Yang Xiao Long (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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genessia2018-01-04 06:28 am
solar_flare) wrote in genessia2018-01-04 06:28 am
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WHO: Yang Xiao Long, Prince Sidon, Raven Branwen, Garrus Vakarian, open to the others she invited to wait out the storm
WHAT: Yang pursues the slippery thieving mage onto a frozen lake, which turns out about as well as one would expect. Afterward a ragtag gathering of weirdos hangs out in her apartment to wait out the blizzard.
WHEN: January 2nd, 2018
WHERE: Fayren -> Genessia City: Regency 404
The pursuit of Etshan had proved more difficult than Yang expected. The only details she had for him was a name and a crime: magical robbery. She'd polled a few stores to see where he'd struck, and couldn't get much in the way of a description. She hadn't even known if Etshan was a woman or a man in the beginning. It was sheer luck that put her in the right place at the right time when she saw the blandest person in the world through the window of a scroll shop, waving his hand before the shopkeep shuffled off and returned with an armload of scrolls. Her eyes kept trying to slide past the man who was holding out a sack for the blank-eyed shopkeep, but she kept forcing herself to look at him. Some sort of enchantment to avoid notice? It sure would explain why no one seemed to have many details for Yang to go on.
She went after him. It was definitely satisfying to see the wide-eyed surprise on his face just before her fist rocketed into his jaw. He went flying, hitting the wall and landing on the floor in a groaning heap. But when Yang went to grab him, her fingers slid through nothing, and she heard the thump of running boots over the shop floor.
Illusionists were so obnoxious. Yang ran after the footprints that appeared in the snow, the image of the mage dissolving the moment she turned away. The wind was starting to pick up, and it wouldn't be much longer before the storm descended, but she had time enough to settle this. If she let him get away, it would take a miracle to find him again, especially now that he knew she was looking for him.
Etshan was fast, and very much determined not to let Yang lay a hand on him. He dove into crowds and tried to maneuver into buildings where she couldn't see his tracks, but there was always something to watch or listen for. Someone who stumbled or spilled their drink, the drip of melting snow where there shouldn't have been any dampness, a growling dog... She just had to pay attention. Eventually he gave up on trying to find refuge in town and fled into the woods. Yang moved after him. She was so close to nailing this guy, and if she could just get out into the open, she wouldn't have to hold back for fear of being too reckless with her speed and strength.
He gave up on the invisibility when he turned to throw a dagger at her face. She knocked it aside with her metal arm and gave him a fierce stare. Who did this jerk think he was? He paled at her threatening countenance and ran that much further, plunging into and through a snow-choked hedge. Yang crashed through it as well, and her foot nearly shot out in front of her. Whoa...! She put her hands out to maintain her balance as she slid, and realized she'd just stepped out onto the shore of Fayren's frozen lake. Uh...it was frozen all the way through, wasn't it? She tested her weight carefully with another step, and it seemed to hold. What was more, Etshan was running across the lake ice with seemingly no difficulty at all. He wasn't even slipping! That kind of annoyed her.
All right, then, she had a clear shot. Spreading her feet apart, Yang angled her body and pointed her gauntlet behind her. One blast, and the recoil sent her shooting clean and smooth over the ice. She wasn't about to fire at him; if she missed, it could break the ice and plunge him into the freezing depths, which could very well kill him. She'd just grab him and give him a good shake. She stretched out her hand to seize his cloak...
...And sailed right through him. She blinked, startled as her hands came up empty, and unsteadily spun herself around.
She realized why he had been able to run so easily across ice: it was another illusion, and she'd stupidly failed to notice something was off about his sudden agility when he'd been so clumsy before. He must have stayed in the hedge and cast the spell, and now he was--
A giant boulder sailed through the air, gracefully arcing straight for her. Apparently he could levitate items too. Yang scrambled back, just in time to keep from being crushed by the enormous stone. But even though it was just a foot shy from landing on her, it smashed clean through the ice, and deep cracks spiderwebbed beneath Yang's feet. She took a careful step back as the cracks turned to fissures.
She dropped.
The second she hit the water, it was as if someone had reached down her throat and forcefully ripped out her breath. She was completely sheathed in brutally freezing water. Frantically she grabbed for the surface of the ice, but when she tried to pull herself up, it broke away beneath her hands. Again and again she tried, but the broken ice refused to hold her, refused to remain solid enough to get anywhere. She couldn't even draw breath enough to shout for help, or curse a certain stupid mage who had shamefully outsmarted her.
