of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares

d7f amber bosch 🌿 tris
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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 11, 2023 21:53:48 GMT -5

Quote

Post by d7f amber bosch 🌿 tris on Mar 11, 2023 21:53:48 GMT -5

Like thunder, the boltmares arrive before lightning strikes. A storm brews, and it answers to many names. Calamity, nature, obstacle, death sentence. Each time the horses are called down from the heavens, there is a purpose for it. A reasoning behind the madness.

A great purple tsunami washes across the sky just after the break of dawn — a swirl of static and indigo blurs and crackling sparks of energy. Little fireworks, little disasters. This is a supernova / this is a foreshadowing of death.

The pounding of hooves almost sounds like a thing you’ve made up in the moment; trying and failing to make sense of the sight unfolding before your eyes. Shapes form, horses rising up on their hind legs, kicking at the air beneath them, breaking apart clouds. So easily, they can tear the sky asunder.

The mountains are normally peaceful this far down, but like an omen, the boltmares descend from their territory in the aether with a singular, simple goal.

To prove that there is much more than the sky that they are capable of destroying.

boltmares attack karl ; spiked blunt
WGeRvNvvPlspiked blunt
9.5

boltmares attack johnny ; spiked blunt
spiked blunt
7.5

spiked blunt·spiked blunt

Last Edit: Mar 11, 2023 21:54:33 GMT -5 by d7f amber bosch 🌿 tris

all my girls got their lace and their crimes

calla
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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 11, 2023 23:48:12 GMT -5

Quote

Post by calla on Mar 11, 2023 23:48:12 GMT -5

► ► ►

Karl dreams of Aed and his steeds.

Like this -

He stands on the edge of a steep cliff and watches the twin beasts carry the body across the water below, the wake of them churning up the waves and pushing them against the rocks.

Aed's body is dark-haired. Strong.

Karl steps sideways and lands beside it, travelling miles in seconds, the way that you only can in a dream. Everything is easy and oil-slicked around the edges. The water holds him like a crib and he floats on his back while the stars bleed down in semi-precious fragments, landing like glass shards in his hair and in his skin. The waves lap against the sides of his face and up against his temples, gentle in spite of the roughness of the currents.

Something solid brushes against his shoulder, whisper soft against his skin. Karl turns his head to the body of Aed; Prince of the underworld, fire-god, soul kindler, he of the wind-swift horses. Only, it's not quite him. Aed of legend has skin of magma and hair of smoke. He is the son of the Great King, something not-human, something dead and rotting and still beautiful. He is storm beaten; killed and reborn twice.

The body beside Karl is none of these things. It's dark-eyed, smirking at him, and the angles of its face seem to sharpen as the water rocks them both back and forth. There's something unnatural about the way its limbs are tangled in the twins' reins.

The mouth opens, and Karl glances to it instinctively through a lavender haze. There's a dim light building in the back of its throat, beating a terrible bloody red in time with the waves.

The horses whinny and toss their heads back, sending a spray of saltwater that Karl instinctively tries to raises his hands against. It's like he's moving through syrup though, he's too late and it splashes across the side of his face.

When he looks back, the not-Aed is gone. The body's disappeared and the surface of the water is smooth as glass. The reins are wrapped around Karl's foot instead, the battered leather's wound twice and tied off and reflects the violet of the sky, mottled like a fresh bruise.

His body feels heavier.

Where is your rider?

Karl opens his eyes.

The horse stomps down directly on his chest.

He howls from it, curling around the hoof and then the empty air that it leaves behind. He twists to his side and holds his fists to the spot, gritting his teeth into the rocks and the gravel and bone shards. His ribs creak beneath Johnny's stitches, it feels like he's fracturing from the inside.

One hand scrabbles for the scythe while the other tries to convince his lungs to start working again.

"Johnny-" He manages to get out, winded and half-strangled.

There are clouds around them, little shocks eating away at his fingertips, the wispy legs of the horses cover his vision, he can't tell if Johnny is still on the ground or not.

The dream's still stuck to the little hollow places of his skull, gathering like dust and lingering, he can feel the water on his skin and still see the ultraviolet lights in the sky. He can taste the salt of the waves but there's something else there now too, something metallic resting behind his teeth. He can't remember if the body's eyes were Johnny's or Dyno's. He can't remember if the hair was Calamity's or Yael's.

His knuckles scrape along the length of the scythe when he makes it to his knees, shoulders hunched in over his chest, palm against his sternum, he rocks against the pain and swings the blade wide through the clouds.

karl attacks boltmares | scythe (glaive)
ElMB_WJT4kglaive
13049 -- Shallow Cut on Neck -- 4.0 damage

glaive

Last Edit: Mar 11, 2023 23:49:22 GMT -5 by calla

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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 12, 2023 20:23:23 GMT -5

Quote

Post by max jones d6 ☠️ kiah on Mar 12, 2023 20:23:23 GMT -5

► ► ►

He hadn't left- yet.

I wasn't sure for how long he would stay. In the back of my mind a voice screamed at me that he would bolt the minute I close my eyes. That he was a flight risk, just like Flynn had been for so long. Though, I don't think my tactics with Flynn would work with Karl, not after the last time he tried to kiss me-

Suddenly I become very aware of the feeling of Dyno's breath of my cheek, his lips branding me with Yael's blood. I had no idea what that was about, but just the thought of his proximity made my skin crawl, and my bones chill. I sincerely hoped that was the last time I saw him. But if I did see him, I would make it a point to try and rip those stupid lips from his face. It would be a two birds with one stone kind of situation. I would be robbing him of his ability to throw around that stupid smirk that seemed cemented onto the features of his stupid- kind of gorgeous???- face.

Ugh, I was so messed up for thinking that. He was a psycho. He was deranged and rabid and he should be, in a perfect world, fucking dead ass ugly. But this world was far from perfect, where villains were stunning, another blow to the mind of their victims. And Dyno wore that beauty with a confidence that would have even been alluring to the straightest man in the whole of Panem.

Fuck that dude.

Rolling against the dying petals of cheery blossoms I face Karl's sleeping form, watching as his shoulders rose and fell. How quickly our alliance had fallen. I hadn't planned to lose them so quickly. I needed them, after all meat shields were no good when they were dead. I had thought that Yael would have lasted the longest. She was a career. She was brutal. She was a killer. She was a threat and in the end I think that was the reason why she was dead by day 3-

A mechanical beeping pierces through the air. A low pitch hum that had me climbing to my feet, my katana in hand. I'm about to wake Karl when I see a flash of silver, a parachute landing a few feet away. Quickly I snatch it up, not bothering to read who it is for. Inside was a gun- hold up.

This was game changing.

Instantly, I am pulling it out, feeling the weight in my hands. It was awfully light. A bit too light.

From the corner of my eye I notice a piece of paper that had fallen out with the gun.

Sorry this is not real...

Of course it was a fake. Sighing, I return to my spot on the ground, using my seelie as a light. It was a note from Flynn and Teddy. He misses you, it was signed. I was sure my being here was sending the boy crazy. I could only imagine what he might be going through. Flynn Garner didn't fall quickly, but he sure as hell fell hard. It had taken the young victor months to even admit to himself that he liked me. Then it had taken me being reaped for him to admit that his feelings were more than just a causal crush.

And things were messy and chaotic and toxic between us. There were so many secrets. So many lies and so much mistrust.

Our relationship was far from healthy.

And Flynn knew what he was getting into that day when he invited me into his house, my confession on my tongue, my lips around his.

But he made the jump.

Who knew he had a thing for bad boys? You're welcome to those who come next.

At least, after all of this, I would be able to say that I was his first love.

A blood wrenching howl breaks through air, yanking me from my sleep. Instantly I am jumping to my feet, hand wrapped around my katana. I had no idea what was going on. Sleep in my eye I turn to see Karl clutching at his chest, his eyes wide, his mouth caping in a silent scream.

"Karl-" I start, but am cut off when a hove breaks through the clouds of electricity, slamming into my face. The crunch of bone sounds like thunder in my ears, my screech of pain mirrors the howl that had filled the air only a few moments ago. My vision turns black, and stars dance like angry little shards of glass in my vision. One hand moves to cradle my face, blood dripping between my fingers, into my mouth. My nose felt like it was on fire, each breath causing an inferno to rip through my skull.

"Son of a bitch!" I howl once again, spitting blood into the dirt.

Re-adjusting my grip on my Katana I lunge for the beast, I could taste iron in my mouth, and I aimed for its throat.

[ Johnny attacks boltmares with katana ]
HjbCoQUUz|sword
[ miss :( ]

accuracy:
sword
[ severed ~~leg~~ head-- 10 ]

sword·sword

Last Edit: Mar 12, 2023 21:18:18 GMT -5 by max jones d6 ☠️ kiah

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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 12, 2023 21:23:03 GMT -5

Quote

Post by d7f amber bosch 🌿 tris on Mar 12, 2023 21:23:03 GMT -5

Life moves like this; blade in the skin, hooves against a face. It is a lightning flash of rage and hurt and static crackling in the air. Over everything, you can hear it. Doom sounds like your favorite song, the first one you danced to, just as much as it sounds like the monster that used to whisper beneath your bed.

Logic doesn't live here. The horses stampede across the sky, shaking their manes and sending arcs of purple light sparking upwards, fizzling out into embers as quickly as they appear. This is the end of everything. A quick blur of light, a moment of purpose; and then the long night. There are voices beneath the whinnying, little lives playing out, rushing towards the end, but it does not change the way this tale unfolds.

Calamities bow to no men.

They could swing their weapons a thousand times — but, here, the storm will always remain. One of their heads meets the edge of a katana, toppling off with a swish and a hiss, breaking apart into indigo tendrils swirling like omens on the wind. In the absence of form, thunder and lightning dance.

And they have yet to yield to any mortal.

boltmares attack karl ; spiked blunt
dTZnAftvfgspiked blunt
7.5

boltmares attack johnny ; spiked blunt
spiked blunt
7.0

spiked blunt·spiked blunt

Last Edit: Mar 12, 2023 21:23:41 GMT -5 by d7f amber bosch 🌿 tris

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calla
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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 12, 2023 23:15:33 GMT -5

Quote

Post by calla on Mar 12, 2023 23:15:33 GMT -5

► ► ►

The dream still clings to Karl, his chest feels concaved now and all he can do is wheeze. Johnny shoots up and slices through the neck of one of the horses. It dissipates with a hiss, leaving a trail of violet fog.

One of the remaining horses huffs in Karl's face. He can feel the prickle of electricity branch off from it. It's massive in silhouette, gathering itself to charge, kneading the ground and making a terrible thundering sound.

Karl finds his feet and steps back, using the scythe for stability and glancing wildly between the storm and Johnny and -

shit.

Johnny’s bleeding so bad that it’s gushing. It's falling from his face and dripping down from his chin, pooling on the ground like a red moon. It probably just looks worse than it is, that's what he tells himself, but the thing is that it looks bad. Karl darts away from the horse unsteadily, overshooting the distance and nearly colliding with Johnny.

Out of breath and aching, he asks jaggedly -

”Are you okay?”

Even though he’s obviously not.

What do people usually do? Tilt the head back? Forwards? If Johnny leans back then he’s going to swallow all that blood, if he goes forwards then it’s all just going to spill out. There isn't enough time to figure it out because there's a sudden whoomph and the horses are brushing past again, making his hair stand up.

The blood should probably stay where it was originally. That makes the most sense.

Karl's not normally squeamish. Can't be. One of the horses behind him finally charges and the force of it sends Karl directly into Johnny. He catches himself on Johnny's shoulder, he braces himself against the other boy just as much as he braces Johnny himself. It's a strangely symbiotic moment.

His sides burn, like his ribcage's being squeezed, "Sorry." He grits out, but they're being circled again.

Yael wouldn't have been this stupid.

He pushes himself off of Johnny and lashes out at the storm.

karl attacks boltmares | scythe (glaive)
ugJTfSQLCfglaive
13181 -- Shallow Cut on Cheek -- 3.5 damage

glaive

Last Edit: Mar 12, 2023 23:16:12 GMT -5 by calla

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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 12, 2023 23:50:06 GMT -5

Quote

Post by max jones d6 ☠️ kiah on Mar 12, 2023 23:50:06 GMT -5

► ► ►

The sword hits and more. The blade slices through tendons, muscles, bone, until there is nothing but air and the beasts heads slides off with a slick sounding thud. Before the head hits the ground it shatters, thick purple tendrils wrapping themselves around my body. I try to brush them away, cursing, they reach out to Karl.

Blood is still gushing from my nose and I try squeezing my fingers around the nostrils. Instantly, I grunt in pain, my fingers sending shots of pain across my face. It wasn't the first time I had broken my nose, however it was the first time my face had been smashed in my a giant fucking horse and I was sure the injury would not heal the same.

”Are you okay?” Suddenly Karl is by my side, almost crashing into me as he avoided the charge of one of the beasts that surrounded us. His face was tense, and his chest heaved heavily, jaggedly. I hadn't seen where the bests had struck him first, but the fresh blood on his chest gave-

"Your stitches," I say, spitting out another mouthful of blood. The gash on his chest must have reopened. The horse must have stomped him as he slept, did it break any ribs? From the pain that pulled at his mouth as he breathed through gritted teeth I knew that the damage was more than just split stitches.

A movement from behind and Karl is thrown into my chest, and instinctively I grab hold of him, trying to steady him as another one of the beasts lash out at me from the side. Teeth snapped next to my ear and I can feels its breath of my neck, electricity zaps as the vulnerable skin and I shrink away from it. The beast doesn't hesitate though, a look of vengeance burns in its eyes as it turns on me, kicking out with its rear. Hooves catch me in the chest, and the snapping of bone interlaces with the buzz of thunder.

A blood soaked hand grips at my chest as the air is knocked out of me. I almost fall to the ground, but Karls body is in the way and instead I crash into him, my shoulder knocking into the space between his shoulder blades, throwing him off course, his blade just skimming the horses coat. The two of us were being thrown around, and into each other, bodies colliding, blood smearing, bones breaking.

"I-I-'m sorry," I wheeze, desperately trying to remind my lungs how to work. They groan with resistance, refusing to obey.

Each breath cause my ribs to scream in protest and my nostrils to flare, which in turn cause my vision to blur from the pain.

Taking one deep, agonising, breath, I swing.

[ Johnny attacks boltmares with katana ]
MG|fSDxBp_sword
[ sc--4.5 ]

sword

Last Edit: Mar 13, 2023 0:20:58 GMT -5 by max jones d6 ☠️ kiah

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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 13, 2023 19:57:27 GMT -5

Quote

Post by d7f amber bosch 🌿 tris on Mar 13, 2023 19:57:27 GMT -5

Ruination is inevitable.

The earth will crumble, the sky will rupture, all life becomes bone. This is the sound of the snap; bodies tumbling into one another, waves of a dark sea cresting. The horses neigh, the thunder roars — not all melodies are kind ones. When the beasts glare down at the mortals, their eyes are furious, aflame with purple, manes sparking with energy. There is no reason for this / and this is all that could have ever happened.

It was always meant to break like this. Marrow, hope, will. The fragments are carried on the wind, rustling like dead leaves, whispering dark truths into ears that dare to listen. There is an exchange of lightning and steel, man and monster cry out in unison, but the storm keeps raging. A flash lights up the sky; a silhouette of damnation. Even in shadows, you can see the horror.

And it can see you, too.

boltmares attack karl ; spiked blunt
gXPVAa7ow9spiked blunt
8.5

boltmares attack johnny ; spiked blunt
spiked blunt
9.5

spiked blunt·spiked blunt

Last Edit: Mar 13, 2023 19:58:18 GMT -5 by d7f amber bosch 🌿 tris

all my girls got their lace and their crimes

calla
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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 13, 2023 23:38:34 GMT -5

Quote

Post by calla on Mar 13, 2023 23:38:34 GMT -5

► ► ►

The horses batter them worse than any storm ever has. Johnny's blood falls like rain, the softness of the sound bracketed by the rumbling of thunder and hooves.

"Your stitches."

"It's fine."

It's not.

Karl swears he can almost feel the skin splitting again. He moves around the sensation as gingerly as he can, but being tossed about doesn't do much to stabilize his chest. He'll have horseshoe-shaped bruises come tomorrow.

The whole thing happens next like a cascade. Or like a domino course. One of the horses kicks Johnny, which sends him into Karl and pushes him forward. The scythe goes first, falling in a clumsy arc, and Karl follows it, stumbling forward directly into the path of the herd.

The biggest of them slams directly into his shoulder, he spins from it and there's a sudden terrible pop that cuts through the air and makes his blood run cold. The pain of the impact sets in a few seconds later and he groans as his left arm goes limp.

Dislocated, then. Wonderful.

He doesn't have the spare moment to even try and pop it back into its socket, not when the horses are crackling again, fizzling endlessly like their marrow is nothing but tv static. The air tastes like lightning. Karl can't cradle his arm without letting go of the scythe and the weight of it hanging there is agonizing. His arm pulls on his chest and tears at the stitches, and the sting of that only amplifies the pain in his shoulder.

He holds the scythe one-handed instead, grip unsteady.

karl attacks boltmares | scythe (glaive)
odUjBtKQ|Cglaive
13099 -- Deep Gash on Right Thigh -- 8.0 damage + 1 blades

glaive

Last Edit: Mar 13, 2023 23:39:09 GMT -5 by calla

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of energy and endings | day 4 | johnny & karl v. boltmares Mar 14, 2023 0:07:53 GMT -5

Quote

Post by max jones d6 ☠️ kiah on Mar 14, 2023 0:07:53 GMT -5

► ► ►

I'm on the ground. It's a mistake but my body is being thrown around like a hot fucking potato and I can do nothing but allow the ground to catch me as I fall. The impact causes the temporary clot that had formed in my nose to be dislodged, a new wave of blood gushing onto my hands make the grip on my katana weak. It was too much blood. It pooled on the ground and I knew that if I didn't do anything to stop the flow soon that I would bleed out- and that would be bloody embarrassing.

I turn in time to see one of the beasts crash into Karls shoulder and instantly I knew something was wrong. The angle didn't seem right. It was kind of like the times I tried to pull an arm from its socket- you see it was easier to cut that way. You didn't have to worry about cutting through bone. Dislocated.

I try to scramble to my feet but I cop another hove to the face, forcing me onto my back as I cradled my cheek, a whimper on my lips. But that was nothing compared to the excruciating pain that exploded in my abdomen, my whimper turning into a gasp as I fought the urge to pass out, my vision turning back. Above me one of the horses made of purple thunder rears back once again, its angry snarls land on death ears as I can hear nothing but the rush of blood in my ears and the rapid pounding of my heart.

One hand reaches for my stomach, instantly it feels warm and sticky as blood pools around the area that had been shredded by iron hoves and searing electricity. I try to speak, rolling onto my side, but nothing but a gasp of air escapes my lips, my fingers desperately looking for the handle of my katana. I must have lost grip somewhere between the blow to the face and the impalement of my stomach.

Finally my fingers find the hilt and I clench my fists around it so tight that my knuckles turn white. Another beasts rears before me and I throw everything I have into my attack. "I'm going to- to gut you," I croak, the pathetic threat fuelling the fire.

[ Johnny attacks boltmares with katana ]
Yq1WFVZweisword
[ gutted horse -- 8 ]

sword

Last Edit: Mar 14, 2023 0:44:18 GMT -5 by max jones d6 ☠️ kiah

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