Breaking Bones

[18:59] Doing a sort of mock patrol around the forest, Osseus waited and diligently watched for someone, anyone to come her way that she didn't recognize.

The moment she spotted a foreign stranger she was sprinting and bone rattling towards the flesh bag.

"Halt yourself! Leave now or die" she declared, her bones moving with complete independence. Osseus stood tall and triumphant, awaiting her answer.
(Osseus)
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[18:59] He was probing the boundaries of the Mire after the recent activity. It was after all the chief place where Achyon was being confronted from. The zealots to the north and east had been quiet as of late. No doubt grown lax after retaking the Mines and choosing to sit on their laurels. Now though? He almost laughed at what was stopping him.

A skeleton? He'd seen a lot of things within the Mire but skeletons weren't one. This was interesting and perhaps he could gain the chance to prob them for some information. The Achyonite raised his hands, each one scarred with old wounds, and spoke aloud to the skeletons.

"Calm down freak, I'd like to parley a bit before I put you in shackles and lashed your bones to the engines of progress." Was that his version of being polite or even non-hostile? It was hard to tell but given his wry smirk? He was probably like this to everyone.

"So, how about it? Don't you wantto know what exists beyond this fetid swamp?" Baiting with his own information to get what he wanted. It was an age old strategy but would it work on one of the animated dead?

In truth the fact they were a walking skeleton sent a shiver down his spine. It was exciting! Perhaps if he could bring her back to Nidaz the old man would finally get started on training him?
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Osseus knew what the outside was like, she had been out there plenty of times and gathered ores from places she likely wasn't supposed to be. Nearly every time she entered a cave she had a sense of danger. The young boys tone was not helping the fact Osseus was feeling particularly punchy.

In a flash she was emanating dark energy, her bones radiating that magic that the mire and the monsters were known for.

"No, I don't" she said, telling only a half truth. She didn't need to know because she already did. "I'll drag you back to be eaten and used for parts after you're dead. Last chance child. Run away or lose the privilege" the skeleton had very little idea what the monsters really wanted with people. She was more of a robber but others seemed to have uses for bodies.
(Osseus)
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[18:59] Well, he had tried to level discourse with the monster. It was more than he did for most of their kind. Still, his gaze shifted past the skeleton looking into the shadows perhaps to see if other such monsters were around. The flushing of dark magic caught his attention. Jerking his gaze back to the Skeleton as they delivered a final warning.

"I've ran once from these land and it took a monster greater than you." As they spoke they slowly shifted their stance. The Jack-booted thug's boot's dug into the soft earth of the cursed Mire. Grooves digging in and finding purchase as the youth got a bearing on the skeleton. They would have move fast and hard if they wanted to bring the beast down. Let along capture it as a gift for Nidaz.

His hand reached high over the gun in its holster. She could see the Justicar was primed and ready for action. If she'd ever seen a gunslinger she could even realize what was about to come next! "Stick'em up Chickadee." The words left his lips as his hand shot down like a snake, gripping the revolvers hilt, it cleared the holster in second, before one could blink purple plasma was hurtling downrange at the skeleton.

They'd square up with a gunslinger of the Empire. Now all that remained to be seen is if they could withstand the teen's firepower!
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Against the young boy Osseus had no doubt that this at least wouldn't be the death of her, but that only meant that it was all the more important to give everything and drag this kid back to the deeper part of the mire.

"No thanks, catch!" with that the skeleton conjured up a bone spear, a long string of bones with a carved arrowhead like bone at the end. The moment it fell into her hands she launched it out towards the young thing.

If they didn't want to run, that was perfectly fine. It only meant she wouldn't have to chase him down if she is to win.
(Osseus)
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[18:59] Lyulf Yayle says, "You should block more Chickadee."
[18:59] {Won Dangerous RPB against Osseus}
[18:59] ** Lyulf Yayle has inflicted an injury upon Osseus. ("Temporary Injury", "Temporary Injury", "Temporary", "Duration: Medium (2 days)") **
[18:59] Lyulf's shots were fired and as the arrow of bone came his way? The youth quickly rolled out of the way. His footing having been spot on to deal with this sort of threat! Now though he was left with a skeleton whose very body was a weapon and who wielded the shadows that clung to this place.

With a jolt his free-hand came to his chest pulling out a handful of flairs that he immediately broke over his knew. Lighting the chemicals within and sending their flaming pyres of light out into the dark. They'd not fight in the proffered domain of a foe. Still they found something strange the more they fought the skeleton.

Namely?

