oncertainty

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua is not cruel, as a rule. She likes to win. She likes the profits of victory. She just has no time for causing suffering, and rubbing it in. Even so, she can't help but smile when her strike hits home. If, after Lutenus' cry of pain, it makes her look like a barbarian. She begins to press the assault, before hesitating. There's supposed to be a procedure to these things, isn't there? Arena combat strikes again. Lorqua levels her javelin at Lutenus as he stumbles back. "Do you yield?" OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Gonrae - Onu-Koro Square Gonrae opened his eyes from his premature wince to find himself safely hovering a hand's width above the ground. With a grin, he twisted in the air above the smooth stone ground, laughing as he found his feet. His evident joy went undampened by the skeptical stares of the Matoran nearby. "A thing like that!" he said. Gonrae dusted himself off as he stood, an entirely vain impulse given that he hadn't actually touched the ground. "You're quite a bit different than the only other Ba-Toa I've known," he said, nodding his head. "That's a compliment. Now, shall we?" OOC: @That Matoran with a Vahi

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero One more javelin. Just the one more. Lorqua, sensing somewhere deep in her psyche that she couldn't go on much longer—one way or another—did not retreat from Lutenus' assault. Instead, she stormed forward in turn, twisting her body to obscure the path of her thrust. Already once-chastised, the thrust wasn't as strong nor as well-aimed as it could have been. At least she gave them a show. Their audience of two bored Agori, at least one among whom obviously thought that she and Lutenus had some kind of angle in being there. So be it. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Escus - Precipere, Outside the Guard Post Escus, already standing, fell into step with Tueris. Outdoors, as the party make their way to the elevator, he watches the few Ash Agori who go about their business in Precipere. A furtive bunch, so far as he could tell. In his own way, Escus encouraged their mien. The Doctor had already made the majority view on Tajunites clear enough. Who was Escus to disprove the stereotype? He gave a small, wolfish smirk to any who met his eyes. Let them tell one another of his passage. Let them call him the organ-hungry Glatorian of Water. OOC: @a goose @Toru Nui @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero As soon as Lutenus started the javelin's spin, Lorqua could predict what came next. Not that she could do anything about it. The missile impacted her shield, sending a jolt of pain all the way up her arm. Her hand seized, and she dropped the shield to the floor of the arena. No sense trying to the scramble in the dust to get it back. No time for that. "Good throw," she barked, as she freed the last javelin from the sheathe on her back and brandished it underhanded like a spear. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lutenus was strong, that much was clear. She ought to only fight people who didn't speak her language. As it was, she had two options. If she held on to the javelin, he would pull her right over. With an expiration of air, Lorqua let go. "Alright," she murmured, with a tone that could entail either defiance or resignation. She stumbled backwards, scrambling to draw a third javelin. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist sorry for the delay y'all, I was waiting for another character to need a post and lost track of time

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lutenus' swing had the intended effect. Lorqua backpedaled into the centre of the grounds, holding a javelin outstretched before her, warding Lutenus off with its point. Then she stood for a moment, realization that she had probably done exactly what he wanted visible on her face. "Don't play with me here, let's finish this," she snarled. At once, she extended her arm to gain some leverage, and lobbed her javelin towards Lutenus' arm. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Escus - Precipere Escus smirked at the Agori medic's comment, mimed looking down at the colours of his own armour, then looked back at the Agori. "Should watch what you say, friend. Tajun has joined with Vulcanus in this endeavour. Might get to test that reputation for yourself," he said. Inclining his head towards Tueris, he remarked, "If we get a vote, I've made my view clear. Guile may already be lost to us, perhaps numbers will do the trick." OOC: @a goose @Toru Nui @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero A grunt of exertion was the only reply that escaped Lorqua's lips. Pulling that move had earned her a rebuke from the referee, but it had also earned her some space to move. Arena combat. Hard not to feel a certain tension in it, dulling your instincts on purpose. Even so, no use in doing it if she wasn't doing it properly. Pushing past Lutenus, she crouched and spun around to face him. In tandem with this motion, she drew another javelin, swiping it towards Lutenus' legs like a sword. She retreated from the full force of it early in the swing. The hit wouldn't be as hard as it could be. She wasn't so far gone as to throw strikes at the torso, though even then she knew that was what the desert would teach her to do. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Gonrae - Onu-Koro Square Gonrae turned on his heels, now at the edge of the crowd. At Akie's invocation of the Turaga he grimaced and reflexively took a step back. "Turaga once," he said. "But no longer. One of the ghost stories that I'll refrain from telling you for now. Don't want to scare anyone around. But now the Akiri Nuparu, the Matoran who was just speaking, rules in Onu-Koro. The same in the other great Koros, the six big ones. There are other settlements that do things differently. But here, an Akiri. And if we hurry, we might be able to speak with him. Especially with a Toa!" With the last comment, he made to enter the crowd, but paused immediately as Akie offered the coins back. "Oh, thank you," he said, taking the sack and placing it back in a pouch on his belt. "I forget these things so easily, I can recognize my faults and—" Then, still moving into the crowd but distracted entirely by discoursing with Akie, Gonrae plunged backwards. A look of wide-eyed surprise instantly occupying the whole of his face, he tripped and fell into the crowd. OOC: @That Matoran with a Vahi

