Daily #44 - Jalous Houlen, Juorem Canide and Rojule Felide
These drills were routine to him, he knew them inside and out and they allowed him to sharpen his mind. While his body flowed through action he could perceive his surroundings to a higher degree, he could see everything around him and answer it without needing to direct his flesh to act. This was a high art of the blade and one he had inherited with pride.
With his senses to the limit it was no wonder he heard it. A noise, a presence, movement outside of his hive. Someone was sneaking about. He dropped out of his routine and crouched to the floor. They hadn't noticed any change, still bumbling about outside. Good god had the intruder just stepped on a twig? How ineffectual could you possibly be?
Cautiously he traversed the darkened hallways of his hive – the lights usually deactivated at all times to keep pesky proselyting subjugglators from showing up at his doorstep. His best sword was stored at the back of the hive, so on him right now he simply had his ever-present hilt and a few basic blades in his specibus. Whoever this invader was, he'd have to hope they weren't too dangerous if they were here for a fight. Although considering how much noise they were making they couldn't be too skilled.
They were definitely outside his front door, Jalous noted as he crouched down before it. Opening it slowly was probably a bad move, they'd see the movement and know he was aware. So two options. One he opened it and moved back, leaving an open doorway for the intruder to enter and fall into his domain. Two he opened it and burst through the doorway in one instant, getting the surprise if they were directly in front of it as well as instantly gaining a wide open area, perfect for his style.
The second option would also eliminate the risk of damage being done to the inside of his hive. The scales tipped in its favour and Jalous surged forward, reaching out and pulling the door in so he could step through it. Moments after exiting the hive he felt a tug at his legs and slashed down, the blade he was carrying severing a wire he had caught and causing it to lash wildly at its sudden release from strain.
But the wire had already triggered its mechanism and Jalous was forced to dive forward to dodge the guillotine blade that slammed down before his doorway. Well, he was now locked out of his hive.
“What is this?”
A set of mad giggles reached him and he looked up, spotting a pair of trolls on the roof of his hive. One stood with a long metal bat held over his shoulders while the other crouched down, the moonlight glinting off a wire she grasped. Juorem Canide and Rojule Felide smiled down at him.
“Sup Jal',” Juorem waved with a grin, “Couldn't help but notice last time you talked your shit at us you were getting some mad pride on. Seemed like you had a lotta big things to say about yourself. Stuff like being better than us? Not that friendly bro, gotta say.”
“Yeaaaaaaaah,” Rojule was the first to hop down, landed neatly on the flat back of the guillotine blade. “You really upset us you know, all that 'I am better than you' talk you've got. Really hurts our feelings. Not cool.”
Jalous furrowed his brow. This was not really what he was expecting. These two weren't here to harm him. Well they were, but in their own idiotic way that was how they showed friendship. He really hated them both. Yet he supposed it was also his fault for sparing them the time of day. Each always took the advantage to go on the aggressive when in regards with him, drawing up every mistake he had made for their own amusement. They were idiotic savages and his tolerance of them had clearly been a mistake.
“You should both leave,” he pointed his sword at them, “now.”
“Oh yeah yeah, I'm shaking in my fucking boots,” Juorem hopped down as well, landing next to Rojule. Considering the two were famous for the Kismesis relationship they shared this was obviously a big deal to them, shelving their pride to work together. Jalous was almost impressed. “No Jalous, you're getting what's comin' to you. We're gonna show you you ain't the hot shit you think you are and you're gonna step the fuck off the next time you think you know better.”
Juorem was fast and strong, but not stronger than Jalous. His total lack of discipline weakened him but he had somehow managed to develop the skill of being completely unpredictable. Rojule meanwhile was a master of the trap and quite likely preparing to turn this entire battlefield against Jalous. She would need to be dropped first, because the more attention Jalous paid to Juorem the more troublesome this would become.
He stepped forward and raised his sword. And that was when the madness began.
Rojule was faster than Jalous had ever given her credit for, she seemed to dance across the distance between them, a net of wires flying about her, catching the light of the moon and creating a distortion that to anyone not trained for combat would easily give her the upper hand. When Jalous swung his sword around it was aimed directly at her head.
And yet she dodged so effortlessly, leaning around the blade while her wires wrapped around it. They tightened and putting her strength into it Rojule dragged his blade aside, exposing him to the rapidly incoming Juorem. Juorem had been practising his jumping ability it seemed, to be able to leap from just in front of Jalous' hive all the way over to where he now stood, bringing his bat swinging down with all the force his powerful blueblood muscles good exert.
It really was shockingly good teamwork for two wild animals who hated each other to the core. Yeah, he'd never admit it in a million years but Jalous was quite impressed. The muscles in his right arm bulged and Rojule had one moment, when she felt her weight shift against her will, to realise the mistake she had made. And then Jalous had swung his blade around and her with it, throwing her directly into Juorem. The two collided in midair and fell to the ground, arguing as they attempted to extract themselves from one another.