This body of bones wasn't trained for warfare at all! His reflexes were honed and his shots landed with a deadly accuracy. In truth as the battle continued he was finding more and more that the skeleton was most likely some form of... Non-combatant?

Those thoughts left him with a head-ache; distractions in battle were deadly and as his focus faltered he saw the skeleton leap through shadows. In surprise his gaze flipped side to side. It wasn't until he felt a bone club hitting him in the back that his focus! Were they trying to trick him into letting his guard down!

Cunning monsters.

In a moment of fear the boy's hands came to his chest and he tossed a trio of throwing knives at the skeleton. Each plinked off her skeletal body but what didn't was the thick chains that followed those knives. A distraction to keep her focus on him as the cold-iron chain that'd wrapped around his waist had slipped to the ground and slithered across the grass.

"Got'cha."

It was all the warning she got as those chains wrapped around her skeletal legs. Snaking up her frame and coming to wrap her arms tight to her chest. Shackles opening and closing upon her wrists and neck. Binding her. He was shocked! They'd actually caught the skeleton.

"Now, looks like you don't have a choice." He brought his boot up and placed it firmly into the skeleton's chest. Kicking them down to the ground the young soldier took the moment to get some distance form them. They were dangerous in and of themselves and he wouldn't let his guard down again.

"Speak, what do you know of the Mire's intentions? How many of you freaks are their? What's the blood for?" His questions came like bullets' and with each of them the cold-iron chains seemed to tighten.
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Osseus knew little to nothing of who she may have been back before she was this thing and when she was a fleshy being like everybody else. What was clear though is that they weren't a fighter. Nothing in her body seemed to know how to move or to fight in the slightest. Her movements were sloppy and randomized, simply running around rather than trying to properly dodge.

Above that, the idea of actually blocking simply hadn't occurred to her before. All of her is made of the same stuff, why bother blocking the chest bones with the arm bones? It only made sense though, to at least try and divert some of the damage away from the dead center of her frame.

She hoped someone would show up, that someone from the mire would wander through and give her a hand but she knew that was far too much to ask. She'd hardly made friends and she just missed out on some big fight, she should've known better.

Thoughts compromised with her own mistakes and embarrassment, she hardly noticed the chains before it was far too late. She tried to roll away, rip her legs out before the chain closed but it was useless. Instead her frame rattled against the dirt, and continued to make a loud scene between the chains tightening and her own bones rattling about in response to her thrashing.

Being on the ground it wasn't surprising to have a boot come down on her ribs. The questions though simply had no answers. "No one tells me anything, would you tell your lowest ranking soldiers important information?" her tone seemed little more than careless, as she was well aware she could do little more at this point.
(Osseus)
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[18:59] His hand came to smack his own forehead. He also knew shit about what the higher ups of Achyon actually intended. Of course he should have expected that sort of answer from some random skeleton. "Fuck." He'd went through that effort for what? Some Mire civvie or militia who'd no clue what fighting even was.

He didn't know what created these skeletons but this one was probably just some house-wife that'd been brought back by a cruel god for their amusement. His arm seemed to grip the chains as they lashed her. Pulling on them for a moment, testing his hold on the skeleton. He could take them back to Nidaz but...

Then what? Even know as he wielded the cold-iron he could feel it draining the skeleton of their mana. It was a powerful deterrent and he could even feel some of that mana coursing through the chains and into his hand. It was a foul source of power and his lips turned downards into a sneer. He didn't like that effect, not one bit. If he was to keep using cold-iron for its mana sapping effects he'd have to figure out some way to keep that same mana from flooding into his own circuitry.

His gaze shifted downwards towards the skeleton. They were at his mercy and he had the option of killing them outright. His plasma caster came down and simply hovered over their empty expression. Wouldn't it be a mercy? Wouldn't that simply solve the skeleton's hapless existence and free them?

"..."

Silence was all that came and then? That soft purple glow within the Justicar dimmed. With a twirl of he brought the plasma-caster back and holstered it with style. His boot left her ribs and he simply turned and started to walk away. With a snap of his fingers most of the cold-iron that'd wrapped around the skeleton slithered off her and returned to wrap around his waist.

"Tell Torgon or Blight that I've repaid my debt."

He'd not kill the monster, he wouldn't even bring them into the Empire for experimentation. No, he'd been offered a scrap of mercy once before by the leaders of the Mire and he would extend that showing in kind here with Osseus.

They lived to see another day.

Let's hope Lyulf doesn't live to regret it.
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Osseus felt the mana leaving her being, sapping out her ability to output mana and even to some degree the life force that held her bones together. The connections felt loose, like a good kid would send the skull rolling off her spine. Rather than that though the pile of bones was simply released, and even from the majority of the chains.

