some days i can't even trust myself ( CLOSED )

[dragoness]

Who: elizabeth bathory & robin hood
Where: out and about in the town
When: march 22ndish
What: robin finally finds the leader of the 4* loli pack.
Warnings: a lot, but i'll update with specifics as they arise.

[ the ache for mana is different than an ache for food, though no less powerful. with blood on her fingertips, eliza makes her way through the back alleys of the quaint town; her claws curl. her tongue flicks out into the night air and her tail curls; there's blood in her mouth now. metallic. warm. not her preferred way of using it, but it'll have to do for now. with every precious drop there holds an amount of life force, something she can turn to mana and pour into every corner of her magical body. haaaa... if only masters worthy of her were easier to come by, she thinks to herself. surely there had to be at least one who could serve as her producer and keep her rooted more firmly to this... weird place.

this place is weird, even by eliza's standards. and she's seen some weird things. heck, she's done even more weird things. but this place... something about it just tipped the arrow on her mental scale to the weirdest of the weird.

now she feels... something. a magical pressure skirting through the air. drawing her fingertip though her mouth once more, a soft pop breaks out into the night as she finally cleans her claw of blood. ]

Someone's there, [ she purrs, and her tail curls up behind her. ] Show yourself, and I might be merciful.

Comments

[dragoness]

[ ... she glances back at him and draws up her lance.

wanna see her actually take out her shitty mood on someone?? ]

[guerrilla]

[Robin wordlessly gives the mechanism of his bow a test squeeze, bracing his legs for a jump. If she's actually going to attack him, he'll have to be able to fire quickly since she's better at close-range combat than he could ever hope to be. It's better if she takes this out on him. He doesn't intend to die, of course - he doesn't think Elizabeth would do it, even if she's angry. Ultimately, though, how rough this gets is going to depend on her.]

[dragoness]

[ normally, eliza would leap at the opportunity to rail on and torture someone to make herself feel better, but looking at robin now? she can tell that robin is willing to fight back.

eliza doesn't like fighting on a good day.

on a day when she's feeling her mana bleed out of her like an open faucet, there's no way she's going to engage herself in a battle. even if she has the class advantage. besides, she's wasted too much mana calling and dismissing her lance as often as she has. ]

You just wanna shoot something, don't you? No wonder you and Billy get along so well.

[guerrilla]

[Something, sure. Someone, not so much. He's more relieved than he can say that this didn't come to blows, but there's no point in telling Elizabeth that. Instead, he simply relaxes his grip and asks a question.]

...Is there anyway you can get mana from me until you find a Master? My Independent Action rank is pretty high. I can do without it for longer than you can.

[dragoness]

[ her weight shifts back onto her heels, and she plants the tips of her lance into the concrete again in order to prop herself up. her tail flicks; right, left, right, left; a heavy black snake in the darkness. ]

... Does that even work?

[ she doesn't believe the pirates' word when they say they're fooling around for the 'mana'. ]

[guerrilla]

Hell if I know. I've never been low enough on mana to try anything out.

[Blackmore had been entirely too restrictive, so he couldn't have wasted mana if he wanted to. BB kept him just strong enough for her own purposes, and the Master of Chaldea always managed to keep everyone afloat.]

[dragoness]

[ she's quiet for a moment, mulling that over... ]

... Your neck does look appetizing.

[guerrilla]

......

[After only a moment's hesitation, Robin pulls his cloak off, bundles it up, and sits on the ground with an expectant look on his face. He doesn't like the idea of someone drinking his blood, but if it keeps other people safe, there's really no other option.]

[dragoness]

[ ...! ]

[dragoness]

[ oh my god, he actually did it ]

[dragoness]

[ the absolute madman ]

[dragoness]

[ eliza's expression contorts, shifts, folds in on itself and then she bursts into laughter, hands cupping her cheeks. the sounds echo across the street and through the alley, growing more manic and high pitched as she continues.

it's not at all a comforting sound, and not for the first time does the metallic taste of blood tug at that cruel streak within her. how wonderful, how perfect would it be to just bend this 3-star to her will, expose that soft part of him and bite down into his jugular, spilling life and magic and warmth deep into her throat. ]

[dragoness]

[ she continues to laugh, imagining robin bent on a knee in front of her, willingly serving what she needs. any complaints could be met with a stab from her lance, which would serve her ever the more. more holes for magic to pour out; more ways to pull a beautiful expression of pain and despair from robin's face. ]

[dragoness]

[ her laughter is cut off suddenly, and eliza leans against the pole of her lance. ]

Blood given willingly is only half as powerful. [ and sing-song hum, and she finally lets her wings materialize behind her, aiming to leap into the night sky and leave robin humiliated there on the ground. ] What good does a desperate hero do me?

