"Harcourt."[break][break]

His name came out curt and sharp, like the crack of a whip on the air.[break][break]

She examined his figure as he approached, noting the curious mix of recognition and distrust on his face and wondering if it likewise reflected on her own.[break][break]

Both of them had changed; even beneath the shadows of this dimly-lit cesspool of urban decay, that much was apparent.[break][break]

"It's been awhile since we trained together, hasn't it?"[break][break]

Red lips pulled into a smile that was all teeth, and she took a step forward, the weeds freezing in their rustling movement as she bridged the divide between them.[break][break]

"I think it's time we showed one another what we're now capable of. No Pokemon. Just us."[break][break]

Adrenaline raced through her, heartbeat pounding with the hunger of anticipation.[break][break]

Alive with the fervent desire to destroy.

[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"We intend to."

[break]

While crystals armored his upper body, Elisabeth's own stood perfectly still in response, taking in the sight with silent calculation. Her own preparation was not so noticeable as his.[break][break]

Save for the faintest tremor that shook the concrete beneath their feet.[break][break]

It was strange, how very perceptive Elisabeth suddenly felt towards the world around her. All of her was so keenly aware of the unseen life yearning to grow beneath and about this man-made architecture, and in that same awareness, made to feel how it withered and shrank before her own spiteful need to sacrifice that life to strengthen her own.[break][break]

When the Beast lunged for her, a network of snarling roots had already spiderwebbed out towards him unseen beneath the ground, pushing pressure against the floor until it caved and cracked in response. Freed of their stony prison, the massive roots surged upwards to meet him where he ran, seeking to throw him backwards before he could even reach where Elisabeth stood.[break][break]

He'd been the one to first teach her this lesson: look for the enemy's weak point, before you strike.

[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"Bioterrorist now, actually. It's better not to half-do something, don't you think?"[break][break]

She smirked despite herself at the way he fell backwards, vindication soaring through her at this reversal of their time in the Rocket training rooms. Back then, she had struggled to defend herself, falling and scraping her knees over and over as bruises flowered over her skin.[break][break]

She wondered if he bruised beneath his blackened armor, too -- at how mortal that body of his remained yet.[break][break]

"How fitting that he'd become a man of unfeeling crystal, instead of flesh and blood."

[break]

As the plates shifted to coat him once again, Elisabeth likewise commanded the tangle of roots to surround her in a semi-circle, the defensive barrier seeking to hold him off as he returned on the offensive.[break][break]

Except he'd adjusted his strategy.[break][break]

With the agile movement of a Liepard, he leapt high over the next strike she'd aimed for him. His legs skimmed the thorny exterior of the thicket she'd brought about herself, and Elisabeth jumped backwards as he slashed downwards, barely able to summon another vine in time to catch the blow that sought to carve her face.[break][break]

Again. Again. And again. Like a scythe, he cut through the weeds she manifested in her rage and spite. A sharp edge grazed her cheek, drawing blood.[break][break]

"We needn't be confined to linear thinking, either."

[break]

This time, when he brought down his full might upon her, the vine she summoned did not catch his attack. Instead, it snaked from behind him across the room, coiling about his ankles to attempt to yank him -- hard -- down to the cold concrete.[break][break]

But not before his clawed hand could make purchase on her own leg, dragging her back down with him.

[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Indignation sparked at this change of affairs, hissing with disdain and self-loathing.[break][break]

"All this power, and still so weak?"

[break]

She spat up at him, a glower smoldering in her eyes as his clawed arms held her down in place. Vines struggled to uproot him from her, but with her vision blocked and his claws so close to flesh, she screamed for a victory that would come seconds too late.[break][break]

How fitting, to be Scorned as this hateful man sneered down at her with cruel amusement.[break][break]

But I am Vindictive, too.

[break]

Pink mist plumed forth from her mouth, blown into his face so that it scattered like pixie dust to coat his black crystal in glitter. The fog seeped from her body with waves of bitterness, carrying with it a sense of unease that hinted at one patron's opinion of another.[break][break]

elisabeth can also expel a fog that causes affected targets to enter a BERSERK TRANCE. this can be used to tunnel their aggression onto a particular target. in roll-based events, characters who are in this fog roll with disadvantage (take the lower of two rolls). spread of the fog is determined by the moderator.[break][break]

extensive use of the fog can be used to alter a victim's personality. this can skewer their mental state. repeated exposure to this fog will prove addictive. (REQ: RPER PERMISSION)

[break]

"Let go of me, Harcourt," she snarled, resentment bleeding from every part of her body where he touched her. As heady clouds of rose-pink washed over them, she watched his face to see if this might affect him in some way, altering what part of his humanity remained yet.[break][break]

He seemed nothing but an emotionless void, while she had become a living, breathing wound.

[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt FERNANDO SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

I can't.

[break]

The horror of this sudden revelation swept over her for a moment, the confession swallowed back lest this fear be perceived by her unwilling victim. It was temporary, she reminded herself. It had been temporary for freya morningstar, hadn't it? And the others.[break][break]

Yes, that was right. They'd all eventually broken free, no matter their exposure, once it ended. This she had to believe, especially with as brief an encounter as this had been, surely?[break][break]

Though despite that, Elisabeth found herself morbidly transfixed by the scene that unfolded.[break][break]

How fascinating it was, watching a man she'd seen slaughter with cool, methodical composure, now left nearly feral with untargeted aggression. How intoxicating it felt, to have that devastating power at her fingertips.[break][break]

It did not feel her own, not in the way that her spite felt her own: a natural manifestation of her own inner turmoil, given divine life.[break][break]

No, this felt like channeling something beyond her own abilities. "A conduit," that version of FERNANDO SILPH had called it, hadn't he?[break][break]

And other things. Things she sought to confirm now.[break][break]

"Describe how you feel," she demanded then, oddly emboldened rather than frightened by their current state of affairs. Still, the situation was unpredictable; once more she summoned a barrier of thorns to shield herself from him, in case she lost her grip sooner than expected. "Tell me what it is I've done to you."[break][break]

Have I unleashed the self you truly are? Or twisted you into something I want you to be?

[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"And why would I want you to do that? To destroy, when I could simply pacify you, instead?"[break][break]

Her voice came out strangely calm. Rehearsed. She watched him seethe with barely restrained fury, and in the heat of his rage, she found words that came out so smoothly the lie tasted real.[break][break]

"Some people cannot handle who they are. They repress a part of themselves. They refuse to accept who they are."[break][break]

The mist sparkled on her fingertips, like the paint of rosy-fingered dawn, as she languidly waved it in an arc. Her red eyes seemed to catch the light, glittering as they held his ice-blue stare.[break][break]

"I wore a mask not long ago, didn't I? Only a few of us break free and embrace who we truly are. Others suppress it until they die."[break][break]

She did not provoke him with actions. She remained rooted in place, still as a statue; in contrast, the briars twined about her in a living wall that dared not strike, while refusing to lower.[break][break]

Some part of her sensed the mist was fading fast from him -- that its effect was already ebbing, the way the summer sun dried up the last of rain.[break][break]

"I gave you a glimpse of the strength you could possess, Harcourt. A frenzy of power you could embody, if you wanted it from me."

[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]