Summary:With Belasco seen to, Koa needs to work through his issues. Keiko doesn't help. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Koa Turner has some… issues to work out. He'd been cleared by medical but told to take it easy. Ish. He still has active cases to work and WAND can't spare him. So there's only so much easy he can take. However the encounter with Belasco has… changed him.
What those changes are he is still working out. This is why he's in one of the warded training rooms. One thing is sure. He's had a bit more of a temper and a bit less of a filter. Sort of the way he gets when his inner beast is more active. And that thing? That thing has been peeking out of him to look at this and that more and more frequently.
Koa has issues to sort out, Keiko … is Keiko. Feral but with a very tight control on her emotions, she can get by as passing for human, mostly. "Again." She says to Koa, twirling her staff. She's sweaty, her hair is falling from her pony tail and that looks like a bruise forming on her shoulder.
The small WAND agent is dressed in shorts and a crop top - they've been going at this for … Keiko isn't sure how long.
It's been hours. Two, maybe three. Koa picks up a staff, a wooden practice staff identical to the one he just broke, and spins it. "Alright. Here we go." His astral form launches out of him. Half a second later his physical form follows, tethered. Koa snaps back into his own body, slightly disoriented.
"Ugh. I can't get clean separation no matter how hard I try. It's like my beast is tied to my body now with a really, really thick rubber band. I can only get so far before I snap back to myself." Granted he can do it through walls. He's already done that once accidentally. And he can do it through Keiko. He seems to be phased when he snaps back. But he can't go roaming like he used to.
Phasing through Keiko is awful. She hates it and had growled something fierce when he had.
As Koa 'lands', even disoriented as he is, Keiko brings her staff to bear and hits him. It's not as hard as it could be but it's not light either.
"So why are you still trying to do that? Things have changed for you, you need to learn how to work with it."
She's not sure how many times she said this.
When she hits him - on the shoulder - his skin ripples. She's seen that too. He hasn't changed like he did when he confronted Belasco but he clearly now has a somewhat unstable form. He never had shapeshifted before and she knows he's said that it feels weird. Again, it feels like the beast is closer to the surface. Closer to being in charge. And that means the Koa that she knows is closer to being… gone.
Not dead of course. And not totally alien either. But a Koa with his predatory side in charge is a very different Koa from the one she is dealing with now.
"If I just turned all your tattoos into things that summoned cheesecake would it be easy for you to adjust?" Koa retorts, turning to swing his staff at her temple. She'll block, he's sure.
"Reign it in." Keiko growls. She's been challenging Koa for a while. Well, not challenging - not exactly - but Keiko has her own set of challenges. The fact that Koa is so affected isn't helping that, at all - and the small woman does what she does best.
Hides it. Behind anger and fury.
"You took all my tattooes, remember? I had to live without them. And they aren't the same now as when you met me. I learned to adapt. So will you." The staff comes up, knocking his wide as the peruvian steps in and launches a flurry attacks. The idea to get Koa to act without thinking.
"Stop trying to do what you did and work out what works now. Speaking of, I want Mirlo back."
"Then we should go get her." It isn't like Koa has the raven to hand though. He blocks the counterattack a bit too vigorously and then strikes out again. And breaks it, just like he did the last one. That actually does annoy him - not seeming to be able to control his own strength - and his form begins to warp. It's neither canine nor carcharhinian but has elements of both. Claws tip his fingertips. Fangs can be seen peeking out from his oddly slender muzzled maw. Her next strike lands with no effort to dodge it.
And then Koa just grabs the staff and lets out a steaming breath through his nostrils.
"It's not like I can retrieve her on my own." They're sniping at each other and have been for the whole time they've been in here. When the staff breaks, Keiko laughs and spins, bring the the full force of her blow on the other agent. To have the staff caught and held fast.
"Do you want to wrestle now? Sick of trying to beat with a stick?" She taunts Koa, letting the staff go and dropping to the floor to try and trip him. He's going to have to move to catch her, Keiko is quick. She might not be strong - in this form - but she's agile.
