4.1 - Walking Among Giants
Aldsan
(Mysterious Heroine)
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Voting said:
The ground trembled beneath the girl. She pressed her back tighter to the rock she was hiding behind, tilting her head to look out at the giant as it walked past.
"He's a big blighter, isn't he?" Kay muttered. "Must be at least sixteen feet."
"I have heard tales of giants amongst Saxon warbands as tall as twenty-five," Bedivere whispered in return.
"You are as knowledgeable as ever, Sir Bedivere," the girl said. "Let us focus on the matter at hand however."
"Right," Kay nodded. "I think if we're quick we can ambush it as it walks past that ridge. We can jump off and land upon its back, use our weight to bear it to the ground."
Bedivere nodded sagely. "Then as the heaviest among us, you should jump first, Kay."
"An entire arm heavier," Kay replied sarcastically. "That girl back in town won't be too impressed with you if she hears that I did all the work, you know."
Bedivere's cheeks heated. "I do not know what you are talking about."
"Well, if you don't mind me taking her…"
"Shove off."
"Haha! Well, neither of us will seduce the fair maiden if we don't actually kill this thing. Arthur, are you ready to – Eh? Where did he go?"
"Ah… He already ran up to the ridge."
A lone figure jumped off the cliffside, boots landing square in the giant's face. The giant let out a roar, more beast than man, as it swiped at the assailant, but the girl simply flipped upwards, planting a hand atop the giant's head before bringing her sword down upon its neck with a flash of light.
"Damn it," Kay cursed. "All the women at the village are going to be hanging off of Arthur… again."
- ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
Gamemaster said:
Ting.
Ting. Ting.
The window jerked open and Amy's head popped out. "What are you – Ow!" A pebble hit Amy on the forehead and she jerked back, only to slam her head against the windowsill.
"Ah." I coughed and let the rest of the pebbles I had been throwing at Amy's window drop to the ground. "Good evening, Amy. Do you mind if I climb up there?"
Amy glared down at me and hissed, "What the hell, Elaine? Why are you enacting some shitty 80's romcom trope?"
"I need your help. Let me in and I shall explain, I promise."
"Ugh. Fine, give me a moment and I'll open the front door."
"No need for that, I can just climb up."
"You can what –"
Gamemaster said:
I leaped, my fingers finding purchase on a small crevice in the house's brickwork, using it to heft myself up as I flipped my body, my legs hooking into Amy's window. A moment later, I had pulled myself through. "My apologies for the late hour, Amy."
"Fuck! How did you – What the actual fuck, Elaine?!"
"Quiet, please. I chose not to go through your front door for a reason, Amy."
Amy opened her mouth, closed it, then finally placed a hand over her face. "God," she muttered, "Why do I have to deal with this shit at two in the morning?"
Swallowing, I bowed my head. "I do apologize for the inconvenience. I know it is asking a great deal of you. Still, I could not think of anyone else I could turn to."
Amy let out a long, drawn out sigh before looking at me again. "Fine. What's so important at two in the morning anyways.
Clearing my throat, I peeled off my jacket. I began unbuttoning my shirt a moment later, to Amy's strangled protestations, her face turning scarlet. "What are you – Hey, don't just start stripping down! What the hell are you thinking? I'm not – I'm not ready –"
I silenced her with a look before drawing the collar of my shirt down to reveal the hastily bandaged shoulder, already soaked red. "If you would, I would like to borrow your first aid kit. I may need some help removing the bullet."
Amy lost all words. When she finally spoke again, her words escaped in little more than a wheeze. "You were shot?" She backed up unconsciously until she hit the wall. "Why the fuck aren't you at the hospital? Who shot you? "
"Amy. Please. I will answer what questions you have, but the first aid kit first."
"Y-Yeah. I got it. I'll get it." She turned and rushed to the door, pulling on it – only for it to fail to budge. "Goddamnit of all the times –"
"What is the matter?"
"You didn't set the door right when you fixed it, it gets stuck now." Amy growled and planted a foot on the wall, pushing against it to drag the door out of its frame. A moment later, it popped out and she stumbled back a few steps from the force before darting through. Her footsteps faded down the staircase, a hurried staccato as she rushed to the downstairs bathroom.
I let out a slow breath and sat down on the bed and finished unbuttoning my shirt. Slipping it off, I folded it gently and set it to the side, along with my jacket. For a moment, I stared down at the fabric, brushing my fingers over where the bullet hole would have been had my abilities not allowed for the near-instantaneous change of outfits. Instead, it was another shirt that carried that hole tonight, one I would need to dispose of after this.
My hands were trembling. Why was I… I had faced far more dangerous foes than this. Far worse wounds than this. This injury was inconvenient, but hardly worth commenting on beyond that.
So why could I not stop shivering?
"Okay. I've got it." Amy's voice disrupted my thoughts as she slid back inside the room before turning to put her weight against the door, slowly pushing it back into its frame. "How can I help? What do you need – Oh god, you're naked."
I rolled my eyes. I still had my brassiere on, even if my chest was mostly bare. "I am hardly naked," I said. "However, it will be difficult to tend the wound with my shirt in the way."
"Naked enough," Amy muttered in return.
For a moment, I felt her eyes on my bare back, my skin crawling under the weight of her gaze. I squashed the sensation down, just as I had my earlier trembling. Now was no time to be embarrassed or squeamish. It is not as though it mattered anyways. Even if I were naked, it was not as though there was much to see. My body remained as unwomanly as it had in my past life.
"Just lie down already," Amy grumbled. "Honestly, what were you thinking jumping up here like that with an injured shoulder anyways?"
"Worry not, I did not use that hand while jumping," I said as I laid back onto Amy's bed.
Amy sat down next me, setting a towel down before wiping a set of pliers down with a cotton swab. Even from where I lay, I could smell the faint scent of rubbing alcohol. "Worry not, she says… Are you going to explain what happened now?"
"I dare say you have likely already guessed by now. I decided to engage in vigilantism."
"You have powers? What am I saying – You just flipped yourself to the second floor. Of course you have powers."
I turned my face away, my cheeks coloring. Better, perhaps, to let her think that my jump was power assisted under the circumstances. The original Elaine could have managed as much with her training as a gymnast, though she would have lacked the audacity to attempt it. It was not an easy feat, by any means, but it was not impossible either.
"Yes, well. I was a bit overly reckless tonight and suffered the consequences."
"You don't say," Amy said dryly before flicking on a flashlight and pointing it at my wound. A gauze swab followed, mopping up the blood. "So? What are your powers exactly? Clearly it's not invincibility."
"I am still in the process of attempting to evaluate that."
"Here I thought I was supposed to be the reckless one," Amy growled and pressed a bit harder with her cleaning than she necessarily needed to. She immediately relented when the pressure elicited a hiss of pain from me. "So goddamn stupid."
"It is not as though I was entirely unprepared," I protested.
Amy glared at me. "Obviously you weren't prepared enough or I wouldn't be pulling a bullet out of you at two in the morning. Did you even have any sort of back up?"
"Shadow Stalker assisted me."
Amy narrowed her gaze. "Did you actually know she was there beforehand?"
"...No," I admitted.
Amy did not say anything. She did not need to. Her look said it all. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes. "I know. It was reckless. I thought I could handle it. I had been successful in my previous outings and…" And I was still thinking as if I had all the power I had in my past life when I did not.
Gamemaster said:
"Clench your teeth." A pair of pliers dug into me and I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain. It was nothing I could not bear. It was just pain. I had dealt with as much many times before. "You're lucky. The bullet didn't penetrate very far. I didn't have to go digging around at all."
The pain intensified a moment later as she began using rubbing alcohol to clean the wound. "That is well," I finally replied faintly, my eyes watering.
"Next time you might not be so lucky. So what you're going to do, as soon as I finish stitching you up, you're going to go wake my sister up, and you're going to tell her everything that you told me – and from now on, you will call her whenever you intend to go out at night. Got it?"
"Amy, I cannot." I bit down on my lip. I could not promise that. I could not impose on Victoria like that. The last time she had defended me… The last time, I had ended in a coma, but it very nearly could have been her instead. I needed to be better on my own merits.
"No. I don't care. You're going to agree. I can't see you in that hospital bed again, okay? I can't deal with you not waking up and knowing that it was my fault again. If you're going to insist on doing this, you're going to do it with help."
"I –" She was correct. I was letting my pride get in the way. I needed to be better, but Victoria was a warrior in her own right. I could not deny her assistance with good conscience. "Very well. I will speak with her."
Gamemaster said:
"Good. You had better." Amy's voice was tight, her fingers trembling as she reached for needle and thread.
I closed my eyes, to spare her the dignity, no longer staring at the tracks her tears had left along her cheeks. There was a long, silent pause before the needle pierced me, her hands steady once again. All that was left to me was the steady sound of Amy's breath and the sting of the needle. I felt myself slipping away, falling into comforting oblivion.
