@fatebreaking : Kill Her. She blinks. She blinks again. No, she won't kill this woman. But she will kill you. She won't, the clockwork machinist thinks. Or at least, she won't immediately. And that is enough. The feather-clad woman before her is a monster person, like her. All the more reason to kill her! Kill the villain! But she does not. She must not. And while she is languidly arguing with herself, with that ceaseless tick-tocking inside her own head, and convincing herself not to be the villain-hero to kill this hero-villain, her mouth moves faster than her mind. After all, she has noticed something. Amidst the standstill. And she states it, as she states most everything, an observation, an observable truth. After all, she does not lie. ❛ you look really pretty right now. ❜ You cannot be flirting right now! Kill her! You damned wench of a machine masquerading as a human, do your duty as a hero or give up! But she is not flirting, and she is not a hero. In this moment, Ori is no more than an artist, appreciating the beauty before her, even if it might kill her. Hopefully it - she - Xayah - wouldn't.
The wind swept a scent of blood.
The raven's feathers fell silently , following a trail of dark droplets on the grass . Not once had she given up on life , not when she was left behind , not when she died , and she sure as hell would not let go of it now . And for better or worse , that called to flee from a dangerous situation with her tail between her legs .
THUD .
The Raven's back hit the trunk of a tree rather harshly , sheepishly sliding down and allowing herself to take a seat to assess the damage . It was bad , that much she could tell from the burning pain of her surface wounds , and the notorious lack of strength for her talons to keep her on good balance . She took a sharp breath in , which stung her ribs and only made her cough some blood onto her already dirty uniform . Stupid monsters .
Before another thought could form , an unfamiliar face appeared before her . And not a single moment to think was given to put the Vastaya on edge . A quick sweep of her hand plucked some feather daggers in the space between her fingers , groaning at the burning pain that the sudden movement took on her already damaged physique and holding them beside her in a threatening manner .
She glared for a few moments . One . Two seconds - A few more . The leaves falling filled the silence for a little . A moment to inspect the other , and surely for the other to do the same . And yet⸻ of all the things that the stranger could have said , there was not once a moment that she could have expected that to come out of her mouth . It left her speechless for a minute , and she might have laughed at the absurdity of it if only she were not bleeding at a consistent rate .
" You won't think I'm pretty when your throat is sliced in four . MOVE along . "
Her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence . A bluff , and not a very good one at that . Throwing those feathers would probably have one or two hit IF at all . Her muscles were weak . She had barely escaped . And yet , all her energy went to clutch those daggers as much as she could .
She had never given up before . And she would sure as hell not go without a fight .
