she should get up. she knows she should get up, but - god, she's just so tired. she wants out of this place, out of this mess. she wants to go back to before she ever agreed to be here and just let her life play out the way it was supposed to.
...but that can't happen, can it?
horrified, she tightens her grip on the chair nearest her and holds it out as if she can push the hissing people back with it if they approach.]
[ home is such a funny concept. home? back to the game? back to disappearing if no one likes you enough? back to making friends with miyuki?
it isn't that aoi isn't tired, or like she doesn't want to just lay down and give up. she doesn't want to let anyone get hurt, though. she doesn't want to let miyuki hurt anyone.
with sluggish movements and dragging feet, aoi steps closer to the bodies, putting herself between them and the others. at the very least, she's good at being persistent! ]
Seeing all four of them standing like that - her thoughts immediately go to what she's heard about scenarios the other participants have been through, and things they've had to do. It's not her. That's not Anaak. This is... It can't be real. But still, all the same, low and hushed as she looks at her:]
Anaak...?
[She doesn't drop the scissors, but her stance is a far cry from someone waiting for a fight. To the others, as she takes a step towards the girl, trying to move past Aoi—]
Don't - none of you touch her. She's... [...] She's family.
[ Medb is so tired. She wants to go home. She wants to go back to the warmth of the beach where things were so much easier for her, where she is loved and adored just by existing, and even the appearance of Cu Chulainn barely startles her out of it.
It's almost like a far off dream, even with all four of them frothing at the mouth like that. ]
They're— They shouldn't be them.
[ But Medb sounds so weak and tired and there isn't nearly as much conviction in her voice as there usually is.
[slowly, the fog starts to lift. the feeling of wanting to go home remains - but the exhaustion drains out of them bit by bit.
which is good, because with jerky, robotic movements, the four familiar faces dart forward.
anaak goes right for endorsi - she doesn't even seem to recognize her, just goes for her legs, in an attempt to knock her down. she makes a sound that's pained, like a dog walking on a broken foot, and fights for the upper hand.
miyuki picks up a chair, and breaks it against the table, slamming it down over and over until a leg breaks off. she grins, and turns to aoi, the chair leg in hand.
ming yi climbs onto the table, watching sqx with a predatory look. his jaw cracks, and unhinges, and he throws himself across the table's surface in an attempt to grab her by the wrists and knock her to the floor.
cu chulainn laughs, a chittering, inhuman sound. his arm cracks as he reaches behind him, against his back, like he's reaching for something not there. a pause, and then he turns to medb, eyes flashing in recognition. when he smiles, there's nothing behind his eyes. and in an instant, he's aiming a kick at her face, or rather, the side of her head.]
[she watches ming yi, exhausted but wary, and takes a hesitant step back as he climbs up onto the table - only to let out a little shriek as he unhinges his jaw. hello? why???
she barely has the time to react.]
No—
[but react she does, dropping the chair between them as he lunges and trying to leap back to avoid the grapple.
trying being the operative word; the exhaustion is starting to drain out of her, but she overcompensates for it, slamming into the wall to avoid the initial grab but then staggering forward again from the impact, putting her just enough within range to get knocked to the ground.]
[ unfortunately aoi has no self preservation and figures the best way to keep miyuki from hurting anyone else - is to make sure that the two of them are farther away. there's not much she can do about each of their individual attackers...
but this way if miyuki swings the chair leg at aoi, it won't accidentally hit anyone else.
[She sees the absolute lack of recognition, she knows it isn't Anaak - but this situation is too familiar, somehow. She still remembers the choice she made when she was asked to kill her. She couldn't do it then, and even though she knows it isn't her niece, it's hard to harm anyone who wears her face. (Maybe she really is becoming too soft, she thinks.)
Ordinarily she might not be knocked over so easily, but the pained noise that Anaak gives - it makes her pause for a split second before she can dodge, and she hits the ground, though she's trying to scramble away right after she does. She hasn't dropped the scissors in the fall.]
