Dusk Heart

[schrodingerscockroach]

Ever wonder why we're here?

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[bluediligence]

I've been saying for a while now that you deserve a vacation, and I stand by it.

[ LET! HIM! REST! ]

[ after she's done trying her best to beat the shit out of him ]

[ she's in position by the time the countdown starts, her stance solid without being stiff. she knows this, without quite knowing how. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[I mean, friendship train is kind of a vacation?]

[His last vacation was dinosaurs versus robots.]

[And Wash is quite curious himself. He fought her before, but he knows that was a few years ago now by how she looks. Assuming they were still connected (and he doesn't think about not, that's not His Thing), and kept up the training, the fight will be a lot more interesting this go around.]

[He wonders if she got her confidence up.]

[Well, time to see and he's going to start moving forward along the pillars until he can get a clear shot at her.]

[bluediligence]

[ Helpfully, she doesn't seem to be … ]

[ Well. ]

[ She doesn't seem to be going anywhere? She's just tracking him, steady and focused and ready to move. ]

[ … And if Wash takes another step forward he might suddenly find himself tripping over something — one of her shield spells, cast silently, and almost, almost completely invisible, low down to the ground and at just the right size and shape to send somebody sprawling. The moment he stumbles — if he stumbles — she springs forward. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He wasn't actually expecting that. He knows the discovery of the magic is still fairly new, so who knows how much she's practiced that creativity.]

[So she actually gets him to trip!]

[Getting him to sprawl is a different matter, as he moves it into a roll to get his feet back under him again, but it gives her time to get close to make a move!]

[bluediligence]

[ HECK YEAH ]

[ And she's fast, too; faster than he remembers Aoko being. He'll rolls and she swings, no holds barred — for the wrist of his gun-hand. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[She's faster.]

[But he's still faster, moving his arm to go parallel with the staff, redirecting it to the side, but that's with his gun hand, so his other hand is empty as it comes up to palm strike her in the stomach.]

[Using just enough force to push her away.]

[She may notice he's grinning a bit.]

[bluediligence]

[ Oof! That knocks her back. But she rolls with it, literally, keeping a firm grip on her staff as she handsprings back to her feet. ]

[ Something semi-invisible and suspiciously shield like ]

[ BONKS HIM ON THE HEAD ]

[ Not super hard, just, bonk ]

[ And she darts in again, feinting a high strike but sweeping low for his knees at the very last second. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He feels the disturbance in the air from the shield more than sees it, ducking down for a very light bonk, but he's already in a half crouching position as she comes at him and really, the best move overall isn't to stay close, but just DIVEROLL to the side and be away entirely.]

[And now here comes the shot of the lockdown paint for her middle.]

[bluediligence]

[ She sees the shot coming, and with a quick burst of speed — and a diveroll of her own — she manages to avoid it. The shield zooms over to her, circling her slowly, only visible by the faintest of shimmers as it moves. ]

[ She doesn't waste time, immediately springing back into the fray. She probably can't win a grapple but she would absolutely definitely never win a firefight; she needs to stay close without letting him grab her. Except this swing is another feint, as well, Faito trying to quickly dodge behind him ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He notes the shield. Something that'd be very effective against most people, but he's fairly adept at seeing near invisible things it seems. Though he supposes fighting enough camo units do that.]

[If it becomes a problem, there is always blood, but he can track it for now.]

[He isn't making it easy, backing up, forcing her to keep up the speed to keep up with him. Less of a delay tactic to wear her out for her own good like last time, but instead merely how he is. Stamina is a strong point.]

[It also makes it a little easier to see what she's going to do. It's a good feint, a really good feint, but he's already reaching to grab her arm as she tries to duck around him.]

[bluediligence]

[ It's a good thing she's wary of his stupid long tall person arms, otherwise that might have gotten her

As it is, she grabs for his hand and uses it to handspring right up and over him, pushing off as hard and fast as she possibly can. Her shield swings around to cover her just in case he decides to shoot her right then and there ]

[ If he's weirdly reminded of Kaito's style, there's probably a reason for that. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[She definitely right to do so because he took a shot at the shield and there's foam expanding on the surface.]