I'd string you up if the sight of you right now didn't amuse me so much.

[guerrilla]

[Robin grits his teeth, so hard he can feel them creaking in the back of his head. From an objective standpoint, she has every reason to laugh. He's being an idiot, no matter how he paints it. But it's fine. If she isn't willing to cooperate, it means he can skip the pleasantries entirely.]

Blood's a lot easier to swallow than arrows. If you leave, it's a declaration of war, and I already know you don't have a source of mana. Right now, even someone as worthless as me can choke you with your own damn tail.

[Elizabeth is right about everything she said, save a single, solitary word.

Robin Hood isn't a hero.]

[dragoness]

I outrank you in stats, class, and rarity.

[ one hand rests on her hip as her wings stretch out, readying themselves for flight. ]

I might not have a Master, but everyone in this town is a source for me.

[guerrilla]

Then I guess you're gonna have to kill me to get to them.

[Wasting no time, he raises his arm and fires his bow with the intent to pierce her wings.

He hadn't wanted to fight her, but if she's going to be this callous about it, he has no other options.

Even so, he wouldn't have acted if she'd felt even a little bad about it. Maybe he was wrong about her after all.]

[dragoness]

[ the arrow hits its mark, and there's no sound as it tears through the thin, dusty pink membrane of eliza's wing to land sunken into a far wall's brick.

the silence seems to hang for three long seconds before it's pierced by the sound of an inhuman scream — a scream so pained and haunting it rivals the sound that echos from the forests every few nights. there's more shock in her system than actual pain, and eliza twists her body around, reaching for her wing, trying to bend it at an unnatural angle so she can inspect the damage but what's done is done and now there's a hole in her beautiful limb. the skin is slowly tearing with each movement, and eliza's eyes are wide, panicked — betrayed.

she looks up at robin from where she's crumpled to the ground, her body trembling, her lance dissipating into gold mana before it even hits the ground. ]

What the hell is wrong with you?!

[ she's panting, her small chest lifting and falling with each breath and she's not even trying to fight back. her clawed fingers slide over her wing one last time before she folds them into herself, plaid skirt flaring out along the filthy sidewalk. ]

[guerrilla]

It didn't seem like you were taking me seriously, so I figured I'd give you a reason to.

[He keeps the bow trained on her even as she's crumpled to the ground, rising to his feet to stand over her.]

All that laughing and gloating can give a guy that kind of impression.

[He doesn't feel a bit of pity for Elizabeth and he hates himself for it.]

[dragoness]

[ eliza is trembling from the tips of her horns all the way down to the end of her tail, feeling it wrap around any part it can reach, twisted up, spiraling in pain and fear. ]

You, [ she breathes out, holding more tightly to herself as she tries to gain control. ] You lying traitor!

[ robin was supposed to believe in her. he was supposed to see through her cruelty, see what parts of her had changed; know when she was just bluffing. that, though she doesn't realize it now, is what hurts the most. more than the hole in her wing; more than his shadow over her.

there's a sharp, hot bite to the back of her eyes. ]

How could you?!

[guerrilla]

Don't you even start. You're the one who took a big bite out of someone to start with.

[For all that Elizabeth feels betrayed, Robin feels just as strongly. She convinced him she'd changed, that someone in her position could change, only to find her angry and defensive when she reeked of human blood.]

You're the one who turned down something "half as effective" when I made it clear to you the only other option was nothing at all.

[He should just kill her.]

If I'm a liar, then what exactly are you, Lancer?

[But he can't.

Even after all this, he can't.]

[dragoness]

I only took a sip!

[ that part's true. the woman wasn't her prey — she belonged to someone else. a sip or two of living blood was all she needed to feel a little less than ragged, and it was enough for today. eliza's aware that it's not an ideal way to settle things with regards to her lack of a power source, but it's all she had right now, the only thing available to her.

she'd have to find a master and that thought weighs heavily on her chest, pulling her down into the shadows that paint the street.

there was nothing worse than dying a slow death. that memory stuck firm in eliza's head like it was set with concrete, for it's not by some whim that eliza's gone so long without having a sip of living blood. strict laws mean that if she stepped out of line, she'd end up in jail.

imprisonment wasn't her fashion. she tried that dress once; it didn't fit.

grinding her back teeth together, lancer glares up at archer, blue eyes icy. ]

Then kill me. It's obvious you're dying to, so kill me.

[guerrilla]

I want you to promise that if you get tired you'll come to me until you find a Master.

[Otherwise he might just leave her here, small and alone and weak.]

I'll give you as much as you want.

[Even now, if she wants it.]

[dragoness]

That's not how you treat a rabid dog, [ she spits, fangs showing themselves in a snarl. ]

Try again.

[guerrilla]

[Robin wordlessly kneels next to her and offers her his wrist.]