#.˚ ⋆ arc 002. ┊ jackson.

[iccarian]

@mossgr0ve: [  shield  ]  sender  steps  between  receiver  and  danger //ellie @ marlais.

 ‍ ❝ wait — .ᐟ ❞ too late. marlais grunts as her companion pushes herself in front of her, sending her stumbling a step back and then some as the runner crashes into ellie instead. boots slipping in the muck from the wet of early spring, she clambers desperately back toward the scuffle while slipping the handgun out from her belt — having dropped her bow when the infected started getting way too close for comfort. she thinks she hears the other get a shot or two off, or maybe the shick of a knife, the blood is rushing too heavily in her ears to really tell. but she lets a shot off into the thing's temple anyway, aiding ellie in shoving its limp body off of them.

 ‍ the immediate danger faded, there's suddenly a cinch of panic around marlais' heart as she grasps ellie's forearm to pull them up and her palms hover uncertainly over torn fabric, cerulean hues darting from her face to any possible injuries. ❝ jesus, fu — i'm sorry. are you okay? ❞

[iccarian]

@fractisouls: [ wound ] sender injures muse in a fight ( practice or real ) [ Ellie @ Marlais ]

 ‍ despite the adrenaline beating through her veins, marlais doesn't feel incredibly focused on the task at hand; her mind reeling too quickly, thinking too much about either the stiffness of her own stance or the swipes of her opponent instead of just being. her own movements feel clunky, her hands the only nimble part of her and the rest of her body desperately trying to catch up.

 ‍ ellie reers for a strike that marlais catches too late, trying to pivot on her heel to duck out of the way — but ellie is shorter, so she ends up ducking right into the punch. wham! a flash of pain turns her vision white for a second, teeth sinking into the side of her tongue upon the impact to her jaw and she tastes iron. she doesn't dance away, anticipatory of another hit, but remains where she stumbled in the first place and raises a hand to the ache in her chin.

〝 ow. 〞 she grimaces. hands up, mari, keep your guard; rand's voice in her head. but that had been far easier when she was ten and her brother wasn't putting any weight to his punches. 〝 I told you I was rusty at this. 〞 her gaze lifts, seeking the other with a small attempt at a wry smile. 〝 I'm not going to get taken off patrol for getting my ass kicked, right? 〞