All that remained was a small loop, only requiring a small handful of links that wrapped around her spine and tangled itself among a couple of her ribs. It almost looked as though it simply got stuck on it's way back the owner but it's effects were still felt rather strongly for the moment.

"Who are you?" she asked, slowly rising to her feet as her body attempted to reassemble itself, all the bones of her body very slowly crunching and moving back into their original allignments. She did her usual check that all her ribs and knucklebones were present, noting one towards the bottom missing.

Looking around herself she saw the thing in the grass and reattached it to herself. The bone attached to the spine like a magnet to a fridge, prompting her other ribs to wriggle and move in response and even vaguely rattle her new ribcage accessory.

The lack of death was appreciated, but it was hard to tell them this debt was settled when she had no idea who it was that they had this debt with. An additional problem would present itself if she tried to look for Blight who she'd never seen or heard of before, but Torgon was easy enough.
(Osseus)
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[18:59] He didn't slow down his pace and for a moment he looked likely not to answer. Then he brought his hand up and waved to them, not turning around but simply waving backwards.

"Lyulf, the one who shot at them not long ago."

With that? The Gunslinger of Achyon's footfalls took them further and further away. He'd not learned how to control a skeleton very much nor had he gained any useful information but he had practiced with his cold-iron. Even more importantly?

He'd paid a debt.
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Lyulf narrowed his gaze at Ky. They looked familiar...
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Lyulf Yayle asks, "Hey, what's your name?"
[18:59] Ky immediately recognizes this little shit.

"It's 'mocker of child soldiers' to you." His tone is entirely deadpan.
(Ky)
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[18:59] Lyulf's eyes seemed to brighten as recognition sparked in their eyes. This was the guy who'd beaten down Peitho! The youth's hands came together as he brought his fist into an open palm.

"Its about to be ass-kicked by child soldiers." The youth didn't usually fight around Star Fall but no one was around. It would be fine right? His gaze seemed to look about the near empty campus. It was quiet, when his gaze returned to Ky a smirk touched his lips.
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Ky clucked his tongue,

"I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of a fight back." To simply retreat would likely have him pursued. To fight... would be a bother. To disarm Lyulf, he simply intended to make what he wanted - a battle - impossible.

"Why don't you try robbing people outside the academy again? Might get a better fight that way."
(Ky)
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[18:59] Lyulf's smirk faded; what were they some kind of coward?

"So, you're just going to stand there while I kick your ass?" He walked across the space between them. His gaze was narrowed upon Ky, ready for a trick. After all he'd dealt with tricks before. He stopped a few short feet away. "I wasn't robbing people. I was looking for brigands, bandits, monsters. Foes of the Empire. Not that you'd understand that."

His fist rocketed outwards once they were close. If Ky wasn't going to fight back? Fine, but Lyulf was going to make them pay for it. Just like they'd hurt Peitho.
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Ky straight up gets smacked in the jaw.

The force of the impact sends him flying backwards, possibly knocking him right off his feet in the process. He tumbles, but manages to regain his footing. It stings. But he's felt worse. He considers how many bruises it'd take to satisfy Lyulf. He considers the alternatives. There's still too much of his pride left to burn--

"..."

The teen adjusts his hat. Satoshi was waiting for him inside. Probably wondering what was taking him so long. Throwing the headwear aside- Ky stands back up on his feet and starts marching back towards Lyulf.

"You can hit harder than that."
(Ky)
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[18:59] He shook his fist after the hit; it was a good on! He could feel the reverberations in his hand. Snaking up his arm with a painful twitch. He watched as people passed, without a care in the world. His focus then returned to Ky.

He watched as they stood up. There was that passion, that will, and yet the boy just kept asking for a beating? Once they got closer the boy simply took a step forwards and pulled his head back. Bringing it down into a fierce headbutt. He was aiming for Ky's nose. "Fuckin' fight you coward." His arms shot out and gripped the youth by the lapels, keeping him on his feet. He didn't hesitate to pull his fist back and strike the smaller teen across the jack once more.

"You're fuckin' insane!? Or an idiot but that's fine. I'm willing to break yo-" He stopped at that point. What had Aegiz said before? Keep yourself in control, don't become a monster. With a grunt theboy simply pushed Ky away at that point.

"Get lost, you're not worth my time. Ever go near Peitho again though and I'll break you." With the threat delivered the young Jack-booted Thug simply glared down the boy. Waiting for them to either make a move or get out of his way and leave.
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] Ky was willing to keep this up for hours.