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua stepped back as Lutenus came towards her, desert-honed reflexes kicking in as they always did. She could almost see the flow of blood on sand, hear the cries of battle. Then taut cordage bit into her back, and she was reminded of the realities of her situation. Full awareness returned to her with the familiar throb of injury. A welcome sensation, because it meant she hadn't gone into shock. She was alive. Still, there was time enough for that to change yet. But in the critical moments before Lutenus arrived she noticed something. Evident only in contrast with his mechanical lack of hesitation thus far, Lorqua noticed a change. Not quite a moment of uncertainty. But, all the same, the swing lacked commitment. Given how he had been fighting thus far? It might as well have been a Skopio rising from the floor of the arena. Not certain that what she was doing was entirely legal, Lorqua threw up her shield to intercept Lutenus' swing. Rather than aiming for his axe, she aimed for his arm. She threw her weight behind it, trying to push through him and get back into the open field. If she had to take the blow from the axe all the same, she would take that trade. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Bone Hunter Stronghold Seizing the opportunity afforded by the moment of silence, Skrall leapt over the side of the cart. Cybernetic claws extended from the soles of his feet, and he did not sink into the sand as he landed. Giving the Spikit an ample berth, he jogged forward to come in line with the lead cart, keeping pace with ease as they slowed to enter the stronghold. He would not meet the Bone Hunters sitting down. If this was to be the gate to the new world, he would go through it on his feet. OOC: @skrall IC: Escus - Precipere Guardhouse As his companions rose and made to leave, Escus turned away from his contemplation of the wall. "If we are already doing as they wish," he offered the comment nearly under his breath, his appraisal of the recent revelations clear. "Then we shall need as many as we can get. If surprise is no longer an option, I mean." He wore a lopsided smile. It was harsh, he realized, but he preferred to make his views known now. They would be of no use to anyone later. OOC: @a goose @Nato G @Burnmad @~Xemnas~

IC: Gonrae - Onu-Koro Gonrae attempted to keep a brave face in response to Akie's enthusiasm, but his far-off gaze betrayed him. He glanced towards her, studying her expression for a moment, then looked back to the crowd without "Not very comprehensive explanation, I realize. I'm no expert. But I do know that things were a lot worse for everyone, back when—" he swallowed, "—back when he was still around." She really was a Toa, in the classical sense, that much was clear. All optimism and action. That hadn't always saved them, as far as Gonrae knew. Perhaps it had even led some of them to their destruction. In this case, however, she had good instincts. Doing something seemed better than doing nothing. And, it occurred to Gonrae with a certain small pleasure, she might be his ticket to getting into some interesting rooms. He had been rebuffed far down the ladder from Nuparu the last time he had tried, but coming in with a Toa might do the trick. Gonrae gave a quick nod. "I don't know about best, but we can certainly manage someone to talk to. The Akiri—I mean the leader of this Koro—might be one good option. If he can't help us directly, he would be more likely than anyone to know what Toa you could speak to. Certainly there will be Toa doing something about this." OOC: @That Matoran with a Vahi It's all good!

IC: Lorqua - Training Ground Lutenus bearing down on her fast. She couldn't make a single mistake that he wouldn't capitalize on. Of course, she couldn't be too taken aback about this one: any mistake that ends with you lying flat on your side is a pretty big one. And this was the arena, or at least a reasonable facsimile. And yet, insofar as this was the arena, this wasn't the wasteland. Certain doors were open that otherwise would not be. She threw her hand back and grabbed on to a fence post. She breathed heavily, appearing more wounded than she was. The moment that Lutenus was almost upon her, she retracted her arm and kept her grip, hurtling out from beneath his grasp. In a moment, she knew she would be standing upright with her back to the fence. A good start. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Outside Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall nodded along with the comment, but his eyes were suddenly cast towards the Stronghold rising up from the dunes. "That might just work. We're certainly fast enough to get to our first destination somewhat... more quickly than I expected," he said. He raised his brows towards the other younger Skrall, as the elder had offered them his advice. Did he think to take them under his wing? Skrall was skeptical. They were all equally naive, where they were going. Age did not equate to experience, here. All the same, he did not offer any criticism openly. OOC: @Nato G @Burnmad

IC: Skrall - Caravan "And yet, what they do have is not insignificant," Skrall added. "In my experience they are more dangerous than the larger predators, in their way. Evidently, if they were the first to draw Skrall blood in the South. They are well-suited to this—" he gestured all about the chariot. "—an environment in which we are still all too inexperienced." OOC: @Burnmad @Nato G IC: Lorqua - Training Ground Lorqua, watching Lutenus' reaction carefully, saw the Thornax coming. However, she was off-balance from the throw, and his aim was true. She lunged to one side, and stuck her shield into the path of the oncoming fruit. It bounced off the yellow-painted pelte, the shield giving a deep thrum in response to the impact. Not a critical blow, but it knocked her onto her side. Dust flew up from the field as she skidded a short way across the ground. She grunted, spit, and started to scramble to her feet. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Skrall - Caravan Skrall turned to look as the older Skrall spoke up. In his own distraction, and the elder's silence, he had almost thought he was asleep. Evidently not. Quite the opposite: he had been listening to them. Skrall felt a twinge of shame; he felt a certain especial kinship with Skrall-to-whom-he-had-been-speaking. He fancied they shared some anxieties. If not, at the very least he had understood what Skrall had said. But Skrall, on the other hand? Skrall knew little about him. Skrall needed to understand, before he made a move. "Put simply, the Southerners have strange ideas about sharing. They are so often at odds with themselves," he scoffed. Then he gestured with an open hand towards the older Skrall. "What about you? Have you ever been this far into the South before?" OOC: @Burnmad @Nato G

IC: Skrall - Caravan "Aye, from here there is. Almost makes you wish we'd stumble upon some Vorox or a Skopio or something, break up the monotony," he said, though without sincerity. "But I hear the South is not only this. We are bound for Tajun, are we not? They say it is a city like the parched gathering about an oasis. I should like to see that, I think." OOC: @Nato G

IC: Skrall - Caravan "Hmm," Skrall vocalized, rising half-way to his feet and steadying himself on the side of the chariot as he looked all around the outside of the vehicle. With a series of blinks, he activated a series of nictitating membranes which allowed him to inspect several landmarks with greater detail. For a few moments he said nothing. A silence that he suspected was welcome for both of them. Weighty conversation was a rare thing for him, and it didn't come easily. "Not this far, no. I think I once rode to the foot of a pillar of stone that we passed an hour ago, and after that we were the furthest south I've ever been. Hadn't really thought about it until now," he returned to his seat and disengaged the membranous lenses. "You?" OOC: @Nato G IC: Lorqua - Training Ground No, not unless Lutenus was planning to surrender after seeing her drink a serious amount of water, there wasn't. Of course she was happy to keep him guessing about that one. She assumed a bold grin. "Maybe there is." Luckily for Lutenus' plans, Lorqua was not a hard fighter to goad. However, luckily for her, she wasn't entirely without guile either. She had been surprised by how he reacted before, so she decided to test him against a more conventional strike. She threw a javelin overhand in a downward arc. Make it look real, but plan for a near miss. See what he makes of it. OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist