vatheon | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Zelos and whoever finds him
Where: On the island at the beach, waaaaaay far down the beach, trying to avoid sharing his thoughts
When: All day and well into the evening
Style: Any is fine
Status: Open!

[This month was already shaping up to be Zelos's worst yet here in Vatheon. Not only had that illness curse knocked him out for way too long, his own stupidity had lead to not only him making an idiot of himself - that he could handle and often did on purpose - but brought to light some things he was not prepared to deal with, so when this curse displayed every single morbid thought or memory that crossed his mind, he decided to do just as his roommate had done and get the hell out of dodge.

Unfortunately, Vatheon is a small enough bubble that the Chosen had a hard time actually getting away from people. The furthest cranny he could find, and thus where he'd rooted himself, was the beach up on the island and so the day finds him pacing the beach, having discarded his shoes in favor of walking barefoot on the sand and idly picking up shells, trying to clear his mind of anything in particular. He's managed to keep his thoughts on the sand and the surf so far, with the occasional thought of Altamira's warm sun or brilliant fireworks.

We'll see how long that'll last.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Shizuo is getting really irritated - more so as he witnesses that image. He knows what he did hurt Zelda, he doesn't need a reminder. His bubble reports that he was doing it for her safety, but the words are quick and irritated. Shizuo wants to throw something at Zelos, and that desire runs across his bubble.]

You think that was fun for me? You think I wanted that? To make her upset like that?

[Damn it, he can't have this conversation. He's beginning to get angry. Even his bubble is beginning to quiver. Shizuo turns away from Zelos - and then starts walking away all together. Fuck this conversation, his bubble reads. Shizuo digs in his pockets for his cigarettes.]

Of course I don't think it was fun, I think it was idiotic and unnecessary. If someone needs you, they need you and that's it. All you did was make her cry and for what? So your little boy toy wouldn't pitch a fit? Maybe the problem isn't you, maybe it's him! Ever think of that?

[Zelos is not a stupid man. He's well aware of who Shizuo is dating and the likely reason why he made the choice he did. Zelos was there when Zelda came home with Sola's broken body and Zelos was the one to sift through the emotional wreckage. Zelos also heard the rumors. All this flashes through his bubble, carrying Sola's body, making the post, each and every crying or worried face in response that could all be traced back to Izaya. As far as the Chosen is concerned, both Sola and Izaya are sick, jumping off a roof like that to manipulate people, only Sola's just a kid. What excuse does Izaya have? Mental illness at best, and that just screams help.

Mostly, though, Zelos is just pissed because Shizuo was able to walk away. He'd come to the same crossroads with Tsubaki and instead of doing what was probably the noble thing and making a hard but clean break, he'd passed it all off as a joke. He couldn't do it. Her desperate face on the feed wavers in Zelos' bubble for just a moment before being replaced with Shizuo's irritating face.]

You either crawl back to her on your hands and knees and beg for forgiveness or you fight me right now like I know you're itching to because otherwise you're nothing but a spineless shell of a man.

Edited 2012-03-14 05:49 (UTC)

[At that, Shizuo turns back around, glaring. His bubble is tossing around words very quickly, vibrating with the rage that's building. Zelos doesn't understand - doesn't know him or Izaya and shouldn't be making any sort of assumptions. He knows Izaya fucked up royally and Shizuo still carries around that guilt - he doesn't need to see Zelos' stupid bubble reflecting what Shizuo already understands.

Shizuo believes that what he did was for the best. Short-lived, yes, but if he hadn't felt that Zelda would be safe, now, then he would have never reentered her life. In his opinion, remaining in her life while it presented a threat would have been selfish - his bubble explains this as Shizuo approaches Zelos again, but he says none of it.

He doesn't want to fight Zelos - immediately, he thinks of Zelda and how disapproving she would be of this, how it'll probably hurt her, but he can feel that familiar rage building within him, the desire to make Zelos shut the fuck up before he can say any more. It's not about pride - Shizuo would beg for forgiveness, if Zelda wanted that, she's that important to him - but it's about tipping the scales in such a way that they can't be tipped back. It's about being in the center of that familiar creeping anger, when his body responds without his conscious mind. Shizuo's reputation as an automatic fighting doll stems from his body's tendency to act on it's own.

He doesn't even say anything, as angry and guilty and upset as he feels over all of this. His bubble cycles through these emotions and then becomes blank as Shizuo aims a punch with all his force at Zelos -

to shut him up.]

[Zelos knew the punch was coming before Shizuo threw it and spins out of the way, drawing his sword in a quick motion as his coat flares out dramatically around him in the spin. He smirks wickedly at the blonde, flipping the short sword in his hand as his bubble remains alive with images from various battles, tactics and plans scrawled across the rapidly shifting scenes.]

Well well, aren't we a big boy?

[It had been quite some time since Zelos had been in a real fight but after a journey like he'd been on, one doesn't forget the how of it. His eyes remain trained on Shizuo, waiting for the next move, calculating openings and knowing that the next blow would be harder to dodge, hard to predict, because if Shizuo's bubble is any indication even the bodyguard isn't sure how he'll strike next.]

