foxhounds | night five

[ He means to only sleep for a couple of minutes. Maybe half an hour. But he's exhausted, and it gets away from him - he's out for at least an hour, in a tree in the middle of the jungle. It's probably not a huge deal though, right? Totally.

He wakes up after that hour, sweating, alert. He swears he heard something. Maybe it's just his mind playing tricks on him. ]

[Unfortunately, it's not his mind playing tricks on him this time. GOOD EVENING ROYCE ROYCIN...

There's a sword standing at the base of the tree, blade already unsheathed, catching the light of the moon as it hangs overhead. He makes no effort to conceal his presence, simply staring up into the branches with an expression that would be difficult to read even in the light of day.]

Hi.

[ It's not just Kashuu, though. There's another soft sound from Royce's opposite side, because it seems the swords have decided to work together. There's no mistaking what their purpose here is, since once Kashuu speaks to Royce, Kasen notices Royce hiding in the tree as well, and he unsheathes his own blade to match. ]

My, my... That's quite a good catch, Kashuu.

[ His tone shifts, and he's clearly speaking to Royce now: ] I may have almost missed you resting up there.

[ Oh, he knew it. He knew the swords were going to be his death. He hears their voices, he sees the light of the sword flashing, the sound of metal unsheathing, and immediately he's going to crawl up further into the tree.

Royce doesn't answer. He refuses, he is not going to get dismembered by a bunch of crazy sword people!!! ]

[Hey, only a few of them like dismemberment!! The insanity is pretty inherent, though...

He glances over toward Kasen when he hears Royce start to climb, making an ugh sound of exasperation under his breath. Then, talking back up into the tree:]

Heeey, just come down, o-kay? You can only climb so high and I don't wanna scuff my boots up.

[ Kasen comes to stand patiently at the base of the tree as well, and he sighs as he looks up to where Royce starts to climb. His smile is unhinged as well, but it's subtle. It's more like a razor's edge to his smile even as he speaks with gentle laughs and still elegant words. ]

Ah, yes, if you would, we'd appreciate it! We have other people to cut down, you know. I'd rather not just sit here waiting for breakfast when you're forced to come down.

[ Coolly, ] You can run like a rat, or you can die with some honor.

Honor is for idiots. [ Royce finally answers, calling down so he's sure that they hear it. ] A code for men who think they're better than everybody else. Alive and dishonorable is better than stupid and dead.

[ Not that he has much choice in the matter, but hey. He's also going to attempt to climb into the next tree over to get away. He's pretty good at this sort of thing, having done it for years, but the trees he can hop between will run out eventually...

And then he'll be stuck in a tree. Listen, he'll wait here all night, okay? ]

Weeell, you were already dead the second you gave Yasusada's name, y'know? Just took us a little while to catch up, is all!

[Like Kasen's smile, there's an unhinged edge to his, though it's a little more obvious on him. Why didn't this island just execute all of the swords on day one, honestly.

He'll start trotting along the ground as Royce makes his tree escape... attempt... Even if he can't see as well in the dark now as he can when he's not human, he's still a skilled warrior with plenty of experience in night battle. Royce never leaves his line of sight.]

Hey, hey - are you seriously gonna make us chase you?

Ah, yes— That does explain a lot.

[ Kasen laughs, but it's harsh and unnerving more than anything else, more like a barking sound than anything. Those words rub right up against his temper, which despite his calm during the trials, is incredibly vicious and fierce. A sword inherits things both good and bad from their masters, and from his, Kasen had taken a sort of vicious temper that brought about his name. His master so loved the poetry from the sanjurokkasen, the 36 Immortals of Poetry, that he killed 36 vassals to christen his sword—to christen Kasen Kanesada. ]

If you make us play cat and mouse, so be it. I don't mind chasing you until you fall and break your bones. This is your punishment for not understanding such basic things as honor, Royce Melborn.

[ Please, Royce is a half-elf, he's not going to fall out of a tree. He's graceful, okay - and he's angry. Quietly so, but enough. He knew the swords were trouble, he knew it. Royce just needs to make it to morning so he can tell everybody. They won't get away with this, he won't let them.

