold and she isn't dressed for that) young woman approaching on foot, with what appears to be a Very Good Boy as her companion?
Cause Kourin's out scouting and keeping up her daily training routine, and Spirit is as-ever by her side!
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
oh hey look at that down there there is a swordswoman practicing
From the corner of Ratatoskr's solid yellow eyes, he turns his head down upon the training young woman, watching her form and movement.
...
He doesn't even recognize that movement. Okay, some bits and pieces sort of resemble those really weird people that seem to have come out of nowhere around the Ignas continent. His claws scratch at the brick they clutch. It's novel. It's neat. It looks strong! Such form! Such grace. Such power.
...aaaaaaaaaand he just leapt off the top of the tower to crash down in the snow nearby. Poor Spirit is going to have a scare, what with the crimson-armored horned squirrel-like alien rising up to their six-and-a-half-foot height with crossed arms.
"What is that? What is that! That style...! I've never seen it before... it looks strong...!"
"Show me, show me!!" He demands as he hunches over with a more feral stance, a sharp-toothed maw grinning ever wider as he raises his arms in a combat stance, one leg slightly raised. It sort of resembles Muay Thai from... another place very, very far away from here.
...He had the element of surprise. Why didn't he strike her first?
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Spirit lets out a yelp and leaps backward, while Kourin drops her training weapon, hand flying to the hilt of her sword. When the creature adopts a threatening pose, babbling about strong styles, Kourin's blade spills forth from its sheath, shedding blue flames in an arc towards the squirrel-thing.
It's an unorthodox opening, and one that may be deceptive to the alien--it is, after all, a flame based attack, rather than her usual ice shenanigans. Either way, it's an aggressive response.
GS: Kourin has attacked Ratatoskr with Lunge! GS: Kourin has gained 2 Combo! GS: Kourin has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Ratatoskr takes a glancing hit from Kourin's Lunge for 65 hit points! GS: Disrupt! Statuses applied to Ratatoskr!
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
Ratatoskr just lunges in there, almost all but jumping into that blade as he flexes an elbow. Kourin can see an opening in the elbow, like someone drilled a hole in there. There's a reason why.
That's a weapon. The lunging flame strike slots into that opening and discharges fire, and there is a gloriously explosive 'THA-KOOM' as compressed air rapidly expands from the heat, blowing out steam and quicksilver out his shoulder. It hurts as much as it sounds.
There are rapid knee strikes that follow as he's on the inside of her guard, her blade inside his elbow (which she can pull out - the part of its arm it is in is hollow) as he knees her over and over.
...Somewhere in the fourth knee attempt, there is a bursting sound of escaping compressed air - for his knee is also a shotgun.
The entire sequence is brutal, quick, and maybe even over within a blink and a half of an eye.
GS: Ratatoskr has attacked Kourin with Bash Bash Bash BOOM! GS: Ratatoskr has gained 2 Combo! GS: Ratatoskr has completed his action. GS: Kourin takes a solid hit from Ratatoskr's Bash Bash Bash BOOM for 139 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin is buffeted, blasted, and knocked back; if she wasn't always serious in a fight, she would certainly be now. As it stands, she grits her teeth against the pain and whirls, spinning around and away from Ratatoskr, trying to buy back a bit of spacing. It's almost like a dance move, except that at the end of it, she's back into the fray with a furious series of thrusts, culminating in a one-two slash combination.
GS: Kourin has spent 3 Combo on Gatling, including 2 on Gatling! GS: Kourin has attacked Ratatoskr with Cross Slash! GS: Kourin has completed her action. GS: Ratatoskr takes a solid hit from Kourin's Cross Slash for 176 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
Quicksilver drips from the elbow as Kourin is knocked back. Ratatoskr looks like he could, maybe even should, just up and pounce her and continue the offensive. The claws on his hands look mighty sharp. His grin, predatory.
"That was pretty awesome," says someone who just got the innards of his arm-weapon blasted by the discharge of flame. Kourin's on him much, much faster than he can react - if he even does - laying into him with a series of resolute stabs and ending it with a slash that taps him in the chin like he was punched in the mouth.
That grin doesn't fade.
"What is that style? What is that style! I've never seen it..." His injured arm shakes, even as he holds it in its martial stance. He continues to pace about around Kourin, tail flicking out in excitement. "...C'mon, c'mooooonnn, tell me, tell me!"
GS: Ratatoskr has spent 2 Combo on Inspire and Reload, including 0 on Gatling! GS: Ratatoskr has attacked Kourin with Shoot The Messenger! GS: Ratatoskr has completed his action. GS: Ratatoskr used Mystic on Ratatoskr! Status effect durations increased by 2! Temporary HP duration increased by 2! GS: Ratatoskr has activated a Force Action! GS: Kourin takes a solid hit from Ratatoskr's Shoot The Messenger for 0 hit points! GS: Riposte! Statuses applied to Ratatoskr! GS: Reload! Kourin gains 15 extra FP from Ratatoskr! GS: Kourin gains a Combo from Inspire!
