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+---- Thread: [Training] hits different (/showthread.php?tid=8362)
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hits different - Flora - 06-09-2023
Though Flora was in Stormbreak in order for her brother to take her to lunch, she'd asked Everest to land the botanist's little schooner near the gates so that she could see where Ronin used to work. Having never visited him while he led the dragoons or even when he led Stormbreak, now might seem an odd time to want to investigate her step-parent's old stomping grounds, but why not? With things on the up and up between Doubletake and Supernova, it didn't not make sense.
Waltzing through the training area with enough flounce in her step that she hoped she would distract the trainees from their exercises (if they got into trouble for it, that'd be the icing on the cake), Flora adjusts the off-the-shoulder shirt she's wearing as low as it could go without being appropriate, before pulling out her feathers from the band on her shorts. Flinging one casually but with clear skill, around one finger, Flora thrusts her wrist out sending the dagger flying. Striking the center of a nearby target, the girl grins before recalling it back into her hand.
RE: hits different - Koa - 06-12-2023
Well this is awkward.
Hot off his date with Sohalia the night before, Koa is in a perfect position to be cut down to size. Cue the presence of the Doubletake- and oh, he does do a double take when he spots Flora, just throwing knives in the training grounds like gorgeous piece of danger she is.
And here's Koa, shoving a sandwich into his face as he waltzes around in a two-day-old uniform, Pipsqueak perched upon his shoulder and stealing bites of bread.
She's just as gorgeous as he remembers her, all blonde and leggy and comfortable in her skin - skin he once knew the touch of, when he was young and an idiot and didn't know how to treat a girl well. Now he's older and wiser, though still an idiot, and it is perhaps this idiocy that leads him to walk toward Flora instead of away, the last piece of sandwich shoved hastily into his mouth.
[say]"Hey-mmph-hi,"[/say] Koa greets her with warm wariness, the sandwich swallowed as he comes to a stop. [say]"It's, uh, it's been a minute."[/say] He's smiling, as usual, but his eyes flick uneasily over her knives. [say]"What brings you to Stormbreak?"[/say]
Hopefully not an overwhelming desire to stab him, one year on.
RE: hits different - Flora - 06-12-2023
Gods, before Flora even hears his stupid sultry voice, she can smell him. He smells like cheap cologne and man sweat and dragon and though she really should hate it (when was the last time he even washed his uniform?), gods but it instantly kindles something very primal low in her belly. Well, a lot lower than her belly if we're being anatomically correct.
Turning on her toe with a dagger already pointed in his direction, Flora's lips are pulled tight and her eyes are already narrowed. [say]'Are you serious?'[/say] She wonders loudly. [say]' That's all I get? Hey, and it's been a minute?'[/say] Flora's chilly outrage has drawn more than a few looks from some of the trainees around, who nudge one another and whisper amongst themselves the details of Flora and Koa's one-night-stand-gone-wrong.
Flicking her hair over one shoulder and doing her best to roll her shoulders back to emphasize her breasts without making it obvious, the Doubletake does her best to stay firmly on the side of Newly Minted Guild Leader and Bar Owner and not be tempted toward Jilted Fuck Who Got Ghosted.
[say]"Maybe I'm here to become a dragoon. Seems like they let just anyone in these days."[/say] Flora snarks, letting her aqua eyes rove over his body, meaning the stare to be judgemental while trying to sneak glances at how his physique might have changed since last she saw him.
RE: hits different - Koa - 06-13-2023
Ok, so she's angry. Koa winces at her outrage, though his expression is more of wounded, hapless puppy than guilty, heartless cad. [say]"Aw, c'mon Flora,"[/say] the boy says, then raises his hands in apology, or perhaps to shield against her rage. [say]"You're right. I'm sorry. You look incredible, by the way."[/say] He flashes her what he hopes is a charming grin, hopeful that (honest) flattery will be the way back into her good graces.
After all, they're different people than they were a year ago. Flora especially: Koa hasn't missed her confidence, is painfully aware of the way she carries herself. She's a grown-ass woman (to his young mind), and looking at her easily rekindles the memory of heat from their last rendezvous.
[say]"Seems like it."[/say] Koa, too, has gone through changes. Gone are the last vestiges of baby fat, melted away from his cheeks, solidified on his arms, leaving rippling muscles visible beneath his short-sleeve shirt. Whatever anxiety he may have harbored over taking up his mother's role has been safely squashed away; he's doing well as a soldier, even if it doesn't exactly fulfil his soul. He's been a Dragoon for over a year now, and the confidence with which he wears his (admittedly unwashed) uniform shows as he takes the veiled insult in stride, reaching up to scratch Pip's chin.
