2017-03-24 - A Snowball Story
| Title: A Snowball Story | |
|---|---|
| Summary: A snowball fight breaks out during the second Hokkaido trip. | |
| Who: Eri Shimanouchi, Garnet, Mami Tomoe, Madoka Kaname, Sayaka Miki, Kyouko Sakura, Steven Universe, Kasagami Araki, Nori Ankou | |
| Where: Ski Course Kubota, Hokkaido | |
| OOC - IC Date: 03-24-2017 - 01-06-2015 | |
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed. <SoundTracker> Shining Snow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rszpDZzMKqc
In the distance, the ski lodge is frosted like a cake. The craggy old mountains extend far above, the flag-marked ski courses tracing their grandeur. Among the heights of the foothills, snowy walls stand, reflecting the pride of their creators.
"Fufufu," Sayaka grins toothily, mittened fists on her hips, foot resting atop the snow-parapet. "The mountain kami themselves blessed our fort! I've never seen such a powerful castle!" The mountain kami may not have had anything to do with it, but it was easier than normal to build such a noble fortification, due to the ample quantity of snow. The real secret to its might, of course, is teamwork.
Sayaka, Mami, Nori, Garnet, and perhaps more have chipped in to make this snow castle. It has an arched gate, and a platform behind the walls so that the defenders can look out. It even has a premade cache of snowballs, not so much because they expect to use them, but because it felt right to stock the place with /something/. Other Chevaliers have likely added their own touches or decorations.%r"Hm, do you think we should dig a moat?" Sayaka asks Garnet. Her hands are as big as snow shovels, so she's been pulling a lot more than her weight here.
Hopping down in front of Mami as she passes, Sayaka bounces a little on her heels, spreading her hands at her sides to indicate the surrounding fort. She and Mami have been a little down, lately, and Sayaka knows that worry over her is a lot of what has made things hard on senpai. She's been trying hard to have fun, and to have Mami see her have fun. She's displaying herself, now, like a daughter might display a cleaned room to her mother.
Look at our fort. Look at my smile. Look, look.
"Looks good, right?" Sayaka asks. Her yellow Pikachu hat is sagging askew far to one side, one of the ear-flaps flipped up. It looks like a Pikachu imposter right now.
[OOC] Global: Sayaka Miki has set the Scene Pose.
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Mami Tomoe is bundled up against the cold in the fort, standing inside for the moment and dressed in bright yellow with white and black. Her outfit is cheerful, even if her demeanor wasn't when things started; she did a decent job faking it, but Sayaka's assessment about the time she's been having is right.
Today though she's been working on details on the fort, making sure to keep things smooth and nice instead, and she still has her hands up putting on a final touch when Sayaka passes right by her. Sh doesn't look down at the snowballs nearby, but at Sayaka, who she's been watching and watching and watching on this trip. A small smile spreads onto her face as she watches Sayaka smiling, like she doesn't entirely believe it until Sayaka speaks up.
"It looks wonderful," Mami answers, and considers before she steps forward and places her hands to either side of Sayaka's hat, tugging it on straight again and then down to keep it on properly. "Hold on..."
Pause, hands down, "There!"
She's looked at Nori and Garnet, the others as they've gone, but for now she's just looking at her partner. Fuu Hououji (Fuu) pages Sayaka Miki and Mami Tomoe: Hmmm. Would you like Fuu to have apologized off-screen? It feels like that *should* be an on-screen thing, but I don't want to weigh this down with that, either ... or maybe Fuu comes to the fort looking to make that apology she owes to the Chevaliers?
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
For a moment or two, Nori Ankou thought: Should I not put away childish things, and decline to participate? But to quote one of the favorite poets in the Sea of Tears: she contains multitudes.
So that's why she has been working. She is of course wearing a very /fashionable/ snow suit, fashionable enough and well enough made that it might be hard to take it as a snow suit as opposed to extremely well-cut work fatigues, but Akamira's winter casual line is available to her, too. She's especially fond of the padded leather gloves, which are like her hands are always being held.
Also she brought some light tools of durable plastic suitable for snow shaping. You learn some things during winter, which in Hokkaido - well -
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5TzpkhPnwuM/maxresdefault.jpg
"We could claim the moat's already there," Nori suggests, seeming nonetheless tired enough from the labors to not want to start digging. "After all, can't you see it? It's already full of 'water'." She smiles as she says it.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
If there is one thing Steven likes to do in winter, it is build snow tunnels! Of course, forts are a close second. He knows how important it is to keep forts stocked. He has one at home on the beach he guards with his life. If it weren't defend, what would he tell all the army soldier's wives whos husbands were currently on duty?!
He doesn't want to think about it.
On a lighter note, Steven is also good at making snowballs! His hands jsut seem to be perfect for making them. The boy is currently residing in a corner of the fort, making one after the other. He is dressed in his usual winter attier, with a bright red ushanka that seems to be a fancy brand of sorts!
"Makin' bullets, sarge!" he says, compacting another together. Steven's take on a swarthy character is hard to not laugh at, but still get to sound serious. "Won't let ya down, sarge!"
Who exactly is he even calling 'Sarge'? Kids...
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
With the winter sakuras nearby on this hill, this could be almost poetic. Snow hanging off the budding branches, the wind gently shifting petals in the breeze framing the landscape of this fort. But there's a girl hiding behind them, while squatted down back pressed up against a tree trunk.
She's got a grey and white knit cap with tassels on that's made to look like Totoro's face, a heavy coat, snowpants, boots, and gloves that look like they belong to a gardener more than actually keeping warm from the cold- all of it covered in fine powder from crawling her way into cover.
In her hands she's painstakingly packing together the right mixture of slush, ice, dirt, debris into fine powder snow into a perfect sphere to create the ultimate winter weapon- a marvel of crystalline engineering. The only thing that could possibly assail the marvel that is this snow fort.
And when she's finished, she lifts up a hand to the others who are laying in wait- and peeks around the tree, her eyes searching for someone, finding them.
Her expression might as well be made of stone as she notes a hand adjusting an adorable hat.
Plans change when her back is turned. She calls out to start making her turn-
"HEY MIKI!"
BGM Change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-QFj59PON4
Those who are looking in that direction might as well be seeing it happen in slow motion, the green of her jacket and the grey of a Totoro ear peeking out from behind a tree gradually, in centimeters- rolling outward, arm cocked back as if she were about to amateurishly pitch a softball as a few petals float by her
The arm moves forward, with all the power that she can muster if she could will herself to pitch this snowball like some fast pitch Lightning Ball she certainly would, but there's passion thrumming in that arm.
It's released at the end of that, sailing through the air like some gravity had attracted it to a certain someone, like a falling star that had was about to enter the atmosphere of some blue world.