Royce isn't scared. He's been through worse, and he's lost a lot more than his life. All he's concerned about is making sure he doesn't go down without a fight.

He thinks about Matt. Maybe the lawyer was right.

Royce stays in the tree he's maneuvered to, scowling. He can't leave this tree, but he doesn't have to. Just has to stay alive until they get bored. Or until morning comes. Easy, right? They won't... try to climb up here... ]

[ROYCE. Kashuu comes to a stop at the base of this tree, sets his hands on his hips, and waits.

...Not very long, mind. He's not super patient, and listening to Kasen talk makes him think that feeling is mutual.]

Huuuh... Y'know, normally I'd be okay with sticking around for a while, but there're a lot of loose ends to tie up tonight. We gotta get going before they do, see? [Kashuu speaks vaguely, only briefly toward Royce, and then turns his attention to Kasen.]

Which one of us d'you think can climb faster?

...Well! Your heels would probably make it difficult. It'd be a shame for you to break one, since I don't think Ivan would have a replacement.

[ It's hard to tell whether he's gently teasing or it's just a fact of life that Kashuu chooses impractical shoes for murder and Kasen fully accepts it...?! ]

It's too bad a tantou didn't join us. Could I borrow Horikawa for a bit?

[ The wakizashi will be easier to use than an uchigatana, after all. ]

[ WELP they're coming up the tree. Royce doesn't have anywhere else to go, but he's absolutely going to find the best possible part of the tree to balance himself on.

He can fight up here. He has Alverstone, his dagger, an ancient dwarven weapon that could cut through diamond - and he's ready, he's waiting. He's silent, because he doesn't want to waste his breath on banter or taunting. A hundred percent of his concentration is on surviving.

Come at him, bro, he'll knock you right back out of this tree if he has to!! ]

[UGH TIME TO CLIMB. His attention is focused on Kasen now, and he slips Horikawa out of his belt to hand over.]

Be careful with him, okay?

[Poor sweet innocent Horikawa... He shifts a little where he stands after that, looking back up into the tree and examining the branches and the height and sturdiness as best he can. Hm... Kasen's bigger than he is, but Kashuu is Royce's height.]

You want me to hold your robes? Can't get 'em dirty. I'll find somewhere to put them for you.

[And then join him, probably, just in case. Two against one may not be fair, but nothing about this game has been, right?]

[ Kasen nods his head deeply as he takes Horikawa's vessel, since it's a gesture of respect. It seems odd, considering just what they're doing now, but it seems like the swords are definitely serious about respecting their own. As soon as he has Horikawa in hand, he starts to shrug off his cape first. ]

Mm, please. It would be a shame to lose so much elegance as to stain them with blood, haha...

[ this is not funny kasen... ]

[ The rest of his fancy clothes are coming off to, so it seems like we're getting a repeat of the strip search today. Sorry Royce. This is not the last thing that anyone should see, because that plugsuit is definitely getting revealed again. Still, it's no surprise that he'd take off the robes, since the skin-tight suit underneath is definitely more suited to running in the trees. ]

[ oh god NOT THE PLUGSUIT ANYTHING BUT THAT

This is an outrage. He's going to be murdered by a might-as-well-be-naked sword, and there's nothing he can do about it. Royce's expression is sharp, alert, and he'll be waiting for Kasen when he gets up the tree. He's got a few surprises in that cloak of his, and he's waiting until the right time.

... Really, if Royce wasn't being hunted, he'd actually find this amusing. The swords have that unhinged thing down, something he's always respected. Right now, he's not looking to respect anybody.

Right now, he'll wait until Kasen comes up that tree. ]

[Kashuu will carefully hold the robes and other garb once they're handed over before stepping off to a grassy patch several feet away. No blood, no chance of blood dripping down! Perfect.