Come on, come on, snap out of it—
[It's not an actual attempt to reach her. She imagines that won't work. But - it's an angry hope stated out loud as she tries to move away.]
[ Medb snaps out of whatever thoughts she has when she hears that inhuman laughter. After all, Cu Chulainn will always be more of a hero than she could ever be (and what does being a hero mean to a Heroic Spirit such as her?).
Even if he recognizes her, there is difference enough, and Medb brings her arm up to block the kick, wincing before the exhaustion has fully left her.
She readjusts her grip on her scissors and tries to stab him in the leg that just tried to kick her. ]
[sqx slams backwards, hitting the wall. the tv rattles dangerously on the wall as she does. ming yi doesn't seem to care what's happening around him. he only has eyes for her. he always does, right? or maybe he has eyes on what she took from him. he makes a noise - it's somewhere between pained and ravenous - and flings himself forward again, grabbing for her arm again, scrabbling to wrench it in the wrong direction.
miyuki smiles widely at aoi, eyes blank, and swings the chair leg at aoi - across the face first, and then an overhead swing, bringing it down over her back. no hesitation, whatsoever.
endorsi hits the ground and annak takes advantage - knocks a chair out of the way as she scrambles across the floor to grab endorsi by the leg. she claws at endorsi's ankle, dragging herself up, eyes wide. she seems like she's having trouble breathing, chest heaving as she leverages herself up to try and claw across endorsi's face.
cu chulainn doesn't seem to be expecting the block, and he stumbles just slightly when she does. the movement is quick enough that she does manage to jab him in the leg with the scissors, and he grunts in pain, falling back. he circles her, looking for an opening - and then darts forward, barely even noticing the stab wound. it makes him hobble, but he seems to ignore the pain of it as he gets right up on her and grabs her by the hair, trying to snap at her with his teeth, like a dog.]
he gets hold of her arm, because she's too dazed from the impact to even think of dodging, and she makes a choked, pained noise as he wrenches her arm in the wrong way. pain lances through her, and she bites down hard on her lip to keep quiet, trying to yank herself free.
but he's always been physically stronger than her. and even this fake ming yi - well, he's probably just as strong.
muffling a gasp of pain, she glances briefly upwards, sees the tv rattling dangerously, and - since she can't get away, she slams the arm he doesn't have hold of into the wall, aiming to dislodge the television. maybe if it falls between them, he'll have to let her go.]
[ aoi ducks from the first swing, trying to avoid a full strength swing across the face. she's so exhausted that just ducking makes her stumble, makes her nearly lose her footing. there's no way to dodge the second hit.
aoi is knocked to the ground, definitely bruised and definitely bleeding. she staggers when she pulls herself back up and tries to - however weakly - grapple the chair leg from miyuki's hands. ]
[The way she sees her struggling to breath makes her hesitate again, but the way that Anaak successfully rakes her nails over her face is a wake up call, drawing blood from her cheek. She starts struggling more, trying to flip them over so the other girl is pressed against the floor instead and hold her there.]
[ming yi is pretty strong, for sure. which is why he just goes ahead and breaks her arm entirely, with a sickening snap. he doesn't stop there, though - he crawls closer, his jaw hanging horribly from his face like some sort of broken toy. sqx bangs the wall with her arm, and the tv rattles again, dangerous, almost like it's going to come off its hinge. if she hits it one more time, it might come down - if she can manage to do it, that is. because ming yi gets his hands around her neck, and starts to squeeze.
miyuki brings the chair leg up again to try and keep going - there's no finesse to it, she just seems to single-mindedly want to beat aoi to death with a chair leg. what she doesn't seem to be expecting is aoi to fight back. with a hiss, miyuki tries to wrestle the chair leg away, slapping and kicking and shrieking.
to the floor anaak goes - she doesn't seem like she's very strong. but she is wily, and she thrashes in endorsi's hold on the floor, trying to get free. endorsi can see from this angle that there's a glow coming from what might be the back of her neck? it's hard to see what is making the glow happen though.
medb brings an arm up to block, and he just really rips her arm to shreds, seeming to relish seeing blood. of course this means he's not expecting a knee to the dick, and like, that's pretty startling. he jolts, and then drops down to his knees with a confused sound.]
