night six - kill log.

[foxhounds]

Who: Killers and Orca
When: The sixth night
Where: The jungles of Ship-Trap Island

[ It's the dead of night in the jungle. Considering the Hunt, you have to wonder if you're actually safe out here, but it at least seems quiet. Maybe you could try getting some rest, or maybe you should keep watch. Either way, that quiet may not seem very comforting. ]

Comments

[accomplices]

[The quiet isn't comforting, no—all the more so now that there are so few left. Orca's somehow gotten lucky in the last few days (or perhaps it's that nobody's noticed him enough to want him dead; he doesn't try to stand out), but he knows that to ask for that to last is a fool's wish.

He's in the ruins right now, on a top floor and against a column where he can keep a vantage point out for below. Even if he wanted to sleep, there's no way his nerves would let him.]

[liberalarts]

[ And alone he'll stay, at least for a while. Yet eventually, there's the sound of someone's footsteps, though they're soft, and one of the swords steps into the ruins. He gives Orca a polite smile, perfectly gentle and composed as he is during the day. ]

Good evening.

[ ...Yet that contrasts greatly against the fact that his sword is drawn. It seems he's not here to chat. This is only shown further by how his posture shifts in an instant, and he rushes forward with that sword ready to strike. ]

[accomplices]

[... In some ways, Orca's glad.

It's not someone he knows.

Though his enhanced capabilities as an animal hybrid are lost on this island, Orca's still experienced enough of a fighter that he dodges, jumping back and landing on a ledge (cynically, though, a part of his mind reminds him that no one has ever escaped from their murderer here, and he isn't likely to be the first. And foxhounds—where is his foxhound?).

Passively:]

Good evening.

[Kasen's greeting returned, as Orca lashes out in an attempt to kick him in the neck.]

[liberalarts]

[ It's not too bad, he thinks. He'd definitely prefer an honorable fight to some innocent person that would simply run or lay down and die. But Kasen was made for this. He has no other purpose in his existence, and whether it's one person or thirty-six, blood will run down his blade when it must.

He made a promise, after all. But that promise is far from his mind as the kick comes.

Kasen ducks instead, a quick, fluid motion from someone well versed in fighting, and seemingly perfectly at home in this setting. He's followed him up to the ledge, so with a fluid motion, he strikes outward, blade slicing into Orca's one leg. ]

[accomplices]

[Was what he said about his comrades a lie, then? Did he, in actuality, kill them both? Orca doesn't know, though that's what he suspects. It doesn't matter, in any case. There's nothing to hold against him. From one person who's led a life as a murderer to another, even as he still believes it to be an unforgivable crime, he understands that things are as they are.

May St. Elimine keep you safe, Orca. Similarly, he doesn't know if Clarine is innocent or not, though he'd like to think that she is, but either way, her prayers won't come true. If any saint truly is watching this, then they won't bless Kasen—but they won't bless Orca either.

He hisses in pain as the blade cuts into him, doing his best to ignore it and not falter as, balancing on the ledge, he launches a punch at Kasen's face. There's fear, adrenaline, and a hint of feral rage as a fighter (this is a battle, after all, and while Orca has no grudge, he's ultimately as fierce as humans once believed his namesake and other heritage to be), but beyond that, there's still a certain calmness in his action and expression.]

[liberalarts]

[ There's the satisfying slice of blade into flesh, and Kasen pushes forward, since he only need knock Orca to the ground once to finish this. He's not fighting to toy around, because he never does. He's not a sword that values sadism, but instead, he's one that carries out his kills with brutal efficiency, fighting to the very last if he must.

The falter gives him enough time to raise his arm once he sees Orca's posture shift, and so the punch hits it instead. Kasen steps forward, and his blade turns, and instead, a slice comes at Orca's chest. ]

[accomplices]

[It's frustrating, knowing that he's in weaker form than he usually is, being fully human now. And it's perhaps his regret, as his abilities as a half-breed meant that he never had any need for weapons, and so he has none on him now.

