driftfleet | Just Keeping Swimming

A - Temple

[So far, things have been going well enough. Sure, he's had to backtrack a few times because he forgot to flip a lever or took a wrong turn entirely, but biotics can be useful for manipulating puzzles.

He's made his way into a large chamber that looks like another dead end, but it'd be foolish not to check for any hidden doors before he gives up again.

Happily, it turns out there is one. Unhappily, it turns out there's one very large spined eel hiding in it.

Kaidan pushes himself off a wall to avoid the first strike and frowns. Biotics aren't really useful when the core principle to using it as a weapon is decreasing mass. And without a gun, well....this won't be easy.]

B - Watching the game

[There's something refreshingly mundane about sitting down in the stands to catch a match of Mafik's local sport. He doesn't really understand the finer points of the rules, but that doesn't really matter. It's fun to watch. To get caught up the excitement of the crowd. He's even got a snack in hand, what looks to be a tangle of bright fried kelp wound around a stick. It's kind of close to cotton candy? Maybe. If you pretend.

He's more intent on the game than his food anyway.]

C - First Breath (post-temple run)

[Safe and dry in the cargo hold, Kaidan's attention is bent on the device in his hand. The empty bag it'd been sealed it lays on the floor, and there isn't much ot see until he activates his omii-tool. The light construct springs to life around his forearm, display blinking with tiny orange and blue lights that he starts to poke at with a frown]

D- wildcard

[Kaidan will wander most places either by himself or via shuttle, and while he doesn't have the expertise to get involved in the search for a cure to the Dasioe's illness, he'll be happy to be of help in any way that he can]

[So far this temple has been boring. There have been levers and puzzles and pushing blocks and dead ends, but not a whole lot else for him to do. It looks as if someone else is in here, too, but they don't always cross paths and usually it seems Doudanuki has always just barely missed them.

Except now when he hears the distinctive snap of jaws coming from a room he skipped over just a moment ago.

Whipping back around, Doudanuki pushes off the walls to get more momentum as he swims back the way he came. It doesn't take long for him to arrive and there it is in all its glory - a large spiny....snake thing. He has no idea what it is, but it looks like fun and he isn't about to let the guy in there have it all to himself.

He rips the bag with his sword in it open and launches himself into the room, sliding over to the other occupant.]

Mind if I join in?

[Kaidan is 100% not a glory hog - especially when not doing so dramatically increases his chances of survival. After all, very rarely was a single soldier as effective as a team. A principle he might have followed before he'd wandered into this temple by himself.

He looks from the slowly recoiling eel to the flash of a weapon in the water]

Pretty sure there's room for one more.

Good. I was startin' to think this whole place was gonna be nothin' but boring puzzles.

[He pulls his sword free of the sheath and looks over to Kaidan, recognizing him suddenly. They haven't spoken since his first day here, but coincidence has a way of bringing people back together.]

Oh, hey, you're that guy I talked to. You're--

[Whoops, here comes the eel for another strike. He breaks off mid-sentence and throws his sword up, bracing for impact as the eel snaps at him. He manages to block, but it shoves him back a few feet.]

Shit, talk later, fight now. You got anything?!

[Kaidan dodges back just enough to get out of the way, but just barely]

Not much that'll help, but I think I can keep it occupied.

[A blade seems infinitely more useful as a weapon that what he has left to bear, but despite appearances, he's not exactly unarmed either. His fist glows suddenly, lighting the water around his arm in a shimmering blue glow, as he slams his fist into the eel's jaw. The strike hits with far more force than it should, making the monster flinch back and shake it's head]

[With its head turned, Doudanuki has a moment to check out that weapon and he nods appreciatively. There's something pretty cool about being able to just punch the shit out of whatever's in your way.]

Works well enough for me.

[Water physics means he moves slower, but he's still a heavy hitting sword. He recoils back and then goes for a thrust at the exposed cheek. He has no idea what sort of bone structure this thing has, but cheeks are general good, open areas.

The blade pierces and rips through its face and the eel shrieks, rearing back and taking Doudanuki with it.]

Keep going!

[As the eel flails, it slams's it's leathery hide into Kaidan, knocking him back down towards the floor. He twists in the water for a moment, disoriented, until he can figure out which way is up]

Hold on!

[He pushes up from the floor to get extra speed, but the first punch had been a target of opportunity. A blade works far better underwater than a fist, however, and he doesn't quite make it all the way. The last seconds of momentum transfers to grabbing onto one of the spines and using his other hand for a quick biotic punch to the side</small<]

[Working underwater has its advantages and one of them is that Doudanuki isn't hanging there uselessly as the eel drags him back and forth in its spasms of pain. He doesn't have the grounding to pull his sword out yet, but he also isn't dead weight either. He grabs onto one of the larger spines on the eel's head, trying to gain the leverage he needs to pull free. He braces one foot against the eel's head and hopes to the gods that it doesn't slip inside that razor-toothed mouth as he begins pulling.

The eel whips its head around again as the punch lands in its side and Doudanuki feels the flesh tear as his sword comes free. But that's not all, he cracks the spine on the creature's head and hugs onto it, jerking down as he falls. He can't break it loose, but he has weakened it.]

Break its spines!

[Kaidan has never tried to ride a bull but he figures it might feel a little like this. The eel whips around in the water, trying to dislodge them both, churning the still water into froth all around them as it shrieks. He does his best to hold on, planting his feet against the bony ridge to brace. This time, it's his leg that shimmers with energy as he coils back and slams it into the spine.

Something under the eel's hide cracks audibly at the same time the spine he's holding onto snaps off, sending him tumbling away, his hand trailing a line of blood]

Augh...this is gonna take too long.

[When he hits the ground, he pushes back off almost immediately, slashing at the eel's thick hide.]

