Fourth Strategem: Victory (backdated to the 30th, near dawn)

[earths_dragon]

[The feed clicks on to a bloody scene. Inside the wide space of a wide warehouse, with walls and floor all covered in glittery frost, Koumei kneels among a puddle of blood. A number of others are standing behind him, though they're hard to make out at this angle. Next to him on the floor is the crumpled, immobile body of Amika, limp in a way living

Comments

[offline]

[golden_hawke]

-=Stunned is the best way to put it. Blood coats him like a writhing, living thing, curling around his skin and over his face like a mask, streaking over his body like stripes on a tiger. He doesn't move much. There's death here, and the only thing living is the blood on him.=-

...

[offline]

[earths_dragon]

[Koumei rises slowly, unhurried. He never hurries. And everything is over, anyway - Amika is dead, and Saul's body is gone with the woman in red. There is nothing left but cleaning up the wreckage.

Fearless, he takes a step toward the Bloodspeaker.]

Rise, Hawke. It's ended. Justice is done.

[Koumei is stunningly good at a stunning amount of things; but comforting has never been one of them.]

[offline]

[golden_hawke]

-=looks up dully.=-

Justice?

-=A girl is dead. A man is dead. People are hurt, and that's considered justice?=-

This is no justice. -=No, no justice at all. This was barbarism.=-

[offline]

[earths_dragon]

[He catches on quickly, and decides to let it go. His lord is very fond of Hawke; his first priority is to preserve that connection.]

No, I do suppose not. It is battle, and battle is never kind.

[His voice softens a little.]

We do not always know, in the heat of it, how hard and harsh a blow might land.

[bunny_flower]

... So it is.