It's aimed right there at the firmament, an attempt to further divide yellow from blue.
To her right now that's all too beautiful and precious an image. Like the rising of the sun upon a field of flowers.
Whether or not it manages that division however however- she then calls out-
"Attack! Today is the day of reckoning! We're taking this fort and sending them all back to the lodge soggy and shivering!"
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet, as she is sometimes apt to do when asked by people to help with construction, dutifully obliges, packing snow, carving walls, giving them a layer of icy glaze by melting the outside with elecricity, and smoothing it over to refreeze. so it shines like opaque crystal.
She nods at the suggestion of a moat. There's no water, but having a trench of carved out ground would make the castle harder to assail, and give the defenders time to pelt them from above.
she shapeshifts her hands into snow shovels to help it go quicker.
Like many here, she's trying to put on a front of normalcy, she thought having Steven tag along might help that, he always makes things more fun... but the Gem still seems to be relishing the busywork as to not have to sit alone with her thoughts
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Fuu owes some people an apology. To that end, upon hearing that Mami, Sayaka, and some others are out building a snow fort, she did a little bit of shopping and then made her way out to join them - bundled up, of course, as befits the weather. "Sayaka-san? Mami-san?" Fuu calls out as she approaches the snowy fortifications. "I was hoping to --"
She's not the only one here, she realizes as Eri launches her assault - and it sounds like she didn't come alone.
Fuu just *runs* for the hopeful shelter of the snow fort. "I come in peace bearing gifts, I'm not with Eri-san or anyone else who's out there!" she blurts out. Her timing just *stinks* sometimes, doesn't it? At least the snow fort doesn't have much of a portcullis to worry about ...
... Right? If she can get there before Sayaka and the others begin mounting a full-on defense, that's all she's really hoping for at this specific moment.
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed. Running behind Fuu is Hikaru, also looking to join the fort as well. "We both come in peace!" She makes a peace sign with her hands, although it could be a joke all the same. "We're not here to hurt anyone, we're here for you." She smiles a little, although she does seem to be shivering a little bit as well, despite being bundled up. For those who know her secret identity, this could be a reference to that, but for most it's just a sign that it's cold out.
"I have to say, the fort looks really nice, so this should be fun," She adds after a moment.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used The Shot Heard Round the Lodge on Sayaka Miki. COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kasagami Araki, Student Council Member, is above the petty snowball games of 'children' of course. No, she's engaging in something far more befitting her position and ways. Skiing and making snow sculptures. For the past few hours, dressed in tailor-made skiing gear, the Disciplinary Executive has been hitting the slopes, and leaving well-sculpted snow men and women all over the place. They're mostly caricatures of her fellow Student Council members, but a few seem suspiciously like Nori or Utena in shape. Many even have little sticks as swords on them.
Saionji's has a sculpted dunce cap sneakily pn it.
And so thus it is that Kasagami comes tearing down, only to come to a halt as she crests a hill, pausing to admire the brilliance of the Chevalier's work. Eri calls for a charge, and up at the top of the hill? Kasagami is already starting in on another sculpture. Her ever-present coat flaps behind her as she shoots a grin as she spies a certain pair of puella!
"Well, well, well! It looks like you two do have /some/ talents after all! Fine work, Mami Tomoe, Sayaka Miki, this member of the Student Council salutes your efforts at art and chilly defence!"
A snap of her fingers, and two Ohtori flunkies carry up a makeshift scoreboard. S v C! The score is Zero-Zero, and Kasagami suddenly pulls a whistle from her pocket.
Schreeeeee!
"May the best team win! The winner gets a hot meal cooked by yours truly, or catered at my expense if you prefer!" Then, with a laugh, she splits her time between starting a sculpture of Eri and Mami, and 'officiating' the snow-fort invasion.
How does one officiate a snow-fort invasion!?
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used 2015: A Snow Odyssey on Sayaka Miki. COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
- Base Modes only
- Rank 1 or 0 attacks only
- Physical attacks only (no Magic)
- The only allowable flags are Quip, Psych, Reinforce, and Cheer.
- KO'ed characters have temporarily been chilled to the point where they can no longer attack foes or bolster allies, but they can still do non-coded combat actions.
http://battlefantasia.pinksugarheartattack.net/Free_Attacks
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki accepts Eri Shimanouchi's 2015: A Snow Odyssey, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Sayaka Miki is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
Kyouko peers down from the high vantage of a snowy ledge overlooking the serenity below. Cheerful chevaliers toil along, finishing the touches on their frigid fortress, a bastion of brr built up, it would seem, simply for the joy of collaboration. Those fortifications will soon be honored with a test..
She wishes she had a horse and a headdress, like from one of those old American movies with the big boots and the bigger hats. Instead her untamed crimson coils are gathered among the slender perimeter of a candy green hoodie with long sky blue ties. Two jaunty felt horns stick up from its crown, each a bubblegum pink, and blue lines the waist and the wrists of the jacket. Makeshift scales cover the arms, felt pink spines dot its back, and a gaping maw spreads along its chest, framed by two blunt teeth, little dotted nostrils, and two large shining eyes, one benign and innocent, the other fiendish and focused, both glimmering with an apparent lack of intelligence.
http://coolspotters.com/files/photos/788335/so-so-happy-tribe-hoodie-in-green-profile.jpg
https://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv89/ilovedjme/soso_hoodies_001-b_1_2.jpg
They're to come in together, all at once and from all angles, a coordinated coup de grace..they won't see what hit them! It's all she can do not to cackle maniaclly, but she's worried that the sound might carry..and above all else, they must maintain the element of...
/A gray and green blur...a lob launched long...a shot of passion sailing in a slow arc.../
...surprise...
Well, the best laid plans...Kyouko mashes the play button on a small portable boom box, which blasts off a tinny recording of a war horn of antiquity, summoning the warriors to strike. Gathering up ammunition by the fistful, she stuffs her sweatshirt's pocket to the brim, and leaps down to enter the fray..
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
When a snowball is hurled, Nori lifts her head upwards and blinks a few times, especially when she sees the Magic Knights coming towards them, pleading for admission and complementing their work.
- Nori's ego gains two points.
But behind them, a familiar voice.
Nori's head swivels with beautifully smooth fluidity to look at Eri, and she rises from her comfortable seat. "Shimanouchi... you have made a truly profound mis-estimation. Do you think that you would find us asleep, like goats in a field?" What?
- tweet!*
Nori's head finishes its traverse to look towards where Kasagami has brought people forth and a scoreboard and is offering a prize. When did Nori's tasteful glove of leather (black) with comfortable threading (red) fill up with something white and circular?