[Shizuo hardly reacts to the sword. Weapons don't really frighten him - why should they? He's accustomed to being as close to immune to pain as a human can get. He had been shot with bullets before, and what did he do? Get up and walk, like it wasn't a big deal.

It has always been a weakness of Shizuo's, that he can't think rationally, properly - or really at all - during his enraged moments. But maybe that would work to his benefit, now. After he misses his punch, his bubble reports that he's pissed off, but it goes blank as he moves again - body making decisions without any real input from his mind.]

Shut up!

[He charges at Zelos, full on, completely ignoring the sword, aiming another punch at Zelos' face, with intent to send him flying toward the water.]

[The second punch Zelos barely dodges, having to put up the flat of his sword against Shizuo's arm to knock his strike off course and then twirls away again, just out of reach. He'd almost been hit with that, and the next time the blonde's fist flew he may not be able to simply dodge unless he already had some distance.

His bubble shows him back flipping away over the sand a half second before he does it, hair fanning out in the salty sea air. He continues to smirk, wanting to egg his opponent on, hit every button, make this a fight where they could both go all out and forget anything important the damned thought bubbles could show, at least for a time. It's not that he has anything against Shizuo as a rule, though he does honestly hate that the other man made Zelda make that face, that same pained, martyred expression his mother made so often, and for a split second Shizuo's figure in his bubble is replaced by another tall man with red hair and Zelos' smirk turns ugly.]

Might as well go all out, right? You think you can take the Great Zelos on without a plan? Feh!

[Composure all but shattered, Zelos makes a run for Shizuo, sword drawn back for a strike.]

[Shizuo isn't paying attention to Zelos' thought bubble. He's too busy getting pissed off and thinking that the way Zelos narrowly avoided him is a little like Izaya. Which makes him angrier. Zelos is quick, and Shizuo bubble wants to know when he suddenly became the Great Zelos.

It reports that he wishes they were near a street sign or something, the split second before Shizuo reacts.

He isn't the kind of fighter to back down. He doesn't even try to dodge the oncoming assault with the sword. Instead, he charges forward as well, ready to meet Zelos head-on. If they are going all-out, then fine. Shizuo isn't going to hold back, either. His goal, barely expressed in his bubble given the lack of true forethought, is to use his momentum to send Zelos to the ground. He completely ignores the sword and potential for being sliced open in favor of just running foward, body primed for impact.]

[Clearly he was always the Great Zelos, Shizuo simply has yet to acknowledge it.

Zelos whirls aside again at the last second, using the pommel of his sword hilt to come at Shizuo from a side angle, attempting to knock his sunglasses off while still keeping himself from a full on punch or grapple. His thought bubble simply shows the sunglasses, and then goes blindingly yellow, just like the sun.]

[This is a frustrating fight, already. Shizuo makes a grab for Zelos as he pulls to the side, to no avail. Shizuo doesn't expect for the sword to target his shades, and so they're knocked off fairly easily. He hooks around for another punch, ignoring that his glasses have fallen.]

[Zelos kicks off the ground right before he gets into Shizuo's reach and takes to the sky. Literally. Behind him, a pair of brilliant goldenrod wings materialize and he gains entirely more height than a simple jump would allow as his thought bubble zooms up with him, still the same blinding yellow as the sun as that is Zelos' plan, make Shizuo lose him in the bright light above and come down from behind, boot firmly planted into the back of Shizuo's head.]

[Shizuo is pretty sure flying is cheating, but whatever. He can't keep track of Zelos in the bright light, thanks to Zelos' convenient plan of knocking off his shades - and Shizuo is therefore caught at the back of his head, as Zelos planned. But a mere kick isn't going to ground him; he hardly feels it. Shizuo stumbles only a little before bending under the pressure and spinning around to grab Zelos' leg and, with a frustrated grunt, hurls Zelos by his leg in the direction of the water.]

[That was not something Zelos had expected. He'd thought Shizuo would be blinded for longer than a few seconds, but here he was being skipped like a stone across the water, flailing to get some semblance of control over his trajectory. He manages after a moment or so, though not before having traversed a great deal of surf. He's surprised to find this is sort of fun. With Shizuo's unpredictable nature, Zelos is forced not to plan ahead as he usually does but to change tact and try and think in the moment, work on instinct and reflex. Composing himself briefly as he floats there over the water, Zelos takes flight again, straight back at the blonde on the beach.

He'll have to be careful now. If how far Shizuo threw him is any indication, an actual landed blow could actually injure him, crystal or no, but somehow that just makes it more exciting.]

[As the fight continued, Shizuo's rage wore off and he became a little bit more decisive about his actions. Rage was intense, but temporary, and rationality eventually took over. He had, up until that point, had somewhat of an upper hand over Zelos, as his movements were unpredictable and he was able to spring on him without warning. As he became less angry and more thoughtful about what he was doing, Zelos was able to see Shizuo's thought bubble express the desire to grab or punch, and this gave Zelos more of an edge.

Shizuo didn't mind that trade-off. He really wasn't out to hurt Zelos, and the more rational he became, the less likely it was that he'd accidentally do something he regretted.

