animus_network | the first [voice]

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the first [voice]

Evenin'.

[sup tower, how's it goin'. have one (1) very very ticked off aquatic troll staring at the screen. even if you were used to seeing his species, he's a bit.. notable. mostly due to the fact that he's the kind one can instantaneously recognize as a villain-type. maybe it's the crazy collar. or the sneer revealing perfectly serrated teeth. or the deep, jagged scars running diagonally across his face.

something like that, anyway. point is, like most other arrivals, he's not exactly delighted to be here.]

If someone would be so... kind as to further explain the situation I find myself in, that would be appreciated. Perhaps I'll even spare you if it seems useful enough, hm? That said, if any 'a the imperial forces are here, now would be the time to make yourself known. If not, it should already be established I have little patience for cowards or traitors.

Consider this your warning.

[yep, and it's off. no "thank you for your time" or any of that nonsense, apparently.]

(ooc: action to anyone who wants it! he'll be wondering about the second floor. a warning, though: chances are, he's going to be out for blood.)

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Orphaner Dualscar.

[he presses his lips together in clear disdain for the troll in front of him. even that blasted lisp! if it weren't for the empress's orders... it wasn't as if the empire needed any more mutant filth poluting the genetic p--

he wipes the thought from his mind.]

You have some gall addressin' a superior so casually.

[it's not meant to be a compliment.]

[Welp. He's not about to scrape the floor over some asshole who looks like Eridan. Especially not after learning that he's apparently destined to be schoolfed into being enslaved to some douchebag just like this.

So, in for a penny, in for a pound.]

Not sure what egthactly it ith about you that'th thuperior, but thorry if I offended you. [Shrug] You look like a friend of mine. [And by that, he means enemy]

[well, friend and enemy do mean the same thing, so he dismisses it-- another case of mistaken identity. it is the words before that statement that elicit the faintest of sneers. scorn should be hardly unexpected, coming from him.

though instead of a ready verbal response, there is a physical one. in one swift motion, dualscar throws a heavy and ringed fist at the younger troll's face.]

[Oops. Luckily some kind of blow or attack wasn't completely unexpected to Sollux - since he knows the younger. The fist is stopped in mid-air, limned in blue and red.]

Yeah. I don't think tho. I'm not your thlave, yet, athhhole.

['impressive', he thinks. for a lowblood that is. then again, this is the Ψiioniic's descendent he is dealing with here. he tests his fingers' mobility by attempting to clench and unclench the fist.

in the meanwhile, the orphaner allows himself a chuckle.]

"Yet" bein' the keyword here, mutant.

[he aims a sharp kick to the younger troll's side.]

[You know, he hadn't believed it. He saw Psiioniic, and how screwed up he is, and trusted him when he explained what happened to him. He said that he believed it was going to happen to him, too. But it's one thing to believe and another to know.

Hearing it come from Dualscar is a great deal more shocking. It really brings it home that this is real. That lowbloods like him are enslaved, and the only reason he hasn't heard it before is because they don't want them running away.

It's shocking enough that he doesn't see the kick coming until it connects solidly with his side. A rib goes crunch and he yells, the psychic hold vanishing as he sprawls onto the floor, curling into a ball to protect his aching, throbbing torso.]

[and 'how easy it would be to cull him here and now', dualscar thinks. however tempting the thought may be, the sword remains unused at his side, the green blood staining its blade already beginning to dry. of course, he doesn't believe himself to even need a weapon to get the job done.

he'd rather rub salt into the wounds.

he appears to carefully position his boot on the psionic's neck, though the sheer pressure of it once placed tells otherwise. best to keep those forsaken eyes from having a line of fire, as well as having direct power over his life.]

Our genetics determined that. [the orphaner answers the question that appeared to be lost through violence, though it has been echoing in his mind.] You are easily expendable. Worthless, filthy, pathetic-- a defect to an otherwise flawless race.

Ones so low should feel fortunate to be kept alive, even more so to serve those above.

[Sollux hisses angrily, despite the pressure on his neck. He's very sure he can beat Dualscar if he tries, but he made a mistake and now he's paying for it. If he can't see the fishface, he can't attack him, so now he's got to hope that Dualscar won't actually take it that far and kill him.

His eyes dart around, searching for something to throw at the adult troll, to knock him off balance.]

You're fucking thick. I'm a perthon, jutht like you. Not all thea trollth think I'm lower than you, you know.

I'm the thick one?

[another laugh, but more unrestrained. how ironic that the lowblood keep slewing insults at him, with his life beneath his heel. he actually presses down this time, shifting his weight to the offensive. perhaps his neck would snap before his windpipe were crushed? even if the aforementioned were less painful, neither is a particularly thrilling way of going.

or maybe he wouldn't kill him if he simply passed out from lack of oxygen first.]

Then the Tyrian Blood will die like the rest of them.

