heavyhitter | IC CONTACT (futuro & prisma)

[ Sorry to say trying to take the pop culture out of Sigma is probably like trying to take the water out of the Shedd aquarium with a five gallon bucket, but at least there's less security to yell at her if she ever wants to make an attempt. ]

[ But as if exertion and adrenaline aren't bad enough for his heart rate, once Ramir actually digs the knife into something and draws blood, it's thudding against his ribcage. For never having been in an honest to god knife-fight before (let alone a sword- or spear-fight), it was easy to lose the gravity of the situation in the action; everyone else in this equation is actually ready to do some serious harm, and here he hadn't even ever managed to turn the pointy end of his spear away from himself, had he? ]

Running-- [ He spits red, wipes the rest off his bloodied lip with the back of his hand and makes a grab for hers with the other. ] Running's good, let's go with that.

[ He'rll take the lead this time, tugging her back into the cover of trees in at least the vague direction they'd been heading before. ]

[ She hesitates just long enough to scan the trees around them, before Sigma jerks her into a run. There can't be that many cultist left in this particular chase. It's not like there were hundreds of them to begin with, and other recruits have been in to draw them away... god, she hopes that's about it.

She puts on a burst of speed to run abreast of Sigma, hand tight on his. ]

Kinda -- [ Okay, now she's getting short on breath. Embarrassing. ] -- sorta -- lost. Any idea what direction?

[ There can't be many left, just the ones with projectiles. No big deal. She's keeping pace with him alright, but her harsh and choppy breath isn't entirely reassuring. Not that he's doing too much better after the fighting, but whatever, he's not quite wedging words in between gasps yet. ]

Pretty sure it was this way--maybe... left, a little. Hey, you okay?

[ Herding the both of them in an appropriately slightly leftward trajectory, his hand squeezes hers again; after vaulting a small ditch, he can spare her a look longer than a fleeting glance. More than a little twinged with concern. ]

[ She is, with a little more inspection, generally battered. She's had long enough by now to remember that she's not still invulnerable, and the survival instincts of a perfectly squishy human are still pretty deeply ingrained in her, but it's been a long night filled with a lot of scuffling. But she nods at his question anyway, because it could be worse. ]

Just tired. You -- showed up late, remember? [ She glances over long enough to fire off a quick grin, meant to reassure. An arrow thudding into the tree left of her shoulder wipes it off again pretty fast, though. ] Oh my god, assholes!

[ So it's not quite as bad as his imagination out of the corner of his eye had been making it out to be, but it still isn't great. Neither of them are great, but it can't be all bad if they've still got the air to joke, right? That means they can still keep running. ]

Look, they invented city blocks for a reason, I can't find anything out here.

[ He's not built for this just around the riverbend life. Anyway, at the rate things are going, their luck's going to run out before the Nalawi run out of arrows. They're closing the gap on their targets now, the thud at Ramir's side drawing a startled turn to look that nearly meets his chin with a second shaft as it whizzes between them. ]

Dude, seriously--! [ Belatedly he jumps, then ducks his head, really throws some distance into his strides (at least as much as Ramir can keep up with). Fortunately and abruptly though, the trees are beginning to thin, and what looks like a cluster of buildings can be seen peeking through the branches in the far distance. ]

Hey! [ He points, a little unnecessarily, but very excitedly. And moderately apprehensively. ] What d'you think the odds are they'd still try to run us down in public?

[ She can keep up with Sigma, but just barely. Her lungs feel about ready to explode and her legs are ready to fall off by the time the buildings start to come into sight, little flicking oasises of torchlight. Ramir grins, exhausted but pleased. ]

There's no way they'll try it. This is -- secret society bullshit. [ She gives his hand another squeeze and charges on, and sure enough, as they break the last few trees, the cultists behind them split away and melt back into the trees. Ramir firmly hopes they're all gasping for breath, too.

She finally slows her stride once they're safely among the buildings, and wastes no time doubling over with her free hand on her knee, the other refusing to let go of Sigma's. ]

Holy shit. I hate running. I'm never running -- again.

[ Good enough odds for him. They're gonna break each other's fingers off at this point, but his grip matches her squeeze and holds all the way til the forest floor becomes a packed dirt street. A few houses in, he finally trudges to a halt too, a wave of delayed exhaustion finally catching up with his breaths and leaving him hunched and panting where he stands. ]

Me— neither... [ Sigma casts a glance over his shoulder for any signs of life, but they had definitely veered off back there. Right? Right, definitely... ] I give up—

[ He backs toward a darkened storefront, thuds to his knees, slumps to the side, and haphazardly sits against the wall. Probably drags her down with him if she holds on too tight, because he's not letting go. ]

—never getting up.

We're both still alive, I dunno how much better things could get.

[ That's only a little sarcastic, it's also slightly true. They're alive, no major harm done. That's good enough in her book. Still, though, exhaustion dims her smile as she leans a little more heavily into him. ]

Where are you staying, anyway? Let's do a sleepover. [ Because there's no way she wants to be alone, so the solution is to invite herself over. ]

Fair.

[ He sighs, a little deeper than necessary now that his breathing has evened out, slumping a little further down the wall under her encouraging weight. At her proposal, he snickers a little. ]

Just at the inn. [ (I think, is it destroyed? is it on this island?? I don't remember and it's hard to look up at work whatever roll with it) ] ... Sort of. Everything's too small but it's got a roof.

[ He shrugs. ]

What, you wanna do more pillow forts? I'm game... If I don't just pass out when we get back.

[ More pillow forts sounds great to her, just as long as it involves Sigma. She lets out a long breath of her own, holding an internal tiny debate between pride and good sense. She'd like to stand herself up and walk there, and she's pretty sure she could... but man, she is tired of walking on ripped up feet. Finally, with a sigh, she capitulates. ]

I'll let you get away with passing out if you carry me there. [ And so it sounds a little less like the earnest request it actually is, she adds on with a grin: ] I'm pretty sure you owe me some carting around, at this point.

[ Welp, even if she's just masking her break in pride, she's not wrong. He pulls a face at that. ]

Yeah, I got a lot of debt to clear on that front... [ Not to mention that she definitely shouldn't be walking around on those puppies much more tonight. He retrieves his arm from around her and gathers up his feet beneath him. ] But good, I'm pretty sure I actually won't get up again if I stay here any longer.

[ And so rocking forward into a crouch, he gives his shoulder a tap. ] Hop on.

[ She smiles brightly, and finds that she has enough energy left to push herself up and invite herself onto that proffered piggyback lift. She loops both arms around him and presses a quick and grateful kiss onto a readily available ear. ]

Thanks. [ It's a thanks that she means. With most people she'd have preferred to tough it out over asking for help. It's not that bad, she could totally make the walk... but around him, it's alright to think that she doesn't have to. ] Okay, mush!

[ The extra weight settling on his back sets the muscles in his worn out legs creaking, but the smooch to his ear bolsters him through the aches and pains to get the both of them up on his feet... Well, almost, he does stagger a little. ]

Oh god, yeah, I sat too long, hold on-- [ He hooks his hands under her knees, hikes them up over his hips proper and takes a second to settle their collective center of gravity before letting out a determined huff. ] Onward!

[ It takes a couple steps for his second wind to kick in, but once it does, he's off at a reasonably even trot back across town. ]

IC CONTACT (futuro & prisma)

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JUST STARTS HERE I GUESS

gently borrows your format and RETURNS FIRE

immediately sputters out and goes back to text, IT WAS A GOOD RUN

we did good team

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and then they go fall asleep like old people the end