When I opened my eyes again, daylight streamed through the window.
Slowly, I cast my eyes about the room. All signs of the bloody treatment from the prior night had been cleaned away. At some point, Amy had changed my clothes – my shoes and rough jeans replaced with pajama bottoms, an overly large t-shirt pulled over my head. Amy's clothes, I assumed. The girl herself had fallen asleep next to me in the bed, though she had pushed herself up against the wall, her back towards me. The sheets had been pulled over her head, as if she were trying to hide herself away.
Pulling myself out of bed, I winced at the ache in my shoulder. The wound was still there, still healing, though perhaps not quite as bad as I had expected the night prior. It was fine. I could deal with this small an injury. Padding towards the door, I attempted to open it, only to find myself stymied.
Ah, Amy had mentioned something about this last night. Another thing to apologize for, my poor workmanship. Taking a deep breath, I yanked on the door until it pried free and made my way down to the hallway bathroom. A shower would not be an option this morning, not with the bandages on my shoulder, but I could at least wash my face and rinse the taste of sleep out of my mouth.
I was halfway through my abbreviated morning routine when someone knocked on the door.
"Come on Amy, hurry up! I really need to pee here!"
Pausing, I shut off the water and dried my face before opening the door to the sight of Victoria. She seemed ready to rush inside until she realized just who was occupying the room, her eyes turning into saucers.
"Ellie? What are you doing… here…?" Her head tilted to the side and she squinted at me. "Are those Amy's clothes?"
"Good morning, Victoria. I need to speak with you when you have a moment. I will be waiting in your room once you've finished with the bathroom."
Victoria looked back and forth between me and the bathroom, apparently torn between following me for immediate questioning and surrendering to the needs of her bladder. In the end, she dashed into the bathroom, though it seemed a near thing. She flew into her bedroom hardly a minute later.
"Okay, I need the deets. How did the two of you happen?"
"I have powers."
"I – what?"
"I have been going out at night as a vigilante. I was… injured last night, and asked Amy to stitch me up. She insisted I speak with you about teaming up going forward."
Victoria's smile faded. Her feet touched the ground. "Oh fuck. Are you okay, Ellie?"
"I am fine. Amy's skills were more than sufficient to the task. She did have a point however, that I was perhaps being… overly reckless in attempting to do this entirely by myself, especially when I ought to be asking you for help. Will you help me?"
"Of course, Ellie. No question, I'll be there for you." She settled onto the bed next to me and pulled me into a hug. "I mean it though. Are you okay? Really? Not just your injury but…"
"I am fine, Victoria. Truly." I gave her a slight smile and leaned into her embrace. "Ah, but if I could ask one favor? Would you mind not mentioning it to Dean? I truly do not know how I would explain something like this to my family."
Victoria's face screwed up as though she had bitten into a lemon. "He doesn't already know? And… Oh God, he hasn't told you either, has he?"
"Told me what?"
"Nothing! Nothing, just thinking how weird it is dealing with secret identity stuff. I'm so used to being in a family of open capes, I guess," Victoria laughed, though the sound seemed forced. "So what's your hero name and everything?"
"Hm." I peered up at her for a moment before answering, "Pendragon. I have had a few arrests now, but no altercations with any parahumans of note."
"Pendragon, huh? So you're playing some sort of knight theme?"
"I suppose that is accurate."
"Of course you are." Victoria sighed and squeezed me tighter. "Well, okay then. Don't worry, Big Sis Vicky is here to show you the ropes. We'll meet up tonight for our first patrol together as a team."
"Thank you, Victoria. Ah, but I do have one last favor to ask, if you do not mind."
"Sure, whatever you need, Ellie."
"Well… would you mind helping me get to school today?"
- ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
Theoretically, Victoria could have both Amy and I and flown to school. One of us would have been in her arms, the other riding her back. The three of us collectively decided not to pursue that particular path, outside of the most dire of emergencies. It was not particularly dignified, and none of us wanted to risk slipping.
Instead, Victoria borrowed her father's car. I managed to take the keys from her, with the quick excuse of needing to practice for my permit. In truth, I simply did not enjoy the few times I had ridden as a passenger with her behind the wheel in the past. She spent too much time up in the air, where traffic was not a concern, so she tended to become an incredibly slow and defensive driver when she was bound to the ground – Overcompensating for her lack of control.
If I was honest, there was a part of me that simply enjoyed being behind the wheel as well.
