Fandom Star-Crossed Striders | HSR

[Serei2477]

Stonehearth, Biastea -- the Endless Pursuit
Afternoon
35 system hours until annihilation...

Thankfully the blonde woman was able to snap out of it in time to deliver a punishing blow to the beast. The three viridian arrows struck true, lodging themselves into the mighty beast and even severing its tail. He had to cover his ears as the quarry howled and staggered from the wound. Hopefully a wound of that size would have it bleed out, or for it to stagger long enough that Lark could get another blow.

Before he could get his hopes up, the wounded monster charged at Lark and managed to knock her into the air and winced hearing her thud against the floor.

Shit shit shit!

He formed knives in his hands and took aim at the beast quickly to try and keep it from killing Lark, but the beast didn't go to finish her off. Instead, the Quarry moved, the trembling growing louder and harsher.

It was trailing after him! And to confirm his thoughts, the cavewoman called out for him to run.

And so, he did. Or rather, he tried.

He moved to run, but the beast's jaw moved to try to bite him, forcing Lazuli to jump backwards or risk losing his whole chest and abdomen.

The teeth tore through the fabric of the front of the suit and managed to scrape just deep enough to draw blood. The fact that the beast managed to break skin and draw blood was enough to scare Lazuli. Just what kind of bacteria was in his blood now?!

The adrenaline allowed him to ignore the wounds. Lazuli kept moving, quickly throwing a knife at the beast's eyes to deter it long enough for him to recuperate. He threw another, and another, and another. He lept out of the way from another menacing bite just barely escaping from the beast's jaws once more.

Lazuli took a deep breath, aimed again, and this time aimed the knife at the beast's jaw. In that moment, the beast started to struggle, the frost of his blade immediately crawling from the struck area all the way down to the monster's toes. Then, it stopped moving, but it wasn't dead. The beast was shaking and the ice cracking with each movement. It wouldn't be long until it was free and ready to kill. The white haired man quickly moved to get a safe distance away from the beast, towards Lark.

"Kill it before it kills us, dammit!"

 

[Marlowe]

Noxsky Drowns, Biastea -- the Endless Pursuit
Afternoon
35 system hours until annihilation...

Aeons above, half a second slower and Lazuli would have been gobbled up by the Quarry. Lark watched in wonder as the man was actually able to stand his ground for the time being, assaulting the Quarry's front with a flurry of icy knives. The beast screamed in pain, though its high-pitched cries were halted as a veil of frost crawled over its skin and froze it in its tracks. Wait, the IPC asshole was able to freeze things with his knives as well...? Just who was this guy?!

Lazuli's cry jolted her from her thoughts, and Lark didn't have to be yelled at twice. Now that the Quarry couldn't move, it left its weakest spot wide open for a killing blow. Another of her spears whistled through the air and straight into the back of the Quarry's head. It pierced through muscle and tendon and ripped straight through the back of its gullet. The massive creature thrashed once again in pain, loose bits of ice tumbling to the ground as it staggered from side to side. Then, it heaved a sighing groan and fell to the ground, at last laying still.

Lark's breaths came in ragged gasps for air. She... she almost died. She almost died if it weren't for that damned IPC brat! She forced herself to straighten her back, wincing slightly as the world spun around her. Yet, even that came and went as her fear was steadily replaced with reluctant curiosity once she laid sight on the pale-haired man. She gave him a brief once-over. He was a bit torn up-- maybe bleeding a little bit --but he didn't seem to have any life-threatening injuries, at least.

"So. You're a Pathstrider as well?" she grumbled, putting on a stern facade to drown out the pain upon her features. Her hand absentmindedly drifted to rub her aching side as she furrowed a brow at him. "You were planning on telling me this when, exactly?"

 

[Serei2477]

Stonehearth, Biastea -- the Endless Pursuit
Afternoon
35 system hours until annihilation...

The beast was dead. Finally it was fucking dead...

Lazuli observed the beast's corpse and once he was certain that it was dead, he let out a sigh of relief. Good... He knew that the pain of his injuries would start to make itself known on the walk back. Not only that, but they'd be trailing blood if they were too careless; no doubt the blonde woman next to him would lecture him about that on their way back.

Speaking of the blonde woman, she had saved his life. He hated to admit it, but she had saved his life...

But he had saved hers in return. She wouldn't have shit over him.

He took a second to examine himself. The sleeves were torn and scuffed, but fixable. His chest, on the other hand, was irredeemable. His expensive button up was torn to shreds as was his vest and coat, leaving his chest and abs exposed to the cold. The scrapes from the beast's teeth had drawn blood, leaving crimson smears against his pale skin. His pants and shoes? Most likely torn and scraped.

Ugh. He liked this outfit too...

At the very least Lazuli was still able to walk.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted when his "trusty companion" spoke up, asking him if he was a pathstrider and why he never said anything.

"Were you planning to tell me? No, right? So why would I share that information with you?" He answered her in kind. "You came up to my personnel and I with so much cockiness and swagger, and yet when it was time to show your worth your spears did fuck all until I stepped in. Damn it all, now I have to report this to your captain and my superior..."

He could have swept this under the rug if they came back without any visible injuries or signs of a fight, but Lark was clearly wounded and Lazuli was not only wounded but missing the whole front side of his shirt. How the hell would they explain that?