that was you.

It had almost seemed like things were going to turn around despite the rocky start. Catharsis should have known better. He didn't really need to be told to run, but didn't bother to say as much given he was too busy doing that whole running thing. The stress of being targetted by the fucking mutation was enough for him to not even notice that that had probably been the first time Carlo had used his name.

Of course, running didn't really help when a slimy fuck just wanted to leap right in front of where you were headed. Catharsis stumbled back, keenly aware of the fact that the thing had probably intended to crush him like a meat pancake, and none too pleased with the visual. Well, fuck. That was it. This thing was going to take one swipe at him and-

Then the monstrosity picked him up.

Repulsion sent a shudder up his spine all on its own, a wave of nausea racing through him over the smell alone, not even touching on what the monster was probably supposed to do once it got a player in a grapple. Yeah, no thanks. Catharsis grabbed onto the claws that had lifted his feet off from the ground, pixels streaming from the captor's hand and into the Empath. No meant no, and all that. Even if he was going to die, that at least meant all of the stress, anger and fear he'd soaked up was rushing straight into the monster, furthering the distress of having its health pumped out of it from skin contact.

It seemed the thing didn't like this, throwing Catharsis away from itself like some poisonous thing, an assumption that was never wholly inaccurate about Cat even outside of the game. He slammed into the wall, pixels bursting from him due to the damage taken from the collision, but when he sank down he was alive. Shaken, but alive for the moment. He panted, finding his footing and trying to move further away from the beast. "Uh, heads up." He managed as he tried to get his bearings, barely not slipping into one of those nasty pools of acid. "It's going to be angrier now." And maybe a little scared, but saying that would admit that either of them had been that in the first place. No thanks.

Where had Carlo gone off to, anyway?

kingrex 9/12

that was you.

Given the breathing space away from the monster, it finally clicked that Carlo was using his name. Had that happened before? The disoriented man couldn't be entirely sure, but it wasn't important. The commando sounded ... concerned, or something close to it. Of course he was, Cat's brain slowly stuttered into realization. Of course he'd been concerned. The guy needed him for healing.

With that in mind, he blinked up and raised a hand to pull a glance at the guy's health bar. Not terrible, but nothing comfortable either. His fingers twitched at the sight, an itch to fix the problem in front of him arising. Yeah, okay. That gave him something to do.

It was with an almost eerie calm that he managed to shift across the field until he was in just enough range; two birds and one stone, or something like that, right? His heal was an aoe from his space, so if he was healing himself and risking aggro anyway, he might as well cover his bases. It wouldn't do him any good to heal only to watch Carlo get his face chewed off, after all. The pulse left him, starting the aoe over time off as he backed away, keeping an eye on the thing as its screech tore through his phased calm. They might actually survive this ... whatever it was. That didn't mean he had any intention of sticking within range of the thing. He wasn't sure if it had any other tricks up its sleeve, not that he was going to say as much. It was weird, trying to visualize a balance between too close and too far through the numb haze he was experiencing. He wasn't feeling half bad.

kingrex 10/12

that was you.

It had to be said that flaming just wasn't a look everyone could pull off.

That was the first and foremost thought on his mind when Carlo protested his presence, having to actually think about it to force his gaze from the fiery nasty to the Commando he'd just healed. His expression was impassive, the wheels turning in his mind in a jarring way; whoever came up with simulating disorientation was someone Cat needed to live just long enough to have strong words with. Some people just weren't grateful.

There was an instinctual resistance to the physical contact that jerked up the Empath's arm when he was touched by the other player, but he wasn't blind. He saw the thing was burning, and felt the ground shake, and he knew it was time to go. Things were getting a little too heated, and that was as good a time as any to take a walk from his experience. He was just as eager to turn tail and leave as Carlo finally was, now that the Commando no longer seemed committed to sticking around.

Luckily enough, it seemed the thing was probably going to burn to death regardless of whether or not they stuck around. Thank god, the athiest thought. At least running was something he definitely had experience doing, with track and everything. He didn't even consider that maybe that wouldn't impact how fast he could move in the game. It didn't occur to him.

He only let himself fully catch his breath when they burst through the exit, dark spots still in his line of sight from the blasts of fire keeping him from fully able to adjust to the sudden brightness that was outside. Breathing heavily, he put one hand to his face as he tried to calm down. "I hate nerds," He managed with a quiet anger, the admission drowned out by the cheering of the NPCs waiting outside that meant little to him. One clapped him on the shoulder, and he frowned, not even looking up at them or listening to what they were saying as he pushed them away from him by the face with his only hand that was still free. Yeah, yeah. They'd survived, the quest was complete, they got loot.

He knew the drill by now.

kingrex 11/12