raze & ruin // niko vs. karl

The boy alternate to Niko wields a mean looking weapon with a blade sharpened to a round point. There are only seven tributes left, so even as he talks about commonalities, Niko's sleep-deprived brain is working in overtime. There is no more room for peace. Their common enemy had taught him that.

Niko's blade slices into the arm holding the weapon. The boy withholds his screams which is a small solace to Niko. If he goes down, at least he won't go down screaming like Elm. One person's sobbing and howls piercing his ears at every moment is more than enough. There is no more room in his brain for another tribute's pain with Elm's dying noises already ricocheting around his cranium. He could even hear their voice now, clawing its way past their blood and through the humid air to curse Elm's final obscenities at Niko and Mirage.

No, he can't handle another death like that. At least the other tribute's words now seem to come from the same source as the familiar taunting which had plagued every other fight. It almost made it easier. Instead of a person with blood and thoughts, he's now just a character in Niko's sleepless dream. There's no screaming. There's just an enemy with a thesaurus of words which could no longer hurt him.

However, Karl's words still give him pause. He considers it for a moment. Making sure Mirage is not let loose on the world could be worth risking his life with another loose alliance. The thought is struck from him though as the curved blade comes swinging at him. He moves just in time for to avoid his neck flying off his body. Instead, the weapon grazes his shoulder and elicits a pained gasp from him.

That's when the canon goes off in the distance. It's a familiar sound now, almost welcoming. It's another step closer to home, but even better, it means that there's a one in five chance Mirage just died. Even if he didn't get to do the honors, seeing her face in the sky tonight is cause enough to survive this battle.

He points upwards with one hand before tapping a finger gently at his ear. "Hear that?" He asks, knowing full well the last six tributes could tell and were counting down the canons, "No way for me to know if you can show me where she is until I see the faces in the sky now, and I don't think I can afford to wait all day."

It's back to the taunting, the flirtation with death as if this is all a terrible play. Hopefully his dad has enough sense to cover the TV screen to stop his sister from watching. It still hurts to think of her watching him say the things he needs to say.

Raising his weapon once again he continues.

"I hope that when I see your face up there tonight, it'll be right next to Mirage's."

attacks karl with naginata (glaive)
ZVqwZp0gjTglaive
[Severed Right Forearm at Elbow -- 9 damage]

---

bean

[kaitlin]

A chill creeps through the humid air and latches itself onto the back of Niko's neck. Scurrying down his spine like a millipede late for an event, a shiver runs through him at Karl's words. He knows there's no one else who feels it because there's no one else around to watch the cool insanity in the scythe-wielding tribute's eyes. He matches Karl's stillness, raising his weapon in defense at the subtle horrors hidden behind the boy's voice.

Niko is no stranger to this insanity or to the desperation which fuels it. Before the keepers had thrown him in the detention center for dealing, he had seen it time and time again. He had been on the receiving end of punches from such people but before, but he had never faced down someone with such emotionless need who was also holding a scythe.

When Karl moves, Niko jumps in time. Their weapons clash together for a few noisy moments before the curve of the blade slides down and bites into Niko's thigh. The boy from eleven must be trying to remove his other leg from use.

He grits his teeth. At least the pain and resulting adrenaline is pulling him out of his sleepless stupor and to attention.

"I'm not sure what it is, buddy, but I'm not sorry if I hurt it's feelings."

He needs to make whatever it is angry. Whatever monstrous thing it is needs to be thrown off it's game. That's what the taunting is for, right? It's why Itzal said those terrible, terrible things, why Mirage would call out insults in her scientifically cold manner, or why Elm had screamed obscenities. The anger is why Niko would miss attack after attack and fail to kill who needs to be killed.

There's no more wincing as he strikes his opponent. The emotions weighing in his heart reduced to a dull ache rather than a searing pain holding back his weapon.

"It sounds like either I or it has to go, so does it need some time to make a will or what?"

attacks karl with naginata (glaive)
mHuHSaX2tXglaive
[block]

accuracy reroll
glaive
[Shallow Cut on Stomach -- 4.0 damage]

---

bean

[kaitlin]

Whatever it is must be hidden within the depths of the other boy's bag. From the way his hand instinctively clutches the bloodied sack at the mention of harming it, Niko felt the overwhelming urge to learn what was in that bag. Is it a muttation from the Capitol which bewitched the boy's mind? What if it is a dangerous weapon? Maybe it is a drug he had dug out of the ground somewhere which destroyed his comprehension skills. Hell, what Niko would give for anything like that right about now.

One thing is clear, though. There's only way to find what it is: to kill Karl and take the bag.

However, that was proving more difficult than anticipated. What had first seemed like an easier fight than any of the times Niko had faced off against Mirage was now becoming a war of blood loss. Who would die first from the small gashes they make on each other's skin after rounds of parrying and jabbing their weapons at each other.

The boy seems to become even more of a threat to Niko when it is brought up. His eyes seem to have lost their insanity and now have a more dangerous glint in them.

When the boy from eleven goes for Niko's neck, the scythe almost deals a killing blow. Instead, a slice of pain roars through his body and he can feel the blood beginning to seep out of him from another Karl-created gash. Niko could feel his vision clouding, the tiredness and blood deprivation in a constant battle with his adrenaline.

But he won't give in easily to a case who listens to voices from a bag. No, he has to make it home to Kat.

"Really? It's not going anywhere? I don't know, I might just have to take it off your hands for you."

This time, before striking at Karl, he lunges at the bag. If the boy is so intent to protect it, he'll shield it. Shifting his weapon sideways as he stabs forwards, he slices away from the bag and towards Karl instead. Hopefully the distraction works.

attacks karl with naginata (glaive)
0j2pD2A|_uglaive
[Deep Gash on Left Thigh -- 8.0 damage]

---

bean

[kaitlin]