thearena | First impressions.

Entry tags:

First impressions.

Who: Some, Rapunzel, and Ian
What: A 'rescue.'
When: Early week Six.
Where: The edge of Fantasyland, towards Adventureland
Warnings: Death, of course.

He'd heard the mutts in the night, too close to the shelter he'd found for Rapunzel. And so even though it was dawn, the thin morning daylight casting long blue shadows across everything, it was time to move. He wanted to find her somewhere underground, but knew that she didn't want to spend so much time in complete darkness. Not after the little monsters she'd encountered after they'd been parted by the fireworks.

He wasn't sure she was actually awake as he slunk along from shadow to shadow, carrying her cradled across his back, her hair wrapped around her like a big gauzy shawl, entirely unaware of how much he looked like a spider taking its cocooned pray back to a lair.

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Ian slept fitfully, not daring to sleep too deeply or too long. He tended to do his hunting for food and water at dawn, when not many others were up and about.

Alert to hearing anything out of the ordinary, Ian therefore saw a monster carrying something. From this distance he could quite see what. He pressed into the shadows himself until it came close enough for Ian to see that it was a girl, at least if all the hair was anything to go by.

Without even thinking of a plan, Ian dropped his supplies and leapt out, cutlass at the ready. "Put her down!"

Some stopped so abruptly that he nearly stumbled, tightening his grip on Rapunzel compulsively, eyes going straight to the sword as he bared his teeth. His little knife was in his belt, and his hands were full. On-edge, he drew himself up to his full height, staring down at the human.

"... Who are you?"

Rapunzel was exhausted. She'd slept poorly almost every night since she'd arrived, and each successive nightmare that she had to live through just made the nightmares she had to sleep through worse.

But Some was with her, and he'd protect her, or at least make sure she woke up if he couldn't, like with the fireworks. That hadn't killed her, at least, and she was learning to be more careful.

She'd briefly woken when he'd shifted her onto his back, but nothing had been wrong, so she'd curled into his downy fur and let the exhaustion claim her again - she hadn't really gotten enough that night to take the edge off, not yet, and it was dark enough still. His walk was very smooth.

The voice woke her, or half-woke her, because waking felt like trying to swim through cotton. She shifted a little as she tried to wake up; it looked almost like very feeble attempts to struggle.

Her voice, when she spoke, was already very small, and most of what there was was lost in Some's fur and her hair.

"Some?"

He was moving.

He sounded....

But he didn't sound like anything bad was happening. Was it about to? She should wake up, shouldn't she?

Whoever he was carrying was alive at least. Ian intended to make sure she stayed that way. "Someone who's going to make you put her down." Although without injuring the person he was carrying, which made it a little more tricky.

Without warning Ian lunged, intending to take a slice out of the monster's leg with his cutlass. If it meant he dropped the girl, Ian would be ready to catch her with his free hand.

Some shouted, startled into speaking grue by the sudden slice, and slowed by Rapunzel's weight. It caught him above the knee on a thin foreleg, bit deep, and he stumbled heavily to the side, snarling in pain as he loosened one hand (felt her begin to slide) to get his knife.

"Stay away from her!" he gasped, clutching the freely bleeding leg up against his chest, but still able to stand on three.

Rapunzel could feel her balance start to go and automatically tried to grab something to steady herself. The sensation tore at the fog in her brain, and left her desperately trying to find out what was going on-

But there weren't any monsters, there was only a man. No one human had tried to attack her yet. It was confusing. It was wrong. She'd been told they were here to kill each other, but nobody really seemed to be trying to do so. So why was he?

She was still waking up, it didn't make sense.

Seeing her slip, Ian reached out to try and take her away from him, but then when he saw the monster going for the knife he changed his mind. The last thing he wanted was to go up against a monster with a weapon.

Trusting his experience not to miss and end up hurting the girl, Ian aimed his cutlass at the hand going for the knife. If he maimed enough limbs he'd put her down and then they could fight properly.

Some's knife went skittering off across the stones; with a spattering of blood, and he stumbled backwards, trying to get Rapunzel off his back now without exposing her to their attacker, and without turning his own back.

Rapunzel gave a little half yell at that, having to fight for her balance again. Her first instinct is to try to hold on, but-

A drop of blood flies up to hit her face. That's what wakes her up, and she cringes back a little.

"Some?" She tries to keep her voice level, because they've survived things before. But he seems to want her off so she tries to scramble back, away. She's tangled in her own hair and that doesn't help, she falls when she does slide off, but he's free now. That has to help him, right?

Ian ignored the knife - he didn't need it. He pressed his attack, making sure the monster didn't get it either. His attention was momentarily diverted by the girl when it was clear she was alive. At least Ian had got to her in time. But it wouldn't be in time if Ian let the monster get her again.

With free reign, now that she was on the ground and not likely to be hit accidentally, Ian aimed for higher up, aiming the slashes of his cutlass at the torso, not caring if he hit arms or legs on the way - if the monster bled enough that would do.

Some at least had enough arms to defend his chest, taking blow after blow on them, the cuts driving deep. He'd known that a fight had to be coming; the fewer people in the Arena, the worse their chances got.

"Rapunzel, run!" he shouted, voice breaking high as he tried to grab for that blade. He couldn't look back to see if she obeyed, didn't know if she would. He should have found a weapon. One arm already hung useless.

