psychoshenanigans | GRATIA // PSL

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GRATIA // PSL

So, here's what Irahl knows.

He's alone in a dark, cold cave. He has most, if not all, of his gear. No one is guarding his location. As he heads away from the spot where he came to consciousness, no one tries to stop him, and no one gets in his way. The few people he finds down there seem human, and not about to approach the nearly-seven-foot man that comes stalking out of the lower tunnels. Honestly, everyone here seems a surprised and a little astonished about his... Entire scene.

There is a way up. It's a maze of twisting corridors and confusing passageways, half of which feel too small for him. It's bigger and bigger groups of people, some of which scatter like schools of fish, and some of which have to be pushed through to get anywhere. It's climbing up into streets lit with dingy lights, graffiti-covered hallways, warehouses, weird holes in stone walls that may or may not be windows. It's alarm bells, it's people yelling at each other down the street. It's just an absurd number of stairs. A couple of people make an attempt to stop him somewhere, and it goes poorly for them.

Elsewhere, events are being set in motion where Irahl cannot see. But he's on his way out.

Eventually, more people try to stop him. At the end of another long stretch of Underground city, a group of official-looking folks are putting a real effort into blocking off the obvious exit, and some of them have weapons.

Down a side alley, into another tunnel, and then the space opens up into a... Plaza, of some sort? The floor is made of stone. The buildings surrounding it are made of stone and are hard to distinguish from one another. At at least the ceiling (also made of stone) is a lot higher than before. Cavernous. There's some kind of sculpture in the middle of it, some impressive feat of geometric stonework that gives the illusion of defying gravity despite weighing literal tons.

This is where someone finally catches him. Sounds have been echoing unhelpfully down every passageway, making it hard to tell if people are coming or going - but this series of quick footsteps comes from an upward direction before someone hits the ground about five feet in front of Irahl.

His clothes are different. His hair is better-kept. Maybe if the situation wasn't quite so tense, there'd be time to see the ways in which his face is different, the way his eyes don't have quite as vicious and sharp a gleam as they used to. But whatever Irahl can take in of him, there is Robin, having hopped down from a rooftop to put himself between him and the exit again.

"...Holy shit."

Kind of weird that he looks absolutely shocked to see the person in front of him, though.

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"...But that doesn't sound like a complaint," Nikaro continues, as no one has anything to say against the group split, "So we're set. Jandru, will you time your team for fifteen?"

"Yes," they agree, taking out their pocket watch. Nikaro takes out a pocket watch of their own and checks the time.

"Everyone gets fifteen minutes to head off and strategize, and then it's game time. Happy hunting."

And just like that, the opposing team gathers together and start walking away from the starting point. Jandru and Rohen begin talking through some potential starting places while Seth strolls observantly behind, leaving vague footprints in the sand behind them.

Nikaro will gesture for both Finn and Irahl to follow them. Finn quickly finishes loading his bolt-gun, pushes his sunglasses further up his face, and goes to follow them.

"Okay, Finn," says Nikaro, "You got a map?"

"Yeah, of course..." Finn says, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it over to Nikaro. "It's a little rough, I didn't have a lot of time before Rohen showed up."

"Let's walk in case they circle back," the other suggests, starting to head in a direction as they unfold a basic, hand-drawn map of the surrounding ruins.

In situations like this, there is always the chance that Irahl will flounce off without a word and work alone. However, this isn't done with simple recklessness. It's his preferred way to work, but he only does so because he thoroughly understands the situation and knows his team well enough to predict their rolls and actions.

This is a different case. He's at least smart enough to know that heading off without coordination here will only cost him the game... plus there's that whole 'teamwork tryouts' thing.

So, after looming behind the pair for a few moments--like Seth is currently doing in the other group--Irahl suddenly starts using his words.

"The others know the layout of this area, or only you do?"

At this point, Irahl has made it pretty clear through multiple channels that teamwork isn't high on his list of priorities. So it is good for them to see that he can play nice with others when he must, even if he'd prefer to be acting solo.