"No," Nori says, echoing off the glittering snow of the course.
A snowball whips forwards towards Kasagami's tootin' piehole!!
"No -Scores-. No -Bystanders-. If you assail my fortress, none shall be spared," Nori says, stepping up onto her seat and contorting slightly, presenting a slim and heavily jacketed profile towards the incoming enemies.
COMBAT: Nori Ankou has used Spooky Snowball (~°o°)~ on Kasagami Araki. COMBAT: Nori Ankou has finished attacking. COMBAT: Kasagami Araki narrowly braces Nori Ankou's Spooky Snowball (~°o°)~, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Nori Ankou is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
The arched entryway of the fort is like a snowy bower, and Sayaka and Mami are framed perfectly in it for Eri's observation. It glistens around them, sparkling magically. Sayaka's cheeks are rosy; is it just the cold? Or is it that she's a way better kouhai than you were, Eri?
"Senpai..." Sayaka's hair is tucked back under the Pikachu hat neatly, as she beams up at Mami. Well, down, Mami's a bit shorter than Sayaka. But it never feels like that to Sayaka. Now her hat is just perfect...
Sayaka's entire face is suddenly a giant blob of snow, blasting her head right out of her hat entirely. Pikachu flops to the ground as Sayaka stumbles blindly, grabbing at Mami's shoulders for support.
"Pthhappht," Sayaka sputters, mouthing until her snowface has a gap she can talk out of. She doesn't need to see to recognize the voice of her assailant. "Shimanouchi! That was a dirty attack!" Scrubbing her face in her shoulder, Sayaka releases Mami and falls to her knees, forgetting all about the ammo they have stocked up in the fort as she gathers up a fresh snowball.
"Huh? The Magic Kni--" Sayaka bites off her words. "Aheheh, the Magic Ni-ce girls, I mean." She frowns at Fuu and Hikaru. "All right, but no funny business! To the walls!"
Sayaka leaps athletically to the parapet and launches her snowball with a tall arc, like a human catapult defending the fortress. "Shimanouchi! You'll regret this!"
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Snow Them Your Fighting Spirit! on Eri Shimanouchi. COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi perfectly dodges Sayaka Miki's Snow Them Your Fighting Spirit!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
[OOC] Sayaka Miki says, "A perfect dodge with ~15 Reflex..." [OOC] Sayaka Miki says, "Truly Eri is a formidable foe" [OOC] Eri Shimanouchi says, "You shouldn't underestimate me!"
<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Tasteful gloves make a tasteful snowball, and lob the Spooky Snow-Sphere of Doom towards the unguarded Kasagami-chan! She's too proud to dodge, to move, and so that glorious toss arcs right down to the Stu-Co member, just as she's raising her whistle!
"That's attacking the referee!"
Schreespfffffffft goes Kasagami-and-whistle both have their face well Spooked, Snow'd, and generally Norin'd! Hands clearing away the snow from her face, she waggles her whistle at the fort threateningly!
"Then you leave me no choice! Nori Ankou, I accept your brave challenge! For the glory of Ohtori!" She calls out, raising a fist in challenge, before...going back to sculpting!?
A sculpting knife goes swish swish swish, she uses those two flunkies as cover, and finally it's complete!
Tiny snow-sculptures of Kasagami holding a wine bottle. At least a dozen of them. And they're being very gently lobbed towards Nori, one at a time! A few have little snow-skis on them, and are gently being pushed down to slowly slide and boop against the walls of the snow fort.
"Taste the most beautiful and valiant snowballs you've ever been avalanched by!"
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has used Snow-Kassie Avalanche Atttaaaaack! on Nori Ankou. COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
'HEY MIKI!'
"You what!?" Mami calls out to Eri, and as the others start chiming in their drama, Mami reaches out to steady Sayaka. "Oh, are you...?" A dirty attack. Mami's eyes absolutely light up. The dignified young woman actually giggles. "oh! Oh, I'd better...!"
It helps that theres music moments later.
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
'HEY MIKI!'
"You what!?" Mami calls out to Eri, and as the others start chiming in their drama, Mami reaches out to steady Sayaka. "Oh, are you...?" A dirty attack. Mami's eyes absolutely light up. The dignified young woman actually giggles. "oh! Oh, I'd better...!"
It helps that theres music moments later.
Mami ducks towards their stockpile of snowballs, and whispers to Nori, "That's right!" At that she picks up snowballs and starts up towards the others, cradling them in her arm and trying not to drop them in the process. She hesitates then. "Yes, I..." She throws suddenly at a gray and green blob, and hops on her feet despite the ice. "Shimanouchi-san!" Mami calls, "Take this!" She glances to Kyouko, "And--don't think I'm done yet!"
As she talks her hurls snowballs at the girl in g-colors, only a little hesitant and trying to gt back under cover after. She's not quite fast enough to entirely escape, though...!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Double Team on Eri Shimanouchi. COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi narrowly braces Mami Tomoe's Double Team, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Mami Tomoe is Psyched! Eri Shimanouchi's Block ability activates! Eri Shimanouchi's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet doesn't exactly know what's going on, she sees Eri and Kyouko and immediately jumps into action, but notices the others are throwing snow, and are all in their regular clothes..? Garnet doesn't understand exactly what's happening, but she goes along with it, and chucks a handful of snow at the loudest person she can identify... Kasagami.
She remembers after a huge, clumsy whump of snow heads the duelist's way that her handful right now is the contents of a large snow shovel.
"Whoops." COMBAT: Garnet has used Snowed of Shovelry on Kasagami Araki. COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
"Sarge, the fort is stocked! Permission to nap, sir!" he says, talking to... literally no one it seems. The boy seems to be able to entertain himself rather easily! The rest of the girls building the fort though is fun to watch from his small-yet-crucial department in this arctic kremlin of fortitude. "Man, the cocoa when we are done will be really good."
The boy lazes about, until a whistle blows, and a poof of hair can barely be seen moving behind a wall, until it pops up: a Steven is under the hair. "Hay Kasagami! What'cha doin?"
His question is answered by a hail of snowballs suddenly flying. "Oh man! We are under attack! There are so many things I have yet to do with my life! So many video games unplayed! So many donuts uneaten..." the boy says, waxing melancholic. "Better idea! Retaliate!" ...But this was no time to give up! He just stockpiled the armory full of snowballs! Wait, did they have an armory? What was that room called? Whatever.
"The boy gives covering snow-fire for Fuu and Hikaru, and then gets the attention of what sounds like a horn nearby! A bit of poking around shows someone played it on a phone or something, and Steven thinks he knows who it was!
"Hello!" Steven calls over to Kyouko, from behind a wall. "Nice to meet you! I got you a present!"