After that, he steps his way back over to Royce's tree, staring upward. He'll wait for Kasen to go first, but then he'll pull himself onto one of the lower branches without even bothering to take his boots off... Look, Kashuu's profile doesn't say "can run in high heels" for no reason, okay. He's ready for this.

Either way, it's clear he's just here for intervention or if one of them falls or jumps out of the tree. He's sticking low, ready to be backup.]

[ Once he's reasonably sure he's not about to trip all over his elegant self, Kasen actually scales the tree surprisingly efficiently. He's no half-elf, but at the very least, swords are all about strength and dexterity, since it's the focus of how they're used. Royce would certainly win a contest, mind you, but for a creature that's spent most of its existence as an inanimate object, it's impressive, okay...

Not that Royce is going to be particularly complimentary, considering the situation.

Armed with the broken wakizashi, Kasen has more ability to move the blade, and so it doesn't take too much maneuvering or much time for him to catch up with Royce. What kind of Shia Surprise do you have Royce... ]

[ also I'm sorry I'm not taking this log seriously anymore but Kasen stripped so it's fair ]

[ It is impressive! Royce would be more impressed if, again, Kasen wasn't trying to murder him. He'd be significantly impressed and maybe would have a decent amount of respect for the guy if he knew that Kasen literally used to be a sword - he never really listened that closely enough to gather that information. He just assumed they were being referred to as swords because they... have them.

In any case, right now he's mostly annoyed.

And once Kasen gets to where he is, once Royce is seemingly cornered? Surprise, he has a taser! Jason Todd is the gift that keeps on giving. Of course, Kasen has to get close enough for Royce to taser him, and they're pretty high up, high enough that landing wrong might break bones or, at the worst case, kill either of them.

Kasen is easily within stabbing range when Royce is in tasering range - in any situation, Royce presses the fifty-thousand volt taser straight into whatever part of Kasen he can reach, holding on tightly to the branch he's steadied on, and says, sharply, angrily: ] What was it Red said? 'You shouldn't threaten a twenty-first century Thor.'

[ He doesn't know who Thor is and he doubts the swords do either, but it's more the spirit of the thing. In honor of. ]

[Kashuu hasn't ever even seen a taser before, it's true... So when he busts it out and Kashuu hears the sharp zap of electricity, he has no idea what just happened?! He only knows that Kasen's been hit by something, and that's Bad News.

On the other hand, Kasen is also definitely close enough to get mcstabbity, so rather than sweeping up to finish the job, he's quickly scaling through the branches to help in case it looks like Kasen will fall out. Uchigatana aren't as well known for their dexterity in battle as wakizashi or tantou are, but he's small and light on his feet, and he moves upward with a striking amount of speed. Especially for someone wearing heels...]

Kasen—!

[He still has his blade out though, just in case.]

[ Kasen doesn't recognize the taser for what it is, which is both to his benefit and to his detriment in this case. He doesn't register it as a weapon, intensely focused on his pursuit of Royce as he is, so he comes in close quickly to bury that wakizashi in Royce's side. But this definitely gives Royce more than ample opportunity to use that taser.

It hits Kasen in the side, and in a way, it's so unfamiliar that he doesn't even completely process what's happening. But luckily, for all they go on about being swords over human, the bodies are very much flesh and blood, and so the taser works as it's intended. He yells out harshly in reflex, and as his muscles no longer cooperate as they should, he also loses his balance and falls before he can even try and right himself. Fifty thousand volts will do that to you.

The satisfaction of having the wakizashi hit its mark is a bit lessened as he falls, but he tries to grab a branch to slow it. He's not completely successful, but as he hits a bush below with a loud impact, he's at least not dead... ]

[ It's satisfying, at least, to see someone else be hit by the taser. Royce has experienced it - it's not pleasant, and he thinks that's almost better than stabbing Kasen, that satisfaction. He probably should've, because he could've taken one of them with him, but. Too late now.

The wakizashi slips right into him, though - and as it slips out he knows it's going to kill him if they don't finish the job, he knows that much. A flood of anger overwhelms him at first, because this isn't how he wants to go, he won't be hunted, he's lived for... for a long time. But Gwen is probably dead, by now. And Royce has nothing keeping him here but pure stubborn force of will.