"Jandru might," Finn answers, pushing his sunglasses up to rest higher on the bridge of his nose, "If they thought to pull a record from storage before they came here. Depends on how seriously they're taking it."

"Here," Nikaro tries to hand the map back to Irahl, in case he wants to get a decent look, "We should assume they came prepared. They're mobile and quiet, so it's in their best interest to know where they're going ahead of time. I don't trust that they aren't circling back to try and follow us right now."

Finn nods. That sounds like something Jandru would do.

"And Seth?" He asks.

"Depends," Nikaro frowns, "He's going to make himself a pain in the ass to take out. Most likely, he'll post up in a building and just sit there until he's really pressed to make a move. But if I'm wrong and he decides to move around early, we're in trouble. Guy could be anywhere."

Irahl dutifully takes the map when it's put in his direction, though he's more up in his own head as he looks it over. He absorbs the broad strokes of what he's looking at, but that's about it. He's too busy thinking, because a couple of important things have just been confirmed.

Ever since he'd seen Jandru gearing up to be a much more active part of this group, he'd been wondering how far their sneakiness and ability to be underestimated truly goes. With this now confirmed, some things are decided for him.

Given the fact that he could potentially be being watched right now, his entire being is itching to get moving, so he sums up his thoughts as quickly as he can.

"Jandru first." They'd just spent a full day learning how he operates, how he navigates his surroundings from as elevated of a position as he can get away with, and where his proverbial blind spots are. If there's anyone on the opposing team that he's worried about sneaking up and getting the drop on him, it's them. "Locating them should be a priority."

"Agreed," says Nikaro, unhesitant, "Otherwise they'll be trying to pick us off from the sidelines the entire time."

"I can work on that," Finn says, glancing between the both of them, "I'm the worst shot out of us anyway. Might as well lean on recon instead."

Nikaro nods; for all that the group was making jabs about this supposed headshot incident, they don't take the opportunity to poke fun at it now. They accept the suggestion and keep moving.

"Irahl, are you considering posting up?" Nikaro asks, gesturing both high and low to quietly ask if he's hoping to get a higher vantage point or not.

Considering the group he'd been most recently stuck with back home, it's a pleasant change to watch an opportunity for a joke go ignored. He certainly has his own moments of irreverent humor while no one else is joking around him, but not during times of urgency and organization. It's reassuring.

At Nikaro's question, Irahl hands the map back to them. "Not until Jandru is out. If they know the area, they'll probably head to the best perches to look for me."

It's a good note for anyone trying to locate or hunt them, and bad news for anyone hoping to hunker in one spot.

Nikaro takes the map back, giving it another glance-over while they think through everything they've heard so far. Where they start really isn't going to matter, and height might actually work to their disadvantage... But a plan is starting to form in their mind.

They spin around to properly face the both of them, walking backwards in the sand.

"So it's you two on Jandru. Finn, radio us if you see anybody, but don't engage unless you've got a guaranteed shot. I want you feeding us updates for as long as possible. I'll keep Rohen occupied from up above. Maybe someone will think I'm our sniper here."

"Rohen, yeah..." Finn nods, "Copy that. She's pretty easy to avoid, but she's also who I'd hide behind if things were getting dicey."

"Exactly," Nikaro smiles, looking for all the world like they're about to have a pleasant outing and not some kind of cat-and-mouse paintball chase, "Irahl, that all work for you?"

Edited 2024-10-21 19:42 (UTC)

Irahl nods, but the motion is a little lost as he focuses on his own tactical vest as he retrieves grenades to share. Handing those out to his new teammates is his real answer to the question.

"In case you need to flush anyone out. Or give them a surprise as your last, dying act."

And with the gift of that morbid little idea, Irahl has one final thought to share. This one is to Nikaro, but doubles for Finn in the event that he happens to get extraordinarily lucky.

"If you manage to eliminate the tank, take her shield."

The others might not be able to make much use of a shield the size of a barn door, but he can.