I smoothly pulled the three of us out of the driveway. Victoria had taken the passenger seat, occasionally flipping through stations on the radio. Amy laid draped across the backseat, still half asleep. A few minutes into the drive, Victoria leaned over and whispered, "So… Is there anything going on with you two?"
"I am not sure what you mean, Victoria."
"Right, right, gotcha." She winked conspiratorially and retreated.
Hopefully the rest of the day did not prove quite this strange.
Gamemaster said:
- ❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Thank you all for coming here today. We are new to each other, so let us begin with introductions."
A girl who had been absorbed in her phone suddenly snapped it shut and glared at me. "We all know each other. You're the only one new here."
I slowly turned my gaze across the rest of the Student Council. They seemed shocked by her reaction, but not completely dismissive. It was likely they held some resentment of their own as well. It was understandable. I was an outsider who had sweeped in and taken a position of leadership over them. I would simply have to prove myself.
Meeting my Vice President's gaze, I said, "Then I have a great deal to catch up on."
"You–" A tall boy put his hand on her arm and leaned in to whisper to her. Whatever he said seemed to calm her down and she took a deep breath before answering. "Fine. I'm Vedika. Your Vice President."
"Austin, I'll be your Treasurer."
"Kayla. I'm the Secretary."
Nodding, I took them all in. Vedika was a pretty girl, with dark hair pulled over her shoulder in a braid and even darker eyes. A beauty; though it was held back by the overly large glasses she wore. Austin, meanwhile, was a tall and gangly boy. His curly, dirty-blonde hair and easy smile leant him a general sense of amiability. Finally, Kayla wore her brown hair tied back in a low ponytail. Her eyes darted between me and Vedika, as if worried that one of us might explode.
"Thank you. I am Elaine. I will be your President for this school year. I do wish we could spend longer getting to know one another, but we do have a few orders of business to get to. To start with, the Homecoming Dance is coming soon and we will need to assist with organizing it. We will not have long on this, so please consider any particular theme you would like to use for the dance's decorations, as well as what refreshments you would like."
I continued like that for nearly half an hour. Quite a long time, considering it was only me discussing the problems we would need to address, and not even talking about possible solutions yet. On top of the dance, football season would be starting soon, and we would need to coordinate with the other local schools. We would need to make sure concessions were set up for the games. We would need to run general fundraisers throughout the year for the school.
Those were just the basic responsibilities. It did not even include my true aim, which was to make us a resource that any student in the school could go to for help. That would take more time and effort.
Gamemaster said:
"We will stop here for today." I said, calling an end to the meeting. Austin and Kayla both looked a bit more enthusiastic than they had at the start of the meeting, but Vedika looked as though she were simply lost in her thoughts. "Everyone, please give some thought to how you would personally want the school to improve. We will discuss your ideas tomorrow. Vedika, could you please stay a moment?"
The others left without ceremony, leaving just Vedika and I. She looked up and met my eyes. "What do you want?"
I apologized to her. For my thoughtlessness. For my selfishness. The two of us walked together down to the school gate and I laid bare my inadequacies. In the end, I could but ask for forgiveness. I had no right to do so, and yet I did so anyway – because she was a resource that I needed. I needed her aid if my goals as President were to be successful.
In the end, she agreed.
We parted ways, and though there were still tears in her eyes, she smiled at me. She waved and walked ahead, through the gate.
Then she fell to the pavement, red painting the concrete. A boy with a knife stood over her, dressed in a green shirt and red track pants, a garish assembly. A memory came to mind. An encounter at the mall. Gang colors. The same colors that the men last night had worn. The same colors the boy who had assaulted Chelsea had worn.
My jaw clenched and I launched myself forward. They dared to harm children at a school? At my school? My first instinct was to call my sword – but that would be foolish. The place was too public. Too easily seen. Instead, I let my baton slip into my hand.
Elaine invokes passion: Station: 11 | 12 = Success
Delinquent invokes passion: Hate (Elaine): 2 | 10 = Success
Modifiers:
Elaine: Inspired (+5 to Brawling)
Delinquent: Inspired (+5 to Brawling)
Elaine Brawling: 17 | 18 (13+5) = Success
Delinquent Brawling: 10 | 13 (8+5) = Success
>Elaine Damage (2d6+4) = 11 (0 Armor Reduction) = (13/24 HP)
Elaine Brawling: 6 | 18 (13+5) = Success
Delinquent Brawling: 8 | 13 (8+5) = Success
>Delinquent Damage (2d6+4) = 9 (6 Armor Reduction) = (24/38 HP)
Elaine Brawling: 6 | 18 (13+5) = Success
Delinquent Brawling: 5 | 13 (8+5) = Success
>Elaine Damage (2d6+4) = 12 (0 Armor Reduction) = (1/24 HP)
The Delinquent is knocked Unconscious.