It was obviously a snowball thrown at her.
"Is it cheating to use shields?" he calls out. No particular reason. No particular reason at all. Maybe.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Ice To Meet You! on Kyouko Sakura. COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking. COMBAT: Kasagami Araki fails to dodge Garnet's Snowed of Shovelry, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kasagami Araki is Quipped! COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura narrowly braces Steven Universe's Ice To Meet You!, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe is Psyched! Kyouko Sakura's Block ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed. <SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xllG3fSUAOw
When Kyouko descended from the mountain, falling in a tiny star of emerald and ruby, she did not do so alone. A headless broomhandle between white knuckles, the plastic lid of a plastic municipal garbage can, residential edition, came with her, the rectangular rim spraying snow like alabaster flechettes to herald her coming as she rides it like a makeshift snowboard down the slope.
The devil horned hood snaps back, unleashing the full frenzy of her scarlet swarm of hair, long whipping tendrils splaying behind her like a rocket jet. Her legs tense and ease with the contours of her approach, her entire body alert and poised. She is here to do battle and she'll give no less than her full warrior self.
The looming tower grows in her vision, corded muscles twisting with a snapping fury to strike the end of her makeshift staff at the ground, spraying gouts of snow to ward off interception. Lest any mistook her bold intent, her indomitable approach and apparent disinterest in slowing, stopping, or swaying marks her destination.
She isn't heading for the walls of the fort. She's heading for its very heart.
They should've dug a moat.
Ducking low, her hair slaps the underside of the arch as she rockets in, her trajectory taking her right alongside one Mami Tomoe..her broomshaft already shifted to her right hand, a fistful of powder and ice has sprouted from her left, capping an extended arm aimed right for her old friend's head.
Plunging her broom into the ground below, she skids to a halt, the meager length of her improvised rod shuddering in great protest from the force it's been asked to contain. It has warped beyond use, sacrificing itself to for its Mistress, but it's duty was done well. Her descent has been stayed, and now she stands amidst her enemies.
A small and gentle voice drifts to the top of the pile of her distractions. A gentle explosion of fine white sprays into the side of her head. And if Steven should happen to peek around the wall he hides behind, he'll see the gleaming-toothed visage of a wild eyed crimson haired she-devil consumed in the throes of bloodlust staring right back at him, an animal snarl making a rictus of rage of her features.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has used Frosty Demean Her on Mami Tomoe. COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has finished attacking. COMBAT: Mami Tomoe perfectly dodges Kyouko Sakura's Frosty Demean Her, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Mami Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
"There are no bystanders in snow war! Don't you know anything!?" Eri calls out as the Magic Knights rush into the fort. Thankfully Nori echoes the same- but- Sayaka calls it a dirty attack, "Dirty~ You have every advantage here and you're calling it dirty? I call it strategy! If you can't take me evening the odds then you might as well forfeit now!"
But Sayaka leaps to the parapet and like some human trebuchet sends a snowball arcing her way. Eyes wide behind her glasses, she hurriedly hits the ground in a puff of powdery snow, as the snowball sails overhead- closer than she would have liked to admit, to plap down behind her "And here I thought you played softball Miki! I didn't know it was with the elementary school team!"
She's up on her knees when Mami throws one. Perhaps there's something of a twinkle in her eyes, as she clumsily swings out an arm and strikes the snowball just before it reaches her, splattering some snow on her forehead, just below her bangs and getting her Totoro-cap covered in snow. "I actually felt that one!" Maybe she has a twinkle in her eyes as she does so, "Maybe you should take throwing lessons from Tomoe over there instead of six year olds~"
Scrambling down on all fours, she works her way around the Sakura tree trunk, to start packing up more snow in her gloves to make a pair of snowballs- she's surprised when she notices Kyouko is here, in /that/ green hoodie- snarling like some snow youkai, charging the fort, "Whoa!" She whistles- as she notes her charging into the heart of the fort after Mami, "You're in for it now Miki! Senpai is on a mission to stuff as much snow into the seat of your pants as she can manage!"
She hopes that'll be a distraction- because she comes out of cover to underhand a throw up and over the fortress walls, "HEY TOMOE! In the mood for some dessert?" She calls out as it sails in an arc through the air- hoping it will splatter against the side of her head into a meticulously groomed golden curl, "Let's see if my shaved ice measures up to your standards!"
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Now is the Winter of our Discontent! on Mami Tomoe. COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking. COMBAT: Mami Tomoe fails to dodge Eri Shimanouchi's Now is the Winter of our Discontent!, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
"Who appointed you to this role? There are no referees in the snows of Hokkaido," Nori answers Kasagami, the wind plucking at her hair. "Only the bitterness of cold and defeat await you. Also, bears."
And then a snow sculpture barrage falls in towards Nori. Figures with skis - others holding wine bottles -
Nori's heart twists. She realizes it all at once. Kasagami doesn't know, does she? She has no idea. Nori can still feel the blows on her shoulder and the grief of failure and the taste on her tongue /but Kasagami doesn't know/.
Nori is frozen for a few moments, lost in a realm of sorrow and heartbreak. A snow goon hits her, then another, then one of the little ones on skis. She pitches to her side, landing in the midst of one of the rampart with a 'paff' of snow. Tears drip from her eyes, wordlessly, for a moment.
Then Nori twitches forward.
She slides down that snowy mound... and sits bolt upright, both hands full of fresh-packed snow.
"The glory of Ohtori... What good is that?!" Nori calls even as she gives Kasagami both barrels. Of course this isn't defending the fort very well...
COMBAT: Nori Ankou has used Spooky Snowball (~°o°)~ on Kasagami Araki. COMBAT: Nori Ankou has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Her timing leaves a *LOT* to be desired, it seems; Fuu scrambles for cover while she has something resembling a chance to do so, keeping that box full of baked goods tucked securely under her left arm. If she has to put it down somewhere, snow will likely soak into the paperboard and maybe past it, and it won't stay warm either; under her arm is *possibly* the safest place for her peace offering.
Of course, before she can offer it to the people who most need to receive it, the 'attack' needs to be fended off. "Steven-san, if I might avail myself?" Fuu asks, inclining her head at the stockpile of pre-made snowballs. It's not exactly a quiver of arrows, but this isn't the time or place for archery. Quite the opposite, in fact - although an archer's knowledge of applied ballistics could still be quite handy.
A few seconds later, a snowball lobbed by Fuu arcs over the snow fort wall, flying high and probably none too accurately. By luck or by intention, the snowball descends at Kyouko ...