The pain nearly cripples him to the point of falling. But he's got a grip on the branch, he'd been anticipating the wound, and somehow he stays up. Royce throws the taser a few feet away - he doesn't want the swords to find it - and and then drags himself to the trunk of the tree, trying to push back the pain. He just - he just needs to get down, hope that the swords are distracted enough for a moment for him to run.

But he's slow, and noisier than normal. He slides down the tree anyway, leaves a lovely blood trail all down the bark, and nearly passes out. Don't mind him, he's just trying to stumble away into the bushes, listening intently for the noise of someone following him. He's got Alverstone, and he's gonna fight tooth and fucking nail to leave as many marks on them as possible before he dies. ]

[He won't have to listen too hard or for too long, because Kashuu is on his way after him immediately. There's a cursory glance toward the bush that Kasen landed his plugsuited ass in, but there's no time to stop and check to see if he's doing okay, unfortunately. The risk of Royce hiding away somewhere in the jungle before they can be sure he's dead is too great.

So Kashuu pursues, elegant as always, and here's where the "running in heels" really comes in. He's fast and light on his feet even in the jungle terrain, tangled mess of roots barely fazing him.

The blade he's got out is his own, but that's not the one he wants to strike the killing blow with, which is why he aims low for Royce's legs when he slashes forward. It's a blow that aims to cripple, but it leaves his guard down momentarily, arms, shoulders and upper back well in Alverstone mcstabbins range.]

Edited (fight scene anatomy????) 2015-08-26 01:33 (UTC)

[ Kasen just got tased and fell out of a tree so he's going to be chilling in this bush for a while. This isn't a joke tag... ]

[ They're both decently light and quick then! Though y'know, Kashuu does it in heels, which is vastly more impressive. And he's way less injured, which means Kashuu catches up easily. He slashes for Royce's legs and he gets them just fine, puts two matching gashes across the backs of Royce's calves. It makes Royce stagger, but he uses it to his advantage, or tries to, anyway.

Twisting as he falls, Royce brings his dagger straight down overhead and stabs it down through what he hopes is Kashuu's upper back or shoulder. He's aiming to not only injure but bring Kashuu down with him (on top of him, not his brightest idea but he's working under pressure) to the floor with the momentum.

Unfortunately, once he's down, he's down. He's winded, breaths dragging and bleeding all over everything. There's no way he's going to be able to get up and run. He tries, he really does. If he manages to bring Kashuu down he'll struggle to get out from under him, but there's not a whole lot he can do with his legs out of commission and the blood loss that's making him dizzy. ]

[He's trained for this... Who takes off their heels for battle?? No one cool, honestly.

But the dagger hits its mark, sinking into the top part of Kashuu's shoulder where the muscle is. The force behind it is enough to drag him down, but certainly not enough to stop him. He's used to being stabbed in battle, basically. When you're a sword, stabs happen a lot! Look, his other shoulder has already been stabbed, and that was by Yamato.

Either way, he works quickly once he hits the ground, ducking so that Royce can't drive the blade in any further and reaching out to pin down one of his arms. He's sits on Royce's stomach, movements still quick even with the gash.]

Ugh, look, I don't wanna drag this out—

[Because he doesn't have time, honestly...

Which is why he almost throws his own vessel to the side so he can unsheathe the blade on his left hip. It's Yamato's blade, of course - Kashuu is very sentimental despite being a sword. But there's no gloating or talk of vengeance or anything like that; there's just a sharp downward jab, where he aims for Royce's throat.]

[ Kashuu sits on his stomach and pins him, and that's it, he knows. He can't move, he's lost a lot of blood, but something in him is screaming to keep struggling, to keep moving. He doesn't lay down and die - no, he knows he's going to be dead in seconds and he's going to end it fighting, like he always has, and his mind whirls.

