((apologies for the delay! been kind of a mess this week lol))
[It had been some time since Vander had truly gone all-in on a brawl, but the motions of it were second-nature, so quick and easy to fall back into that it would almost be an odd sort of comfort if only he hadn’t had such rage coursing through his veins.
Well-trained instinct guided his every move—kept him from getting too greedy when a blow landed, made sure he maintained his focus even when the occasional flash of Silco’s knife nicked an arm or a fist. And Silco was being frustratingly smart about his counters, of course he was, but he had to know he couldn’t keep up with this pace for long.
So of course, the underhanded rat had to go and drag someone else into this.
Vander was cursing himself internally for the incredibly stupid mistake of forgetting about the shopkeeper once he had turned his back on the unfortunate man. It hadn’t quite been out of sight, out of mind that did it, but he had made the fatal error of assuming the man would have steered well clear of the fight that had broken out, forgetting exactly the kind of irrational split-second decisions people could make when in a panic. And now he struggled against Silco’s grasp, terror in his eyes as glanced between the two very angry men.
It was, unfortunately, the exact right move for Silco to make to halt Vander in his assault. The knife hadn’t been deterrent enough—maneuvering with the weapon in play had required caution, but Vander knew he could outplay it if he was quick—but dragging an innocent into the proverbial line of fire forced an abrupt stop to what had until now been a rather unrelenting assault.]
Silco… [His voice was low, angry. Almost a growl.] You gutless coward.
[He took a step back, hands lowered now, but still curled into fists, ready to move back into action at the first safe opportunity. Eyes narrowed, he scrutinized Silco’s every move, watching his face, his hands, his body language for any sign that he might do something drastic with the innocent being brandished as a shield.]
You wanted this fight so badly, then keep it between us. Let him go.
no subject
[It had been some time since Vander had truly gone all-in on a brawl, but the motions of it were second-nature, so quick and easy to fall back into that it would almost be an odd sort of comfort if only he hadn’t had such rage coursing through his veins.
Well-trained instinct guided his every move—kept him from getting too greedy when a blow landed, made sure he maintained his focus even when the occasional flash of Silco’s knife nicked an arm or a fist. And Silco was being frustratingly smart about his counters, of course he was, but he had to know he couldn’t keep up with this pace for long.
So of course, the underhanded rat had to go and drag someone else into this.
Vander was cursing himself internally for the incredibly stupid mistake of forgetting about the shopkeeper once he had turned his back on the unfortunate man. It hadn’t quite been out of sight, out of mind that did it, but he had made the fatal error of assuming the man would have steered well clear of the fight that had broken out, forgetting exactly the kind of irrational split-second decisions people could make when in a panic. And now he struggled against Silco’s grasp, terror in his eyes as glanced between the two very angry men.
It was, unfortunately, the exact right move for Silco to make to halt Vander in his assault. The knife hadn’t been deterrent enough—maneuvering with the weapon in play had required caution, but Vander knew he could outplay it if he was quick—but dragging an innocent into the proverbial line of fire forced an abrupt stop to what had until now been a rather unrelenting assault.]
Silco… [His voice was low, angry. Almost a growl.] You gutless coward.
[He took a step back, hands lowered now, but still curled into fists, ready to move back into action at the first safe opportunity. Eyes narrowed, he scrutinized Silco’s every move, watching his face, his hands, his body language for any sign that he might do something drastic with the innocent being brandished as a shield.]
You wanted this fight so badly, then keep it between us. Let him go.