Post by Mini on Oct 19, 2021 20:50:07 GMT -6
"A man?? No, it wasn't-- I didn't-- Wait do you really think that I would-- Okay, so listen, maybe it was kind of a demon, technically speaking, but-- Argh! I don't have time for this, so please, just let me--"
With everyone talking almost all at once and all eyes on her, the girl had been very distracted. These people were all... a lot to take in. It was such a strange, assorted mix of individuals that made no sense to her at all. She had very quickly ranked them in order of immediate danger and tried to move as far away from threats as possible. That, plus the considerable amount of blood loss, lead to her making a grave mistake. It was a rookie mistake. It was such a stupid mistake.
She took the blind man for granted.
No amount of excuses could change that one, simple fact. She wasn't thinking straight. How could she, with the current state of things?
Through a strange series of events that almost happened in slow motion, the boy reacted very swiftly and moved to knock the blind man's staff out of her way. He wasn't quite fast enough, but he at least took the brunt of the hit and deflected it so that it hit her square in the shoulder instead of straight in the chest. It happened so quickly, though, that she was entirely unprepared for it. That was also another stupid mistake. If she had been prepared for it, though, would that have even made a difference? Weaponless, armorless, and more or less defenseless, she lost her balance and seemed to fall backwards in slow motion. Why was the ground so far away?
"No fair," she mumbled in what almost sounded like a pout as she glared at the blind man, knowing full well he wouldn't see it, but she hoped he would at least sense some animosity.
When she hit the ground, she found herself staring straight up at the shattered remains of the roof. Her eyes lit up when she saw it - almost three-fourths of a beautiful tapestry that had once hung proudly right behind the shrine. The bottom looked as if it had been ripped off or weathered away, and it was quite dirty from exposure to the elements and the partial roof collapse, but parts of it were still easy to make out. The tapestry depicted the back of a man sitting down with his haori jacket spreading outward, melting seamlessly to form a vast mountain range. Both arms of the man were outstretched. With his right hand, he seemed to be repelling a terrifying looking dragon or monster that was rising up from a horrible storm. With his left hand, he seemed to be calling out to several different animals. Much of this part of the tapestry was missing, but a rabbit, a monkey, and an ox were among the animals present.
"Ox... rabbit..." she mumbled to herself, then cursed. "Damn it. I was right," she whispered as she stared straight up, ignoring everyone else in the room.
Devoe, looking confused as ever, stared back and forth from Akiko to Satoshi to Hikaru. "Right? Right about what?" Devoe asked, taking a step closer to the girl lying on the floor.
"Everything," she whispered as her eyelids began to flutter. She grunted, shook her head, and attempted to sit up. She pushed herself up on one trembling arm and looked the group over. Her eyes lingered on Hikaru. She smiled at him, or at least tried to - it looked more like a drunken sneer than a smile. "Give me your names and I... I'll... give you..."
At which point, the girl's eyes rolled back and she promptly passed out cold once more.
Devoe blinked, staring at the unconscious girl. "Great. She's clearly out of her mind. Does somebody want to explain to me what the hell is going on here and what we're supposed to do now??"
With everyone talking almost all at once and all eyes on her, the girl had been very distracted. These people were all... a lot to take in. It was such a strange, assorted mix of individuals that made no sense to her at all. She had very quickly ranked them in order of immediate danger and tried to move as far away from threats as possible. That, plus the considerable amount of blood loss, lead to her making a grave mistake. It was a rookie mistake. It was such a stupid mistake.
She took the blind man for granted.
No amount of excuses could change that one, simple fact. She wasn't thinking straight. How could she, with the current state of things?
Through a strange series of events that almost happened in slow motion, the boy reacted very swiftly and moved to knock the blind man's staff out of her way. He wasn't quite fast enough, but he at least took the brunt of the hit and deflected it so that it hit her square in the shoulder instead of straight in the chest. It happened so quickly, though, that she was entirely unprepared for it. That was also another stupid mistake. If she had been prepared for it, though, would that have even made a difference? Weaponless, armorless, and more or less defenseless, she lost her balance and seemed to fall backwards in slow motion. Why was the ground so far away?
"No fair," she mumbled in what almost sounded like a pout as she glared at the blind man, knowing full well he wouldn't see it, but she hoped he would at least sense some animosity.
When she hit the ground, she found herself staring straight up at the shattered remains of the roof. Her eyes lit up when she saw it - almost three-fourths of a beautiful tapestry that had once hung proudly right behind the shrine. The bottom looked as if it had been ripped off or weathered away, and it was quite dirty from exposure to the elements and the partial roof collapse, but parts of it were still easy to make out. The tapestry depicted the back of a man sitting down with his haori jacket spreading outward, melting seamlessly to form a vast mountain range. Both arms of the man were outstretched. With his right hand, he seemed to be repelling a terrifying looking dragon or monster that was rising up from a horrible storm. With his left hand, he seemed to be calling out to several different animals. Much of this part of the tapestry was missing, but a rabbit, a monkey, and an ox were among the animals present.
"Ox... rabbit..." she mumbled to herself, then cursed. "Damn it. I was right," she whispered as she stared straight up, ignoring everyone else in the room.
Devoe, looking confused as ever, stared back and forth from Akiko to Satoshi to Hikaru. "Right? Right about what?" Devoe asked, taking a step closer to the girl lying on the floor.
"Everything," she whispered as her eyelids began to flutter. She grunted, shook her head, and attempted to sit up. She pushed herself up on one trembling arm and looked the group over. Her eyes lingered on Hikaru. She smiled at him, or at least tried to - it looked more like a drunken sneer than a smile. "Give me your names and I... I'll... give you..."
At which point, the girl's eyes rolled back and she promptly passed out cold once more.
Devoe blinked, staring at the unconscious girl. "Great. She's clearly out of her mind. Does somebody want to explain to me what the hell is going on here and what we're supposed to do now??"