[the way her arm snaps sends another shock of pain through her, and this time, she's not able to keep from screaming; she tries, though, and it comes out in a horrible, choked out wheeze that grows in volume until she can't keep her lips pressed together anymore.
she does try to slam her other hand into the wall, but, like, the dice are rude. so we'll see how far that goes.
as ming yi gets his arms around her neck, she struggles, trying to squirm back, out of his grasp - but of course with the wall right behind her, there's no going anywhere.]
I'm sorry— [she chokes the words out.] I'm sorry, please, don't—
[ oh, dice are a good idea. aoi is the weakest bitch alive, and yet, if absolutely nothing else she is persistent.
she doesn't care if she gets slapped or kicked or scratched - her arms aren't coming off of that chair leg. she's doing her best to wrench it from miyuki's grip. if she could get it, maybe she could help one of the others... ]
[she hears shi qingxuan scream and nearly, nearly looks away from anaak's struggling form to see if she's alright - but she manages to keep her focus, trying to turn anaak over so she can see what's on the back of her neck. as she does that:]
Everyone - look at their necks! I think there's something there!
[ Medb can't help crying out in pain as her arm is ripped in shreds. She can tell some of the others aren't doing so well, and she needs to finish this.
With Endorsi's comment, she knows what she's going to do next. The moment Cu falls to his knees, she brings her hand that still holds the scissors up and slams it down where his neck meets his shoulder.
That's probably not what Endorsi meant, but Medb is vicious and vengeful. Cu Chulainn may have been her obsession in life, but that doesn't mean she didn't still kill him. ]
[sqx begs, but ming yi doesn't seem to be listening. he's mindless, lifting sqx and then slamming her against the wall to try and shut her up, only... there's a pause. she hits the wall, and his expression shifts, confused. his grip on her loosens, just a little.
aoi is doing her best - miyuki seems frustrated that she can't yank the chair leg away, so she just lets go of it and lets aoi have it. instead, she turns to snatch a pair of scissors off the conference table, practically yowling as she advances on aoi.
endorsi does a good job of turning a struggling and squealing anaak over - there's a button there, on the back of her neck. a bright blue press-in button. nasty black veins crawl out around said button, spiderwebbing horribly.
and hey, sure, maybe that's not what endorsi meant, but it's pretty effective. cu drops, and medb stabs him right in the neck. there's a sharp snap and a spark, and blood splashes up and into her face. it smells... synthetic. plastic-y. the scissors dig in, and the button on the back of his neck turns red, flashing in an alarm pattern. cu seizes, and drops like a stone, sparking and smoking.]
[ming yi's grip loosens, and frankly, shi qingxuan can't contemplate why. not with how her head is spinning from being slammed against the wall like that. her hands are on his, now, over his wrists, trying to loosen his hold on her neck. it's the confusion that gets him to actually loosen it just the slightest bit.
she wheezes, trying to breathe - and is vaguely aware of endorsi's warning. it's hard to hear right now (thanks, furby monster) and even harder to think (thanks, ming yi, for the probable concussion), but it's enough - their necks - to get her to abandon her futile efforts to make him let go of her neck. she reaches up for his neck, instead, missing the first time and then trying again. she can't quite get a grip on him, but she can grasp a little wildly, her fingers brushing against the back of his neck.]
I'm sorry...
[the words come out choked and pained, quiet, barely audible.]
[ unable to bring herself to actually use her new weapon, aoi glances around and tosses it towards sqx, letting it slide across the floor. not that sqx seems to be in any position to pick up a weapon, but aoi feels like she needs one more than the other two.
... aoi does not account for the scissors miyuki is wielding at her, now. those are more of a single-target weapon, so whatever she'll do will be fine. ]
She nearly pushes the button on her neck, but - she hesitates, bringing her hands away from the button. She'll need a minute more to convince herself, even as she tries to force herself to think about how this isn't really her. Besides that... Something about hearing Medb crying out like that makes her glance the other woman's way, turning towards her.]
