02 $$ [action for anywhere] (fourth wall!)

[whitehairedprettyboy]

[ He's dreaming. He has to be.

But even once Valmont's done rubbing his eyes in disbelief, they're still there. All twelve talismans, lined up nice and neat on his nightstand.

Well then. He still doesn't know what's going on with this world, but if it brought the talismans here, to him... he might not dislike it quite so much as he did before.

And so, if you see a guy this weekend levitating around town, occasionally shooting fire out of his hands and/or laser beams out of his eyes, and looking giddier than anyone here has ever seen him... Well. That's probably V. Feel free to talk to him/try to keep him from blowing up something of yours. He's in a good mood. He might listen. ]

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[whitehairedprettyboy]

If they like you so much, maybe you can tell them to get away from me. [ He bats another one away - with his left hand this time. The dragon talisman activates, shooting a jet of flame into the air and just singeing the Murkrow's tail feathers as it flaps away.

He hadn't meant to do that, but he can't deny that it was a bit satisfying. ]

[whitehairedprettyboy]

[ All right, this isn't going to be a problem. He just has to - where in the world did that sword come from

He can't dodge in time. Veronica's sword cuts a deep gash in his arm, and he hisses in pain and anger. If he had his own sword cane with him...! But he doesn't, so here's the next best thing: more laser eyes as he wheels around to try and catch Veronica. If she's observant, she may notice that the wound she'd given him has already begun to heal itself up. ]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[The shape manages to dodge the lasers, since it was still a ways away from the two fighters.

Veronica, on the other hand, was not so lucky. She was in midair with Valmont, and there was no way to stop him from grabbing her by the collar of her cloak. She ended up grabbing onto his jacket sleeve as well, likely scratching him with her needles.]

....You can heal too. [She muttered, more annoyed than anything.]

[cawsforalarm]

[...Oh.]

[Oh, Val, honey. You shouldn't have done that.]

[The bird squawks loudly and flies off, huddling somewhere else in the dark feathery mass.]

Hm... I think you should apologise to him. That wasn't very nice.

[whitehairedprettyboy]

Apologize? Me? To a bird? [ He scoffs. ] Surely you're joking. I've got better things to do with my time.

[ V no... ]

[whitehairedprettyboy]

[ Got her! Ignoring the distant shape for now, he hauls off and attempts to punch her. Said punch, if it connects, will be several times stronger than that of an ordinary human, thanks to the ox talisman. ]

Surprised? I do have a few tricks up my sleeve, you know. [ Or in his pockets. Whatever. ]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica gripped his sleeve tightly, needle-tipped fingers puncturing the skin underneath and injecting the paralytic poison that she can produce.]

[For what it was worth, she attempted to swing out of the way of the punch, only for it to connect anyways. It was lighter though, so Veronica only felt several of her ribs crack instead of all of them. She struggled to breath for a moment.]

Y-yeah....? So... do I....

[Ace in the hole. Gulping down air, while ignoring the intense pain in her chest, Veronica looked up at Valmont and aimed carefully.

A burst of red-hot flame flew from her mouth. At this point-blank range, Veronica didn't believe that she'd miss.]

[whitehairedprettyboy]

[ Breaking teenagers' bones. This is a good day. But he doesn't have much of a chance to celebrate before he feels something digging into his arm - tearing more holes in his suit, of course, because of course. ]

What are you -

[ Oh. Paralytic? Bugger. He can heal from that too, of course, but it'll take a minute. Which means he is absolutely incapable of dodging that fire blast she just sent at him. Wonderful. Why does it always have to be the ones who breathe fire. And ow, ow, ow, that burns, that's definitely going to be a few minutes in healing itself too, and his poor suit! ]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica struggled a little more to break Valmont's grasp on her, still in pain from her nearly broken ribs, and now coughing smoke on top of that.

Luckily, it would seem that hope was about to arrive, in the form of her Honchkrow, Ako, slamming into Valmont as hard as possible. Yes, hello, let go of her trainer please and thank you.]

[cawsforalarm]

[Oh, V. V please.]

[The smile on Henry's face suddenly turns very distinctly predatory. The Murkrows all stop moving almost at once, staring at him in alarm; after a second, they all move into a number of nearby trees. Though they may not know what exactly it is, they know that shit's about to go down in one way or another.]

[Without Murkrows to hide him, it becomes clear that Henry's got some kind of purple glow about him, the kind that pulses disaster. A spellbook appears in his hand; at much the same time, plumes of smoke begin to crawl across the ground, coming from seemingly nowhere...]

No.

I really think you should apologise.

[whitehairedprettyboy]

And if I don't, you'll... what? Throw that book of yours at me? [ He notices the ominous purple glow and the smoke, but he's not worried. He can heal, after all! He can take whatever supernatural powers this boy can dish out.

Famous last words. ]

[cawsforalarm]

[Ha.]

[Hahahahahahahaha.]

[Valmont, do yourself a favor and dispel any assumption that your little amulets of borrowed power are going to help you here.]

