Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20190205035159/@comment-25582638-20190917202411

When the tentacles suddenly retreated and the giant squid burst out of the water, she was already thinking of throwing a handful of line bombs at the heap of steely white scales at the Grimm's head. But the plan dissipated instantly when she saw someone with their hand sticking into the Grimm's eye morbidly, and watched the spectacle ended with a gigantic splash raining upon the beaten boat.

Brunhilde rushed to the deformed railings, her ragged breaths turning into white mists against the cold, rainy night in the sea as she searched for the Huntress. The black lines she'd used against the tentacles dangled above the deck, nearly as still as a rock and worn and cracked; two of them were broken into two. Then her vision flickered again because of her sudden movements, fatigue starting to weigh heavily on her body, all threatening to pull her consciousness down to the deep, dark cracks that continued to rip through her mind. She forced herself to breathe slowly, deeply. Allowing the oxygen to circulate throughout her body as she fought to keep an eye on the last spot where the squid had fallen.

It didn't take more than a minute to find a white blouse bobbing up and down the sea surface, drifting too far away for the ship to provide any means to quickly rescue the Huntress. But upon zooming the sights through her HUD did Brunhilde realize that Lustra was practically drowning.

At that, the heiress stretched out her right hand, as if trying to reach out to the Huntress who was struggling against the incoming waves, as she began to draw from her dwindling Aura pool. A Black Magic rune appeared and drew a 10-meter whip-like line, imbued with the power to automatically wrap around its target like a snake upon contact. She was prepared to throw a lifeline to the Huntress, to pull Lustra up to safety and away from whatever dangers the sea was hiding, but then she hesitated.

She was going to save a Huntress who works for the police, who would’ve killed her like any other criminals, whom she had called “the esteemed daughter of serial killers” because she thought she could get away as Black Swan. That wasn’t even accounting that they are-were friends. Even if she saves Lustra, there’s no doubt that a clear line will be drawn between them. A line that defines who are on the side of the law, and who are against it. No, the boundary had been crystal clear from the start; Brunhilde was the only one aware of it and took advantage of it.

This was unlike the relationships she had with a few Mistralian officers or any agents where money and information were always the name of the game. Those were purely transactional; betrayals ran high she barely spare a thought tying up loose ends. No hard feelings. But this… this was too personal that she may had also put Cyzarine in a far more precarious situation than ever, should Lustra decide to act against them. That may happen, knowing the Huntress’ stance against criminals- big-time ones in particular. What should she do then?

What if the Huntress does something that will force her to put a bullet in her head?

Wouldn’t be easier if she let Lustra die?

She felt her stomach twist. Brunhilde bit her lip. Bit so hard she tasted the metallic taste of blood, cold and sharp, as an old, familiar sensation started to crawl out of the past from the deepest part of her mind. It was like a venomous snake, striking out of nowhere when her guard was down, constricting her movements before poisoning her with thoughts of immeasurable disgust. Disgust, at who she is.

I am not going down that hole again

Brunhilde shoved it back as far as she can, vehemently as she did.

I am not going down that hole again

This wasn't the time to focus on herself, nor the time to save her herself, if that was even possible.

She could still see Lustra, and from what direction the waves where coming from as well as the wind. In such a harsh weather, throwing the line directly at the Huntress had the least chance of snatching her out; the winds and currents were just too strong, Lustra's position wasn't exactly stationary, and she was on the brink of drowning. Using a heavyweight line would just risk knocking the lights out of the Huntress

Even so, to the eye of the sniper-archer, this was almost the same as shooting a moving target from a speeding car or galloping horse. In an instant, she already made calculations in her head.

Moving at her will, the rays flung the whip-like line at an incoming wave with an audible splash. As the wave slammed against the Huntress, the line moved without resistance as it momentarily submerged under the current. Then, it felt something- an arm or a torso perhaps- somewhere near the tip, activating its mechanism; it coiled around the source of the disturbance in a blink of an eye.

Brunhilde sensed it, and willed the rune to pull the line back, with her hand over the railings, ready to receive Lustra.

Unbeknownst to the others on board, a silhouette of a motor boat emerged from the darkness some dozens of meters away from the yacht's left flank. It was almost void of light, except for the red and white dots blinking faintly through the pitch-black landscape, and painfully and slowly getting closer and closer to the crew's boat