On three legs, he couldn't back up, not without risking falling, and that, he knew, would be an end. So instead, he lunged forward, that long body unfolding like a mantis's as he tried to grab the sword and reach past it to grab the man all in one motion.

She was already trying to get away, scrambling back, trying to collect her hair and avoid tripping on it. It was harder when she was still tangled in it.

"Some!"

She couldn't abandon him. He hadn't abandoned her, how could she abandon him? If she got too close, she would only get in the way. That didn't mean she couldn't throw something, right? Or find something else?

There was a mostly stripped tree nearby, at least, that looked old and dead and that could probably work. Rapunzel threw a piece of her hair over the branch, letting it loop itself around and fasten, and started to pull, trying to break it off, trying to keep watching the fight to see if she needed to run, or climb, or come back.

Snap-crack, the branch broke off, and Rapunzel broke back just far enough to avoid being hit with it as it fell.

Ian was all for the girl running off, and now he had a name - Rapunzel. But he was not willing to let the monster chase her for sport.

He was taken by surprise when the monster grabbed the sword, but had enough time to dodge the grab at him. A tug at the sword would at least cut at the monster's hand if he didn't let go and Ian continued stepping back, leading the monster away from the knife and away from Rapunzel.

Some hissed in pain as the sword cut deep, and couldn't keep his grip, not with that much blood making the blade slip. When he heard the branch break, he had to risk a moment, just a moment, to look back and see that she was safe.

She was fine, though hefting the branch she'd broken off was proving more of a challenge than she'd planned on it being. It was unweildy - longer than the bit of piping, and heavier, but that made it harder to do anything with.

Her hair was snarled in the twigs, and her hands were scraping against the rough bark, but she was trying.

Ian couldn't risk a glance at Rapunzel, but from the corner of his eye he could see she was trying to fight back, which he was glad about, but he hoped she wasn't going to get hurt. It would help if he finished this before she got involved.

He stopped stepping backwards - they were probably far enough away from the knife now. He switched directions with the knife, thrusting forwards quickly, aiming for the monster's torso. There had to be something important in there for him to hit.

"Stay b-" Some was just looking back when the blade got him, and his words cut off as it hit a rib jarringly before sliding through, into the large single lung that took up most of his upper chest. He staggered, forelegs suddenly weak, and tried to draw a deep breath. His other two lungs were unhurt, he should have been able to keep going, but when the blade drew back, blood poured.

"Some!" she shrieked, and tried to grab her branch and dart back. Her hair got tangled around everything, she was too slow, too slow, just a stupid, clumsy girl. But it was okay, right? She just had to drive this other man away and she could heal him, she'd healed herself, she'd healed Tim, she could heal her friend.

Ian ignored Rapunzel, unsure what she was shouting and not considering her a threat to him. The monster was at least bleeding, but that might not be enough. It might take too long for him to stop being a threat. He stabbed again, going for a slightly different area of the monster's chest.

He tried to scramble backwards from the second thrust, and his forelegs collapsed under him, letting him fall heavily in the dirt, two arms wrapped tight around his upper body. The chest of his lower body heaved, trying to compensate, to get enough air, but it was the bleeding. Something was bleeding bad, and he could feel it. "Stop!" he tried to cry, but it was airless, weak.

She'd paused to try to untangle herself, pulling her hair from the branches - she barely cared as she pulled her hair away, and twigs snapped off in it.

The branch was long, and unwieldy, and heavy, but that could be a good thing as well as a bad one.

He had a sword, sharper and longer than a knife.

Rapunzel's heart was in her throat as she grasped the branch and ran back, trying to get between Some and this stranger. Her voice barely shook at all when she spoke, she had to be brave.

"Get away from him!"

It as awkward, her branch, but she struck out as best she could, trying to drive him away more than wound.

Edited 2013-05-07 04:27 (UTC)

He did stop, because it was clear the monster was dying and because Rapunzel was there, in the way. "It's all right," Ian said to her. "He can't hurt you any more."

At which point he realised she was threatening him as the branch hit him on the arm. He stepped back, away from her reach. "I'm not going to hurt you." He lowered the cutlass.

There was blood in Some's throat as he tried to get back to his feet, only to collapse again, curling in around the wound. The pain woke old echos - this wasn't the first time he'd been stabbed, wasn't the first time he'd died of it. It wouldn't be long at least, he knew.

"Stop, stop," he croaked, reaching for the hem of Rapunzel's skirt.

"Of course he won't, he- Some!" Rapunzel's voice started off angry, shaking, but at the feel of that tug on her skirt turned into almost a whimper. She half spun towards him, branch drooping-

And there-

There was so much blood.

Edited 2013-05-07 07:29 (UTC)

Ian followed her - the monster wasn't dead and he could still hurt her. "Careful," he said, trying not to get too close himself as he grabbed the arm that wasn't holding the branch to pull her away.

"See-" he began, but then he started coughing, and the blood pulsing from the deep wound in his chest flowed stronger for a moment. His hand dropped away from her skirt, falling half-open to the ground, and he was still.

[He's unconscious, and will die in a few tags. TY for a great death, and I know Rapunzel wants to try to save him, so keep going a bit without me?]

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First impressions.

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