The grenades are a welcome gift, and seem to give Finn an idea. Before that can really take shape, Irahl shares his final idea. Their reactions could hardly be more different. Finn's eyebrows raise above the rims of their glasses in surprise. Nikaro just chuckles, a cruel glint in their eye.

"Uh..." ventures Finn, "Yeah, sure. And here--"

He dispenses a handful of soft-tipped bolts from the rectangular case at his side and holds them up to Irahl.

"These have proximity mines in the tip. It's not a lot of paint, but if you peel the cover off the end here, you can stick them to things. Just push this button and they'll be active after a ten-second delay."

It's probably being offered up as a trade for the grenade, but it could be a nice toy to have available all the same.

Oh, yes. This is a good trade. Irahl doesn't give any thanks out loud, so his grateful acceptance of the darts will have to be enough. He's already getting ideas on what to do with these.

And with that, he is reaching the limits of his ability to stand around and talk about strategy. He hovers there a few extra moments, clearly ready to break off from the trio and probably double-back the way they came to start looking for Jandru, but wordlessly waits to see if there are any final notes. The fact that he doesn't just abruptly head out is a testament to how good of a teammate he's trying to be. He's not known for giving his previous squad that sort of patience.

And if that's all, he'll maybe spare them a nod before detouring off into the nearest excuse for shade between buildings to begin his hunt.

There are no further notes. The other two are about as anxious to get started as Irahl is. Nikaro gives him the nod of approval and Finn gives him a little salute. They've got radios if a brilliant idea suddenly springs to mind for any of them--but right now they really need to fan out and get on the trail of the other team.

These really are miserable conditions to be hunting in. The sun is at its highest point, the shadows are at their thinnest, and every surface feels hot to the touch. It quickly becomes very quiet away from the group, save for the occasional crumbly echo from a hollowed-out building.

We cut to Nikaro, belly-down on the roof of a four-story building (that consequently is buried in sand up to about the second floor). They've got decent cover behind the crumbling half-wall, and there are plenty of other buildings within reasonable scurrying range if things get really dicey. Best of all, they've stumbled into a bit of luck--Rohen did a bad job of covering her distinctively massive tracks. They know she's around here somewhere, and doesn't really need to know where.

They aim for a building across the street with their rifle and fire, pockmarking the poor building with zero remorse. The sound of the shot rings out over the battlefield. With any luck, assuming Rohen and Jandru have separated, each of them will assume that someone is shooting at the other one and try to investigate.

A few minutes crawl by. Then, wherever Irahl is by that point, Finn's voice comes in quietly over the radio.

"Jandru in the apartment block. Heading southwest."

In the direction of the shot that was fired. Maybe they bought it and assumed that the rifle shot was from Irahl. Either way, Irahl's got a personal assistant to catch.

Edited 2024-10-22 03:00 (UTC)

This unrelenting sun really is miserable--not only because of the terrible heat, but also the feeling of glaring exposure. When the call comes in about Jandru's location, Irahl breathes a sigh of relief, because that means he can finally free himself of the paranoia that he's being followed and actively sneaked up on at every given moment.

For the last few minutes, he had kind of stalled out under an overhang, loathe to step out of the only bit of shadow to cut across spaces that seem far too open. But as soon as he knows where the only stealthy, precision weapon isn't, he gets moving with confidence.

Knowing that Jandru's attention will be trending upwards, he stays low and moves fast. As much as he hates the sand, it at least muffles sound as he stalks along--which he'll need with how he's still not dressed in the ideal color palette--keeping his eyes and ears open for any sign of the tricky assistant along the way.

It turns out that Jandru has in fact bought the ruse. They're probably just as competent as anyone here, but they're sleep-deprived and confusing efficiency with good strategy. What they should have done was wait it out next to Rohen, but they took it upon themselves to go hunt down what they perceived to be the biggest threat instead.

Which is why they're moving from roof to roof, constantly scanning for a sniper and neglecting to check for anyone on the ground. A couple more shots ring out over the ruins and they change course, climbing through windows and jumping from roof to roof with a lot more athleticism than they usually convey.