[And it is familiar and there's that shield and he doesm't stop with one shot, firing off several rounds to cover the surface with sticky lockdown foam, and going to dive around a pillar while trying to hinder her vision.]

[bluediligence]

[ holy shit that's a lot of foam, holy shit he's fast ]

[ fine, that's fine, this is fine! She flips the shield with a thought, jumping up onto the side not totally covered in sticky foam goop, and surfs it up on top of the platforms ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Never doubt a super soldier's speed.]

[Or how much ammo heart can have because he sees that and doesn't even try to shoot at her. Instead firing more and more at the shield, expanding the mound on the bottom of it.]

[Trying to make it harder for her to stay close to the tops of pillars without scraping them.]

[bluediligence]

How much ammo do you even have?!

[ It's an offended SQUAWK from up top, because! Honestly! This is just ridiculous! She scrambles a jump from the shield and onto one of the pillars, crouching there behind the … is it even a shield anymore ]

[ it's more like a floating block of foam ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

Its a metaphorical space! [At least he's switching out clips, he's just not running out of them.]

[And that's interesting. He's moving and firing more, but he's shooting at the foam to expand out the wall of it, making it curve more. Curious how long it takes to make a proper dome out of it.]

[bluediligence]

[ He's shooting at the shield, not at her, but she still keeps it carefully between them, her body completely obscured now. ]

It's cheating! You're a cheater!

[ The shield won't last a whole lot longer. She wonders if it'll leave the cast of foam behind, like a paper mache balloon. But mostly she's listening, concentrating; following his movements with her ears rather than her eyes. ]

[ There's every chance that this could go wrong, but hey, that's all part of the fun! ]

[ One more shot, one more — and then she teleports right behind him, her staff already swinging ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

Orbal guns are infinite ammo and no clips and its what I got outside!

[And it will because that stuff gets as hard as a rock. Its very much a play to get her to act in one way or another. Trying to maintain the shield or let it go and do something else.]

[Then it goes and there's movement behind him and he's turning around, lifting an arm to block.]

[There's a Stutter as his gun turns to a knife, clothes to Dusk's usual, and there's a confused look as the force of the hit forces him to stumble back as his visage turns back to normal.]

[bluediligence]

[ There's a rush, a thrill of excitement — ]

[ a stutter, and suddenly it's not Wash anymore (or is it?), it's Dusk (is it?) in his Clover pink, what the heck ]

[ She's too late to stop her swing. So, yeah. That's HARD HIT, one that she'd kind of expected him to block, and she's so taken aback by whatever the hell just happened that she just, drops her staff and reaches out for him ]

Wash?! Are you okay?

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Oh, not attacking-]

[Okay, leaning against a pillar, shaking his head.]

Yeah, yeah, I'm just-

He's....awake?

[bluediligence]

Eh? Dusk is? But ...

[ That doesn't make any sense. ]

[ One small hand settles on his arm, and she peers at him in concern where she hit him - and then she JUMPS half a mile when the shield finally dissolves, leaving the cast of foam to smash into the ground. Or flop stickily all over the ground. One of those. ]

[schrodingerscockroach]

I...I don't know? [Looks very confused.] It was just a moment. It's. Weird?

[Definitely smashes into the ground and he goes rigid under her hand.]

...ah, guess that had to happen eventually.

[bluediligence]

[ Stares wide-eyed at the shattered remnants of the cast, then looks back up at him, blinking hard. Smiles weakly. ]

I, I am so glad neither of us were standing underneath that.

[ It would've hurt. ]

... Definitely weird. Uhm, did I hurt you? Super soldier or not, that was a good swing.

[schrodingerscockroach]

It can get pretty heavy after you get enough.

Hm? Oh, I'm fine. I'm very good at taking a hit. The bruise will be gone within the hour.

[bluediligence]

[ Hah. ] Yeah, I noticed.

[ She still looks Concerned, though. ]

Okay, good ... and hopefully you? Dusk? Hopefully you're okay out there, too. Your gun turned into a knife.