Somehow in the last seconds he has, he finds he's... really sorry that he won't make it back to them. For the others, the ones still living here. Matt, and Max - but more than anything, back home, in a world far away from here. Hadrian back home, too trusting, and... the only person Royce has ever called a friend. The only person who had ever called him a friend in return.

But Gwen. Gwen, who probably died without him there to find her. Gwen, who he loves and will always love, the only person in his long life to ever bring that feeling around in him. Gwen, he'll miss, Gwen, he regrets and this hurts more than he thought it ever would because of her. His side burns and he hears the sound of the blade unsheathing, and Royce digs his fingers into the blood at his side the best he can and reaches, drags the blood on his fingers across Kashuu's front, across any cloth he can reach.

And then the sword jabs down, into his throat, and he chokes, gurgles, there's a burst of pain, and -

He's gone. His hand falls to the ground with a light thud. ]

[Kashuu's quiet and still for a few seconds after Royce's hand drops, just breathing in and out through his nose in a carefully measured way. In, out - another person's blood on the blade. He'll have to clean Yamato up well later.

...And himself, he notes as he looks down toward his scarf with a grimace. His jacket and vest are black, which is good for him, but he's wearing Yamato's scarf - it's white, and the blood stands out on it starkly.

That's something he can deal with later, though. For now, he takes another breath in and then pushes himself upright, wincing and tapping his fingers against the wound on his shoulder. Not too bad. He should still be able to swing his sword-wielding arm, at least, even if it might be a little hindered. The bigger problem will be figuring out how to hide the wound and the gash in his clothing. With an irate noise, he stoops over to pick up his own blade, turns, and heads back toward the bush where Kasen had fallen.]

Hey— you okay? What the hell did he hit you with?

[ Kasen is at least starting to right himself by the time it's done, since it's really the combination of the fall and the taser that had winded him so badly. If it were just one, then fine. He was a sword, he could handle pain. But the combination was certainly enough for Kasen to be all the more glad for Kashuu's company, at the very least.

He's starting to stand from the bush with a groan, and he's quick not to right himself, but to start to dig through the branches for Horikawa. It's not hard to find him, so Kasen picks him up with a relieved sigh once he sees he's not any more damaged. ]

...I have no idea, to be honest. It was some sort of— [ Kasen pauses, since he really doesn't have any idea. He's too Ye Olde for this, and he doesn't want enough television to know. ]

It was painful, and it was like all my muscles froze up! I don't know how to describe it. [ He stretches, groaning again. ] I'll be fine, though... The fall hurt more than that thing.

[He's here to help...

And help he will! After Kasen fishes Horikawa out of the bush, he holds a hand out to help him upright. No one looks elegant and dignified when they're collapsed in a pile of twigs and leaves...]

But you're okay? No broken bones or anything? It'd be suuuper lame if I had to finish things up out here by myself tonight, y'know! [Shaking his head and making a mock-tutting noise.]

Anyway, he's dead. I'm gonna need some time later to try cleaning this blood outta Yasusada's scarf since that guy wiped his hands all over me. [GROSS.]

Ahh, good...

[ At Royce being dead, he means. The fact that he's not complaining about injuries or crying means that he's fine as well. There are only a few minor cuts and scrapes, so really, he's lucky. Kasen looks Royce's way thoughtfully, and he lapses into a silence at that, since he realizes there's a problem here. Perhaps earlier in the game, they could have gotten away from wounds that come from a blade, but by now? There are much fewer swordsmen amongst them.

...It's terribly inelegant, to have to dispose of a body. It feels a little dishonorable as well, but considering this man had spoken of not caring for honor, Kasen also finds he cares much less. ]

Hmm, we should probably hide his body if we can, though. It's a bit obvious that it's the work of a sword, isn't it?

[The lack of whining is what tips him off toward Kasen being okay, at least, so he doesn't ask further. He'll just keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't pass out or act concussed or something...]

Huh. Yeah... Even dismembering him wouldn't really hide that a blade was involved. You think we should push him out into the water?

[Though there's the chance that it might drift back to shore, of course.]

