Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fistsofjustice) wrote2016-06-27 12:10 am
fistsofjustice) wrote2016-06-27 12:10 am
@makehistoria
Ever since she was old enough to feed herself, Amelia only went after humans who deserved it. They are pitiful creatures, her father said, and that is why you must always be righteous. Killing innocent humans was frowned upon like humans frowned upon kicking small, helpless animals; there was no justice in that.
Hunters were a favored target, as were priests who spoke ill of the Fog God. She wouldn’t usually interfere in human-on-human conflict, unless the crime was especially heinous - sometimes one had to put down a rabid sheep.
Such was her recent prey. A Bavan native, notorious for taking any job, no matter how gruesome. Amelia swooped down on him and carried him all the way back to her nest beyond Lager Woods, on the cliffs by the north-western shore. She put him on a rock ledge where no human could reach without special equipment, plucked his eyes out and left him there to starve, though she gave him water once a day. Amelia always made sure they regretted their crimes before taking their lives.
It’s been a week now, and he wasn’t screaming as much. If he doesn’t throw himself on the rocks soon (like some did. Others would beg her for release) she’ll have to do it herself.
Hunters were a favored target, as were priests who spoke ill of the Fog God. She wouldn’t usually interfere in human-on-human conflict, unless the crime was especially heinous - sometimes one had to put down a rabid sheep.
Such was her recent prey. A Bavan native, notorious for taking any job, no matter how gruesome. Amelia swooped down on him and carried him all the way back to her nest beyond Lager Woods, on the cliffs by the north-western shore. She put him on a rock ledge where no human could reach without special equipment, plucked his eyes out and left him there to starve, though she gave him water once a day. Amelia always made sure they regretted their crimes before taking their lives.
It’s been a week now, and he wasn’t screaming as much. If he doesn’t throw himself on the rocks soon (like some did. Others would beg her for release) she’ll have to do it herself.
no subject
Starved, not so much. It wouldn't help even if the man were in peak condition, human as he is; this is an extra handicap, and Stocke doesn't want to push him to breaking point quite yet. Any fighting back will be weak.
Even so: unless Amelia's quick in ducking aside, she's getting punched in the face.
Whether or not Stocke misses, the shade will drawl dryly, "Acting enough for you?" It sounds odd, in the man's voice - there's a low hum in the back of his throat between each word, as if Stocke's trying to imitate his own static. If he did hit, he'll shake off the man's hand and start moving toward the edge of the cliff.
no subject
"You - "
He wants to run? Then she will help him. Amelia holds a hand out, palm turned toward the human, and a vicious gust of wind throws him into empty air. Maybe that'll get the shade out of his body. She takes off a moment later, hoping her speed and wind magic will help her to catch the prey alive again. Even if she misses in the dark, she'd rather splatter his body on the rocks than let the shade have his soul.
no subject
After a moment, though, his eyes slant as if pleased. No, he can work with this.
The shade yanks the rest of the way free, letting the man fall alone, to slam solid into Amelia in mid-air. It's entirely possible she gets in a good hit or two with her talons, and he doesn't fight back - but he does push off her, throwing himself down and dissolving back into intangibility. His intention was only to shake her flight and slow her momentum.
For a moment it looks like the human will splatter on the rocks - he's probably screaming, if he's in any state to do it - but Stocke's also used his shove off the harpy to speed his own fall. He catches up in time to break back into the physical world, snaring his claws around the man's middle, and slow them with telekinesis. Then he darts off just above the ground's surface.
And yet - there's nothing he can really do about Amelia's wind magic. He may not be expecting the harpy to move as fast as she actually can: if so, she'll be on his tail long before he gets to the patch of forest he's aiming for.
no subject
She can't allow him to get into the forest. She can fight him on the open, moonlit shore, but he's as good as gone once behind the trees. They're hard to maneuver around at night, she'll never find him in the dark.
Stocke may have gotten himself a head start, but his advantage disappears rapidly. A solid shade toting a half-dead body is no match for a harpy in the sky, with the wind at her command and righteous fury to spur her on. She catches up soon enough, and the wind howls terribly as it blows across the shore, focused mercilessly at Stocke and its cargo. Playing tug-of-war is pointless when the opponent can turn intangible and possess the prey. She'll have to separate them first, then catch the human and take to the sky where the shade can't reach.
no subject
The wind jerks at him from all sides, and the shade starts up a quiet, crackling pattern of annoyance. He's shedding smoke on top of everything from where Amelia clawed him; this is exactly why he hates being solid.
He scrapes at the ground with telekinesis, snagging whatever he can - rocks, dirt, loosely-rooted plants, the occasional unfortunate insect. Then he throws the lot at Amelia. "Leave! He's mine." He's already doing the harpy a favor by not going after her for damaging his prey -
Suddenly a shot rings out. By some miracle it passes right between Stocke and Amelia rather than hitting either them or the human.
The shade's eyes go wide, startled; he freezes. He's planning to drop to the ground next, his momentum gone so he can avoid scraping across it, but Amelia's too close. Unless she has the presence of mind and reaction time to dodge aside, she'll bowl into him and the human he's holding.
no subject
"I will do no su – " Her yell dissolves into heavy cough. She can't block everything, and she gets sand in her eyes and a small, very confused crab down her throat. Amelia is still wiping dirt off her eyes when the shot rings out. Her heart skips a beat and when realizes the shade is in her path, it's already too late.
