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roseleaf320 -> RE: =EC 2021= Sky Arena (8/14/2021 22:35:03)
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Pie grimaced at the sound of the dragon’s glass cracking as xyr blades slammed into it. It pained Pie to chisel so sloppily when xe usually enjoyed the slow, meticulous pattern of shaping gems. But this was a battlefield, and xyr attack had worked! Thin cracks inched across the glass plating like spiderwebs. Pie wondered how much of the dragon truly was alive. If I’m right, and this blue core is its heart… Was it just a machine? It must be— a fancy, killer piece of jewelry Pie just had to dismantle. And xe didn’t have to do that alone. Pie noticed an unnatural glint from above, and looked up to see Rey plummeting from the sky. He held his shining knife, but even as he drove it towards the machine, Pie realized the glint had come not from the dagger, but from the arm that was clearly made from bronze. That’s the first thing you explain to me later. That’s pretty metal.
Pie reached into xyr belt and pulled a thick, pointed bur from it and brandished it towards the marred glass barrier. One hand gripped the bur’s metal handle; the other grasped Fluorite and braced its backside against the back of the belay. Xe rushed at the core once more. One more good stab should do it.
In xyr haste, Pie had ignored the dragon as it raised its arm; xe was assured by its forward movement that any attack would be focused on the older woman. So Pie remained totally unprepared for the axe that swung straight towards xem.
Agony erupted from Pie’s side as the weapon slashed clean through xyr cape and armor. Pie didn’t process what had even hit xem as xyr vision blurred and xe crumpled to the ground.
The first few seconds were simply breathing; a task that proved most hard when each breath was accompanied with a shot of agony and a pulse of blood from the open wound. The next few seconds were a dazed realization that this was where Pie’s run ended.
The healers standing by for the Championships were supposed to be by far the most capable around. While the slash certainly felt deadly, it could likely be healed. Or maybe Pie was just refusing to accept xe might die. Regardless, xe wasn’t strong enough to fight through something like this. The worst accidents xe’d had took xem out of commission for weeks or months. There was no finishing the Championships now. There was no Jade, no impossible, mythical jewel to boast of, to prove xe was the best of the trade. To bring that pride home to xyr village. And Pie was so, so damn stupid to think a magic-less jeweler could compete among warriors.
”Your emotions sour too quickly, Pietersite. Turning your storm inwards only stunts growth; quell it, and save it to burst for what truly matters.”
Pie had never had a mother. Grethe, xyr mentor, was the closest. She had always seemed to know what Pie was thinking, even when Pie would shut down entirely and refuse to speak. Her words grounded Pie, but xe couldn’t find the strength to stand amidst the pain. I have to… turn outwards, not inwards… Now was where it really mattered, but…
“Pie, you gotta make it, we got stories to share, don’t we?”
Rey’s voice cut through xyr thoughts and forced xyr eyes to open. His hand, placed gently on xyr shoulder, seemed to mask the pain just enough for xem to think. He was knelt down beside xem as the battle raged. A sign of friendship.
Rey didn’t know the Pie that would bang xyr head against a wall for hours on end as a teen. He’d known xem for mere minutes; and always as competitors, even if they had a bit of fun along the way. But he was giving up the fight— the chance to rip the dragon’s blue core from its body— to make sure xe was okay.
“You’re right, Rey. Let’s finish this thing already.” Xyr voice was hoarse and strained, the sentence decorated with light coughs. But xe was able to speak. With all of xyr strength, xe pulled the other boomerang from xyr cloak and thrust them both towards the back of the dragon. Luck fell on xyr side, as the arena’s gusts pushed with xyr arms and propelled the boomerangs. They tilted in the wind, their paths sloppy. But Pie’d thrown boomerangs during storms before.
This thing is totally strong. I’ll shut it down and make the Wind Lord choose me. So I’ll have one hell of a centerpiece, and one hell of a story to tell.
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