[The smoke moves closer to Valmont, and as it goes, it seems to divide itself into five tendrils; two for the legs, two for the arms, and one that crawls up his back and close to his neck. Most of the Murkrows begin to cluck uncertainly amongst themselves, but a few are watching with great interest, waiting for Valmont to drop a talisman so they can steal it.]

[And then, just for good measure, Henry places a teeny-weeny curse on his spellbook and lobs it at the pretty-boy's head. With any luck, the Swordsman's Hex should draw blood.]

[whitehairedprettyboy]

[ Talismans, thank you. Amulets are something else entirely.

...Well. All right, this was unexpected. But he can get away, right? He trains his laser gaze on one of the smoke tendrils, and...

And apparently lasers don't affect smoke. Who knew? Valmont sure didn't. Well, so much for getting away, apparently. But at least he can still heal from whatever the boy throws at him.

And speaking of throwing at him - is he actually doing the book thing? Apparently so. It hits him square in the head, sharper than any book ought to be, and he can feel blood dripping into his eye. He can also feel the head wound knitting itself up, though, so that's a comfort, if nothing else. ]

[cawsforalarm]

[Shut up, they're amulets. You're probably the kind of person who uses blood orange unironically in conversation, too.]

[The tendrils continue along on their paths, eventually wrapping around each of Valmont's extremities. From there, they connect to each other, eventually turning into some sort of spoked wheel. The man seems to have some passive healing magic going on; if Henry breaks his bones, they may or may not grow back. ...If they do, that's okay, though.]

[He'll just keep breaking, over and over again, until he gets bored.]

[The book returns to Henry's side, held open, pages fluttering madly. In his opposite hand, the magic twists itself into a new form, one that bears a striking resemblance to... some sort of hammer...]

[whitehairedprettyboy]

[ What the hell is a blood orange.

He struggles against the smoke... wheel... thing, to approximately no avail. Neither levitation nor speed can help you out when you can't actually move. Okay, no, how about we don't hurt him while he's stuck here, that would really help - what is he - ]

What are you going to do with that? [ He says this in the least scared way he can, which... isn't saying much. ]

[cawsforalarm]

Oh, you know.

[He grips the handle of the temporary blugeon. His smile widens.]

Stuff and things. Nyahahaha!

[And in case there was ever any dispute that this kid is completely off his rocker, it's gone now. Henry is enjoying this far too much for anyone's comfort.]

[whitehairedprettyboy]

These had better not be painful stuff or things.

[ He says this like they could be anything else. ]

[cawsforalarm]

No.

It's painful stuff and things.

Learn to grammar, seriously.

[And he swings for Valmont's right arm.]

[whitehairedprettyboy]

Well, it could be that either the stuff or the things were painful, but not both - Wait. Why exactly am I arguing grammar with a -

[ And he screams as the hammer comes down. The fact that his splintered bones begin to heal immediately doesn't make them hurt any less in the process. ]

Ow - all right, all right, you've made your point, I'll apologize to the damn bird!

[whitehairedprettyboy]

Chinese, yes. And I would suggest you stay away from Chinese demons if you can avoid it. [ He's learned his lesson. ]

My sympathies. No amount of demonic trouble is a pleasant one... Loki? This wouldn't be the Loki of Norse myth, would it? I was under the impression he was a god, not a demon. [ He's honestly curious. ]

[crouching_sin]

Some of them are all right, if you know how to deal with it.

[... Ah. He just sighs a bit.]

He was. But when Yehowah, the one that most people call simply 'God', defeated the King of Demons, he cast down the old gods as demons.

[whitehairedprettyboy]

[ Still healing from the paralysis and the very painful burns, Valmont is absolutely unprepared to react to a bird attack from nowhere. Funny thing about super-speed: it doesn't also give you super-reflexes. His hold on Veronica is broken as Ako barrels into him. ]

What in the - bloody birds!

[ It's almost a curse word. He takes aim at the Honchkrow with the dragon talisman and sends a blast of fire at her. ]

Re: [Video]

[crackpotcrocker]

[Denzel stares rather dumbfounded.]

Tailsmans? Care to enlighten some of us on the subject?

[whitehairedprettyboy]

[ He scoffs. ] Heroes. So boring. Please don't lump me in with that lot of do-gooders. Where's the profit in doing the right thing, I ask you?

[ And yet they always do seem to get in his way. Bloody hero types. Bloody Chan, more to the point. It takes him a moment to realize that he's burning a particularly savage hole in the ground. Thinking about Chan will do that. ]

[Video]

[whitehairedprettyboy]

Oh, very well. [ He pauses in his destruction for a moment. ]

Shall I give you the short version? Twelve talismans, created by a demon, based on the animals of the Chinese zodiac, each with a different supernatural power. [ He ticks each point off on his fingers. ] For instance, the lovely devastation that you see before you is courtesy of the dragon and pig talismans. No, I don't know what the connection is between pigs and eye lasers, but, well. I'm hardly complaining.