It really was his mistake, wasn't it?

... He wishes he could've done more to help the others.

As acceptance that he's unlikely to win this settles over him, that's the thought that flickers through his mind (and I'm sorry, Medusa-nim). He jumps back again, not quite avoiding the slice as it cuts through his shirt and into skin, but gritting his teeth through the pain, he doesn't waste any time as he presses down and lunges forward, his movements angled.

They're on about the third story or so, fighting on the edge of the floor. Remembering that, what Orca's aiming for is to tackle him off the ruined tower entirely; to bring the sword down with him, quite literally.]

[liberalarts]

[ The angle of his movement makes his intent clear to Kasen, and so he turns with the sort of pressure in his limbs that he feels so intently when he's in the midst of a fight where he knows his death hovers a hair away. His cape billows out as he pivots on his heel, and truly, Orca only misses grabbing him by a hair.

But these sorts of games are always rigged, in a way.

The momentum of that turn keeps Kasen turning, and so his blade turns in his hands as he puts more force behind it. Orca will probably continue off the ledge on his own, but Kasen will make sure the ensuing fall is fatal. He's not quite thinking of it now, but reflexively, he knows he doesn't want him to run. The sword is used to stab instead, and so with Kasen at his back, he stabs right through Orca's torso. ]

[accomplices]

[In the end, he can't say he's surprised. Most things that Orca has done in his life have amounted to nothing, one way or another.

(Perhaps he had no reason to fight back, knowing that almost no one on this island, if truly anyone, would miss him. Very few would back home, either. Most would rejoice if he were to die, wouldn't they? Even so, he had to. He has an obligation to his group to return, and Medusa-nim, I wish I could've seen you again, at least—

What a pointless life he has led.)

It's probably as well that Kasen chose to attack further, as Orca was prepared for the possibility of missing. There's a choked cry of pain as the sword pierces through his chest, though the action prevents his immediate fall, at least, unless Kasen inexplicably feels like letting go of his sword and letting it go down with him. In a strained voice, he manages:]

... Well-fought.

I THOUGHT IT WAS SERIOUS

[liberalarts]

[ As soon as Orca starts to fall, Kasen yanks his sword back roughly, because he's sure that the weight of Orcas body would either pull him along or pull his vessel, and either way, it wouldn't end well for Kasen. The sword comes out with a sick, wet sound, and blood splatters against the ground, though he's careful to make sure it's not on himself.

...He's glad he doesn't see the impact, though. It's a bad way to go, and if he could, he would apologize for that. It's not the sort of elegance that Kasen wanted to give, but circumstance had given him little choice.

Kasen stands there for a few moments, breathing harshly as adrenaline runs through his veins still, and he looks at that too close edge with a frown. Close. That was too close, but he had managed. He can't complain for luck being on his side, but as he turns to walk down the steps of the ruins and sheathes his blade, his heart still hammers in his chest.

It was close, and that was frightening, since he would have failed, if that were the case. He truly can't afford to at this point. He breathes out a harsh breath as he descends, and his eyes eventually turn to the body instead. If the stab hadn't killed him, then the fall surely did. But this does leave an issue, because with so few with swords left on this island... ]

Ah, well... I'll just lose a little more elegance.

[ He says it aloud to no one in particular, then walks up to Orca's body. ]

Not that I suppose it matters at this point.

HAHA NO i like how kasen would've completely ignored it

[accomplices]

[For better or for worse, Orca had never quite expected a peaceful death. As a villain, that right had long been lost to him. Though, truth be told, he had figured that his end would come by the hands of a hero, or for revenge or justice, or some such. Not by a stranger, for unknown reasons. Either way, perhaps alone and miserable is a fitting way for one of the 'bad guys' to die. It doesn't matter.

Orca's body hits the hard surface of the ground with a sickening thud, and though the stab had yet to fully claim his life, the impact does the rest of the work as his neck snaps. There's a moment of life still present, regret and grief and longing (please be okay) filtering through the shock that invades his mind—and then nothing.]