Koa, rather than trying to dodge, instead chooses to tumble with the sweep. He rolls over his right shoulder and comes up with shark-like fangs bared. Then he rushes forward, through Keiko - again that feels unpleasant - winding up behind her. There's a snarl as he swings a now rather massive hand to try to catch the insouciant spirit caller.
"Do you ever stop pushing?" Yes he's noticed her challenging him at almost every opportunity. And now he might be in a frame of mind to settle that.
"Bite me." Keiko answers, eyes gleaming yellow as she shivers from Koa's rush. She's quick enough that his massive hand just brushes her shoulder - tearing the shirt she's wearing but he can't get a hold on her.
"Do you ever stop trying to keep things as they were?" Yes, she's pushing. Things … aren't great for her and this is a relief. A way to blow off steam with someone that can take the punishment.
Bite her huh? Fine. Koa rushes again, this time to the right and snaps out. Not enough to really seriously injure her if he catches her but enough to make her bleed. Yes, he can take the punishment. So can she. Which is a good thing because Koa picks up one of the floor mats to start swinging at her. That is possibly the best thing he could pick up but floor mats are not pillows. They are in fact quite firm and getting hit with one is going to leave a mark.
"I know how to keep at least one thing as it is." The shape shifted man growls. Clearly he intend to 'put her in her place'. It's an artifact of being as predatory as he is. And her being as corrupted as she is. This was probably inevitable at some point. But he really can't have her mouthing off constantly which she is starting to do.
The snap catches Keiko and blood streams down her shoulder, eliciting the slightest growl from the woman. The issue will be what the scent of blood does to him, as the small woman ducks the swinging mat, rolls between his legs and comes up behind him.
"You want to keep me in my place?" The spirit caller snarls. "Of course you do. And you want to use your power as it was. And its not. You're losing perspective, Koa and you can't afford to."
She still hasn't called on her spirits or let the demon rise too far. She can't be that quick on her though, can she? Maybe she's pulling on that spirit a little.
Koa feels her bat at the back of his head.
Koa snarls and swings the mat behind him as he spins around. She is moving like quicksilver. Maybe she really is that quick, she's certainly had the practice. He can match her though. He has to cheat a bit to do it but it's possible that she's cheating already. Dropping the mat he phase rushes above Keiko and then to the left, putting enough distance between them to come at this more conventionally and also possibly momentarily disorienting her for the amount of time it takes him to close again and throw an nasty haymaker.
"Of all people you are not really one to be talking about perspective. And yes. You've been pushing for a solid two or three months now. It's like you're trying to pick a fight half the time."
The scent of blood? That isn't calming him, that's for sure, and the predator side of him is easily in charge by now. That's plain to see. It's also not something that would have happened before.
"It's funny how it looks like that when you're used to being in charge, isn't it?" Keiko taunts. Koa's move does disorient her, just a little - letting him get that haymaker off. It connects with her jaw, sending the small woman sprawling.
It will bruise at the very least.
She's had such a tight leash on her emotions for all this time but that was enough to make it snap.
"Do you think I wanted this, Koa? To be told that I would lose you? And they wanted me to … learn from you so I could do your job when you're gone? And you're not doing anything to fight it."
Without really thinking, Keiko rolls to her feet and charges the other agent, intent on putting him to the ground.
"What exactly do you expect me to do?! It's a prophesy. It's words. If they're true then I can't fight it. If they're not then there's no need to fight it. How does this work in your mind?"
Koa meets Keiko's charge and rather than either of them going down it turns into a wrestling match. Koa is STRONG, like this. It's like trying to deal with his astral form back when he could still project it and that thing was strong enough to shred steel like it was wet tissue paper.
Also Keiko's short and Koa has reach on her. So the first move he tries is just to take her off the ground and remove all of her leverage before he plants her back onto the mats. Hard.
"Something. Anything. You've rushed into this headlong. But you haven't even tried to change it … or avoid it. Everything I see you do, just cements it." In this form, Keiko isn't strong but Koa can feel her skin harden beneath his spectral hands. He might even feel the demon as it rises.
By the time he has her in the air, her wings are out and with one powerful blow, she smacks his head with them.