Then use that spine like a knife and stab the shit out of this thing!

[He carves a bloody line into the eel and then has to block as it comes around to bite his head off. It doesn't exactly like being cut and pulled apart.]

[That's actually a really good idea, though it takes him a few moments to reorient himself, especially with the enraged eel screaming and churning the water around them. He flails for a second until his legs hit the floor of the room.

Breathing heavily underwater is still a bizarre experience but he takes a moment to do it, kicking back to avoid the swipe of an oversized razor-edge fin.]

Stay clear for a second!

[Kaidan raises a glowing fist and hits the animal with a reave. Violet light wraps around it's body and it screams again, as the energy weakens the tough hide at the molecular level.]

[He's going to have to take some of these spines back if they can eventually kill this thing. The impact it makes against his blade as it snaps at him is jarring and makes him smile all the wider for it. He might be enjoying this just a bit too much.

He punches it in the face and then kicks off the ground, throwing himself back and out of the way. The eel screeches again and Doudanuki waits for the light to fade before launching himself, blade first at the eel's face.]

Anything'll die if cut deep enough!

[Especially when he sword suddenly slices straight through and imbeds in the creature's neck. It shudders and writhes, body whipping back and forth as it weakens.]

Whatever you did worked - now finish it!

Gladly.

[He turns the broken spine around in his hand, and uses a biotic-assisted push to launch himself back at the eel. He slams into it, just opposite of Doudanuki, his improvised weapon sinking into it's flesh just behind the jaw. The eel reels back, trying in vain to snap at the two men, but Kaidan has a firm grip. A piercing pain in his left arm informs him one of the spines has caught him against the arm but he ignores it, gritting his teeth, as he bears down, pushing the spike up towards where he guesses the brain might be.

It's obvious when it hits. The creatures spasms violently, screaming so loud that for a moment Kaidan can't hear anything else. It knocks him free, the body's undulations smacking him away again. The impact knocks the "air" out of, for lack for a better word, but even disoriented he can tell when the thrashing finally stops and, at last, dies]

[He's thrown from the creature when it enters its death frenzy and slams into a wall, but that prevents him from getting the worst of the injuries as the eel shrieks and flails. A spine comes within inches of gut but passes by and then the creature stills.

Doudanuki grunts and tries to reorient himself. There's a cut on the back of his head and he's bleeding from that and a few cuts and scrapes here and there, but overall? Still alive, so that's a win in his book.]

Nice one.

[He croaks the compliment out and then coughs, trying to swim his way back to Kaidan.]

You alive?

[Kaidan doubles over for a few moments as his head spins before taking a moment to figure out which way was up yet again. He's bleeding from a few cuts, the worst being the gash on his arm, which he puts a hand over.]

Yeah...I think so. You?

I heal faster'n most.

[He'll be sore, that's for certain, and his sword is going to need some care, but he's not nearly close enough to breaking to care about that yet.

Doudanuki finally makes it over to Kaidan and checks the wound on his arm. He won't die from that, but the water probably stings. There's not much Doudanuki has that can patch it for now, but...

He glances down and rips up a few pieces of strong looking kelp, offering them to Kaidan.]

Ain't great, but it'll work to stop the bleedin'. You need help gettin' it patched?

[He looks down at his arm and holds it out after only a moment of thought. He's trained enough in field medicine to know when a quick patch it better than none at all, but something more permanent will have to wait until they get back to a ship]

Yeah. Thanks.

[While he waits for Doudanuki to tend to that-]

So I see you found yourself a replacement. [Meaning the sword]

[He scrapes off the outer later from the seaweed and starts tying it to Kaidan's arm, over the wound. It'll stop the bleeding, but it won't be comfortable for very long. Sort of like putting a poultice on - good enough in a pinch, not so great if you still need to use it.]

Replacement?

[He looks down at his sword and shakes his head.]

Nah, that's just me. Can't really get replaced here or I'd die.

Oh. Right...

[He isn't unused to small wounds like this, though he's somewhat used to his armor taking care of that kind of thing for him. Unfortunately, armor and water didn't go well together either, and the reservoir of medi-gel in it was finite, unless he found a way to reproduce it here. Maybe he should look into that later.]

Well...thanks for the help, in any case. I think I might have ended up lunch without it.

[His wounds are mostly superficial, cuts and scrapes here and there. If Kaidan watches closely, he'll notice that some of them are already healing while others - ones that match scratches on his blade - remain.]

No problem. I've been lookin' for a fight for awhile. This? This was a good one.

[He ties the seaweed tight and knots it off.]

There. You should be good to go.

But what were you doin' in here alone?

[Kaidan pats the makeshift bandage appreciatively and then eyes the nearby corpse of the giant eel]

Believe or not I didn't quite plan to come in here by myself. I was just scouting for more intel about this planet...or Atroma...anything really...and then I got a little farther in than I realized. It wasn't particularly dangerous up until now.

Scoutin' alone?

[He glances back at the eel carcass when Kaidan does and then starts moving toward it. Might as well take some of those spines if he can. They were tough and would make good daggers.]

Well, did you find anything useful in here then? 'Sides from this thing?

[He says, giving a spine on the eel's head a kick.]

No, just a dead end. But...

[He points towards the hidden opening the eel had come out of and which still lies open]

Maybe that's the exit.

[He looks in the direction of the opening and shrugs.]

Worth a shot.

[But first? He swings and cracks a spine or two off from the eel, hefting them in his hands before tucking them under his arm. He isn't about to let that stuff go to waste.]

You ain't seen a chest or anything in here, then?

[Kaidan's more of a ranged combat man, so he happily leaves Doudanuki to his scavenging]

No, should I have?

Just Keeping Swimming | March Planet Mingle

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A. let's do this, LEEEEROOOO--- /punched in the face

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