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki fails to brace Nori Ankou's Spooky Snowball (~°o°)~, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Nori Ankou is Psyched! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Off-Hand Snowjectory on Kyouko Sakura. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Hikaru tried to take cover but she caught the snow coming at her all the same, so she realized that there's going to be a need for some fighting here. Albeit with good intentions, despite the cold weather and the snow itself. "I haven't done this since I was a kid. This should be fun if I still remember how to do it right! Assuming, of course..." That she doesn't melt the snow with her hands as she packs some into her hand and then makes a snowball just like before.
"I still got this! And so do you, Fuu-chan," She comments as she watches her buddy lob a snowball over the wall. "Fire two!" She calls out, tossing it over the wall and aiming in the direction of Fuu's snowball as well. She has no idea that she's aiming for Kyouko, just that she's going with what her friend did.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Snow Kidding on Kyouko Sakura. COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
That assault of mini-snow-Kassies stops as Steve calls out! There's a big wave and a smug grin sent towards the fort and the young man!
"Steve-kun! Make sure you're staying warm out here! And be sure to have fun! Be on your toes, Eri-chan down there is a forced to be reckoned with!" There's no agenda here, it's Steve after all! She gives an honest bit of cheer to the young man.
And then Garnet lets loose! Kasagami has a full sized sculpture of Anthy ready to go down the hill, when suddenly both Garnet and Nori launch their barrels of snowy doom at her! She's soon covered from head to snow in a light frosting of cold, pffft'ing and shake-shake-shakeing it all off!
"I appointed myself, of course! I'm the only one fit to judge the valor of this great battle toda..."
More Nori-chan snowballs! Stumble, wobble, thud! Right on her hoop!
"Nori Ankou, your strength with snowballs is greater than any bear, only eclipsed by your..."
She does pause though. "Are...you alright, Nori?" There's honest concern in her voice for a moment. No. No she doesn't know at all.
And with that thunderous, last attack by Nori? Kasagami finds herself skidding backwards down her hill. In skiis. There's an 'eeeeee' that sounds suspiciously like asking NOri to call her later, as away the Student Council member is forced by the vicious assault of snowy doom.
Not long after, vague bear wrestling sounds can be heard in the distance.
COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has used Snow Them What You've Got Steve-kun on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Kasagami Araki has finished attacking. COMBAT: Steven Universe accepts Kasagami Araki's Snow Them What You've Got Steve-kun, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe is Cheered!
<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Suddenly, exploding out of the slope comes a tiny pink figure -- pink hair, yes, but also pink snowveralls and ski jacket. And pink eyes, pink eyes that burn with raw determination as she throws herself between Kyouko and the team-up barrage coming her way.
"Hey!" Madoka squeaks. "It's not fair to gang up like that! Pick on -- pick on someone your own..."
Red flags of embarrassment rise on her cheeks, and she squints her eyes shut before turning her hands into scoops and sending as many snowballs back over the fort walls as she can in a very short period.
"SIIIIIIZE!"
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname covers Kyouko Sakura for Fuu Hououji's attack, Off-Hand Snowjectory, taking it upon themselves instead! COMBAT: Madoka Kaname fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Off-Hand Snowjectory, taking 7 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used Get Shorty on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Yeah! Steven got one!
Oh man, she looks mad. "I-It's just a game! Right?" Maybe he shouldn't have hit her. "We have intruders in the fort!" he calls out, hustling off the wall and scooping up snowballs left and right. "Yeah, get you some!" he says to Fuu. After all, they just showed up! They don't have any of their own, Fuu or Hikaru. Good thing he made spares!
Speaking of knightly girls, they ready a volley and the mean-looking intruder, when suddenly, a small girl shows up to the fight and attacks Fuu! With a cool one-liner, too!
"Oh, if we are going by size, then...!"
And with that, the boy proceeds to try and pelt Madoka.
"Also, hello!" he says, before ducking behind a wall. His hair clearly pokes over it. He needs to get better at hiding. "I got this, Kasagami!" a pause. "Uh, Kasagami?" The girl was gone. Where'd she go?
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Ice To Meet You, Too! on Madoka Kaname. COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking. COMBAT: Madoka Kaname narrowly braces Steven Universe's Ice To Meet You, Too!, taking 2 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Walhalla Awaits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyVIQGHWUnA Sayaka tisks as Eri leaps to the side, the accompanying taunt sharpening her eyes. "Hey! Try taking on Fate-chan one-on-one before you talk down to elementary schoolers like that!"
The Red Menace comes in some sort of dinosaur or monster hoodie, leaping adroitly through the gate. Sayaka turns to watch. "Senpai! Hang in there!" she calls back to Mami. Scooping up a piece of snow as she jogs along the parapet, Sayaka balls it up and slings it in a fast, skilled underhand at Eri, as though she were fielding back to a base.
"Is that what she wants? To stick snow in my pants? We'll see about that..."
Sayaka squats deeply with her knees, grasping one of the crenellations of the castle, no, digging her mittens in much deeper than that. "Hrrrrgh!"
Sayaka's arms quake, her bowels shake, her fingers snake, but she won't break. The snow boulder lurches, the wall cracking. "RRRAGH!" Sayaka cries aloud, forcing her legs slowly straight, the snow weighing her down as it rips free, trailing snowflakes. With a feat of brute strength suitable for her herculean (ed. note:slightly-above-average) build, she drops her knees a litte and jerks her arms, hefting the great snow crag above her head. On slow, teetering steps she approaches the edge of the parapet above Kyouko, preparing to drop it on her stupid red head.
She's just in time to witness Madoka's sacrifice. Her face shifts into a rictus of matrimonial sympathy.
"FUUUUU!" she cries aloud, shifting her stance.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura narrowly braces Hikaru Shidou's Snow Kidding, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Kyouko Sakura's Block ability activates! COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Snow Them Your Fighting Spirit! on Eri Shimanouchi. COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi narrowly dodges Sayaka Miki's Snow Them Your Fighting Spirit!, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Sayaka Miki is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Of the things Mami was expecting, a shock of familiar red hair inside the walls was not one of thm. ...Essentially snowboarding on a trash lid wasn't, either. Kyouko just has a way of surprising hr somehow.
"What?"
Kyouko's extended arm is aimed straight for her head, and Mami's honey eyes widen suddenly. By instinct as much as anything, she /ducks/ with a light shriek, the snow and powder sailing right over her head, some white dusting her hair in the process as she stands right back up an instant later. "S-Sakura-san!" she answers, her heart going a mile a minute. "I'm fine!" she answers Sayaka, "Don't worry!"
But there's Eri talking to Sayaka, and Mami tries to dart back with her armful of snowballs, grinning lightly as she assumes Eri is occupied with Mami's kohai rather than with her for the moment. It's a great distraction, and Mami doesn't even see Eri's snowball. It hits her right in the side of the head and startles her with its sheer cold. "Aaah!" Mami jumps and slips, falling straight into the snow and squashing most of her arsenal against herself, the light shriek turning into a 'pbbt' as she tries to spit out snow. "It was... better than I expected," Mami answers. "But take..."
