SoulCoil

She pursued them: the man bleeding from his back, the bear visibly limping. The bear seemed pissed. The man wheezed, but no gurgling or secondary whistles accompanied each breath.

And it didn't feel like long at all before they slowed.

The wind was currently in her favor. That could change soon.

Amanita bristled, barbs standing up down her spine and the sides of her face. As she drew closer now, she knew the sudden lack of sound would give away that she was near. But as she were - invisible, masked, and still just out of reach - they would be hard-pressed to find exactly where.

This might be her only chance. Once she attacked, the invisibility would end, but eventually she'd be noticed, either way.

She growled sharply, with a voice only she could hear. A hush settled over the area as she lunged for the man's back.

Wes was muttering a string of curses as he ran from the shop, holding his wound. Vince following behind with a obvious limp, still running as fast as he could.

Wes and Vince felt the chill of a Revenant, but didn't care as they kept running. They only stopped once the cat Revenant pounced and pinned Wes down with a grunt. Vince stopped and turned, too tired and injured to fight the assailant from his partner.

Her claws dug in to keep her hold on the man, keep him pinned. Not that her weight wasn't enough to do that on its own. She grabbed the back of his neck in her teeth, almost as though daring the bear to strike.

Then a thought struck her. One wild enough to put a devillish gleam in her eye. Still gripping with tooth and claw, she attempted to sync with the human underfoot.

.... hear me.... listen........ ake this ve.... clear. The words themselves are muffled, sounding like that spot on the dial between two radio stations. Static-filled, droning hums and the vague sense of maybe-music playing in the words.

Not ideal, but better than nothing.

Forgoing words, she focused on simpler impressions. Emotions, mostly, and muscle memory. Raw, visceral things that didn't need explained.

Pain was easy - the man had recent memory and current reference for that. Then avoidance. The avoidance and lessening of pain. He had run away to lick his wounds, so he probably had that covered, too.

The next part was tricky. It needed to be pieced together from multiple sensations, multiple feelings at once. Easy to come to the wrong sum when you added them all up: feeling like time was short, rarity, once-in-a-lifetime chance, the relief of a near-miss, open palm offering a hand, definitive handshakes, pleasure, getting a leg up on your competition, stepping lightly, resentment of doing as told by people you don't like.... Then one word, repeated, reverberating so maybe it made it through the static: or.

Calling the old man out, browbeating when you don't do as your mother said, regret, fear, losing out, pain, the keen loneliness of standing in a crowd that hates you, falling, terror, staring down the grill of an oncoming car.

A deal. An offer.
Take it or accept death.
She pressed her teeth against his skin for emphasis.

"Gah! The hell? Get the fuck off me!" He yelled as the claws dug into his already injured backside. He paused as the static-words came through, perplexing him. He remained silent as the emotions passed through. Once it was said and done he bit his lip. He didn't quite understand the first part, but the second was aparant to him, death. He raised his brow, "Can you explain that first one again? I got the second one, death, but death or? What?"

Vince remained silent, nursing his wound as he intently watched the Revenant on his partner.

She sighed. Or would, if she breathed.

Instead, irritation scratched its way over the imperfect sync. She debated just biting down. Ending the man and the risk he posed to the small alliance, here and now.

But where would be the fun in that?

She tried again to get her point across, impress on him the importance of her deal. Slower. Across the link flowed those earlier feelings, sensations, but some were stronger. More examples were attached, so they lingered: avoiding pain, obedience (tinged with resent or not, didn't matter to her), signing a contract, shaking hands. Then she tried a different angle: job offers, interviews, shady meetings where the focal point was the person in charge (and they were unarguably in charge). Business. Just business.

Handshakes and signatures and contracts and orders. Deals being made that you don't always like, but worked out in the end.

The whole time, her eyes were locked on the bear. If he moved toward her, she wouldn't hesitate to kill his human. And she hoped he didn't need a sync to understand that.

Wes felt the emotions go through his head once more, he realized what the cat Revenant had meant now. A deal, more of a threat of a deal, or death. He looked to Vince who gave a blank expression in return.

"You have my attention... a deal is it? Or death? ...Depends on the deal... I suppose..." Wes said, not feeling he had an option at that point. Or maybe he did, but it wasn't apparent to him. "You want me to do something for you I'm guessing, but could ya ease up on the claws? My back is killing me."

((Sorry about the gap between replies. I was traveling.))

Maybe it was the pleasure of success or the surprise of the man's compliance. Potential compliance, rather. And this option left her paws free for... other things.

Whatever her reasoning, Amanita entertained his request.
She maintained her grip on the back of his neck, but stepped off of his back.

While she attempted to make the same known through impressions, she scratched the following words into the pavement: "Deal=simple. You two + stay away from my allies = free to continue hunts."

"Allies? I just got my ass handed to me by your allies." Wes let out a sigh, it's not like he wanted to die then and there, but now he would have to avoid three pairs of competitors.

Vince let out a short growl before speaking, "And how shall we know your partner? To avoid any... mistakes. You can't expect us to just blindly follow orders just because you have the edge on us." Vince was blunt, showing distaste for the cat-Revenant.

"Cool it Vince, I'd like to remain alive for your information, not that you'd know." Wes said coldly. They weren't the best partners, but they got by.

Vince let out a roar, glaring at the cat Revenant, not wanting to be bound by this deal that was proposed. "Drop him and fight me. Now."

....... no....... scratched over the sync, quiet and nearly lost in the static. She pressed a bit more with her teeth, holding the bear's glare.

But, for the human, she gave the best impressions she could of her partner. They were fleeting, hyperfocused. His typical clothes, hairstyles, wry smile and tousled curls. Bright cyan eyes, like polished stone, and a smooth, pleasant voice.

Irritating, trying to explain a person to a stranger when you could only fit small things over a link. This wouldn't be much help unless they actually ran into him in person.

Her body was tense again, claws digging into the pavement. Then she sat back on her haunches, hauling the man into a sort of kneeling position. "Deal or no deal," she scratched out.

Her tail lashed back and forth behind her, her claws hung in the air a moment, and her teeth still hadn't broke the man's skin. Would it be more worth it to cut her losses, she wondered, deliver a crushing bite and run? Or try to drag this deal to fruition, even if it meant hauling a full-grown man around like a kitten?

Wes let out a sigh, "Vince, I'm sorry, but I have to accept this. As much as you don't want to be bound by it, it's either that or being out of the contest." He paused, trying to look at the cat Revenant that was holding him. "Its a deal. And if my partner doesn't abide by it, I don't honestly care what happens to him. Contest or no, I'd think I'm making the right decision."

Wes went silent, looking back at Vince who seemed to be upset. Maybe it was the times they had been bested by another competitor, maybe it was the way Wes was acting, which was more humble than normal. Vince said nothing, but looked away from the two in disgust. Hostages, that's what it made Vince feel like. Some hostage that is being forced into a deal that they knew would come back to bite them.

Humiliation and humility were such odd cousins. As the former diffused across the sync, Amanita ignored the twisting in her gut. Her own disgust mirrored the bear's, though directed at herself.

Oh, how she hated being reduced to base threats to get the job done. Always had... Where was the finesse in gripping a man by his throat to secure the answer you want? Especially knowing that it could always be twisted to spite you later.

....n't..... do ......nnottt............. try ..o.... burn.... me. She impressed, with the added emphasis of imagery of small dogs biting hands holding food. ....ret.ribu...on... will....b......swift......

With that, she released the man and leapt back, body seeming to stretch between one point and the next. The next moment, she was halfway up the closest building before leaping onto the roof.

Wes let out a sigh of relief once the cat Revenant had departed, feeling his back once more. He knew he wouldn't be able to reliably fight any time soon so he decided he would rest up for a day or two, hoping to avoid any conflicts as he walked back to the old apartment building he had deemed "home."

Vince however was not in the mood to talk to Wes, wandering down a different path as Wes headed off. Sure it was risky given their condition, but he didn't wish to speak or even look at Wes for a time.