It Feeds On The Blood, It Feeds On The Heat

[itstillhurt]

Who: Azula and various CR
Which: Noctaere Plot Log (Closed)
Where: Various locations in Reverein, the Wastelands and Interactive Dreamscapes
What: On the night of the 21st, the heat becomes unbearable. A thunderstorm rolls over Reverein, but there's no rain- posing its own problems when lightning strikes the dry earth. The shape of a bird made of blue flame can be seen fleeing from the village, but the weather disturbances remain, as does the damage it's causing. Fires are a serious concern. The unnatural storms will last until the end of the 22nd. After that, the unnatural dry and intense thunderstorm will subside into a normal heavy rainfall.

Warnings: A lot of violence, possibly including arson and burns. Also some examination of a backstory including abuse, neglect, war crimes, and themes of genocide.

Comments

[itstillhurt]

[The Noctaere doesn't seem put off by the blades. It breathes blue flames at Rokurou as it charges at him, silent except for the rushing roar of firebending and the monstrous beats of its wings.

It has enough of Azula's memories to know that the fire alone probably won't put him down, though, and it does veer away slightly as it charges, though, angling aside at the last moment to avoid the inevitable counterattack.]

[rokubro]

[Having fought number of different kinds of daemons, including aerial ones, Rokurou is at least familiar with these kind of attack patterns. Thus, when she swerves, Rokurou pivots on his heel and attempts to jump up so he can try and catch her on the downward strikes of his blades.]

[itstillhurt]

[Rokurou's quick adaptation is enough to overcome the Noctaere's slightly slowed resources, and the blades dig into the fiery body- it feels as solid as flesh, though it still gives off heat like a flame.

The Noctaere, too, adapts- unable to successfully evade, it instead twists to rake out its fiery claws at Rokurou, targeting his face to try and drive him back]

[rokubro]

[Feeling the blades dig in is satisfying, but he has to pull back when those claws come at him. Wrenching the blades free, he jumps back and takes the opportunity to reposition and figure out where to go from here.

Because it's one thing to just slice noctzula up, it's another to try and actually help her. So even though he knows he's not really the best person, he takes a chance.]

Hey Azula, is that all you got!

[—okay maybe provoking her isn't the answer—]

[itstillhurt]

[The blades digging into and then being roughly removed from the Noctaere's body finally produce a sound- a cry of pain that is unmistakably Azula's voice, albeit unnaturally distorted.

It's the only vocalization the Noctaere makes- it doesn't respond directly to the taunt, but it certainly responds to the pain, reeling back and flaring its wings, throwing out random gouts of flame in every direction.

Once the initial pain response finishes, though, it changes tactics- flying back into the sky, sending arcs of blue flame toward him with each rapid beat of its wings, trying to overwhelm him with the endless torrent of fire.]

[rokubro]

[Noticing the visible pain, Rokurou half wonders if he's doing too much... But he'll just apologize later. As long as she's not killed and doesn't suffer too much, it should be fine.

So with resolve still firm, he slightly changes the grip on his blades and watches as she flies up. When he sees those onslaught of flames heading towards him, he jumps to dodge a few before flinging out a few arcs of flame of his own, the brilliant red clashing against the vibrant blues.

But he can only take so much, so he'll try to run for some cover, see if he can bait her back down.]

[itstillhurt]

[This is more familiar.

It matches Rokurou's fire with its own, exhilarated by the challenge, getting more and more wild and unfocused each time their flames clash.

When he suddenly ducks for cover, it immediately dives toward him again, emerging from the bursting flames to hunt Rokurou down where he's hiding. As soon as it sees him, it opens its beak and breathes a dense sphere of fire at him, one that explodes as soon as it makes impact.]

[rokubro]

[At least the tactic is successful. And now he's going to be reckless and use one of his blades, throwing it outward towards the sphere. Initially it was intended to cut through it, but instead it triggers the fire sphere early, causing it to explode. But it works out.

Using the explosion of spheres as as smokescreen, he follows right behind his blade, lunging through the flames and ignoring the scorching heat tinged with that nightmare energy as he aims to close the distance between them, blades poised to strike.]

[itstillhurt]

[At first, the Noctaere is satisfied. The early explosion will at least force him to retreat, after all, and it knows from experience how to keep him on the back foot once it has the advantage.

But it doesn't, it turns out, and it rears back in surprise as Rokurou suddenly emerges from the explosion with blades in hand.

A new strategy, then. It makes no attempt to dodge the attack or avoid the damage he can inflict. Instead, it rushes to meet him, fiery claws roughly snatching him. Once it has him, it begins climbing back into the sky.]

[rokubro]

[Truthfully, Rokurou wasn't sure how he was going to the next part. He had to somehow hold onto her, and he even thought of grabbing onto her neck and just hang on. So while a little inconvenient as it is to be grabbed, it actually works in his favor for what he wants to do.

So after a brief struggle mostly so he can reposition his hands and arms so that he's directly touching the claws and enduring the flames.]

Time to try and take the edge off!

[He knows this is 100% a foolish idea, but it's 100% something he would try. With a shout he focuses and feels all that nightmare energy around her and starts to draw it into himself. It's a lot heavier, thicker, and intense compared to Velvet's, but he just grits his teeth, not knowing how this will go...]

[itstillhurt]

[At first it ignores what he's doing, instead simply flying higher and higher into the sky.

And then something odd seems to happen. It falters. The flames that comprise its body seem to shudder and flare erratically. And for a moment, it stops moving entirely, only momentum and the wind under its unmoving wings carrying it forward.

After a moment of stunned silence, the strange trance seems to suddenly break, and though the flames of the Noctaere's body continue to flicker- and its flight is much more strained and uneven- it resumes flying once more, grasping Rokurou firmly in one claw.

Then it dives downward and hurls him toward the ground.]

[rokubro]

[At first it feels like it's working. Ignoring the intensity of the nightmare energy flowing into him, he continues to pull and pull, to drag out as much as he can. He can't take all of it, that's for certain, but even if it was just enough to get the edge off her, to get her to become more conscious and aware of herself again...! So when she does falter, when the flames start to shift and flicker, he starts to grin, his will strengthening at the sight. The only thing that's keeping his own sanity in place.

However, it's short-lived when she suddenly dives down, his own concentration broken as he ends up gasping and clutching to the talon as he tries to endure the sudden speed and air rushing against him. And then the next thing he knows—]

Hurgk—!

[—he's briefly flying through the air before slamming hard into the ground, the earth caving beneath the pressure and flying out as he slides over it. Were he human, he could have died, if not at least suffer some critical injuries. As it is, besides the scrapes and burns, there are certainly going to be a few fractured or broken ribs and he might have dislocated his shoulder. So he'll live yet.

But despite the searing pain, he quickly tries to open his eyes to look back upwards.]

/Wrap, probably?

[itstillhurt]

[The Noctaere is still stuttering and flaring, as if whatever was giving it form was no longer strong enough to hold. Its flight becomes labored as well, its wings beating heavy and uneven just to stay aloft. It doesn't just look unstable, it looks... fatigued. Injured.

It circles overhead for a few moments, but once it determines that Rokurou is no longer moving enough to fight, it turns and resumes its flight out to the Wildlands. As it leaves, the lightning strikes from the unnatural storm seem to fade, leaving only heavy clouds and hot wind.]

/wrapped!!

[rokubro]

[Watching Azula fly off, he can only drop his head back onto the ground, wincing from the pain even that much movement brings. But, he can see. He managed to do something, so he can only hope that others will be able to take care of the rest.

As for him...

...He's definitely going to need to call for help. After he catches his breath.]