Thick! [Sollux tries to hiss the first letter despite his lisp, and it's not working, and he's getting light-headed and really scared as Dualscar presses down] Dithguthting. Shithive maggotth. [He's gasping] F-fuck... thtop!

[Desperately, he picks up a nearby chair and hurls it straight at Dualscar. Or at least, as straight as he can.]

[ooooh. sick. he thought the first one made more sense anyway, as far as insults go. clearly, alternia had gotten much too soft if he is what the wriggler considered sickening. it gave him an excuse to speak to the empress more on something later.

unfortunately, a flying chair isn't nearly enough to separate a full-grown troll from its prey. distracting, yes. the object hits him haphazardly on the shoulder, he growls in irritation as it clatters loudly to the floor. he then increases the pressure on the boy's throat, having to shift his stance slightly due to delayed flinching.]

Yet, still no lesson learned...

[Sollux squeals in distress, claws ripping up the floor as he scrabbles to try to get away, but his skinny, underfed frame is nothing compared to the power of a full-grown troll who never had the opportunity to rely on psionics for any manual labour he had to perform.

But after not too long, the struggles weaken and he slumps, yellow blood trickling from the corner of his mouth from a bitten tongue as he passes out]

Sollux!

[Of course. Of course the time it took her to check in on the other hallways would be all it took for something to happen. She had no idea how well her powers would work on a fully grown troll, or how much being god tier had amplified them. But she didn't hold back as she darted forward, arm swinging in a motion to try and push him forcibly off of Sollux.

If that didn't work, she still had her time powers- but for the moment she hoped she could at the very least get him away before he did any more damage.]

[a few seconds more were all he wanted to ensure full unconsciousness, and that was all he got. he didn't put it past them for dirty tricks, as dirty as their blood would allow. and then the second voice startles him from his thoughts, though also serves as a warning.

indeed, while her powers may not have the full desired effect, it is enough to push dualscar back from the troll. he bares his teeth in annoyance, even more so from recognition of having spoken to her before.

he grips his weapon once more, preparing himself against an attack.]

[Sollux coughs and breathes once the pressure is off, though he's still limp and curled into a half-ball, coughing thin ropes of yellow spit and blood onto the floor.

He likely will wake up soon, but he wasn't faking.]

[Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

Aradia settled herself firmly between the older troll and Sollux, kneeling to sit him up so she could get her shoulder under his arm, warily keeping an eye on Dualscar regardless. She didn't want to hurt him if she didn't have to, but the condition Sollux was in wasn't making her feel particularly generous. In fact, it was actually working quite the opposite, and she settled her glare on Dualscar as she finally settled for moving Sollux gingerly with her powers.]

What is wrong with you?!

[he watches her impassively. yet another lowblood with psychic powers? how aggravating. now that the initial surprise had worn, it was more simple to put the pieces together.

but her obvious distress at the fallen troll was amusing enough to bring his lips into a smile.]

Not me-- Your comrade wished me to teach him a lesson in respect.

[As she lifts him, Sollux' eyelids flutter, showing a gleam of blue and red. He gasps raggedly, his throat bruised badly by Dualscar's boot, and slowly comes to realize what's happening, as his eyes open wider.]

...AA? Where did you come from?

I seriously doubt that.

[She kept an eye on him as Sollux's eyes began to open, one of her hands going to his shoulder as she peered up into his face.]

I was having a look around to make sure he wasn't going all cull-happy. Guess it's a good thing I did, huh? Can you move on your own?

Then you'd be wrong.

[he watches the interaction for a few more moments, growing more bored with it by the moment, before turning about. despite having his back to them, he still keeps his weapon gripped firmly in the case of a sudden surprise attack (he wouldn't put anything past ones of their caste, after all). not much in way of defense, but hey!

without much more to be said on the matter, he's decided it's time to take his leave.]

[The fight has mostly gone out of Sollux for now, so he just glares at Dualscar's back as he moves away, humiliated and annoyed, but still struggling to breathe.

Nevertheless, he struggles to stand under his own power, trying to push Aradia away.]

I'm fine.

[She watched the older troll leave, distaste swirling in her stomach- she didn't understand why it was that he insisted on the violence at a time like this, but it wasn't really the time to question him about it. So she turned her attention back to Sollux, frowning a little when she was pushed away- but she stepped back regardless, hands dropping to her sides.]

...are you sure? Maybe we should go to the infirmary just to make sure...

[He sways a little, then grabs her arm again, gritting his teeth. He just doesn't want to rely on her, feeling embarrassed enough at nearly getting killed as it is.]

No, I'm really okay. Uh...my neck hurtth a bit, that'th all. It'th no more than I detherve.

Sollux...

[Her hand goes to his opposite shoulder to steady him, and she gives a squeeze- before smacking it lightly with the heel of her palm. Her expression shifted from annoyance to worry in a blink, and her fingers twisted into his shirt, teeth worrying her lower lip.]

First off, never let me hear you deserve to nearly be killed again! And second, what were you thinking?!

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