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
"I've not yet discovered its name," Kourin responds, readying her sword once more at eye level. "It is my own."
That's all the answer she's prepared to give to the obnoxious foe, however, as she begins a new series of strikes. The demon may be pleased, as this series leaves dancing flames in its wake as she once again performs the same slashing strikes--though the fact that this is simply a combination of the strikes he's already seen could serve to dampen that enthusiasm. It depends, Kourin supposes, on whether he appreciates the difficulty of combining the artes into a single attack. "Perhaps you will be the one to give it a name," she adds. "Perhaps not."
GS: Kourin has spent 1 Combo on Poison, including 0 on Gatling! GS: Kourin has attacked Ratatoskr with Comet Cross! GS: Kourin has completed her action. GS: Ratatoskr takes a glancing hit from Kourin's Comet Cross for 78 hit points! GS: Toxin! Statuses applied to Ratatoskr!
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
"You don't know its name?" Ratatoskr's eyes brighten. Widen? He doesn't really narrow or widen. His eyes are a solid yellow color. He has a grin that can't seem to exist as anything other than a bigger or smaller grin. "You don't know its name! But it's your own?!"
It is her own, performing the slashing strikes as the flames dance and wash across him with the same proficiency even as the squirrely foe weaves about, a scorch of flame going across his upper back and tagging the tail. The tail's 'flick' upwards might potentially compromise her balance for a fraction of a second if she's overcommitted to the blow, but he's at such a distance at present that this might not matter much if it does.
A combination of distance and flapping gums.
"Me? Give it a name... hyahaha--! Come onnnn," Ratatoskr sneers, "give me the name!! Why would I even want to make up a name for it?!" He lunges in again, going in low with a sweep - there's the tail, there's the actual attack of importance and effect, looking to take Kourin right off her legs with it.
GS: Ratatoskr has attacked Kourin with Root Cutter! GS: Ratatoskr takes 10 damage from Toxin! GS: Ratatoskr has completed his action. GS: Kourin takes a solid hit from Ratatoskr's Root Cutter for 94 hit points! GS: Entangle! Statuses applied to Kourin!
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin is again buffeted and knocked, and while she doesn't go for a tumble, she's put so much on the defensive with regard to footwork, so limited by the acrobatics of her opponent that she may as well have.
"I have not given it a name because it has yet to be truly tested against a worthy opponent," she says, narrowing her eyes and waiting for the right moment to strike. "I had considered that perhaps you might constitute such an opponent," she adds, then coldly follows up, "but perhaps I was mistaken."
This time, the arc left in the wake of her blade is not flame, but a sparkling frost--even in the glittering chill of the tundra, where Kourin's blade cuts, the temperature drops alarmingly.
"I have studied," she says, striking once.
"I have trained," she says, a shining trail marking the passage of her strike.
"I am not yet ready to claim mastery," she says, pirouetting to keep up with Ratatoskr's dancing evasions.
"But I may yet claim victory! Ice Comet Slash!"
GS: Kourin has attacked Ratatoskr with Ice Comet Slash! GS: Kourin has completed her action. GS: Ratatoskr takes a glancing hit from Kourin's Ice Comet Slash for 100 hit points! GS: Ratatoskr has been weakened by Disease! They take 0 damage, and burn off all temporary hit points! GS: Disease and Poison! Statuses applied to Ratatoskr!
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
Kourin's boasts and bravado is backed by her blade, a blizzard of a blitz as she shows the fruits of her study, her training, and her humility as she strikes as true as true can be within the scope of her skill. She may yet have a legitimate claim to victory as she strikes the Ice Comet Slash against his size. Ice crystals form and run up across his body, and the horned squirrel-like fellow is approximately thirty-three percent rime frost, locking up his joints in a convenient, dramatic three-point stance.
His tail flicks and flexes the segmented plates to fight off the frost. It's a laborious process.
"But you've named the technique...!" He retorts, his grin thinning to a smile. "...Is that what you need? Is that what you need! A worthy opponent?" He... actually appears to be seriously considering the conundrum. "I want its name! I want the name of that style! I can't keep that history if I don't have its name..."
The blizzard dims somewhat, as Ratatoskr rises. More frost falls off as he crosses his arms.
"Okay. I'll find you one... then you'll name it...! Hyahaha--!"
The Hyadean turns away. It takes a bit of a start, but before long he leaps off from a rocky outcropping. A liquid metal patagium forms between his limbs from the back, and he glides off to... somewhere...
...
Is he seriously goign to attempt to play Combat Matchmaker with Kourin just so he can have the name of her style?
(yes)