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]

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.]

[dragoness]

[ her hand snaps out with the speed of a striking viper, and her fingers close around robin's throat. ]

I said, [ her grip tightens as a warning, ] try again, hero.

[guerrilla]

[It takes a few seconds of wheezing, but Robin manages to get a response out.]

You're not gonna do it.

[Feeding on humans is something he could see Elizabeth doing, especially if she were desperate.

Murdering someone, despite her status as a serial killer, isn't.]

[dragoness]

[ he knows her so well, and yet he doesn't know her at all. if only he could have seen through her boasting like he can see through defenses, all this could have been avoided.

if he trusted her.

there's hesitation before her grip continues to constrict. ]

You threatened my life. You shot at me. [ she inhales shakily, her hand already starting to loosen. if it's from lack of strength or actual desire to kill robin, she can't tell. ] I'd just be another rabid animal defending myself.

That's all you think of me, isn't it?

[guerrilla]

...Resourceful, selfish, driven to...

[He wheezes again, taking a few moments before continuing.]

To survive...live at your - own pace. Willing to use people to get there.

[And these aren't even her bad qualities.]

Cunning, even if you're an idiot.

[That's what he thinks. It's precisely because she knows what she's doing that makes her so much more dangerous, and that includes here.]

[dragoness]

[ the silence stretches between them like a taut rubber band, and eliza's eyes narrow to slits. they don't move from robin's face, searching out his expression, wanting to see if what he's telling is the truth.

then, just as quickly as she snatched him up does eliza toss him aside, trying to hide the hurt on her face. ]

Maybe that's why your village betrayed you. You didn't bother getting to know any of 'em.

[guerrilla]

Maybe.

[It's true he never really got to know anyone, as a villager or as a criminal.]

...I'll keep my cloak off. Just in case.

[But he still did his best to keep them fed, so he'll do the same with Elizabeth.]

[dragoness]

[ .... ]

... Stop looking so pathetic, you'll sour your blood.

[ ok, maybe she feels bad for what she just said. ]

[guerrilla]

Does that mean you'll take it?

[He seems...not quite happy, but relieved.

Her earlier statement goes by without comment. For all he knows, she really is right.]

[dragoness]

[ she doesn't look happy either, but hey, if she gets to chew on robin as punishment for him shooting her, she'll take it. ]

If it'll make you stop bothering me.

[guerrilla]

It will.

[But he's gonna keep an eye on her just in case. I-It's not like he's worried about the hole in her wing or anything.]

[dragoness]

[ she's going to keep the hole in her wing to forever remind robin of this night. ]

Ugh, fine. Stop making that face!

[guerrilla]

I'm not making a face!

[HE'S TRYING TO BE SERIOUS HERE]

[dragoness]

You're making a serious face!

[ and now she mimics him, scrunching her face up ]

[guerrilla]

Of course I am, because I'm being serious!

[LET HIM LIVE]

[dragoness]

[ NEVER. ]

You're always serious! That's not a change!