Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy.

[analyzing]

Who: Draftees
What: Battlefield shenanigans + anything in between.
When: 12th -14th December.
Where: Underground Research Facility.
Summary: Violence! Fighting! ...and your temporary bouts of non-fighting too, if you like. You may want to label which day it is + the location in your thread title!
Rating: G to R?! Everything applies!

[For all your battle-and-in-between needs! Please refer to the modpost and the OOC plotting post for details and so forth! Don't forget to state the day (Day 1/2/3?) + location in your thread too! ♥]

Comments

[fabrecation]

[Luke was just about to jog ahead when the enemy was forced back by another arte, and that gave him quite an opening. The soldier kept its focus on Yuri, so he didn't expect the sudden stab to his back. He could only let out a few choked sounds before he fell to the ground, revealing Luke standing behind him with his sword raised and the girl's face pressed against his neck. Thankfully, the child had decided long ago to look away from all of it and just let whoever her rescuers are do the rest.

Still, Luke can't stop the cringe on his face from showing. Maybe Yuri would write it off as him still trying to recover from practically being sucker punched in the stomach.]

All right, let's go!

[The rest of the way looks pretty clear so far, so Luke shifts his hold on the girl, takes in a deep breath in an effort to clear that winded feeling, and run ahead again.]

[trueknight]

[... Yuri's seen a cringe like that before. The sort of look one gets when they're forced to do something they don't want to do, aren't used to doing or trained to do, or just find wrong. Something he's seen from people who aren't used to seeing death or killing -- or probably just people who are unsuited to be around it.

... There's no point in pointing it out or confirming that he's reading that look right for now, though. That would only serve to distract Luke, and the last thing that would be is helpful.

So, he'll just nod when Luke mentions leaving, following by keeping his pace a few steps behind him. Even if the road ahead seems to be a clear shot to safety, he won't be taking any chances by leaving both their backs open to any possible incoming enemies.]

[fabrecation]

[Thankfully, there are only one or two more run-ins that are easily taken care of. At least, physically, for Luke. Once they reach the Sector, Luke sets the girl down, and she looks at the two of them with a long look of gratitude before she turns and runs, and an older woman who looks somewhat similar to her runs toward the child and gathers her up in her arms.

Luke has to smile a little as he leans his hands on his knees and pants lightly.]

And these... are Malnosso?

[trueknight]

[Seeing the girl reunited with what he assumes is her mother brings a slight smile to Yuri's face as well, for a few moments. It's quickly replaced by a look of neutrality, though -- mostly because he knows there are many others waiting here, hoping to have a reunion like that with their currently unaccounted-for loved ones.]

... Apparently. It's a little difficult to associate them with some of the trash we've dealt with in the past, though. These guys seem a lot less ... evil.

[fabrecation]

It's a lot easier to think they're just... faceless things, huh? Maybe we're just thinking about them all wrong...

[Once Luke's caught his breath, he straightens up and stares at the citizens who are there, scared and nervous, some still looking for others who were left behind in the city. Even bad guys have people to love and care for and reasons behind their actions; at least, most do.

He purses his lips, then turns to start his way down the hallway. He just has to keep telling himself that all of this killing is for the people he's leaving in the safety of the sector.]

Let's keep moving! There're still a lot of them back there.

[trueknight]

Maybe ...

[... Or maybe these aren't the same people who used to taunt and insult the village, in the past. Maybe just seeing them having families and being helpless against the onslaught brought by the Third Party is just putting things into a different perspective for him.

... Dammit. Things like this were the reasons why he didn't want to learn to much about his enemies.

But there were much, much better times to think about this, so when Luke mentions heading back out--]

Right!

[--he follows. Who knows how many people are out there that still need their help? Malnosso or not, Yuri just doesn't have it in him to ignore the helpless -- even if some of them may be amongst those he swore to take revenge against. As almost conflicting as it feels to be doing this, his thoughts on the matter would have to wait, for now.]