skaterbrain | ☆14 [voice]

[He wanted to respond, but his agitation was making it hard to even sit still for a few minutes. He was able to contain the fire to one tree, which he was still punching, but the ability made him worry. He knew something was going wrong with the village, but he had no idea how he was controlling anything and no idea how to help his sister who he wanted to keep close to, but who whatever was inside him didn't want anything to do with.]

HRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

[He slammed his fist into the tree again, splintering the wood further and snapping a small low branch off.]

[This time Firo's close enough to hear the yelling. He lands a few yards away, stumbling as he's still clumsy with his wings, and walks over until he's a safe several feet away from Beat. A fight he can handle; accidentally being lit on fire is something he'd like to avoid.

He grits his teeth to stop from yelling at Beat to be quiet.]

Hey. You ready to go?

[The sound of someone else's voice brings him around and Beat steps back, dropping low into a defensive stance. The fire on the trees suddenly dies out now that Beat's attention is elsewhere, but he doesn't seem to notice.]

I dunno, you ready for a bruisin?

I'm ready to give one, if that's what you're askin'.

[He rocks back onto his heels, forcing himself to relax so he can adapt to whatever Beat throws at him.

Despite being the strategy he uses almost daily, it's hard to do with Eferin egging him on. If Beat doesn't strike first, Firo will step forward to feint a punch to his head and then knee at his stomach.]

[Strategy has never been Beat's forte and when Firo relaxes, it only angers him more, which in turn eggs Eferin on. Beat dashes forward and swings a fist right at Firo's face, not carrying about advertising his moves when he has such force behind it.]

HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

[Yikes, that's a lot of power. Firo isn't even thinking about a counterattack when he ducks the punch and steps to the side.

He's reluctant to get back in range, but his need to hit someone outweighs his sense of self preservation. He steps back in beside Beat and tries to hook a palm under his chin to send him to the ground.]

[His fist hits nothing but air and Beat whips around, fury at having missed fuelling his movements. He dodges to the side, feeling the wind of Firo's uppercut as it breezes past his temple and follows through with another heavy right hook aimed at Firo's face.]

[Firo doesn't have time to step out of the way, so he holds his arm up to block. The force of Beat's punch rattles his teeth and nearly knocks him off balance. To keep himself from falling, he lowers his block to grab for Beat's wrist. If he can make the grab, he'll try to pull Beat into an elbow at his chest.]

Feelin' any better yet?

Ugf--! [The elbow connects sharply into his chest and knocks the wind from him for a moment, forcing him back.]

For a wiry little guy....you got a punch!

[He turns his wrist to grab at Firo's and, if he makes it, will try to pull him forward for a knee to the stomach.]

[Beat seems like an okay guy, so normally Firo'd just accept the compliment. But with all these spirit shenanigans prompting him to lose his temper more often, he can't let the "insult" of being called little slide.

...Even though it's an accurate description.

The knee hits and he grunts as the wind's knocked out of him. That only exacerbates his irrational anger, and he tries to break away from Beat with a punch to his chest.]

Don't you dare call me that!

[And when one temper flares, the other fires up to match it. Beat bares his teeth and takes the punch to the chest in order to deliver another to Firo's cheek.]

Donchu tell me what to do!!

[Firo's too angry to focus on defending and evading attacks, so all he can do is move with the punch as it hits. He can feel it loosen a tooth, but thanks the elixir that fixes itself up in a moment. He uses the added distance to swing a roundhouse kick at Beat's stomach.]

I'll stop tellin' you what to do when you stop insultin' me!

[Children, please.]

I ain't insu--- AUGH

[The roundhouse hits him square in the stomach and throws him back, rolling him heels over head backwards into a tree.]

....ugh...

[He normally wouldn't have hit that hard, and he feels bad about it a moment after the fact. He walks over to Beat, looking at him anxiously.]

...You all right?

[Hopefully he's not just faking it to catch Firo off guard.]

...Feel like I just ollied off the Sunshine, yo.

[In other words, he feels like he's about to throw up, but yeah, he's fine. He cracks an eye open and looks up at Firo.]

You gotta hellova punch there, kid.

[Another quick flare of Eferin-induced rage distracts Firo from asking just what that phrase means.]

Don't call me kid-!

[It takes him a moment to realize that there was a compliment in there. He rubs delicately at the sore spot on his cheek where Beat hit him; if he weren't immortal, he'd be hurting a lot more.]

...Er, I mean. ...Thanks. You're no slouch yourself. Feel like you worked off any steam?

[He sits up a little and nods, rubbing his stomach. Man, if he wasn't dead, that would have been a lot worse.]

Yeah, still kinda angry, but it ain't so bad no more. Thanks, Suits.

Anyway, why you so mad when someone calls you kid? You look kinda young.

Hey, it looks like I needed it too. So thanks.

[He can't entirely cool down, and his jaw tenses just at the thought of being called a kid again. He bites his tongue and when he's had a moment to reel in his temper, he pouts.]

Because I'm not. I'm twenty three.

[One of the drawbacks to becoming immortal when he was eighteen. It doesn't help that he was young-looking for his age even then.]

[What.

Wait.

...

What.

Beat just stares at Firo for a minute, confused and befuddled.]

...you're kidding me, ain't you?

Edited 2013-07-04 12:58 (UTC)

[Beat's reaction is exactly what he expected, but Firo still sighs quietly before nodding.]

No, I'm not kiddin' you. I was twenty one when I got here, and I've had two birthdays since. It adds up, doesn't it?

.....Damn, and I thought Ribbons got it bad wit' the baby face.

[Why are all the adults he knows so young looking????]

That normal where you from?

[Firo's broken people's fingers for calling him babyfaced before, but those were people he already had a bad impression of or didn't care about either way. Beat is neither of those, but with the spirit influencing him he can't stop himself from gritting his teeth and stepping forward with a clenched fist.]

Look, pal, if you say that one more--

[It takes him a moment to come to his senses, and when he does he immediately steps back and forces himself to relax. Something weird is definitely happening here.]

...Sorry. And, uh, no, I don't think it is.

[When he stepped forward, Beat jumped to his feet, ready for another fight until Firo calmed down and backed off. When he does, so does Beat.]

....Aight.

[He straightens and rubs the back of his head.]

'Cause I kinda wanna keep growing once I ain't dead no more. Jus' checkin' that this place ain't stunning my growth or nothin'.

[He'd almost forgotten what Beat mentioned to him about being dead or something similar back home. In all honesty, he has no idea what that would mean in terms of growing, but he smiles reassuringly.]

I know a kid who's grown some while he's been here, so I think you should be fine. If you're alive here, it shouldn't matter what you were back home, right?

[He rubs the back of his head a little more, trying to think, but the act just makes him frustrated and he musses his hair under his beanie, growling.]

RRRRRGH. I dunno, it's all stuff I never paid no attention to.

[He lets out a loud sigh and holds his hands up. After a minute, they start going transparent.]

I gotta think or this stuff happens.

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