* * * * *
While Yang was experimenting with becoming a human/popsicle hybrid, her apartment had been prepared to receive company. As she'd said, the door was unlocked (had maintenance fixed that yet?), and as the power was still stable, it was nice and warm. The gas fireplace could be turned on with a flick of a switch, and hot air blew through the vents in the other rooms. There were flashlights and games set out on the table, an enormous pot of simple but savory beef stew simmering in a slow cooker, and a note that read "Make yourself at home! :) --Yang ♥"
She'd be back soon enough, and with a shark-like prince in tow. In the meantime, guests were welcome to help themselves to anything in the fridge, or to pick out an empty bed and pile of blankets if they wanted to rest.
WHAT: Yang pursues the slippery thieving mage onto a frozen lake, which turns out about as well as one would expect. Afterward a ragtag gathering of weirdos hangs out in her apartment to wait out the blizzard.
WHEN: January 2nd, 2018
WHERE: Fayren -> Genessia City: Regency 404
The pursuit of Etshan had proved more difficult than Yang expected. The only details she had for him was a name and a crime: magical robbery. She'd polled a few stores to see where he'd struck, and couldn't get much in the way of a description. She hadn't even known if Etshan was a woman or a man in the beginning. It was sheer luck that put her in the right place at the right time when she saw the blandest person in the world through the window of a scroll shop, waving his hand before the shopkeep shuffled off and returned with an armload of scrolls. Her eyes kept trying to slide past the man who was holding out a sack for the blank-eyed shopkeep, but she kept forcing herself to look at him. Some sort of enchantment to avoid notice? It sure would explain why no one seemed to have many details for Yang to go on.
She went after him. It was definitely satisfying to see the wide-eyed surprise on his face just before her fist rocketed into his jaw. He went flying, hitting the wall and landing on the floor in a groaning heap. But when Yang went to grab him, her fingers slid through nothing, and she heard the thump of running boots over the shop floor.
Illusionists were so obnoxious. Yang ran after the footprints that appeared in the snow, the image of the mage dissolving the moment she turned away. The wind was starting to pick up, and it wouldn't be much longer before the storm descended, but she had time enough to settle this. If she let him get away, it would take a miracle to find him again, especially now that he knew she was looking for him.
Etshan was fast, and very much determined not to let Yang lay a hand on him. He dove into crowds and tried to maneuver into buildings where she couldn't see his tracks, but there was always something to watch or listen for. Someone who stumbled or spilled their drink, the drip of melting snow where there shouldn't have been any dampness, a growling dog... She just had to pay attention. Eventually he gave up on trying to find refuge in town and fled into the woods. Yang moved after him. She was so close to nailing this guy, and if she could just get out into the open, she wouldn't have to hold back for fear of being too reckless with her speed and strength.
He gave up on the invisibility when he turned to throw a dagger at her face. She knocked it aside with her metal arm and gave him a fierce stare. Who did this jerk think he was? He paled at her threatening countenance and ran that much further, plunging into and through a snow-choked hedge. Yang crashed through it as well, and her foot nearly shot out in front of her. Whoa...! She put her hands out to maintain her balance as she slid, and realized she'd just stepped out onto the shore of Fayren's frozen lake. Uh...it was frozen all the way through, wasn't it? She tested her weight carefully with another step, and it seemed to hold. What was more, Etshan was running across the lake ice with seemingly no difficulty at all. He wasn't even slipping! That kind of annoyed her.
All right, then, she had a clear shot. Spreading her feet apart, Yang angled her body and pointed her gauntlet behind her. One blast, and the recoil sent her shooting clean and smooth over the ice. She wasn't about to fire at him; if she missed, it could break the ice and plunge him into the freezing depths, which could very well kill him. She'd just grab him and give him a good shake. She stretched out her hand to seize his cloak...
...And sailed right through him. She blinked, startled as her hands came up empty, and unsteadily spun herself around.
She realized why he had been able to run so easily across ice: it was another illusion, and she'd stupidly failed to notice something was off about his sudden agility when he'd been so clumsy before. He must have stayed in the hedge and cast the spell, and now he was--
A giant boulder sailed through the air, gracefully arcing straight for her. Apparently he could levitate items too. Yang scrambled back, just in time to keep from being crushed by the enormous stone. But even though it was just a foot shy from landing on her, it smashed clean through the ice, and deep cracks spiderwebbed beneath Yang's feet. She took a careful step back as the cracks turned to fissures.
She dropped.
The second she hit the water, it was as if someone had reached down her throat and forcefully ripped out her breath. She was completely sheathed in brutally freezing water. Frantically she grabbed for the surface of the ice, but when she tried to pull herself up, it broke away beneath her hands. Again and again she tried, but the broken ice refused to hold her, refused to remain solid enough to get anywhere. She couldn't even draw breath enough to shout for help, or curse a certain stupid mage who had shamefully outsmarted her.