Finally, they spot a figure on the roof two buildings down. They hunker behind a cooling tower, tipping their head around just enough to get a better glance, and they see... That it's not Irahl.

Which isn't what they'd expected. Suddenly realizing that this might have been a trap, they glance around wildly and reach for their radio.

Following an elevated target from a lower vantage point is definitely a reversal of how things usually go. He has to do twice as much work as usual to keep them in sight during his approach.

As he tracks them, he quickly gathers information on how they move, their twitchy reaction speed, subconsciously getting a sense of their behavior so he can better anticipate how they'll behave once they're in his sights.

To keep an eye on them as they move around on a roof, Irahl skulks through the wrecked upper floors of a half-crumbled building across the street from them. He's concerned he'll lose them around the other side of some cooling towers, but they luckily use the structures as cover from the other rifleman... which puts them right in line for Irahl as he prowls up from the opposite direction.

As soon as they stop, he stops, swiftly bringing up his weapon and bracing against a ledge to keep his aim steady.

He has no idea how this thing handles, how accurate paintballs could be when compared to regular ammunition, so it's a wild guess, hoping that Nikaro has supplied him with something that fires true.

As soon as he sees his target reach for their radio, two shots go off as quickly as this thing will allow, aiming for center mass--their back or side depending on how they move in that moment. The ideal shot would of course be two hits, one in each lung, but he'll take what he can get at this angle.

Even if there's very little else truly endearing about them, Irahl may be pleased to learn that Nikaro's put far more care and detail into this apparently-last-minute paintball gun than most people put into anything. It isn't as powerful as a real rifle--it can't be without risking genuine injury to those on the receiving end--but it fires accurately and is delightfully smooth to operate. Two bullets feels like nothing.

Well, not to Jandru. Two paint capsules suddenly wallop them in the ribs and they collapse back against the water tower wall, clutching their chest like they've actually been shot. And then after a winded groan, they start shaking their head. Deeply disappointed in themselves.

Irahl does not spend much time reveling in his success. He only lingers long enough to confirm through the scope that he does not need to fire a third shot before he's moving again.

If Jandru is disappointed in themself, they may not love facing their 'killer' face-to-face, but that's what happens in short order. Now that Irahl is fairly certain that the only enemy with a precision weapon has been taken out, he can take the shortest way down from his perch without worry--which is to dramatically drop from a higher elevation than is generally advisable for most people--jog across the street, and go clambering up a sand dune and crumbling facade to reach the roof where Jandru is.

In no time at all, Jandru has a familiar, looming figure striding up to them and holding his out expectantly. He's here to loot the body.

"Grenades."

Jandru frowns at the man looming over them, but it's just because they know that he'll be getting very good marks for this one--and they'll be marked down for being sloppy. It was a stupid mistake.

They concede that his demand is fair and don't waste time removing and handing over their paint grenades. It's honestly polite of him to give them a chance to give them willingly and not just manhandling the grenades out of their belt for immersion's sake. With their equipment relinquished, a part of them becomes very relieved that they can sit the rest of this round out; maybe they'll go take a nap back in the buggy, get back enough energy to plot their revenge for round two.

There's a sudden burst of fire from below. Paint splatters off the half-wall edge of the roof with a few stray capsules going wide and popping ineffectually around them--someone trying to fire up at Irahl from below. Another shot from Nikaro gongs against a mostly-metal shield, which seems to redirect the hail of fake bullets in Nikaro's direction again.

The polite method of looting is done with both of their comforts in mind, but the immersive sort had been waiting in the wings for if Jandru had refused. And if he had been planning on looting anything else, such as seeing if their fancy laser sight would fit on his own sidearm, it's interrupted by a wild spray of gunfire.

With grenades already in his hands, he almost reflexively pulls a pin and throws, not only to serve as cover fire but also to free up one of his hands. He's hoping it buys him a couple of seconds, so the grenade is arced high. It would be great if it lands behind the protection of his attacker's shield, as it should go off fast once it hits the ground from the extra time spent in the air, but just keeping her occupied while he bolts off of the roof would be nice.

