( closed ) said you would never give up easy

[gevurah]

Date & Time: from early to mid-january
Location: various locations
Characters: kate & various
Summary: doing things and running into people: the rp life.
Warnings: there will be some violence eventually
Notes: while there's prompts for those from the CR meme, if anyone else wants to do something don't hesitate to ask. feel free to PM me on this account or through plurk.


Raiden

[ Richard Lawson's parting words have left quite an impression on Kate.

Don't let them find you.

Her nights are a lot more restless than usual. The bottle of wine she gifted Ros is tempting, but she knows better than to turn to alcohol again while there are pressing matters. As usual, she dons her layers and boots and heads outside. She goes for a jog again today. Without any kind of workout facility she relies on the cold terrain.

The shelters are her first pit stop. They need to be cleaned out and stabilized, but at the forefront of her mind the UE's stash of bombs render shelters useless if they can easily drop another nuke on them.

If they know they're here, why haven't they? She stands with her hands on her hips, lost in thought. ]


Lightning

[ She's grown somewhat rusty with hunting. In spite of her intensive training that pit her around and against the world in various death traps and unfamiliar land, until last year she's lived a life of luxury.

The elderly woman she and Roslyn have been residing with lent her copper wire to ensnare rabbits with. She stalks the snow covered land for a rabbit trail, following their footprints into a good clearing where it appears they pass through.

As quickly and quietly as she can, she cuts down branches thick enough to hold any large rabbit. When she's done with setting up the branches and placing the wire, tying a noose and letting it hang in the center.

There are heavy footsteps in the distance. Yeti, she concludes, and hopes they don't frighten off the rabbits. ]


Seiya

[ Another grey and cold morning, but Kate's out for her usual jog. She warms up with basic stretches outside her current residence and half a minute after she's completed them, she's off. She sticks to a familiar path, edging along the outskirt of the town, but never wandering too far off.

She breathes through both her nose and mouth, but exhales through the latter only. Always breathing through the stomach or diaphragm to ensure she's getting enough air.

It's not always the most quiet run; there's always someone, be it Transport or one of the locals. A yard away from her she can hear dogs barking and the loud crunching of snow as the dogs run forward, pulling along a large sleigh with dead their master and his bag of what appears to be his hunt for the day. ]


Actual Damsel Martin

[ Today's jog is quickly disrupted by deep rumbling and the ground beneath her shaking to a point Kate nearly loses her footing. She stands with feet spaced out, applying as much weight as possible to keep herself upright while her eyes scour the clearing to spot whatever large animal it is stomping across.

It doesn't take long, but it's not exactly difficult to miss the mammoths bursting into the clearing. She's ready to hightail it out of here when she catches a glimpse of something else running ahead of the pack.

No, not something. Someone.

Kate's heart is almost ready to leap from her chest as she shouts: ]

Martin!

[ There's no hesitation, no second thoughts. She breaks into a sprint to meet the boy halfway, maneuvering with her bag to dig into its content, reaching for the grappling hook she always has on hand.

Cue. ]


Roslyn

[ Kate shudders one last time as she pushes the door in behind her. She notes the silence in the house, cocking her head to one side curiously and wiping excess snow off her boots on the rug. Then she begins to undo the buttons on her jacket, angling her head the other way. ]

Anyone home?

[ Home. It's almost laughable. God knows how long this setup will last this time. Lawson's disappearance reminds her the kind woman who owns this house may someday vanish before her own eyes. It's an unsettling feeling, not knowing it will happen and if it does. ]

Ros?

Comments

Actual Damsel Martin

[theguideless]

[this is no time to get into the hows or whys of this situation, not with tree-trunk legs kicking up snow and packed ice, all ready to flatten Martin for as much as he knew.

he's lucky he's lighter, but only a little lucky: he's not exactly built for speed, and four legs are always better than two.

it's weird that amid the angry rumbling and grumbling he can hear his own name; he doesn't even think to whip his head around to search for the sound, because all he can think of right now is RUN!]

[pauldron]

[Under the yeti's thudding along is another set of footsteps. Lighter, they crunch through the snow instead of flattening it outright, and come from the direction of town. Lightning's been scouting, but those thuds make her slow to a stop not far from Kate, her eyes narrowed and hand on the hilt of her blade.]