“Go home.” Jalous stared down at the pair. “This is embarrassing.”
“Oh no,” Juorem was the first back on his feet, “Aww hell no. This is just getting started big boy. You’ve crossed some lines and now you gotta pay the ferryman his dues.”
Rojule kicked Juorem’s legs out so that she could stand instead while Jalous raised an eyebrow at the blueblood’s terminology. He’d been reading books he could barely understand again it seemed.
However for all they were idiots they had still managed to surprise Jalous. Perhaps there was something else to them. While bickering amongst themselves and steadfastly ignoring him, the tiny tilts of their heads told him that the moment he made a move they were prepared to react. Wild animals with an instinct born of experience. It was almost curious to see what they would do.
He crossed the field and swung his sword.
While not as strong as the Subjugglator Juorem was still an exemplary member of his caste, and by swinging his bat around with all the force he could muster successfully repulsed Jalous’s strike. The thick metal tool was perfect for Juorem’s wild style, allowing him to put it through all manner of abuse without it folding under the pressure.
Rojule meanwhile was quickly dancing about the field. Jalous recalled for a moment her passionate praise of the Deathdancers of the Royal Fleet, trolls that proved untouchable in the most deadly of battles and who brought despair against any opponent. It did not take a significant leap of logic to note she idolised them and desired to be a part of their number and it certainly helped explain quite a few things about her nature.
Her talent in the art of traps though was wholly her own. Jalous pushed his skills to dispose of Juorem, kicking the troll directly in the gut the moment he saw an opening. Turning on the blueblood he pursued the teal – she needed to be stopped sooner rather than later. But Juorem’s tenacity was legendary in its own right and he was quickly on Jalous’s heels, attempting to lock him down. Jalous directed a bat swing to glance off of his blade and fly overhead, answering Juorem’s attack with a heavy fist to the chin.
But as soon as he stepped around to chase after Rojule he knew she’d had too long, the feeling of his foot sinking into a small pit in the ground just the precursor to the chaos she had no doubt surrounded him with. This pit was just a stumbling block though, so Jalous was easily able to step back out and regain his balance. But now…
“Ahahahah,” Juorem was back on his feet, pointing and laughing. “What’ll you do now, Jal? One wrong step and it’s all over!” Rojule was standing further back, in front of Jalous’s hive, a nasty grin plastered across her face.
“I could ask you the same,” Jalous replied calmly, watching the blueblood. The odds were ten to one Rojule had left her kismesis in the same predicament Jalous now was, so it would be interesting to see what Juorem would do. The blueblood just smirked.
“Don’t worry your pretty little purple-blooded head about me, bro.” Jalous watched in curiosity as Juorem returned his bat to his specibus and began to stretch. Juorem had obviously gotten into a competition recently that required him to improve his jumping skills, Jalous had never before seen him express anything close to the ability to jump from a standing position that high into the air.
But Jalous had his own strength as well and while he couldn’t leap like Juorem had learned, he could catch the blueblood in midair.
The two slammed into one another and carried on, hitting the side of Jalous’s hive and then the ground a moment after. Having used Juorem to absorb the impact, Jalous delivered a powerful strike to the back of the blueblood’s head. Juorem’s tenacity proved itself in that he was still fully conscious and trying to get back up, but this was dealt with quite simply. Jalous grabbed the blueblood by the neck, hauled him up in the air and threw him straight at Rojule.
She had been preparing to stop Jalous crossing the distance between them but had no expectations of a flying Juorem to the face and quickly found herself pinned to the ground. Loudly yelling at him to get off of her, she was met by non-committal grunts and some flailing, Juorem finally having being stunned enough to mostly shut up.
Severing the wires hanging between himself and Rojule as he walked forward, Jalous reached into the trollpile, grabbed her neck and lifted her into the sky. She quickly lost all pretence of confidence as she found herself aimed at the region of traps she had just set.
She hit the ground right where Juorem had taken off from, Juorem himself following shortly after. Jalous sheathed his blade. “Rojule if even one of those traps remains next time I step outside my hive I will gut you myself, got it?”
She snapped to attention, a hand raised in salute. “Yessir Mr. Subjugglator Sir sorry to have troubled you.”
He really did not give a fuck how much of a smartass she was being right now, he just sighed and made his way back inside his hive. Dealing with those two was one of the greatest pains imaginable.
He really did not understand why he tolerated them. They’d just be back to talking shit the next time he was around. He’d definitely have to teach them some discipline and respect. Yeah that’d be enough reason – breaking them of their bad habits. That’d be the excuse he used.
After all, someone has to put up with them.