He's desperately hoping that she's not faster than she looks. Dropping down the back side of the building, he tries to retreat back in the direction that Jandru had come from, using the buildings as cover. It would be great if these are buildings that he can run through instead of behind, but he'll take what he can get. Anything to try and force her to turn her back to Nikaro if she wants to follow him.

However, as much as he's concerned that she will be fast enough to tail him without getting tagged by Nikaro, what he's really worried about is that Seth is probably being fed information on where he is and which direction he's going.

The thing that saves Irahl is that her aim isn't that great, especially while she's being simultaneously peppered by Nikaro's precise rifle shots. Back down on the ground she's got her shield planted firmly in the sand and her back to a wall, but each time she reaches out to shoot it risks exposing a bit of her to someone with very good aim. Her shooting at Irahl was just taking advantage of his being in her periphery, and she's not about to expose herself that much when Nikaro's waiting in the wings.

When the grenade goes off near her and the area is splattered with bright green paint, Nikaro hopes it'll at least buy them enough time to scurry out of there too--but Rohen isn't about to let up, and nearly gets them with a strafing shot the second their head is visible. Well... Shit, time to think of something clever.

The team radio crackles gently to life. Finn's voice comes in over their channel again and he's talking like someone who doesn't want to be overheard.

"Seth's in the old hotel. I think he's moving to a higher floor. Who's still up?"

Nikaro rolls over, grabs the radio to respond with a smirk, "Damn, the lazy bastard didn't go far at all... Got a visual on Rohen. Over."

Edited 2024-10-24 02:00 (UTC)

Again, as soon as Irahl knows where the threats are and aren't, he gets bold.

It's still his priority to take out the tank before anyone makes an attempt on Seth, and he's pretty sure there's only a chance of that while there are still two riflemen on the field to divide her attention. This means he also needs Nikaro to more or less stay put, as them leaving will allow her to be free of her hunkered place against the wall.

So, he spares a moment to speak into the radio as he's moving fast. "Keep her busy."

There is no one available on the team who would be a faster or stealthier choice than himself, so he does what he can to fill that roll. After traveling down another half of a block, hoping that she's still pinned down where he'd left her, Irahl finally takes the chance to dart across the street before beginning to work his way back.

Now on her side of the street, he starts climbing up whenever he can, reapproaching the battlefield from this roundabout direction. If he can make it to the roof above where she's hunkered, he might be able to sneak up and fire straight down on her, or otherwise get around her shield.

"Copy," comes Nikaro's quick reply from the radio.

In the time it takes Irahl to get around the block and up behind where Rohen last was, things have gotten a little more complicated. Nikaro managed to crawl their way into an open doorway, down a flight of stairs, and into the top floor of the building proper... Which is a bit of a risk. There are windows to shoot from that provide decent cover, but they've lost some of their height advantage.

On the other side, it gives them a little more room to use their assault rifle. Their hope is to either look like too good of a target to risk abandoning, or to pepper her with enough paintballs that she doesn't want to risk exposing any part of her body in the process of leaving.

Unfortunately, it isn't enough. After watching the sniper get away on the rooftops, Rohen gets a little concerned about this very play. Nikaro moves down, and eventually, she moves back. She picks up her shield and carefully scoots along the wall and backs up through a large, open window frame nearby. She's fully in the building by the time Irahl gets there, and is probably either trying to escape entirely, or trying to fortify themselves even further inside.

"Se--" Comes a squawk on the radio, from Finn, before his line suddenly cuts off.

Not ideal.

Irahl grimaces to himself when he peeks over the edge of the roof and sees how and where his target has escaped to, followed by the extremely unfortunate development of his scout 'dying.' No eyes on Seth now, and the tank is no doubt informing him of their current situation. The only thing that Irahl still has going in his favor--and it's a very thin silver lining--is that she maybe doesn't know for sure that he has made his way back over to this rooftop.