Where's that coming from?

[Not "do you hear that?" because it's almost impossible to not hear in the otherwise still silence. Sounds like it's getting louder, too.]

[gevurah]

[ She procures her grappling hook, trying to zip the bag shut to keep its contents from spilling out as she draws closer to Martin and risking being trampled to death by the angered mammoths. With every step she can feel her feet growing unsteady against the quaking earth.

She stops at a safe enough distance, beckoning Martin to run faster. ]

Grab my hand!

[gevurah]

[ She's just about finishing her set-up when Lightning makes her appearance. Kate is mildly surprised to see her again. It seems they're both destined to run into each other about once a month.

She pauses after Lightning's inquiry, listening intently to the noise that does appear to be growing louder. ]

Must be an animal.

[ Given the stability of the ground, it's safe to ascertain it's not a mammoth. ]

[pauldron]

[Not a mammoth, but not a rabbit. Why is it, Lightning almost wonders, that they only seem to run into each other when there's fighting likely to happen or already happening? The thought gets lost in her brain, shoved away for another time as she walks closer. Where is that coming from?]

One that's not going get caught in that trap. [a glance at Kate.] You have a weapon on you?

[gevurah]

[ She produces a hunting knife from her bag. Its real use lies with killing and skinning animals, but it's the only weapon she has on her for the time being.

She hears something scurry off between the bushes, twigs snapping and snow crunching as it apparently leaps away from their general vicinity. Sounds like a rabbit, but it's not falling into the trap Kate's set up.

She rises, already backing away from the trap. ]

Think it's headed this —

[ A loud growl and the heavy sound of rushed footsteps drowns out the rest of her words as something large, with shaggy white fur barrels out from the forest. ]

[theguideless]

[he gives shout of surprise, doing a double-take and seeing Kate there – Kate, who's not so much Kate right now as just another fast-moving shape.

a fast-moving shape that has a better idea than simply running.

his arm flails out and then over, trying to grasp at hers, losing a bit of the speed he had in that rhythm steps ago.]

[gevurah]

[ She pushes forward to snatch his hand and then pulls him in the opposite direction, moving fast to keep ahead of the herd that continues to pursue them down the stretch of land.

She only needs to get closer to the trees... ]

[theguideless]

A-aaauh–! [he's yanked along, missing a few steps that he has to stagger to recoup for. his stomach drops, feeling one of the animals getting uncomfortably close.]

[pauldron]

[That answers that question! Lightning throws herself aside and out of the way, rolling back to her feet and pulling her blade from its holster. She's faced bigger things before, and meaner things too. This shouldn't be that hard even if the other woman's knife can't do much.

But first they need distance and a better angle of attack. They need to distract the thing and regroup. Magic should do that job well enough, but
Fire won't work--could set all the brush and trees alight and they don't need that--and just looking at this thing makes her think ice and water will be useless. Right. Thunder spells it is. She throws three in rapid succession, trying to grab the creature's attention and give the other woman time to get out of its way before she runs forward, blade out, to slash at it. If nothing else it'll get a damn good fur trim and maybe expose a weakpoint like this.]

[highfrequency]

[Raiden has been coming and going from the tunnels to the shelters and back again, doing what he can to help Transports find homes here on earth.

When he sees Kate he stops his busy trudging and looks back at her. For the moment he does not appear to be a cyborg, but a flesh-and-blood man. Mistaking him for one would be easy if not for the fact that he has a log the size of a tree under one arm with claw marks gouged in it. He's using the Old Initiative holo-technology to look human. Best not to scare the natives into thinking he's a weapon from the United Earth.]

You okay?

[His rusty voice, however, has not changed.]

[gevurah]

[ It's an easy feat for here, to haul him close enough so she can wrap her arm around his waist. She aims the grappling hook toward one of the more thicker and solid branches of the trees and fires. The line stretches out with a soft hiss, encircling around the branch before the hook digs deep enough into bark. She gives it a tug to ensure the line is secure. ]

Hold on.

