afterlight, [ niko v thunderwings ] day 4

niko






































Ivy's face staring down at him from the sky was the final twist of the knife in Niko's head at the end of a miserable day. After her death and a shoddy funeral thrown together by a broken soul's crude handiwork, a freezing snowball had struck the back of his head and thrown him off his balance. A mysterious laughter had filled the air, taunting him.

He couldn't find anything of course. It must have been a trick to delay his progress up the hill, so he was determined to not slow down. He knew that if he failed to make it to the top first, the other tributes would catch up to him sooner rather than later.

The mountain's peak offered some promise of peace: if you make it to the top, you can wait for the others to kill each other down below it beckoned to him through the cloudy haze.

Especially after his argument with Itzal (that dick), a break from fighting his fellow tributes would be welcome.

After Ivy's face had disappeared into the night and the storm had once again maliciously chosen to soak deep into his bones, he had stared up at the rain for a while.

As the monotonous rainfall lulled him into a restful state, the day's events replayed in his mind. Itzal's ferocity and Mirage's emotionless fortitude had proven themselves to be stronger than Niko.

Silently, he speaks to his mother once again, just as he had at Ivy's bonsai memorial.

If you're watching, forgive me for what I have to become.

Hopefully Kat will understand too, if he makes it back.

---

The morning doesn't bring much comfort.

At first, he was transfixed by the sight before him. His mouth agape, the floating boulders were akin to a miracle. The light of the sunrise glowing over luminous bridges and the clouds of crackling purple mist appeared to be right out of a daydream.

But when the purple mist started to move closer, the hair on the back of his neck began to stand at attention.

He draws his sword, staring at the cloud, trying to discern what the numerous fluttering shapes could be.

Then something swoops from the sky and slices into his leg.

"Shitwhatthe-" he says, trying to swing his sword at it as the bug flies back into the approaching, viscously loud mass. He recognizes them now as the dragonfly-like creatures which had swirled overhead as he ran from the cornucopia.

He wants to run, but he knows he can't. There's no more room for peace in the world ruled by war. He learned that from Itzal and Mirage in the battle from yesterday.

Recovering from his initial confusion, Niko squares his feet and prepares to strike into the mass.

"Come get me," he yells into the cacophony, challenging them at their own deafening game, "I squashed a spider a thousand times your size just the other day, so you're going to make a nice snack for the pond fish!"

With the cheery thought of zapping the bugs with one of the large electric lamps set on the border of district five, he swings into the swarm, hoping he'll hit at least one of the monstrous bugs.

attacks thunderwings w/ katana
OzXPPXtuM_sword
[miss - he will in fact, not hit one of the bugs]

accuracy reroll
sword
[1052 -- Shallow Cut on Forehead -- 4.5 damage (Sword)]

---

niko






































doing a quick filler because today is going to be a bit busy.

---

As the Thunderwings dive at him, Niko jumps to the side, barely avoiding another attack. The trainer at the mutt station back at the training center had told him something about swarm-based mutts, but he couldn't quite place it. Hit from the sides, maybe? Or was it to avoid the sides and go right for the center?

All he knew was that he need to strike quick, and he needed to give a show so that he can avoid having more mutts sent after him for the rest of the day.

"Is that all you got?" He calls out into the crowd of dragonflies, coughing on the purple smoke.

"Hey, bugs!" he raises his sword to prepare another attack, waiting until he could find a larger than usual bug. "Come here so I can swat you!"

attacks thunderwings w/ katana
t6CcmefQhrsword
[1155 -- Shallow Cut on Cheek -- 3.5 damage (Sword)]

---

niko






































doing another filler because studying is destroying me rn

---

- kicks one of the thunderwings away as it does the sc
- swings sword a few times into the swarm
- coughs on the gas and thinks about how this is nothing like what he’d be smoking back home
- prepares to attack again: "Hey bugs, try a little harder! The gnats back home are scarier than you.". Boom, roasted.
- the gnats back home are, in fact, not scarier than these

attacks thunderwings w/ katana
3xVqPM|VOnsword
[]

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