Two against two, with one entire team now entrenched in fortifications. He can't trust that either of his enemies are going to do anything but wait for the riflemen to come to them. It's basically a sniper's worst nightmare, and he doesn't have most of his usual tricks at his disposal.

He needs to act fast, but he still spares a few seconds to hunker behind cover on the roof and just... be quiet for a moment. Just listening. Straining his ears, he listens for the crunch of boots on gravel below him, the sounds of Nikaro moving wherever they are, the squawk of an enemy radio--anything that might give him a clue on where to start.

The first sound that makes it to Irahl's ears is the sound of foot and shield shuffling against sand somewhere below, and then silence. Doesn't sound like Rohen's going for that escaping entirely route after all. Regardless of how good a soldier she is, she at least knows how to sit put and use her strengths to her advantage.

After a few more tense seconds, Nikaro decides to hop out of this window and scurry across the street, pressing themselves against the wall that Rohen just vacated. They ready their weapon in one hand, and a grenade in the other. What are they going to do? They've only got a half-baked plan, but they've got to flush her out somehow.

They do glance up at the rooftop to see if Irahl's looking down. If he isn't, that'll make this harder, but he doesn't want to risk the radio while they're so close.

The sound of Nikaro moving does catch Irahl's attention in a much more immediate sense than anything else he's picking up, so he scoots out of cover enough to look down over the edge of the roof, subsequently meeting his ally's gaze in the process.

With only the pair of them left and no sign of Seth yet, the only thing that makes sense is to gang up on a single entrenched enemy and hope that one of them makes it out alive. So, he motions toward the opposite side of the building with the barrel of his rifle, before disappearing from sight again. It's not an official signal, as his units never quite fell in line with proper soldier protocol, but hopefully the message is clear enough. He'll swing in from the other side.

Slinging his rifle over his shoulder so he'll have his hands free (and because rushing in for short-range combat is much easier with a handgun than with a rifle), he lowers himself over the far edge of the roof to climb into a window as quickly and quietly as possible.

There's every possibility that Seth could have abandoned his defensive hunkering and is now heading their way, so they need to be fast. Instead of letting his eyes adjust to the darkness after the glare from outside, he just switches his visor to low-light mode and skulks forward through the first room--low and quiet--over the sand toward where he knows Rohen must be holed-up, waiting for the explosion of a grenade to guide him where to go rushing in.

Two very precise marksmen verses a single heavily-armored turtle who has retreated completely into her shell. Nikaro is glad that her team decided to split up rather than take advantage of Rohen's defenses, because otherwise they'd be dodging potshots from Seth on top of all of this. If there's a silver lining here, it's that they've got the luxury of a few seconds to aim without worrying about catching stray buckshot.

Rohen's tucked themselves into a corner and brought the shield right up against her body. She's essentially sealed herself into a tiny room made of two walls and a shield, with the only real point of weakness being the small opening at the top where she can't possibly wedge herself in any harder. Thankfully, she can't really see out of her shield the way it's covered in paint, but she's surely got a gun pointed right at the opening in case the one guy taller than her decides to take a stab at maneuvering his way in there.

Well, this will either be over very quickly, or very painfully. Nikaro pulls the pin before calmly and gently tossing the grenade in the direction of the hole. It plinks off of the rim of her shield and miraculously into the space behind it.

In a dramatic chain of events, she fires her gun, realizes a split-second too late that it's a grenade, tries to dive out of the way, and winds up sputtering face-first on the ground on top of her shield, absolutely covered in bright blue paint.

Nikaro looks momentarily surprised that this actually worked, but then he ducks into the room to get to the 'corpse' and snatch up her radio from off of her belt. They make sure it's off before they start grinning at their own good luck.

"Sorry Rohen, we're gonna have to borrow your shield for a minute."

"Aw..." Rohen sounds disappointed (between sounding grossed out by what's definitely the taste of paint in her mouth), but rolls off of the shield like a good sport. Even defeated in combat, she eventually finds a smile, "I forgot about the grenades..."

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