( closd ) | what's shimada with them

[eruit]

WHO: Hanzo, Kostos, Benedict, Helena
WHAT: Assassination attempt!
WHEN: Early Firstfall
WHERE: Outside Kirkwall
NOTES: Hanzo's Tragic Life.

It was supposed to be a very simple scouting mission - to go out and make sure that all defences were secured, that there was nothing wrong, that there was nothing that seemed out of place or suspicious. When the world knows that the Inquisition holds itself in Kirkwall and in the Marches then there is always a risk of subterfuge and sabotage; Hanzo is well versed in that. He had lived it for the first thirty years of his life, after all.

Slipping through the outskirts is easy enough for their group. They're not trying to be particularly stealthy, considering it's scouting, but it probably doesn't hurt to be prepared. Hanzo keeps his fingers on his bow, keeps his eyes ready, staring forward with the gentle buzz of spirits under his skin.

(Helena probably recognises it, knows the feeling of being touched by the spirits, but the others -

best not to think about that.)

It's when they march over the edge of a slight hill, stepping as a group, that the pair across from them. They stand out in their robes, clearly Venatori, but it's not that which has Hanzo pausing. It's the band that's wrapped around their arm, fabric declaring their house even if they might be far from Tevinter now.

It's a pair of dragons, shaded with golds and blues.

Hanzo wastes no time, hissing to the others - "Get down!"

Comments

[strangel]

The feeling of the spirits waking (is it waking? Is that the right word?) pulls her gaze sharply towards Hanzo.

Moving quick, Helena flattens herself to the ground at the instruction, disappearing almost into the grass. Wild and quick, and she glances up to the sun to see if there's a chance that the light from it shining in the Venatoris eyes might have kept them from noticing the figures at the hill, keeps looking around to see how they can approach.

"Only two?" she breathes, glancing between the others.

[exequy]

Feeling spirits is pretty much what Kostos does, but he's been ignoring Hanzo's with the same sullen, pointed indifference as he would someone who was humming or whistling just to get on his nerves. Not that these spirits care about his nerves one way or another. And for everyone else, there's no real visible difference between sullen indifference and Kostos' usual facial expressions. So.

So his back is up a moment before Hanzo speaks, and he's quickly sullen and on the ground instead of sullen and upright.

[altusimperius]

Benedict is here because he thought he was doing a favor, and was dismayed to see that this was both not the case and included Kostos. But he's behaving himself, more or less, keeping his grousing to a minimum and writing today off as a necessary evil if he wants to keep prioritizing the cushy duties of a chamberlain. But he'll never be a scout, he can say that much.
He ducks down quickly with a sour, unnerved expression, recognizing the Venatori as well. It seems he'll never be free of them, nor, perhaps, they of him.

[eruit]

Hanzo is clearly on edge, sharp and dangerous and intense under the sudden, sharp reminder of all the things he had been hiding from. The fact that the three people with him are all those who are aware - on different levels - of his shaky past in Tevinter is enough to have him want to draw his bow and try to take the Venatori down immediately, but... There is no avoiding the symbol that colours their sleeves. There is no denying the association of House Shimada to the Venatori now, and he knows that it will come down on him and trap him in Kirkwall.

He had no plans to go elsewhere, but he would have enjoyed the choice.

Slowly, he settles and lets Storm Bow rest in his fingertips, the dragons curling around the bow. It is more important to be defended than secretive now - let Kostos and Benedict see them. They are friends to Helena, at least, and that comforts him; he can find some strength in knowing that the surprise will not ruin him. It is true that his family knows of his secrets, but... They may not know of his talents with a bow.

He can hear the voices echoing towards them; talking in quick, sharp Tevene. Commands to search, to move forward - to find him. He curses.

"Two, of House Shimada. They may have magic but it will not be strong. They are searching for me."

[strangel]

She watches Hanzo carefully, and nods. "Go back."

Retreat a distance, she means, not as in go back to the Inquisition right now. Not quite an order, a rough request. He is an archer, a ranged fighter. It is better if he is far away - he cannot be taken, can fight more freely. She looks between Nikos and Benedict, and murmurs. "I fight close. Take good positions for fighting, or hide for safety. I will distract."

This was a scouting party, yes, and presumably they need to be capable, but—

her knife between her teeth, now, her bow and one arrow in her hands, and she starts to move carefully along, keeping below the crest of the hill and listening carefully to the voices to keep aware of where they are.

[exequy]

In another situation Kostos might have bristled at being given orders, but he's only mostly a surly, headstrong asshole, and he's also—by trade, for years—a guerrilla. He only nods, from where he's crouched, and starts pulling wisps through the Veil, one at a time, while he gives Hanzo's spirits a contemplative look. He's contemplating saying something to them, specifically, or prodding at their consciousnesses with his own, but that might be rude and, more importantly, there isn't time to waste on making friends.

The wisps, he dispenses silently. One to Benedict, two to Hanzo, since he's the target. For the moment they do nothing, but if their charges are sufficiently imperiled, they'll provide barriers.

"Do you need them alive?" he asks Hanzo in the meantime, quiet.

[eruit]

"I am not going anywhere."

It's said low and sharp, but clear all the same. These are not the first Shimada assassins that have been sent in his direction and he does not imagine they will be the last, either. It surprises him only that they knew to search for him here, that they decided to come as far as Kirkwall proper when Minrathous and Tevinter is a much safer place. Perhaps they had followed him back, but he had left through the Deep Roads...

Perhaps he is more obvious than he had imagined. Perhaps the dinner party, perhaps, perhaps. So many things that may have caused problems, and Hanzo's nose wrinkles as he considers it.

Slowly, he breathes out, letting his dragons settle around him before he nods his head.

"One, at least, for information. The other can die." It's not as if he cares for the lives of any member of his family that dared align themselves with someone as dishonourable as Corypheus. They bring shame and disgrace to the Shimada name. "Benedict, Helena -" quieter, softer "- be careful."

[strangel]

Nikos, Kostos. She probably knows how to tell identical people apart, all things considered.

As for Hanzo, she glares at him with a knife between her teeth, although there's the possibility, the potential, for the expression to seem on the endearing side of the grumpy-incredulous spectrum, rather than the potentially murderous one. Of course the foolish dragon man won't go. He is too stubborn.

Helena, for her part, knows nothing about stubbornness.

And then— it's not that she disappears, so much that she's very good at not being noticed. There's something of a feral cat to her, looping around the men until she is outside their fielding of vision, and then slinking up behind them, sudden as the mavka. No shadow and no reflection to betray her, only her wild, sharp self. But they are getting too close to the others, could be seeing them if they look sharply, so she leaps onto one of their backs.

That should be distraction, she thinks.

HI SORRY

[altusimperius]

Cutting his eyes to Hanzo when he's advised to be cautious, Benedict gives a small nod, flexing his fingers in anticipation of casting soon.
And then, all at once, it's time. Helena goes for it, and Benedict rises to get a sightline, laying a Hex of Torment over her victims. They'll feel each hit with magnified pain, and the mental effects won't be so hot either.

[eruit]

The two Venatori do not seem to notice Helena as she approaches, their focus entirely forward on the arch of the hill, a frown on their faces. Staff in hands and dragons on their arms, they have no shame - it is the nature of anyone with a drop of Shimada blood to have a touch too much pride, not even pretending to be anything other than they are. They're whispering quietly to each other, walking forward and readying themselves, too close to Kirkwall now, when Helena leaps.

The reaction is immediate.

Sparks light up the hands of the one that she has attacked and he twists, trying to get at her. The other draws his staff with a shout, lifting his own magic to summon something to deal with this monster that has appeared in front of them - at least until Benedict's spell hits him. His cry of agony is obvious and he slips, ankle twisting a little as he reaches to grab at his head.

That's when Hanzo moves.

He lifts himself and lunges, an unnatural movement with a slight glow to it - more than enough to betray the echo his spirits have on his power. Bow in hand, he lifts it high and tilts his head, focussing before he lets the first loose, the sharp edge of the arrow striking the shoulder of the Venatori attempting to throw Helena off through his pain. It's only then that his arm seems to glow blue, one dragon swirling around his forearm: three arrows are shot far faster than the average human might manage, hitting shoulder, arm and leg of the Venatori attempting to protect his fellow.

They need to keep one alive. He hasn't decided which one yet.

cw eye trauma pls forgive me barging in again

[strangel]

Helena's legs are locked, vicelike, around the man's torso, and arm hook around his neck as her other hand pulls away the helm protecting his skull, his face, aided when Hanzo's arrow lands. Her mouth tugs into a vicious grin and it's all a violent, writhing wrestle. One of his hands finds her arm, and a shock of electricity makes her body go rigid, tighten, but she doesn't let go.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

She is the angel, and Hanzo is the great dragon.

"You will not find him," she hisses into the mage's ear, one arm still locked to throttle him, her other hand splayed like a claw as she drives her thumb and fingers into the Venatori's eyes.

[eruit]

"It - does not have to be us," the man chokes it out through his pain, twisting again as he tries to grip at her wrist, to send bolts down her bones, to her heart. He wants to punish her for daring to take him down, to stand against the Venatori, and his agony does not stop him. He is lithe for a mage, dangerously so, the sharp pain of fingers doesn't quite deter him as much as it ought.

Hanzo breathes out as he watches, the dragons curling around him. It's grabbing the attention of the two men who shout, calling for him, but his eyes are struck on Helena, on the defence of him that is so clear. He has not had someone fight for him since... Longer than he can remember. Not of respect, but of affection.

Something tightens in his throat and he turns to look at the others.

"Hers can die! The other shall be ours." Save her name, protect her title from the ranks of those that follow Corypheus. Give the Shimada no more ammunition to use against him.

[exequy]

In the absence of any instruction that he should be careful, Kostos isn't. The three wisps linger with Benedict and Hanzo, and two more are already with him when he slides up and crests the hill, then another two while he approaches at a steady walk, fearless because one is having his eyes poked out and the other is sporting three arrows and Kostos is a quick draw with a barrier besides.

The wisps are less pretty than dragons, but they listen well—to him, anyway—and stream away on command to fan out behind the two Venatori, harassing them from the back with bursts of ice or fire. They aren't very hardy or very powerful, but they are very good at being obnoxious.

As an afterthought, he reaches out and pulls mana from the one Helena has latched onto. Not all of it, but enough that he might run out sooner than he'd like.