There's a dead light in his eyes. Like a switch had been flipped from his usual everday demeanor to something sinister. As though all the pain in the world had become just another feeling to him, another emotion rather than a physical reaction - an emotion he was going to master just the same as one mastered their anger or sorrow. By not letting it dominate him. By asserting himself as something greater.

There's a dead light in his eyes as the world spins on around them; ignorant or uncaring as these two youths undo themselves. Ky marches forward, staring Lyulf down---

"KRK!" Until his nose is busted. The headbutt lands square on, with Ky making no effort to so much as lean away from the attack. A trail of blood smears the air, splattering to the grass below as Ky recoils backwards. But it isn't over- Even as Lyulf is grabbing him by the robes and yanking him back for more Ky is pounding his foot into the dirt, refusing to give more than an inch----

"KAH!" Another punch, dead on. He feels dizzy. For all the pride and toughness he had, the human jaw was simply not made to be punched. He couldn't feel his chin anymore, but he could feel what was probably a chipped bit of tooth on his tongue. He spits it out with a bloody hack.

Even so. Ky has the nerve to lock eyes with Lyulf. Blood drooling down his face from his now broken nose across his face and down his neck. All that's heard is his slightly strained breathing, before he articulates through bloody teeth-

"Is this... all that you've learned...? They teach you... to hurt people..." He cracks a bloody grin- "But you can't even do that right?"
(Ky)
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[18:59] Lyulf wasn't what you'd call a peaceful young man. He wasn't even what you'd call an aggressive young man. No, he was a violent youth and his anger was as quick to come to the surface as a pot on the boil.

This was someone who'd done nothing to him and yet their very existence was starting to irk him. They just wouldn't stop getting up. They wouldn't get out of his way. What was probably the worst for Lyulf was that they wouldn't fight back.

There was something wrong with them. Something off in their mind and it was clear that while a light shone in Lyulf's own hues? Nothing shined out of Ky's it was as if they weren't a person. Just something masquerading as one. With cold dead fish-like eyes.

"You just don't know when to SHUT!" With the shout his fist was brought into Ky's gut. "THE!" That same fist pulled back and then came into the young man's rib-cage. "FUCK!" Another blow to their body followed, Lyulf felt something in his hand break. It was painful, excruciatingly so, he'd probably broken something in his hand. "UP!"

The shout was the end of it for Lyulf. He was done speaking to Ky, he was sick of even FIGHTING with Ky, he just wanted to boy to stop talking. He wanted them to shut up and stay down. His fist came hard and struck the boy one last time in the jaw.

He let go at that point. If Ky stood fine but somehow he doubted they'd stay up. Lyulf's hand came to his chest and he tightened their fist. Yes, he'd broken something in his hand. Yet, his anger was roaring and he'd failed to quench it.

"..."

He doubted they'd get back up very fast after that one. Lyulf had been a miner before he joined the Military. He was young but he'd lived a hard life of menial labor before he became what he was. He looked at Ky and then turned away. Leaving the boy where he was.
(Lyulf Yayle)
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[18:59] * You have been awarded 1 Roleplay Points! *
[18:59] Have you ever come to understand someone by the ridges of their knuckles? Have you ever gained an understanding of someone -- of their motivations, their desires, their beliefs and values -- by the way it feels to punch them? Probably not. In the history of man; there'd probably been only a select few who felt they truly understood something, had acquired some intimate knowledge through combat with another.

All Lyulf and Ky had come to understand of each other was hatred.

Ky does not escape from a single blow. He endures. Lyulf's punch knocks the wind right out of him, Ky gasping and doubling over and leaving him vulnerable for the next punches - one after another - as Lyulf's knuckles break against his ribs, Ky feels the uncomfortable snap echo.

Even so- he raises his face to meet Lyulf a moment later, a mad look in his eyes! Some misshapen grin, some maddeningly amused grin -- so entertained at Lyulf -- so engulfed in his theirinsanity as it spiraled off each other, further and further down. Something had broke in Ky's head, probably right after that first hit to the face. That grin is wiped out a second later.

POW!

The force of Lyulf's final punch drives through him, as Lyulf undoubtedly followed through with all his punches, Ky would be driven to the dirt. It's enough to finally bring his knees to a crumple, his feet giving out underneath him and his entire body following as his face is slammed to the dirt.

"..." There's nothing from Ky. He's clearly alive at least. But finally shut up. Doubled over on the ground, trying to get back to his feet... but he can't this time. He knows that there exists a third option; but he's unwilling to take it yet. He had made his own bed, it was time to lay in it for now.
(Ky)
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[18:59] Lyulf Yayle says, "Fuck, this place is dead."