[say]"I mean - we'd be glad to have you. Though I hear you've got your hands full these days, running a bar and all."[/say] Koa raises his eyebrows playfully, giving her a once-over. [say]"But hey, if you're here to try out- I've got a free morning. And I seem to remember you being pretty good at close combat."[/say]
And, idiot boy that he is, he winks.
RE: hits different - Flora - 06-13-2023
Though Koa's flattery isn't enough to get him back in to Flora's good graces, the Doubletake is helpless to resist the compliment. There's absolutely a lesson here about pheromones and withheld affections, but it isn't one that Flora's learned yet such that she stutters an unhappy [say]"..thank you"[/say] while at the same time wanting to claw Koa's dark eyes out.
Watching the
[say]"Oh, you've heard that, have you?"[/say] Flinging a curl haughtily off one shoulder (in order to reveal said shoulder, and a clavicle deep enough to take a shot out of, thank you very much), Flora nods. [say]"I had a huge grand opening for it. It was a massive success. Everyone was there."[/say] She continues, hoping that she might make him feel even a tenth of the jealousy that was currently clawing its way up the back of her throat.
Close combat has Flora's chin raising and her nostrils flaring like some spooked saddle horse, but instead of snapping at him, the Doubletake merely smiles. It's a Chesire smile, one that doesn't reach her eyes but instead leaves them a deep and unwavering aqua colour. [say]"You sure?"[/say] With a feather in her hand, Flora whips it quickly toward Koa's feet. [say]"Or are you gonna run again?"[/say]
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Plumage | Three iridescent feathers capable of being used as projectiles. Razor sharp, they will recall themselves to the user's palm at will up to a range of 30ft.
RE: hits different - Koa - 06-13-2023
Ah, the party. [say]"I heard."[/say] Koa has already gotten an update from Mateo, and honestly, yeah, it sounds fucking lit. He moves Pipsqueak to his arm, stroking her long spine with calloused fingers. [say]"Sounds like the party of the year."[/say] He'd be lying if he said he wasn't envious, didn't suffer from FOMO at his lack of invite - he'd thought he might have made the guest list, if only so she could rub it in his face.
[say]"Positive."[/say] He's taken another step forward, approaching her with the cautious ease with which one might approach a tiger, his body relaxed and confident but his attention on her teeth. Or feathers, in this case, because he hasn't missed the apparent weapons, isn't oblivious to the fact that she's armed where he, decidedly, is not.
Unless you count Pip.
It's a sudden flurry of motion as two things happen. One, Koa lunges toward Flora, hoping to grab her by the wrist. His goal is to twist her away so her arm is behind her, her back to his front, close enough that he can murmur in her ear. [say]"I'm not running,"[/say] he says, voice hot and heady, his breath a whisper on her neck.
And two, Pipsqueak yeets herself at the grounded feather, trying to capture it with fangs and claws.
RE: hits different - Flora - 06-13-2023
[say]"At least until I throw another one."[/say] Flora agrees, her fury dampened by this barrage of compliments. Unable to tell if she appreciates this or not - her anger had to have some where to go, after all - the Doubletake opts to remain silent lest she say something a bit too obviously needy like, who knows, maybe I'll invite you to that one.
As her feather hits the dirt, Flora's hand is already ready to recall the blade. She didn't really want to hurt Koa, or at least not properly wound him, but if she could tear up his uniform so he'd get in trouble? That would absolutely do. Before she can command the blade to return to her, suddenly her wrist is pinned against her back and Koa is close. So close in fact she thinks she can feel the ripple of muscles that certainly hadn't been there last time, and to feel the stubble on his cheek as his lips edged toward her ear. And was he taller than before, or was she just imagining that? Heat flares across her body as if she'd just opened an oven, and even as her torso tenses against his, part of her desperately wants to melt against him and let her imagination run wild.
[say]"But maybe you should."[/say] Feather forgotten, luckily for Pip, Flora tries to thrust her hips backward hoping to hit him in the groin. She wouldn't be able to properly mash any of his sensitive bits (had those changed too?), but hopefully it would distract him enough that as she stomped one of her heels down, it would land painfully on his toes.