[ getting splashed in the face with synthetic blood is the worst actually and it’s a good thing she wasn’t speaking at the time or else that’d be extra disgusting. her scream is more high-pitched than when her arm was getting torn up.
she watches cu go down and is about to reach down to touch him (because even now, there’s a part of her that will be drawn to him, even a fake) when endorsi calls her name. she snaps out of it, wiping as much blood as she can off her face with her uninjured arm.
she steps on the back of his neck where the button flashes red for extra measure, hoping that’s enough but isn’t waiting to find out. ]
Endorsi, focus on turning her off! Or whatever it does! Then help Aoi! I’m going to Qingxuan!
[ she dashes towards sqx, picking up the chair leg that got thrown aside as she goes. ]
[the confusion only lasts for a moment before he's trying to squeeze again, but it's enough. sqx takes advantage of the moment and reaches for the button that glows ominously on his neck. she misses the first time - her fingers brush against it and he jolts, trying to get away from her hands. he lets go of her throat and just, uh. grabs her by the face and rams her into the wall, temple first.
fortunately for her and unfortunately for britt, sqx rattles against the wall - which makes two things happen. first, the television falls. there's a loud crack as it smashes down into ming yi's face. he drops back, disoriented. second, medb comes up on the two of them with a chair leg, so there's a good chance that if the tv didn't take him down, she will.
aoi, on the other hand, stands and just... waits for miyuki to advance on her, which is unfortunate because that's all that miyuki wants to do. she hisses, and leaps forward to knock aoi to the ground, and starts just wildly stabbing. she's weirdly unsteady, so there are no killing blows, but those scissors sink into aoi's shoulder, her stomach, her side. someone please help this tiny knifeblock.
endorsi is also distracted, which is why anaak manages to get free, shrieking and throwing herself into endorsi hard enough to knock her back against the table. without waiting, anaak grabs endorsi's hand and just bites off two of her fingers.
at least cu is like, dead, or stepped on. he just sparks on the floor, eyes blank.]
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she should get up. she knows she should get up, but - god, she's just so tired. she wants out of this place, out of this mess. she wants to go back to before she ever agreed to be here and just let her life play out the way it was supposed to.
...but that can't happen, can it?
horrified, she tightens her grip on the chair nearest her and holds it out as if she can push the hissing people back with it if they approach.]
Don't...
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it isn't that aoi isn't tired, or like she doesn't want to just lay down and give up. she doesn't want to let anyone get hurt, though. she doesn't want to let miyuki hurt anyone.
with sluggish movements and dragging feet, aoi steps closer to the bodies, putting herself between them and the others. at the very least, she's good at being persistent! ]
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Seeing all four of them standing like that - her thoughts immediately go to what she's heard about scenarios the other participants have been through, and things they've had to do. It's not her. That's not Anaak. This is... It can't be real. But still, all the same, low and hushed as she looks at her:]
Anaak...?
[She doesn't drop the scissors, but her stance is a far cry from someone waiting for a fight. To the others, as she takes a step towards the girl, trying to move past Aoi—]
Don't - none of you touch her. She's... [...] She's family.
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It's almost like a far off dream, even with all four of them frothing at the mouth like that. ]
They're— They shouldn't be them.
[ But Medb sounds so weak and tired and there isn't nearly as much conviction in her voice as there usually is.
She struggles to stand again. ]
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which is good, because with jerky, robotic movements, the four familiar faces dart forward.
anaak goes right for endorsi - she doesn't even seem to recognize her, just goes for her legs, in an attempt to knock her down. she makes a sound that's pained, like a dog walking on a broken foot, and fights for the upper hand.
miyuki picks up a chair, and breaks it against the table, slamming it down over and over until a leg breaks off. she grins, and turns to aoi, the chair leg in hand.
ming yi climbs onto the table, watching sqx with a predatory look. his jaw cracks, and unhinges, and he throws himself across the table's surface in an attempt to grab her by the wrists and knock her to the floor.
cu chulainn laughs, a chittering, inhuman sound. his arm cracks as he reaches behind him, against his back, like he's reaching for something not there. a pause, and then he turns to medb, eyes flashing in recognition. when he smiles, there's nothing behind his eyes. and in an instant, he's aiming a kick at her face, or rather, the side of her head.]
