i sailed seas of emotion to wander a forest of scars
i am a dance of light and darkness
Well so much for showing off her awesome prowess and strength.
Looking back upon this moment, Amalia will blame the alcohol. She's a lightweight, ill-equipped to deal with its effects, the way it makes her brain uneasy and causes her to lose track of her feet. Then there's the sand which clings to hooves meant to navigate firm terrain, and the way Sunjata hops away, and the reluctance to fight that the Shield has felt clawing at her from the moment they went outside, and, well--
In the end her fall is inevitable. She'd thought his hubris was monumental, but it is nothing compared to her own. Instead of striking against Sunjata the qilin trips over her own feet, her run cut short as she stumbles and collapses, shifting just in time to spin head-over-heels and land on her back in the sand.
Fuck.
It would be the perfect time for Sunjata to strike. He could crush her easily as she catches her breath, and maybe part of her wants that. The fall has taken all the fire from her, her will to stand and reenter the fray thoroughly quenched by this immediate defeat. He's bested her without a strike. Another failure in a long line, she thinks, closing her eyes and awaiting the inevitable.
But the blow doesn't come. Instead Sunjata's voice permeates the fog of alcohol that hazes her mind, strangely distant and non-confrontational. From her position on the ground Amalia blinks, confused by this unexpected turn of events, still too dazed to really sit up. "I'm sorry, too," she says at last, staring at the starry sky. "I don't want to fight you. I mean, I do, but... it won't fix anything. It was as much my fault as yours, anyway. More. You were right. I should have done more. But I couldn't give up Jyo..."
No good answer, and no way to change it now. Tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, the Shield sighs and moves her arms to rest beneath her head. The world is spinning, just a little, and she shuts her eyes again. "I'm tired of fucking everything up. I can't even fight you right."
Looking back upon this moment, Amalia will blame the alcohol. She's a lightweight, ill-equipped to deal with its effects, the way it makes her brain uneasy and causes her to lose track of her feet. Then there's the sand which clings to hooves meant to navigate firm terrain, and the way Sunjata hops away, and the reluctance to fight that the Shield has felt clawing at her from the moment they went outside, and, well--
In the end her fall is inevitable. She'd thought his hubris was monumental, but it is nothing compared to her own. Instead of striking against Sunjata the qilin trips over her own feet, her run cut short as she stumbles and collapses, shifting just in time to spin head-over-heels and land on her back in the sand.
Fuck.
It would be the perfect time for Sunjata to strike. He could crush her easily as she catches her breath, and maybe part of her wants that. The fall has taken all the fire from her, her will to stand and reenter the fray thoroughly quenched by this immediate defeat. He's bested her without a strike. Another failure in a long line, she thinks, closing her eyes and awaiting the inevitable.
But the blow doesn't come. Instead Sunjata's voice permeates the fog of alcohol that hazes her mind, strangely distant and non-confrontational. From her position on the ground Amalia blinks, confused by this unexpected turn of events, still too dazed to really sit up. "I'm sorry, too," she says at last, staring at the starry sky. "I don't want to fight you. I mean, I do, but... it won't fix anything. It was as much my fault as yours, anyway. More. You were right. I should have done more. But I couldn't give up Jyo..."
No good answer, and no way to change it now. Tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, the Shield sighs and moves her arms to rest beneath her head. The world is spinning, just a little, and she shuts her eyes again. "I'm tired of fucking everything up. I can't even fight you right."
a galaxy of shadows and stars
Amalia