As Madoka chimes in, Mami rolls into the snow, and takes one of her remaining snowballs, squeezing her eyes shut and /hurling/ it with her noodly arm, "This!!"
Mami's snowball sails through the air within the walls of the fortress, straight at... Sayaka Miki.
She's laughing like Mami never laughs.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Cold Betrayal on Sayaka Miki. COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Madoka Kaname's Get Shorty, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Quipped! Fuu Hououji's Block ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet watches the snow cover Kasagami and feels regret. Well... some regret... a little regret... Kasagami's done some things... but she decides maybe throwing things at currently nonmagical human children is... too much for now, so she looks to see who she can support, and sees the chaos.
The sacrifice...
The Betrayal... and Garnet, who rushes in and reacts with drastic action, whether strategic or not, is at a loss, and just stands where she is, ankle deep in snow, incredulous.
COMBAT: Garnet has used Cold Feet on Garnet. COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking. COMBAT: Garnet accepts Garnet's Cold Feet, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Garnet is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Mado"*PAF*"??"
The counterattack for Fuu's wayward snowball leaves the bespectacled girl chagrined and sheepish; she REALLY didn't expect that, and coming out of the snow like that was ... Well, it was very creative tactics, if nothing else. And it sounds like Sayaka is (justifiably, if playfully - she hopes it's playful, anyway) upset.
Followed by betrayed. Oh dear. Fuu grabs another snowball. "Sayaka-san, do you need additional help?" she calls out ...
Although for now, she lobs her snowball at Eri rather than anyone inside the fort. She *would* be trying to evict Kyouko, but Madoka's joined the fray on that side of the snowy battle, and Fuu prefers trying to focus on long range when that's an option.
At least she still has that box tucked safely under her arm .... although some loose snow from Madoka's frenzied assault has landed on the lid, relatively unnoticed.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Cold Soft Logic on Eri Shimanouchi. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Cold Soft Logic, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
Kyouko clucks her tongue against the roof of her mouth, her...well, sneak attack perhaps isn't the right way to put it, isn't it? Her shock and awe offensive had achieved little more than shucks and aww. Mami maintains her well earned reputation by dodging her neatly..perhaps recent events have left her more mindful of the head on her shoulders..And now Kyouko finds herself in the middle of the melee.
Snowballs whiz by her head, lobbed over walls by enemied unseen. The gentle voice wavers over the wall, and Kyouko's expression softens, flashing a wink at the icy encarpment, whether the mild mannered boy across the way can make it out or not. In spite of the hot seat she's more than fairly claimed for herself, she refuses to surrender her cool head.
She hears Sayaka before she sees her..and what a sight it is when she does. The skinny little girl is shaking and grunting like an exhibition bodybuilder, and Kyouko's eyes bulge almost as much as Blueberry's. Only her finely honed sense of proximity and risk tune her into the projectile arching towards her skull..
And then a pink comet blazes through the air, a bodyguard she never knew she had. Whooping her appreciation, she turns back to the Sayaka's spine, only to notice that it isn't meant for her any longer. She's appreciative of the reprieve..
..but even more appreciative of the opportunity it presents. Kyouko climbs the wall to clamber alongside her azure assailant, reaching into her pockets to hurl twin missles at the haughty humanitarian.
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has used The Iceman Kyoumeth on Sayaka Miki. COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has finished attacking. COMBAT: Sayaka Miki accepts Mami Tomoe's Cold Betrayal, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Sayaka Miki is Quipped! COMBAT: Sayaka Miki narrowly braces Kyouko Sakura's The Iceman Kyoumeth, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Sayaka Miki is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Madoka hasn't stopped swinging wildly, eyes closed, and her arm bashes straight through an incoming snowball from Steven that she didn't know was there until after she's covered with powder.
She's startled into a sneeze. It is even tinier than she is.
- chuu*
Afterwards, her eyes open for the first time in a while, just in time to smile at Kyouko -- and then, to catch Mami turning on Sayaka.
BGM Swap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPB15Ma2o48&t=309
They widen.
- sniff*
Hugely.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--!"
And she charges Mami from behind, trying to bodily slam her into the snow (Madoka body slams are the gentlest of their breed), which is not incidentally a good way to make snow angels basically by definition. /And/ it's a good way to hug her. A bunch.
"NOT SAYAKA-CHAN! TAKE ME INSTEAD!!"
COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has used MAAAAAADOKEN! on Mami Tomoe. COMBAT: Madoka Kaname has finished attacking. COMBAT: Mami Tomoe accepts Madoka Kaname's MAAAAAADOKEN!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Mami Tomoe is Cheered!
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
It's so satisfying seeing Mami get struck- but Sayaka- "Are you offering up a kid to fight your snow battles for you?" Eri offers the cheeky rejoinder- as she watches Madoka burst out of the snow to take a blow for Kyouko. Not a single flake of snow staining her green hoodie from Fuu's snowball at least. She might have wept- seeing the sacrifice, instead she just gets a little misty eyed, "Madoka-chan! You..."
Which is when a skilled underhand takes her off-guard. Jerking to the side, it glances off her shoulder in a dusting of snow, causing her to rapidly brush a hand against her glasses as she jogs in closer- watching Sayaka start hefting one of the crenallations- "Oh no you don't!"
She has a second snowball in her hand, already she's drawing back that arm in a throw- when...
Sayaka gets struck. And Eri open mouth follows the direction the snowball came down to- a laughing Mami.
For a few moments she can't comprehend what happened... then it starts with a tiny snort- a gloved hand over her mouth as she's wracked with muffled giggles. "I- you- this is- ehehehehe- I can't... Mami!" She staggers backwards, the hand shifting with her other arm to hug her mid-section and she doesn't restrain herself laughing, "Ahahahahaha!"
This trip was worth it to her, just for this moment. This one moment.
And she's so caught up in that- that Fuu's snowball strikes her right in the center of her forehead, sending her staggering backwards, and her glasses flying- a few paces to lay upon the ground. Dazed, as she presses a glove to her cheek, she kneels down to pick up her glasses, examining them for just a moment as if inspecting them for damage. She then folds them up and jams them into her pocket in one motion, grinning wolfishly as if she's glad Fuu did that.
"Well- I hope you're ready to face the consequences Hououji-san... for daring to strike our ace of this sacred battle, Madoka the Yuki-Onago- there is only one acceptable punishment!"