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she barely has the time to react.]
No—
[but react she does, dropping the chair between them as he lunges and trying to leap back to avoid the grapple.
trying being the operative word; the exhaustion is starting to drain out of her, but she overcompensates for it, slamming into the wall to avoid the initial grab but then staggering forward again from the impact, putting her just enough within range to get knocked to the ground.]
Ghh...
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but this way if miyuki swings the chair leg at aoi, it won't accidentally hit anyone else.
so she's just slowly approaching miyuki. ]
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Ordinarily she might not be knocked over so easily, but the pained noise that Anaak gives - it makes her pause for a split second before she can dodge, and she hits the ground, though she's trying to scramble away right after she does. She hasn't dropped the scissors in the fall.]
Come on, come on, snap out of it—
[It's not an actual attempt to reach her. She imagines that won't work. But - it's an angry hope stated out loud as she tries to move away.]
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Even if he recognizes her, there is difference enough, and Medb brings her arm up to block the kick, wincing before the exhaustion has fully left her.
She readjusts her grip on her scissors and tries to stab him in the leg that just tried to kick her. ]
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miyuki smiles widely at aoi, eyes blank, and swings the chair leg at aoi - across the face first, and then an overhead swing, bringing it down over her back. no hesitation, whatsoever.
endorsi hits the ground and annak takes advantage - knocks a chair out of the way as she scrambles across the floor to grab endorsi by the leg. she claws at endorsi's ankle, dragging herself up, eyes wide. she seems like she's having trouble breathing, chest heaving as she leverages herself up to try and claw across endorsi's face.
cu chulainn doesn't seem to be expecting the block, and he stumbles just slightly when she does. the movement is quick enough that she does manage to jab him in the leg with the scissors, and he grunts in pain, falling back. he circles her, looking for an opening - and then darts forward, barely even noticing the stab wound. it makes him hobble, but he seems to ignore the pain of it as he gets right up on her and grabs her by the hair, trying to snap at her with his teeth, like a dog.]
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he gets hold of her arm, because she's too dazed from the impact to even think of dodging, and she makes a choked, pained noise as he wrenches her arm in the wrong way. pain lances through her, and she bites down hard on her lip to keep quiet, trying to yank herself free.
but he's always been physically stronger than her. and even this fake ming yi - well, he's probably just as strong.
muffling a gasp of pain, she glances briefly upwards, sees the tv rattling dangerously, and - since she can't get away, she slams the arm he doesn't have hold of into the wall, aiming to dislodge the television. maybe if it falls between them, he'll have to let her go.]
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aoi is knocked to the ground, definitely bruised and definitely bleeding. she staggers when she pulls herself back up and tries to - however weakly - grapple the chair leg from miyuki's hands. ]
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She, in turn, tries to knee him in the dick even if she has to take a chunk getting bitten out of her arm. ]
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miyuki brings the chair leg up again to try and keep going - there's no finesse to it, she just seems to single-mindedly want to beat aoi to death with a chair leg. what she doesn't seem to be expecting is aoi to fight back. with a hiss, miyuki tries to wrestle the chair leg away, slapping and kicking and shrieking.
to the floor anaak goes - she doesn't seem like she's very strong. but she is wily, and she thrashes in endorsi's hold on the floor, trying to get free. endorsi can see from this angle that there's a glow coming from what might be the back of her neck? it's hard to see what is making the glow happen though.
medb brings an arm up to block, and he just really rips her arm to shreds, seeming to relish seeing blood. of course this means he's not expecting a knee to the dick, and like, that's pretty startling. he jolts, and then drops down to his knees with a confused sound.]