[ She springs forward, holding onto Martin as tight as she can as they swing upwards toward the trees, their feet barely missing the mammoth's heads by seconds. ]

[gevurah]

[ Kate rolls aside, forgetting her trap and everything else, only keeping the knife on hand. She can't use it from a distance unless she throws it, but the yeti's movements make it difficult to aim for a vital spot to slow it down.

Snow clings to her frame and the ends of her hair and bangs as she rises. She grips the knife's handle and watches the yeti's temper flare as lightning rains down.

Quickly, she looks for her bag and when she spots it lying twenty feet away she makes a break for it. ]

[gevurah]

[ She had heard him from the distance, but she doesn't turn her head to look until she's addressed. While she registers his voice, it still comes as a surprise to see him. As she glances over her shoulder, it's even more of a surprise to see how calm he appears. Then again, the mutiny didn't help anyone with first impressions. ]

Fine.

[ She quirks an eyebrow at the log. ]

You good?

[highfrequency]

Mmhmm.

[He shifts the weight of the log under his arm.]

Just doing a lumber run. Wood is pretty useful when you're trying to build a shelter.

[His faded blue eyes flick upwards and he watches the sky.]

...It'll keep people safe from the cold for a while at least....

[Nuclear threat not so much. The UE and their bombs are always on his mind.]

[gevurah]

[ Her own follow his gaze, lips pressing into a thin line at the mere thought of more bombs falling from the sky. They aren't equipped to handle something like it again and with new Transports on the way, they would have a much larger mess on their hands. ]

The underground buildings?

[ Kate finally tears her eyes away from the sky, refocusing on Raiden. ]

[pauldron]

[For her part, Lightning's doing her best to keep it busy. Now that she has its attention, a few more slashes cut away more fur before she has to duck a swing at her head. Magic crackles up her arm but dissipates as she's forced to backflip over a clumsy blow that would have sent her flying. She shifts her blade to its rifle form as she lands and pulls the trigger, getting a shot into the creature's shoulder. It roars, more in anger than in pain, and she rolls aside again as it charges.

The charge gives her a second to look for the other woman. Did she get squashed--no. There she is, and making a break for it. Good. At least Lightning doesn't have to worry about the civilian and can focus on the creature. She turns back, sending a Thundaga spell flying to crash down around it. This should give it something to chew on for a minute.]

[highfrequency]

Also useful, yeah. But some folks don't feel comfortable down there.

[A shrug. It is an uncomfortable looking movement for him.]

Because there are more natives down there, I guess.

Still, probably best for us to use the surface as little as possible. A couple shelters, sure, but nothing else.

We don't exactly want anyone to know we're here.

[gevurah]

[ Skidding over to her bag, she quickly unzips it to retrieve her grappling hook. The remaining copper wire isn't strong enough to help with a large beast as the yeti, not in all its fury.

She begins to run back toward the scuffle, whistling loud to catch its attention. ]

Hey!

[gevurah]

[ She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, idly toeing the snow with the edge of her boot.

Don't let them find you. ]

Lawson's last words hinted they knew.

[highfrequency]

[His eyes widen.]

Right.... I remember he vanished.... but...

[But he had been too scatter brained to really look into it. The appearance of Sunny in his life again had distracted him. Has been distracting him. Kate's words snap his mind back into focus.]

He was the one that used to be on the Cabinet of the UE, right? What did he say?

[gevurah]

Not much, but he left a warning. That we were out of time and to not let the UE find us.

[ Kate can only shake her head after a long, suffering sigh. ]

[pauldron]

[Or not. So much for getting clear. Lightning curses to herself as the yeti turns, drawn by the piercing sound, and it thunders towards Kate. Lightning scrambles to prepare another spell, to drag its attention back to her because Kate doesn't appear armed. Maybe she doesn't need to be, but she still seems like the weaker target from where Lightning is standing.

Still seems to be the one who'll go down first. Dammit they need more room to fight this stupid thing!]

[highfrequency]

Shit.

[He hefts the log and sighs, there is a thrum of machinery under his breath.]

If they know we're here and haven't struck by now then they're biding their time. Not exactly a pleasant thought...

[theguideless]

Ho-hol–! [Martin scrambles to hang on, grasping at her coat, the rest of him flailing freely, and he shouts in fear and surprise all the way. landing in the tree knocks what wind's left in him loudly–] Hoooff–!!