Tal had been expecting some witty banter in return, but you know what they say about people who assume things. Ru was in motion before he could get back on both feet and the courier was only halfway up as she flashed across the short distance between them. There was just enough time for a yelped protest of "Hey!" - as if that had ever stopped an attacker - and a desperate twist to the side, trying to throw himself over to another nearby rock when the Valkyrie his his knees and knocked him back.
There might have been days where youth and exuberance beat old age and treachery, but this was not one of those days.
Taken by surprise at his friend (and sometimes mentor)'s willingness to engage in mutually assured destruction, Tal couldn't even flip them so Ru would hit first. It was the courier's back that impacted the shallow pool with a mighty splash from the awkward angle of entry - and his flailing arms didn't make it any more graceful, though he was instinctively careful not to catch his partner with his blade in the process.
He surfaced a moment later, spluttering, as he sat in the knee-deep water and tried to glower at Hotaru without laughing and ruining his aura of wounded betrayal. "What if this'd been lava?" he protested, even though no such rule had been declared at the beginning.
There might have been days where youth and exuberance beat old age and treachery, but this was not one of those days.
Taken by surprise at his friend (and sometimes mentor)'s willingness to engage in mutually assured destruction, Tal couldn't even flip them so Ru would hit first. It was the courier's back that impacted the shallow pool with a mighty splash from the awkward angle of entry - and his flailing arms didn't make it any more graceful, though he was instinctively careful not to catch his partner with his blade in the process.
He surfaced a moment later, spluttering, as he sat in the knee-deep water and tried to glower at Hotaru without laughing and ruining his aura of wounded betrayal. "What if this'd been lava?" he protested, even though no such rule had been declared at the beginning.