RE: hits different - Koa - 06-13-2023
He's close enough to smell her, a rich, heady smell of salt and spirits and expensive perfume, and suddenly he very much remembers what it felt like to arch against the curve of her body, to explore with naïve, youthful abandon the contours of her skin. He's older now, but no less
His eyes grow wide as she thrusts backwards, and oh boy, does that hit pack a punch. Not a painful one, maybe, but one she'll likely notice, as his body reacts accordingly to having an ass grind on his groin. It's a flare of pleasure that's quickly complicated by the feel of a heel on his boot (might get some weird kinks from that one), Koa yelping more in surprise than pain as he pulls away from Flora, his copper eyes wide and his broad cheeks hot. [say]"That's fighting dirty,"[/say] the boy accuses, though whether in reference to the heel or the twerking isn't clear.
But the grin on his flush face is fierce and hungry, and when he flexes in preparation he knows how it looks. [say]"Not bad, but I know you can hit harder than that."[/say] From personal experience as it happens, but this time at least he's ready for her claws. Koa adopts a defensive stance, waiting for Flora to make a move on him, his eyebrows rising in invitation as he waits for whatever she has to throw.
Pipsqueak, meanwhile, has absconded with the feather, and now is trying to bury it not far away.
RE: hits different - Flora - 06-13-2023
[say]"And?"[/say] Flora wants to know as she does her best to wriggle out of her grasp if only so that she might have a moment to catch her breath with air that isn't filled with his musk. Away from the hard warmth of him it's moderately easier to think, though as the Doubletake wheels around and levels him with an aqua glare, her mind paints a picture of him between her thighs as her heels press against his back, her hands knocking things off of the kitchen counter upon which she sits. The twitch of his muscles only reminds her of how small and light she'd felt in his arms, and gods she's suddenly all the more resolute to keep it together.
[say]"You don't know anything,"[/say] Flora hisses, hating how juvenile the words sound and wanting to hit the soldier all the harder for it. Having no idea where her first feather got to, the Doubletake reaches into her pocket to pull out another. Spinning it around her finger with an ease that suggested quite a bit of practice, Flora tilts her head to the side as if worried her sneer might fall off her lips.
Knowing that if she threw the dagger and hit she'd do a fair amount of damage, instead she just swiped it at the air between them as she lunged forward. If Koa fell flat on his ass, all the better.
RE: hits different - Koa - 06-13-2023
[say]"I know that I fucked up."[/say] He says it softly, the flirtatious bravado stripped away briefly as real boyish chagrin and embarrassment sweeps across his face. Until this moment he hadn't realized how much he hurt her, and it stings to see the open hostility, to hear the hiss in her melodious voice. [say]"I was young and stupid and you deserved better."[/say] He's ashamed of the idiot boy who crept out her window, and if hitting him will make her feel better, well, his body is firm enough to take a punch.
Except that, Rae's tits, now she has another knife? Forget taking it - Koa hops back instinctively as she slashes forward, and it would frightfully embarrassing for the huge dragoon to be fleeing from a gods-damned feather were it not for his absolute certainty that the thing could cut him into shreds. As it is it catches his shirt, leaving a clean line hanging open through which smooth abs can be clearly seen. Knocked off-balance, the Dragoon stumbles before catching himself, his copper eyes wide with surprise. Pride flares hot in the pit of his stomach, especially as he catches sight of the growing crowd of trainees. Ok, fine. So she wants to fight dirty. It doesn't mean she'll win.
Clenching his jaw Koa surges forward, reaching for Flora's slender arms. He knows he needs to get the knife away if he doesn't want to hurt them both, and so his goal is to grab both wrists then twist her into a bear-hug, because grappling feels like a more gentlemanly move than punching her in the face.
RE: hits different - Flora - 06-13-2023
Wait, what? Cue record scratch. Cue pre-filmed confessional. Cue a gif of David Rose going What in the actual fuck?
He wasn't supposed to apologize, or at least...not in that voice and with those stupid puppy dog eyes and certainly not now. He was supposed to do it on his knees with her feather to his throat or like...with a boombox in the centre of the pacific plaza. It was supposed to be a thing. A thing that fixed a wound Flora hadn't realized she'd only let scab over instead of heal. He'd snuck out and just..left her, and she'd been alone. Alone because Enzo had been dead, and her parents sucked, and her brother was an asshole.
Okay, so maybe this was more about Flora than about Koa, but still.