Suddenly Eri is dashing at the other bespectacled girl- arms pumping, a snowball in one hand and then once close enough, she leaps past her. While it may seem like she's charging Fuu to reciprocate by knocking her glasses off, she has no such desire. Instead...
She intends to grab her jacket from the side, and jam that snowball right down Fuu's collar to give her one chilly back. "ONE THOUSAND FROSTY CURSES!"
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used A New World Fuu on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Nori stands there, her hair caught in the breeze, not answering Kasagami, not even as she runs off into the distance, not even as calm reigns in her sector for a fleeting moment. The tears on her cheek... they freeze, quietly, to ice, in the harshness of the wint--
"Madoka?"
Nori spins around, but Madoka's swath of pink devastation has only begun. Her eyes widen, seeing this tragedy - their castle fallen from the one they (mostly) loved the most (definitely top three for a lot of people).
"No...!"
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Eri Shimanouchi's A New World Fuu, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed. <SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SqnjtPK2f4&t=23
Sayaka's eyes widen as Mami's snowball rolls through the air. Her eyes plead with Mami, though she knows it is too late. But it isn't mercy she wants, it's understanding. All she wishes for in this moment is the small closure of knowing why?
Why, senpai?
The snowball flattens into her mouth in slow motion, another perfect hit in the face. Sayaka's cheeks ripple like a boxer taking a punch as she wobbles back on her heels, balance ruined. One knee half-buckle, but she drags her other foot back rapid along the ground and it hits another crenellation, keeping her on her feet. For a moment, it seems she has survived this terrible betrayal...
But Kyouko is already there. The snowballs are pelting Sayaka's back, doing little damage, but her feet founder, her heel gives way again, and she falls in dramatic slow motion, her blue hair stringy and snowflaked as she yelps in a deepened slow-mo basso.
Her butt hits the parapet and it gives way immediately, forming an avalanche that ruins Kyouko's footing as well, sending them down an impromptu slide formed of the collapsing wall. Sayaka's extended feet are a menace; she might well take out Eri and Fuu's feet too.
Worst of all, the snow boulder clonks down onto Sayaka's head directly, breaking all around it, and immersing her shoulders in such snow that her eyelashes are little shelves for it.
[OOC] Madoka Kaname says, "hahahahaha" [OOC] Madoka Kaname says, "great double reference"
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Mmmwhatcha Say on Sayaka Miki. COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking. COMBAT: Sayaka Miki accepts Sayaka Miki's Mmmwhatcha Say, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Sayaka Miki is unable to keep fighting! Sayaka Miki is Quipped! COMBAT: Sayaka Miki is unable to keep fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Sadly for Sayaka, Mami's only answer is her musical, shy laughter and the squeezed-shut eyes that mark her attempting to get her feet again on the snow. She can hear the reaction to her terrible snowfall, from Eri's laughter and use of her name to...
Mami opens up her eyes again and hears Madoka's voice. She was only just starting to get anywhere near upriht when Madoka charged her, and she 'oofs' in an almost dignified way to just be most-adorable-slammed from behind. "Aaah!"
"Hahaha, oh no, Madoka-chan!" She flails, making imprints in the snow, but mostly can't resist very well in the face of laughing so hard. It is rather a lot of hugs.
"Since you offer..." Mami is still in the snow, but she flails her hands out to curl up a snowball... which she throws over her shoulder towards Madoka's head, "I will!" Laugh, "Would you believe it was an accident?"
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Snow Angel... Ish on Madoka Kaname. COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed. <SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f3t--Q465s
Kyouko's attack of opportunity had merely merited first class accommodations on Sayaka Miki's personal Titanic. Neither the grand adversary nor the sudden trapper, Kyouko instead played the part of the leering imp, taunting and stabbing at a soul already careening down into the pit. And that widening maw gave no thought to sparing her..
But amidst her tumbles and stumbles she has the sense to lean into her fall, tucking head to belly and wrapping arms to knees, making lemonade of a most undignified collapse. When it all settles, Kyouko is on her feet, giggling gleefully at a swirly-eyed Sayaka landing prostrate on the ground.
Sauntering over to her, she bends down low, pats her cheeks with some combination of affection and patronization, and slips a stick of pocky into the addled girl's teeth, cookie first. "Don't worry, you've made it through worse."
She climbs the wall with all four limbs, clawing up and over like she's sprinting along a flatland expanse, furrowing fistfuls and footfuls of frostfulls from forthcoming fields. In no time at all she's on her feet in the courtyard, such as it is, once more..and prowling amidst the fog of snowar, she makes her way to little Steven Universe behind his little wall, grinning with almost every teeth shining as white as all the rest.
But then, she changes her mind at the last minute, flashing the boy a wink..slinking down low and rounding corners like a serpentine go-cart, she finds her way to Nori Ankou and hurls all that she has to give.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Fuu lets out a loud yelp of surprise and - well, no, it's not remotely painful, things haven't gone THAT far and they probably won't, but suddenly COLD AND WET AND YIPE all down her back and she doesn't look like she's going to throw any more snowballs, she just flops over in a protective huddle.
.... Protective?
Well, she IS still holding that box from the bakery line in the resort dining room, not that its contents are still terribly warm ...
COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has used The Abominable Sakuraman on Nori Ankou. COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Nori Ankou had been enraptured with the tragedy of looking towards the fall of their fortress, and probably some slop-over from her feelings of withered affection for Kasagami, when the worst thing possible happens: Kyouko attacks.
Snow slaps into Nori's face, making her stagger with a thin and almost pathetic cry, one that might make Kyouko hesitate perhaps if she had such emotions. Then Nori's eyes open and look at her and they are not pleased.
"Even if there's no meaning to it," Nori says to her, with that same intensity, "I can still avenge them...!"
ANKOU
VERSUS
ANKO
Nori does this by leaning over into the snowbank she's fortified, sticking her arm INTO it and possibly making Sayaka have a flashback if she's looking the wrong way for a moment, and then twisting her waist to haul up a huge chunk of somewhat packed-down snow.
Which she aims to plop on Kyouko's head.
This is not the most advanced technique in the world... but perhaps it will sate the Monster with Many Mouths.
COMBAT: Nori Ankou has used Spooky Snowball (~°o°)~ on Kyouko Sakura. COMBAT: Nori Ankou has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Madoka Kaname [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
There are fallen warriors all around her, betrayals left and right, and Madoka sneezes again -- Mami can feel her chills as she shivers from all that snow.
- chuu*
It's not as much snow as someone else has taken, though, and she clambers off Mami (after a final hug, snow be damned), her twintails already drooping from the damp, to reach out with a grasping hand towards the fallen Sayaka.
"I'm bad at haikus," she gasps out, "but this moment deserves one. Sayaka, won't you?"