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she does try to slam her other hand into the wall, but, like, the dice are rude. so we'll see how far that goes.
as ming yi gets his arms around her neck, she struggles, trying to squirm back, out of his grasp - but of course with the wall right behind her, there's no going anywhere.]
I'm sorry— [she chokes the words out.] I'm sorry, please, don't—
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she doesn't care if she gets slapped or kicked or scratched - her arms aren't coming off of that chair leg. she's doing her best to wrench it from miyuki's grip. if she could get it, maybe she could help one of the others... ]
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Everyone - look at their necks! I think there's something there!
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With Endorsi's comment, she knows what she's going to do next. The moment Cu falls to his knees, she brings her hand that still holds the scissors up and slams it down where his neck meets his shoulder.
That's probably not what Endorsi meant, but Medb is vicious and vengeful. Cu Chulainn may have been her obsession in life, but that doesn't mean she didn't still kill him. ]
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aoi is doing her best - miyuki seems frustrated that she can't yank the chair leg away, so she just lets go of it and lets aoi have it. instead, she turns to snatch a pair of scissors off the conference table, practically yowling as she advances on aoi.
endorsi does a good job of turning a struggling and squealing anaak over - there's a button there, on the back of her neck. a bright blue press-in button. nasty black veins crawl out around said button, spiderwebbing horribly.
and hey, sure, maybe that's not what endorsi meant, but it's pretty effective. cu drops, and medb stabs him right in the neck. there's a sharp snap and a spark, and blood splashes up and into her face. it smells... synthetic. plastic-y. the scissors dig in, and the button on the back of his neck turns red, flashing in an alarm pattern. cu seizes, and drops like a stone, sparking and smoking.]
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she wheezes, trying to breathe - and is vaguely aware of endorsi's warning. it's hard to hear right now (thanks, furby monster) and even harder to think (thanks, ming yi, for the probable concussion), but it's enough - their necks - to get her to abandon her futile efforts to make him let go of her neck. she reaches up for his neck, instead, missing the first time and then trying again. she can't quite get a grip on him, but she can grasp a little wildly, her fingers brushing against the back of his neck.]
I'm sorry...
[the words come out choked and pained, quiet, barely audible.]
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... aoi does not account for the scissors miyuki is wielding at her, now. those are more of a single-target weapon, so whatever she'll do will be fine. ]
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She nearly pushes the button on her neck, but - she hesitates, bringing her hands away from the button. She'll need a minute more to convince herself, even as she tries to force herself to think about how this isn't really her. Besides that... Something about hearing Medb crying out like that makes her glance the other woman's way, turning towards her.]
—Medb?!
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she watches cu go down and is about to reach down to touch him (because even now, there’s a part of her that will be drawn to him, even a fake) when endorsi calls her name. she snaps out of it, wiping as much blood as she can off her face with her uninjured arm.
she steps on the back of his neck where the button flashes red for extra measure, hoping that’s enough but isn’t waiting to find out. ]
Endorsi, focus on turning her off! Or whatever it does! Then help Aoi! I’m going to Qingxuan!
[ she dashes towards sqx, picking up the chair leg that got thrown aside as she goes. ]
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fortunately for her and unfortunately for britt, sqx rattles against the wall - which makes two things happen. first, the television falls. there's a loud crack as it smashes down into ming yi's face. he drops back, disoriented. second, medb comes up on the two of them with a chair leg, so there's a good chance that if the tv didn't take him down, she will.
aoi, on the other hand, stands and just... waits for miyuki to advance on her, which is unfortunate because that's all that miyuki wants to do. she hisses, and leaps forward to knock aoi to the ground, and starts just wildly stabbing. she's weirdly unsteady, so there are no killing blows, but those scissors sink into aoi's shoulder, her stomach, her side. someone please help this tiny knifeblock.
endorsi is also distracted, which is why anaak manages to get free, shrieking and throwing herself into endorsi hard enough to knock her back against the table. without waiting, anaak grabs endorsi's hand and just bites off two of her fingers.
at least cu is like, dead, or stepped on. he just sparks on the floor, eyes blank.]
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