[ thank ]

Mm, no... I think it would still be found.

[ Like Mitsutada, he thinks, though he doesn't say as much. He takes another few moments to stretch as he thinks, but it's clear when the idea comes to him, since his features brighten. ]

Well, there is that giant hole. If we carried it there, they certainly wouldn't find it. [ A pause, and then, ] ...It's quite brutish. But I think it would work.

Oh! I totally forgot about that thing.

[Mostly because no one's fallen into it yet, by some miracle... It's easy to forget about the gaping hole in the jungle floor when you've got to worry about every other side of a war murdering you.]

Sure, sure - that should work just fine. We'll come back for your stuff later, okay? [Kasen's outer layers of clothing, he means.] Let's dump him now while we're out here already and then go find the next.

[ Kasen nods in agreement, then sighs as he starts to head over to Royce. He's taller and more muscular between them, so he takes on the task of carrying Royce without asking. ]

Certainly. I don't think it's too far from here, at least...

[ He's not carrying Royce ten miles that's for sure. With a noise of exertion, he carefully loads Royce up onto his back, since it's easier for him to carry him that way. ]

Ah, when we're done, I'll clean up too. We'll both have a bit of blood to wash off, won't be?

Mmmhm. Ugh, I'm gonna have to do something about this stupid cut, too.

[He can't blame Yamato for this one since he deda too... That's going to be a struggle, but he'll figure it out later. He'll just have to bear it in the meantime and hope that it doesn't impede his ability to strike quickly and precisely, because he knows he'll really need that tonight.

Anyway, Kasen will get a thanks for carrying the body! And after a little while of walking:]

Oh— Hey, I think that's it over there. See? [POINTS over toward what basically looks like a gaping spot of nothingness in the middle of the dark vegetation.]

Ah, good, good.

[ Kasen really does sound relieved by the time they get there, because even carrying a smol amount of deadweight is still deadweight, so it's not very easy. ]

You can just stay here. I'll take care of it, since it's probably better if we don't both stand there, hm?

[ He responds with a half laugh that's gentle, even though based on Megumi, that's not quite something to joke about. He gives Kashuu a nod, and then carefully heads to the edge of the sinkhole before setting Royce down at the edge. From there, it's just a matter of giving him a solid kick to send him into that abyss, but Kasen doesn't even bother to wait to hear if he hits any sort of ground. He simply returns to Kashuu's side with an encouraging smile. ]

Well! Shall we? He really did make a mess, so I think taking a quick swim will be quite a relief!

[Ah, there he goes... bye felicia.

Kashuu watches from a relatively safe distance, though after Megumi, he's still on his guard (never really drops it completely, honestly) like he's just waiting for the ground to crumble... But it doesn't. With Kasen's safe return and the body properly disposed of, he'll smile in response, nodding in agreement. He's still off-kilter, but he's trying to take his cue from the encouragement in Kasen's smile.

This is fine, right?

They'll be fine.]

Let's go, let's go! I think I could use something like that before we set out again. Better wash this out before it gets infected, too... And I gotta clean off Yasusada.

[So to the water it is!! He'll turn, though he waits for Kasen, not wanting to stray too far from his side.]

[ It's fine, Kashuu. Kasen's smile clearly says that, and it's matched in his gestures as he places an encouraging hand on Kashuu's uninjured shoulder. ]

Mm, let's. It's still early in the night, so I think we have a bit more time to work. Come—

[ And so off the two insane swords go to wash off the blood and then go murder more people, most likely. ]

night five - kill log.

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i can't believe this i'm sorry royce

royce: stares into the camera like he's in the office

ROYCE DESERVED BETTER......

sorry royce.............. ur still my fav

hums actual cannibal shia labeouf

i cant believe this im laughing so hard

[muffled yakety sax]

you guys got the wiliest mofo to catch and kill, congrats

ugh royce is truly a prize

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christy said to skip kasen until royce is deda bc he's taking a nap in the foliage

he deda

rip peperony and chease

we'll miss you [looks at smudge on hand] dustpan

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