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Post by Logan on Jul 8, 2007 9:55:08 GMT -4
Weapon X sat near the waterfall, for all intents and purposes seeming like his attention was focused on the cascading water as it splashed into the pool before him. Though he was deep in apparent meditation, his attention was focused elsewhere.
She had been following him for a few days now. No...not following...tracking.
How she had gotten past the security systems of the palace was wonder enough. Weapon X could have done it in his sleep, but not many had that kind of stealth.
What was more a wonder was that every time he realized she was there she was closer than the last time. She was good, no doubt about that.
Ears trained on her heartbeat, he kept his focus out on the ripples of water.
He knew she was there...he just wasn't letting on.
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Post by x23 on Jul 9, 2007 20:03:57 GMT -4
X-23 approached the Castle Complex with the same stealth and caution as she'd done every night for weeks now. With each visit, she became increasingly comfortable with the now-familiar surroundings. Comfortable, but never lax.
She'd begun to grow bolder, to push the security as far as she could, ready to retreat if detected prematurely. She came closer every time, to the Castle and to him. Tonight was no different. She hid in the twilight shadows and she could smell him so strongly in the air that she could practically taste it. Peering out from the sylvan cover, she got her closest look at him to date.
The rational part of her mind said that such proximity was an unnecessary hazard. If she was this close, the odds were too high she would be detected. It wasn't time for that yet, or so reason said. However, she ignored reason tonight. She'd been following him for so long now that she couldn't turn away from this sight of him. She could make out the details of his form like never before, and it was fascinating. She didn't want to leave just yet, nor was she prepared to reveal herself. So she stayed put, waited...
Besides. I'm downwind. He won't sniff me out, and I can leave if I have to. But not yet. He doesn't know I'm here.
Reason would've also told her what a fool she was to underestimate such things. Unknown to her, he did know she was there. He knew exactly where she was, but she slipped tonight and didn't think about that possibility being true. Instead, she forced all thoughts from the front of her mind, as if cautious that he might here them, too.
Crouching lower, she peered silently at him from between the branches that shrouded her. Watching. Waiting...
She just didn't know for what.
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Post by Logan on Jul 10, 2007 18:03:16 GMT -4
Inclining his head just slightly, Weapon X listened as the branches softly creaked under her weight. She was small, but had some weight to her. The wind was wrong, he couldn't tell whether her adrenaline was pumping, but he could hear the slow and even rhythm of her heart beating clear as day.
She wasn't scared, he was sure of that.
Out of his peripheral he thought he saw her, some dozen feet off the ground, a dark silhouette peering out of the trees at him curiously. It was too quick a site, there and gone. He couldn't tell anything by it.
How easy it would be to end this all now. Weapon X had his suspicions, but he was patient enough for now to let the first move be hers.
It wasn't overconfidence.
It was discipline.
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Post by x23 on Jul 14, 2007 19:30:57 GMT -4
Every little twitch of a muscle in his body... She watched it, her own body tensed and ready for action at any moment. She was anticipating the consequences for her lapse in judgment by staying.
In the increasing darkness, her sharp eyes strained to make out every detail she could. From the glistening of his armor to the stubble on his cheeks when he turned.
Toward her.
Instantly, she ducked, retreating just out of sight into her leafy cover. Keeping still as she could, she never looked away. Just as quickly, he'd looked away again. Maybe he'd seen nothing. Inside, she cursed herself for giving his the chance to. She was better than that, more cautious. It was instinct for her. Maybe learned, but she had no recollection. So, she reasoned, it was ingrained in her without source.
Taking a slow and steady breath, she calmed her rapid heartbeat. If he didn't know where she was, giving him such a loud clue would lead him right to her. She was startled, none the less.
Moving nimbly, she eased herself further down the branch, until she could go no further less her weight break it. Leaping to grab another, the leaves rustled with little more than the sound a squirrel might make. Let him think she was still there. Let his focus be on that spot; almost soundlessly, she was moving around to the side of him, carefully minding the breeze.
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Post by Logan on Jul 15, 2007 16:16:50 GMT -4
Soft rustling, no more than the leaves on the wind, but with a different rhythmic quality. He tuned into it while he traced a pattern in the dirt. She was moving. Soft feet padding on the ground, light footfalls almost undetectable. She was coming in closer. Maybe this was it.
He didn’t even tense.
For a brief moment he lost her. She disappeared in a gust of wind, not even her heartbeat sounding for him to hear. Instinct told him she was close, but he didn’t look over. Instead he just stood, looking out at the water and ignoring her for a moment.
And then he walked away.
In the dirt where he had been sitting two words were scratched into the ground. “You’re good.”
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Post by x23 on Jul 16, 2007 18:51:56 GMT -4
Coming in around the side, she was closer. Even more details became apparent to her. In the sudden gust of wind, she saw his hair brushed aside. The reflection of the moon in the water lit up small points in his eyes. She paused, for just a moment, fascinated by it.
Why though?
This is foolish. Unnecessary to take such risks at this proximity. Stop staring and move. Attack or retreat, pick one, just stay focused.
As he'd been this whole time, Weapon X was calm and apparently unaware. Almost bored, perhaps tuned out of the world, his hand traced patterns in the dirt. She strained to see, but could discern nothing of it from her vantage point. Not that it was important anyway, she assumed.
Despite inner reason telling her to move, she stayed motionless for just a minute longer. He moved instead. She leapt backwards, disappearing deeper into cover.
His focus shifted from the dirt to the water, then quite roughly he tore his attention away and turned. He began to leave, his path rather from from where she stood. Had he known she was there, he would have investigated, maybe attacked. But he didn't know and was leaving. A strange emotion came over her, almost...disappointment. She waited for his figure to fade before emerging from the trees. She'd wasted enough time just staring at him, it was time to retreat or follow. One thing nagged at her curiosity first, however.
Carefully creeping to where he'd been, she looked at what he'd been drawing in the dirt.
You're good.
As soon as her eyes saw these words, her brows furrowed and her mouth stretched into a gimace.
He knew I was here the whole time! That...
You were giving yourself away, X, from the start.
Shut up! He knew and he didn't even care? Didn't bother him even a little that someone broke into the King's estate and got past all that fancy security. I'm a threat and he doesn't even care.
He doesn't even consider me so...?
Mentally, she berated herself for giving her position away. That didn't bother her the most, though. His thorough disinterest was blood-boiling.
A quiet growl left her throat as she looked up to the path he was now long gone from. With an odd, metallic *snikt,* claws emerged from her tightly clenched fists. She wanted nothing more than to go after him, but it was unwise and for the first time that night, she acknowledged the fact. She had lost the element of surprise and circumstances were not in her favor.
Another *snikt* and she reigned in her temper, and her claws. Muttering displeasure silently to herself, she turned to retreat back into the leaf cover. She'd be back. And she would not be happy.
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