While Yang was experimenting with becoming a human/popsicle hybrid, her apartment had been prepared to receive company. As she'd said, the door was unlocked (had maintenance fixed that yet?), and as the power was still stable, it was nice and warm. The gas fireplace could be turned on with a flick of a switch, and hot air blew through the vents in the other rooms. There were flashlights and games set out on the table, an enormous pot of simple but savory beef stew simmering in a slow cooker, and a note that read "Make yourself at home! :) --Yang ♥"
She'd be back soon enough, and with a shark-like prince in tow. In the meantime, guests were welcome to help themselves to anything in the fridge, or to pick out an empty bed and pile of blankets if they wanted to rest.
action;
[Just...just give her a second.]
[Cough cough.]
[Coughcoughcoughcoughcough.]
N...n-not the way...I p-pictured how this d-day would g-go...
[She gasps for breath as she remains leaned over, eyes closed, but with a wry little smile on her face just the same. He's lucky he got to her before things got too serious. She's lucky he happened to be close by when she fell in. She can't believe that she (a rookie) would make such a rookie mistake like that.]
[Yang freezes (even more than she already is) when she hears the familiar crackle of the ice.]
S-so, uh...we'd b-better move, huh...?
[Probably not the best time to bust out her semblance to start warming them up.]
action;
Say no more.
[sidon was determined, he would not let her die here, not like this. he started to move with her, he was trying to move as fast as he could on the ice, but it seemed like the webbing had caused a lot of it to become unstable. as he walked briskly, he stepped and another bit of the lake broke. his foot fell in, he toppled, but he managed to move so she would be on the ice while he fall back in to the water.
it was just for a brief moment before he popped out of the icy waters again.]
This... will not be the end of us!
action;
[Yang was conscious to realize how fast Sidon can swim. The water definitely doesn't seem to affect him at all, no matter how cold it is. She turns her head, still shivering, to look at the shore, and she weighs her options. Come on, think for a change...!]
[...And she's got an idea. It might not be a great one, but it's better than falling into the lake over and over again.]
T-take me under again.
[She turns to look at him seriously where she's sprawled out on the ice.]
I'll hold my b-breath. Y-y-you're faster...underwater...r-right? So we g-g-get to the e-end...I sh-shoot the ice...home f-free!
[She's not sure if her gauntlet or arm can shoot underwater, but even if they can't, Yang's ridiculously strong. She can punch the ice and break it herself if it comes to that.]
action;
she was right, though, he was fast and if he was fast enough then she would be fine holding her breath. he stared at her for another moment before nodding.]
I hope you know what you'll be getting yourself into.
[he moved back over to her, picking her up back into his arms the best he could.]
Hold your breath!
[and he turned back into the freezing waters, her form tucked in right against his chest. it was go time for him. he took off, speeding underneath the ice and he knew this was really the best way for them to get to shore safely. as they sped closer and closer, sidon did glance down to make sure she was still okay and still holding her breath.]
action;
Heh...I know you've g-got my back...!
[He wouldn't agree if he wasn't as fast as she thought he was. They just have to pick a good spot that isn't too close to the shore, since the ice is bound to be much thicker there, but not so far that they'll keep falling in. Yang takes a few quick, shallow breaths, before sucking down a big breath that puffs her cheeks.]
[Hitting that cold water again is like a punch to the gut, and she almost loses the breath she just took. She loops her metal arm around Sidon's neck and keeps her legs tucked in close, so he's as hydrodynamic as possible. She notices him looking at her, so she looks back, and gives him a thumb's up. So far, so good. Her chest is starting to burn, but they're getting closer. Her gauntlet slides into place over her arm. Hopefully she's got the normal rounds and not the incendiary ones, but whatever's in there, it'll at least give her punch an extra bit of zip in the kickback.]
[Once he starts to tilt up, Yang tightens her fingers and fires three quick shots. The water slows the trajectory of her bullets, but it's enough to crack the ice. She twists in his arms to plant a foot against his thigh, bracing herself, and slams her fist into the middle of that crack.]
action;
You did it, Yang! [sidon cheered, looking down at her. ah, it was then that he realized.... she was extremely cold, and would be freezing soon.]
We must get you inside, and dried up!
action;
[Her teeth are chattering, and she's clinging to Sidon as if someone glued them together, but she's grinning pretty big just the same.]
[She'll be mad about that stupid mage later. Right now, she's just glad to be out of the lake. She's far less worried than Sidon is about her health, and he'll see why once she can kick her aura into gear.]
Home, or s-somewhere closer?
action;
[he holds her tight as he begins to walk with her! he's definitely not letting her go, not until they arrive at somewhere warm.]