The frrrrrrrrp! of his shirt is satisfying, but not nearly as much as the skin revealed beneath and it takes all of Flora's willpower to haughtily raise her gaze as if the impressive physique below isn't as eye-catching as it is. With the same cat-like speed he'd used before (there's a quip here about how quick Koa was, only Flora was too off-balance to make it), the Doubletake finds herself wrapped up against him again. Gods he really has gotten taller and she's loathe to admit it, but even the smell of his sweat has her a little breathless and weak-kneed. Clenching her teeth together, the girl opts for a different sort of strategy.
If she can't beat him in a contest of strength (and she can't), at least she can make him look like an idiot. Twisting one of her fingers in order to activate her ring, though Koa wouldn't feel Flora disappear, his eyes would argue otherwise. And, hopefully to the crowd of trainings, it would just look like Koa was strangely feeling himself up.
RE: hits different - Koa - 06-13-2023
It seems for a moment that he's finally gotten a handle on her, and then she disappears. Not like poof, totally gone, because he can still feel her body pressed against his, still feel the tickle of her hair on his face and smell her fragrance and even taste it when part of her presses on his mouth. But none of his other senses particularly matter in the absence of sight, and the shock of Flora's vanishing act is enough to surprise him into relaxing his hold with a surprised [say]"What th---?"[/say] and a small, unmanly yelp.
As soon as he lets go he realizes his mistake, and the danger it puts him in. His arms snap into a defensive position close against his chest; his head snaps round, looking urgently for any sign of her. [say]"Now who's running, Flora?"[/say]
There- an imprint in the grass, maybe? The sound of shuffling feet? Whatever, he's gonna go for it. His arms sweep out, grasping for the nothing that he really hopes is the other accepted. It's probably hysterical to watch, but Koa can feel his irritation rising. It was supposed to be a great morning, and yet here he is, sexually and physically frustrated while flailing blindly at a one-time flame.
RE: hits different - Flora - 06-13-2023
Flora should have found some satisfaction in what mewled from Koa's lips, but her attention was focused on getting away. Had he not made that quip about HeR RuNnIng she probably would have done just that, wanting to be as far away from this reminder of just how alone and hurt she'd felt following Enzo's death as she possibly could. But no; he had a fucking point, she supposed, and also one of her daggers. Or, Pip did, rather.
[say]"See? Doesn't feel great, does it."[/say] She snarks, realizing as the words left her lips that the soldier would now have a fairly good idea where she was. Briefly considering reaching for her third dagger and holding it out so that he'd skewer himself on it, Flora did her best to duck out of his flailing arms. Succeeding but sacrificing standing in the process, the girl goes down hard onto her tailbone. Biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain, Flora grabs a fistful of grass as if she might transfer the shooting fire screaming out of her ass into the ground.
[say]'Ah, there's the Koa I remember. Groping around and not knowing where to put his hands.'[/say] Not strictly true, but what of it?
Not wanting to be tangled up in his arms again (both because it made her feel so helpless given how strong he was now, and also because it made her want to wrap her legs around his waist and climb him like a tree), Flora glances around for Pip. [say]"Better tell Pip to move. I don't want to hurt her when I recall my feather."[/say] It wasn't the dragon's fault she had a jackass for a bonded, after all.
RE: hits different - Koa - 06-14-2023
She taunts him mercilessly, and Koa spins around toward it, zeroing in on the sound of her voice. Honestly, it's getting a bit ridiculous, and the Dragoon can feel his patient fraying, frustration and embarrassment rising up to replace the easy, boyish charm. Yes, Flora has every right to be angry; yes, Koa's behavior was abominable. But he was a kid, and he's fucking sorry, and gods damnit, this is his place of work.
And then she threatens Pipsqueak, and Koa feels something snap. Anger flares like a burning fire, hot in a belly already warm with lust. [say]"Leave her out of this,"[/say] he snarls, only keeping from kicking where he thinks she is with a great deal of restraint. To the dragon he gives a sharp whistle, which Pip responds to obediently, leaving the half-buried feather behind. She snakes her way through the onlookers, hastened by her companion's uncharacteristic rage.
Koa stands still as his fists clench and unclench. He can feel his jaw work, tight with fury, but all that comes out is: [say]"Fine."[/say] He's looking at the ground where he thinks she is, the indentation of her ass in the grass. A deep inhale, a sharp exhale. [say]"I'm done, Flora. You win. I'm an asshole, I fucked up, and I'm sorry, but I'm not going to brawl with you in the dirt over it."[/say]
He's calmed enough for his shoulders to stop shaking, eased by Pip's presence at his feet. Scooping down, Koa grabs the dragonling before turning his back on the girl. [say]"If you want to talk, find me later. But right now, I have to get to my job."[/say]