Delinquent invokes passion: Hate (Elaine): 2 | 10 = Success
Modifiers:
Elaine: Inspired (+5 to Brawling)
Delinquent: Inspired (+5 to Brawling)
Elaine Brawling: 17 | 18 (13+5) = Success
Delinquent Brawling: 10 | 13 (8+5) = Success
>Elaine Damage (2d6+4) = 11 (0 Armor Reduction) = (13/24 HP)
Elaine Brawling: 6 | 18 (13+5) = Success
Delinquent Brawling: 8 | 13 (8+5) = Success
>Delinquent Damage (2d6+4) = 9 (6 Armor Reduction) = (24/38 HP)
Elaine Brawling: 6 | 18 (13+5) = Success
Delinquent Brawling: 5 | 13 (8+5) = Success
>Elaine Damage (2d6+4) = 12 (0 Armor Reduction) = (1/24 HP)
The Delinquent is knocked Unconscious.
He seemed to be expecting me, but the sheer ferocity of my approach took him by surprise. I brought my baton down upon him, hoping to disarm him in a single blow, but he raised an arm to ward me off. The strike sent him stumbling backwards. Rather than retreat however, he instead lunged forward, a rictus of rage upon his face.
I frowned, twisting aside. The blade of his knife scraped my arm. A shallow cut. Something was wrong. There was something unnatural about this. Something had driven this boy rabid.
No matter. Battle was not the time to ponder the reasons. That could come after. I let his thrust carry him past me. Grabbing hold of his wrist to continue the motion, I spun him around myself, flinging him down to the ground. My fist followed a bare second later, taking him into unconsciousness.
Gamemaster said:
"Vedika," I said, kneeling by the older girl to check on her. "Are you alright?"
"Elaine?" Vedika's eyes fluttered open, looking around her in confusion. "You… Rescued me?" She paused and then looked at the boy I had knocked unconscious, her eyes widening. "You took down someone that had a knife? By yourself?"
"That is not important right now. Are you okay?"
"I… I think so. It hurts, but I think I'm okay."
I nodded and squeezed her hands. "Hang in there. I will call the police and see to it that this man is taken away. Alright?"
"A-Alright."
Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I dialed the number for emergency services. "Hello? There has been an assault at Arcadia High School. We need police to take the perpetrator…"
Gamemaster said:
Time with Erin and follow up on the shed next time. The first aid bit wound up a lot longer than I was expecting. Please note, I've added an Allies tab to the character sheet and will be keeping track of bond level going forward. If anyone has any nice pictures that they think would work for a given character, I would appreciate them as I get the page constructed.
It is September of 2010.
Time for some presidential duties. So to start with, what theme will you use for the Homecoming Dance?
[ ] [Homecoming] (Write-In)
Next, you will need to reach out to some of the other schools in the city to coordinate with their student councils regarding inter-school events. Where do you start?
[ ] [School] Winslow
[ ] [School] Clarendon
[ ] [School] Immaculata
We'll also need to decide where you're patrolling with Glory Girl:
[ ] [Patrol] North End
[ ] [Patrol] The Docks
[ ] [Patrol] Midtown
[ ] [Patrol] Downtown
[ ] [Patrol] Stratham
Choose an activity to participate in:
[ ] [Activity] Focus on the Student Council
>You will be doing work for the Student Council regardless, this is to spend extra time devoted to the task.
[ ] [Activity] Study Group
>Spend some extra time studying for your classes.
[ ] [Activity] Party
>You've been invited to a house party by Chelsea and Morgan.
[ ] [Activity] Modeling
>Victoria apparently has some sort of charity photo shoot she's attending that she's invited you to. It could earn you some money on the side if you do well.
[ ] [Activity] Charity
>You could do volunteer work.
[ ] [Activity] Sparring
>You have people you can practice your fighting with now.
[ ] [Activity] (Write-In)
Choose someone to spend time with.
[ ] [Social] Dean Stansfield
[ ] [Social] Victoria Dallon
[ ] [Social] Amy Dallon
[ ] [Social] Chelsea and Morgan
[ ] [Social] Erin Archelot
[ ] [Social] Theo Anders
[ ] [Social] Tammi Herren
[ ] [Social] Vedika Dhawan
[ ] [Social] (Write-In)
/2 Fighters) Glory for killing the Dead.