Just before she lands hard on her back. "Ooof…." A taloned hand swings round, intent on clawing at his face.
"Ow." It's not loud but she did hit him hard enough to hurt with her wing, or at least hard enough to for him to feel it. He follows her down so her claws find his face easily, but his claws find her throat. He pauses, not sinking them in. Not tearing and looking for blood though he's quivering and his 'necklace' is gleaming. He WANTS the blood. The predator in him wants to smell it, feel it and then taste it.
"That is not how prophesy works. Trying to dodge it just tangles you up in it harder. And everything I have done has been necessary. Now… yield."
He DOES have her by the throat after all.
Koas claws have to get through that obsidian skin of hers - he can do it but not as easily as he could her skin. Those claws though touch the promethium threaded collar that is always present. Keiko actually whimpers at the feeling that runs through it, her demon eyes glowing as she meets his. "Make me." The small woman arches, trying to heave him off her. She's so angry and yet …
Koa might think on this later, Keiko hasn't called her spirits.
Koa's eyes narrow. Part of him doesn't want to. Part of him wants to just push off the ground and walk to the other side of the room and think. But that part of him is not in charge right now, so he starts to squeeze. Starts to dig his claws into that obdurate skin - and the obdurate woman wearing it.
If he meant to choke her this is sloppy. Properly applied chokes put people down in seconds by cutting off the blood - and thus the oxygen - to the brain. This is meant to give her time. It let her feel everything start to tighten and constrict. He bears his weight down as she tries to heave him off. No. Not this time.
Or not yet, anyway. Those wings might hut again. And… no. She hasn't called her spirits. Something he will realize later.
"Are you enjoying hurting me?" Keiko hisses and spits and she struggles against the heavier man. "Go on, make it hurt more." She's not going to give up, he's going to have to put her down if he wants to be the Alpha.
Her wings beat at Koa, battering his shoulders and face. He can see the bruise on her jaw start to darken, smell the blood from the wounds he's inflicted.
"Go on, Koa, let him out …"
Koa raises his other arm to shield himself. He takes several smacks to the face and temple and winces. That'll bruise on him too. Maybe even a bit of a black eye from that last one. He grabs her by the shoulder to flip her over and plants his knee between her shoulder blade. "Yield." He says once more.
If he makes her put her out he will. From behind here he can get an arm around her neck and it'll be harder for her to hit him… though not impossible. Already he's snaking his rather considerable arm into place and starting to apply pressure. If she won't yield… well.
She'll wake up when he tosses some cold water on her.
"He is out. Feel this? This is the beast." The predator that is Koa. This is… possibly not great for the precarious balance he'd been trying to hold, but neither had Belasco's spell been.
Keiko is hissing and growling like an animal, her wings beating at Koa until he gets her pinned. Those leathery wings are crushed between them - he can hear bones snaps. And still she fights on.
It's like she wants him to kill her.
"Is that it then? That's all you have?" This might not be good for the balance he's been holding but it will also show him, that the Beast is not fully in control.
He's going to have to get the water, his arm is slowly choking her out - her struggles finally slow as Keiko passes out.
Koa stands up when she finally passes out. He's breathing heavily. He's bruised and bleeding more than a little. A noise from the hallway attracts his attention and he sees several agents staring wide eyed at he and Keiko.
"What?" He growls. The agents rather quickly carry on with their business leaving Koa shaking his head. It takes him two or three minutes to put himself back into human form and another to go get water and roll Keiko onto her back. Then he pours the water down on to her face. Splat.
It's cold. Very, very cold.
Keiko splutters as the water hits her face. She's bleeding from several gashes and bites and her jaw is quite purple.
Bright yellow eyes look up at the agent. She doesn't say anything but it's there, the capitulation. He's won. This time.
Koa holds a hand down to help her up. "Put her away." The demon he means. He understands a little bit what it's like to have such a thing riding you. He knows what it means to constantly have to check your more aggressive impulses. And he knows what it is like to slowly lose the fight to remain calm. Sane. Human.
"We'll clean you up and then go get Mirlo back."
She's still going to look a mess. They both are.