She barrels right into Stocke – monster and human roll on the ground, and the impact knocks the wind out of her. Amelia flaps her wings wildly, struggling to sit up. Her talons latch on to something, though she isn't sure whether it's the shade or the human or something else. Another bullets whistle past, and she stares around wild-eyes until she sees their lights, dancing about near the forest and coming closer.
" – hunters!"
no subject
He curls over his human, trying to shove both of them to the ground and make them smaller targets, but Amelia's flapping jerks him back upright almost immediately. The shade's crackling goes a bit louder - if he didn't have the human with him, he'd be perfectly fine with vanishing into the shadows and leaving Amelia with the fallout. But right now that's not an option.
So what he does is yank back hard. If Amelia lets go, all for the better - she'll make an excellent decoy. If she doesn't, she'll probably go down with him, where he'll hiss in her ear, "Truce." Hunters first, then back to fighting.
no subject
Truce, he says, and her feathers fluff up. Amelia's first instinct is to refuse – the shade stole from her and attacked her, working with him is beneath her honor - but she hates hunters far more than thieves. "Agreed."
She can hear them shout now. Back on the sand, the human stirs and lifts his head, empty eye sockets staring ahead. The hope of rescue sharpens into one last burst of energy in his useless body, and he yells, "They're here, the harpy and another one, help - "
no subject
This leaves Stocke an excellent opportunity, though: stay in the human, pretend to really be him, and throw Amelia to the wolves. He wavers for half a moment -
...no. Much as it annoys him, he already agreed to a truce - what kind of bargain keeper would he be if his word was untrustworthy? No one would commit their vengeances to him, nor should they.
"Over here!" He yells, struggling upright in the man's body. And, more desperately, "Help, help, they're - no, let go of me -" He staggers off to the side. It's too dark for the hunters to see without aiming their flashlights properly, and Stocke pushes the human to his limits in terms of speed - far as they know, the monsters probably are dragging this poor bastard away.
no subject
Her claws linger on the human's arm for a moment, digging in his flesh, before she lets go reluctantly. She'll have to trust Stocke to lure them away and not try anything funny.
Amelia crouches down in the sand, folding her wings close to her body. She has to fight the urge to fly off – as exposed as she feels on the ground, they'll shoot her if she takes off now, a large shadow against the moonlight.
She sinks even flatter when they hunters run closer. For a moment she's blinded by their flashlights, not knowing if they noticed her, but they run past her toward to voice. So far Stocke's plan is succeeding.
"I don't see them," one calls toward what he assumes is the innocent victim.
"Must've run like cowards," says another and spits in disdain. "Couldn't have gone far. Hey, you – which way did they go"
no subject
The "human" raises his head as the hunters seem right on top of him. Pained: "I - I'm not sure, I can't -"
Stocke cuts off as one of the hunters turns a flashlight on the man's empty eye sockets. The shade goes still, but all the hunter does is let out a soft, angry snarl. It figures monsters would tear out eye-sockets. After a moment, the shade continues, "I think they went that way after they dropped me -" He motions vaguely away from Amelia.
The hunters confer, very shortly. Most start to spread out in a search pattern - one stays behind with Stocke to keep the human safe.
It's only another few seconds before the man grins oddly - Stocke's just had a thought. A way to keep the hunters busy and turn appropriate vengeance on his prey without Amelia's interference.
The hunter staying behind is looking away, on guard - Stocke reaches his puppet's hands to a corner of his ragged clothes, ripping some strips free and stuffing them in "his" mouth. Then he gathers himself together and leaps at the hunter guarding him.
The man lets out a startled exclamation and fights back, but Stocke is - again - uncaring of how much damage is done to him. It's not his body. It's purely because of that that he manages to bear the hunter to the ground - his opponent has a chance to shout, " - he's one of them! In disguise!" before toppling.
There's an easy to miss dart of shadow as Stocke abandons both his victims. His prey is left to let out muffled exclamations behind a mouthful of cloth, but not to proclaim his innocence to the hunters suddenly attacking him.
Stocke, meanwhile, himself peels out of the ground just behind Amelia and suggests innocently, "Planning to move while they're distracted?"
no subject
She does squawk when Stocke appears behind her, startling her. Amelia turns around and glares at him. After he went to such lengths to steal the human alive, she hadn't expected him the shade to sacrifice him so readily.
I'm planning to kill them all, she wants to say, but decides to not grace him with a real answer. Instead she grumbles: "Don't act so smug. You just gave up a soul."
no subject
It's a twisted representation of circumstances that's probably only satisfying to a shade.
"I suggest you move before they start looking for the other monster. Or realize they haven't slain who they thought they did," the shade offers, just as innocently. Then he turns and starts drifting away.
no subject
"This isn't over," Amelia hisses after him, needing to say the last word. She then takes off, casting bitter looks at the hunters. Later she would come back to see if they left the body there, but while the meat would sustain her, there'd be no satisfaction in eating.
She will get the shade back for this.