Her eyes, they plead. The samurai must seal this battle for good...
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Fuu falls over in a protective huddle over her baked goods, and as ruthless as one may accuse Eri of being, she's satisfied by that, she's not going to kick the girl while she's down. All she does is wag a finger back and forth and say gently, "Well I can see you learned your less-"
Which is when Sayaka's extended foot slides into her heel. It's more that the action takes her by surprise than is actually injurious, causing her foot to slide down with her and fall on her posterior with a yelp. Winded by the sudden impact, she turns her head- shifting aside her hair, and gives Sayaka this wry look as she picks up her ankle and wiggles it in mid-air, "My ankle isn't home base you know." She sounds less angry than amused when she adds, "Baka."
Picking up an impromptu glob of snow, she molds it vaguely spherical, then reaches over to tag that glob onto the Blunette's forehead with no actual force behind it. Then getting herself up, she grins at all the sights to behold- Mami dumping snow atop Madoka, Madoka calling for a Haiku from her fallen friend. Nori and Kyouko exchanging the final blows- she decides not to interfere in their clash. Brushing herself off, she leans down to pick up something-
~Not long after~
A fallen branch, still adorned with petals that were blossoming had been picked up. She cracks the end with her hand make it smooth enough that it won't actually mar the hat- places the hat upon it. Then stabs the other end into the mutilated parapet- the Pikachu earflaps flapping in the wintry breeze. "By right of conquest- I claim this citadel for the Sakura clan... and dub it-" She says with all the somber gravity of someone who just fought a terrible battle-
"-Fort-Chu."
No she won't leave it up more than a few seconds. She's not such a monster that she'd require someone give up their hat which was a token of friendship.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Sayaka expels a mouthful of dry snow powder, sorely defeated. She can hear Eri yukking it up over there, not unfairly. She eyes Kyouko grumpily; she's been having fun this whole time certainly, but that WAS pretty embarrassing just now, and Kyouko has never spared mockery. This time is no exception, but it's oddly fond and gentle. Sayaka stares up at Kyouko with the same question she had for Mami a moment ago, and her lips part to speak.
Instead, she ends up staring crosseyed at a Pocky stick.
She looks over at Madoka, reaching out like that. Suddenly the pocky stick in her mouth reminds her of a spoon. The sports festival feels like a long time ago.
"Hey, you don't need to look at me like that," Sayaka chides. "You know I can't say no to you." Shoulders drenched in snow, Sayaka leans back thoughtfully against the snow wall and looks up to think for a moment.
"toshi no uchi no haru ni mo aenu inochi kana"
Spring will meet this year before it's out but as for me...
The pocky stick points upward for a moment with Sayaka's rueful smile. "I think that's right," she says, embarrassed. Ignoring the hand Madoka extended, Sayaka leans forward and hugs her around the shoulders, dragging her to sit against the slumped wall with her. This war cost Madoka many little joys like today, and Sayaka isn't under any illusions about who started it. Sighing, she glances at Madoka, then up at Eri and that stolen flag of hers.
"Right, right, I get it already," she sighs. "I said my poem, that means you win. Why don't we all get some hot chocolate at the lodge? If you're gonna brag about it, I can at least listen where it's warm."
Sayaka scratches the side of her nose with her free hand, oddly shy.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Well," Fuu's voice drifts up from the heap she's huddled up into, "if the battle is resolved ..."
She gets to her feet, still with some snow clinging to her glasses. "Going inside, drying off, and warming up does sound like a good idea ... and I did bring something to share with Mami-san, Sayaka-san, and a few others," she glances at Nori, Steven, and Garnet. "Not enough to go all the way around, I'm afraid, but ..."
She offers the box to Sayaka, bowing deeply and politely. "This wasn't quite how I planned to offer my apology, but I hope you'll accept it anyway."
It might carry more solemnity if not for some more snow falling off her coat.
<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
The wind blows Kyouko's cloak back as her hand hovers over her six shooter, the hot desert dust sweeping past with the stray tumbleweed that drunkenly careens past..that there's no tumbleweed, no dust, no desert, no heat, no six shooter, no cloak, and no wind is no matter. When Nori swears vengeance with melting fluff on her brow, it all comes into play..
The massive payload blots at the sun for a moment..or at least Kyouko's vantage of the burning disc above. With death looming she must think fast..her hands fly in and out of her pockets like bees to the hive at quintuple speed, hurtling snowballs at Nori's arms in a frantic effort to stay the slow course of doom that's etched a mark on her forehead.
The result is..ambivalent.
The full weight of the cold snap fails to fix is jaws upon her, but Kyouko is hardly unscathed. All the same, peppered pellets packed snow rain down with aggressive regularity. There is no clear victor in the exchange, and things could go on like this for some time...
But the beast, it seems, is sated. Kyouko laughs, and salutes Nori. The novelty of carnage without carnivores has cooled, and for once, Kyouko is content to end a battle on her feet, bereft of blood and exhaustion.
<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Even she stops to listen to the beautiful Haiku. Quirking an eyebrow at what Sayaka has to say, she plucks the branch back out of the ground, taking the hat off the end of it. She takes a few steps back towards the other girl, and places it unevenly on her head. Unlike Mami, she doesn't stop to adjust it. Instead she walks right on past her only stopping a few paces past her- "I didn't do this for bragging rights you know."
She looks over her shoulder- at Mami, laughing, enjoying herself, actually participating in something that isn't the most dignified. At Madoka- who leapt to Kyouko's defense- an angel in the snow. At Kyouko- in that hoodie of green and grey looking like some sated warbeast.
At Nori who had taken snow war in Hokkaido so seriously, and Fuu offering a box apologetically to Sayaka, and even Garnet standing stock still in a snowdrift.
There's something of a twinkle in her eye as she looks at Sayaka last of all- with the pocky stick and looking a little shy, "Come on. You've earned your cocoa." Before she calls over her shoulder, "Hey Senpai, you're coming back with us right? I recall a certain /someone/ promising us all a special dinner, and that includes you."
<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.
Kyouko turns to Eri upon hearing her voice, and grins a toothy grin, flashing a full-irised wink.
"Of course. We are awaited in Valhalla..and there are no enemies there. No sides. Only warriors, warriors without war..if Valhalla's anywhere then it must be here."
<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"All right," Mami says, stepping over and dusting herself off, with a smile at Sayaka and Madoka and... Well, then the others, too. Though she reaches over and fixes Sayaka's hat again. "I'd like that, myself."
She's still smiling, not entirely as hesitantly either, as she looks between Eri and Kyouko, and lets her eyes linger on Eri for a moment. Then she shivers lightly and laughs. "Definitely sooner than later."