By the end, neither are severely wounded, though Shizuo had taken his share of blows. More than anything, he's tired in a way he hasn't felt in a while. Zelos is quick and flashy, and Shizuo hasn't had to deal with that kind of a fighting style since Izaya.

His thought bubble is now slow, surfacing one-word opinions about the fight and asking - sunglasses? - because Shizuo can't seem to find where they wound up during the fight.]

Happy?

[He doesn't look at Zelos as he asks, instead still staring down the beach in hopes of finding his shades. There's no real attitude behind the curt question, though - he's over that by now.]

[The fight had raged on for quite a bit longer than Zelos was used to going these days. He has a great deal of stamina, of course he does, but Shizuo is just so strong and despite the crystal he can feel the bruises on his torso, back, and arms starting to form, throbbing and tender, as he lays spread out on the sand trying to recover. He grins ruefully to himself, amused that mere days earlier he'd yelled at Lloyd for doing the exact stupid thing he'd just done.]

Yeah, surprisingly.

[There's no animosity in Zelos' tone to Shizuo now either. The blonde's just trying to make his way through life as it comes, just like Zelos is, and who is Zelos to question his choices? Did he prefer that Shizuo had found some other way to work it out? Of course, but they're all adults here and Shizuo's going to do what he needs to, regardless of Zelda. His bubble flicks brief images of Shizuo, then Zelda, then just a bright but muted pink.]

I knew you were strong, but damn.

[Shizuo finally finds his shades and picks them up, blowing on them to dust them off. Luckily, they aren't broken. He puts them back on and then turns his attention to Zelos.]

Yeah. I get that a lot.

[Or he used to, before he came to Vatheon.]

And you're quick.

[He means both in body and mind, and his bubble reports on the similarity between Zelos' fighting style and Izaya's fighting style. Shizuo digs in his pockets for his cigarettes.]

Hah! Well, I gotta be careful my pretty face doesn't get marred~♥

[Laboriously, Zelos makes himself sit up, wincing slightly at the bruises under his clothes.]

Look, no hard feelings, but there's no reason for you to disappear on her.

[Shizuo takes out a cigarette and lights it, taking a long drag before responding. His thought bubble protests Zelos' point - it had felt necessary at the time - but he doesn't voice that.]

I'm not, anymore. It's over. I've already talked to her about it.

Well why didn't you say that in the first place?! I thought you just left and that was that!

[Geeze Shizuo, this wouldn't have been necessary if you had just communicated! Zelos's thought bubble is a cranky squiggle, though it's more cartoonish. Clearly he's not all that upset.]

You didn't ask, you just started getting onto me about it.

[Shizuo scowls a little, but like Zelos, he's not too annoyed over it. He knows he's not exactly rational when he gets angry, and so it's no surprise that it didn't occur to him to have a sit-down talk about the situation with him.]

I just can't stand seeing hunnies get hurt, that's all.

[With a wince, Zelos rises to his feet completely, cracking his back theatrically.]

Phew! I should work out like that more often.

[Shizuo would never lump Zelda under the term 'hunnies,' his bubble reports - but he gets it. He knows Zelos didn't like seeing Zelda upset - just as Shizuo didn't like being the one to make her upset.]

I'm always around.

[If Zelos needs another fight, that is. Shizuo is training with Serph and that is a good stabilizer, but a little extra practice on the side wouldn't hurt...especially since Zelos' style is similar to the fighting style for which Shizuo has never had patience.]

Yeah, me too, if you need to blow off some steam. I've been told my face is so annoying it makes people want to punch me on sight.

[He seems to think this is quite funny, but... yes, he's been told this, if the purple clad ninja girl in his thought bubble smacking him around is any indication.

With a small glow at the crystal on his chest, he makes his wings vanish. He doesn't bother telling Shizuo to keep it quiet about those. What's the point, these days?]

[Somehow Shizuo isn't surprised by the image of a girl beating Zelos around. He gives Zelos a nod in acknowledgement, flicking ash off of his cigarette.]

Thanks.

[And since there really isn't much else to do, Shizuo decides to leave. His clothes are a little worse for wear after the fight; he should probably change out of them so that he doesn't look so rough.]

Guess I should head back.

[He's about to do just that, but then turns to Zelos once more.]

Hey, Zelda invited me to the next cake day. I'm coming this time.

You better, it's her turn to cook!

[He grins at Shizuo, letting him go as he turns back to the ocean, seeming much more chilled out himself, though he can't quite banish the grin at the mental image of Zelda covered in flour and pouring batter into a pan with her tongue sticking slightly out the side of her mouth in concentration. It's not a memory, just speculation on that next weekend, but the image is pretty damn cute anyway.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(no subject)

no subject

no subject

no subject

very rusty at fight scenes, just fyi

They aren't my strong suit at all so no worries

no subject

no subject

Short post is short but Zelos has a plaaaan

no subject

Pretty sure if Shicchan grabs him, it's game over so feel free to snag him whenever

Does this work?

Perfect! Though I think after this maybe a round of "this is how the fight went" paragraphs?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject