Post by Cato on Nov 7, 2022 16:44:20 GMT -5
SUPERBRAWL
| Plant -- The Saiba Wastes |
| Plant -- The Saiba Wastes |
Bonewood Manor.
Cato had no birthright to this place, and she knew it. It was only a rejection of birthright that brought her here. Unlike the Bloodbrands of past, she would not shy away from cooperation with other Saiyans. She would not relish in mindless conquest, but enter battle as a true Saiyan warrior: thinking, learning, and growing. Her experience freeing Vocado from his slumber had taught her all she needed about Sadala. It was dangerous to rely too much on the capital. The Crown was a fickle thing, and one battle going wrong for one warrior on one day could have been all it took to turn the capital hostile against her, or anyone with her.
Luckily, they seemed to have avoided that with this new queen. Cato was skeptical of Amara, at the least. But Amara had proven that she was at least willing to think two steps ahead, and she hadn't taken any drastic actions against old rivals since claiming the Crown. However much she might doubt her new plans, and however little she thought of the proposition to fight for zeni of all things, the Saiyans had dodged a bullet. There were any number of worse candidates for the throne.
The Bonewoods were a proud family, connected to everyone from Vocado to distant Empresses. It was only fitting that their abandoned manor might serve as a home with which to grow Saiyan power, independent--if in league with--the throne. The Crown would never be stable, but that didn't mean that Plant couldn't be. But to rebuild the old manor into anything would require bloodletting, first. In its disuse, Saibamen and Saibabeasts had filtered into the grounds, finding occasional refuge from acid rains or wandering warriors inside its decaying halls.
Cato took a deep breath to steady herself, holding her sword loose to one side.
She couldn't see all of the grounds from where she was, just past the clearing she had made through the trees. The manor itself was in disrepair, the wood it had been constructed from suffering from a lack of maintenance, pieces having been chewed away by Saibabeasts or else deteriorated in the rains. The courtyard was in better shape, through overgrown with weeds and housing more than a couple idle Saibamen. Beyond, the more modern halls of some sort of facility lay sputtering with electrical sparks, off and on. She supposed they served as some sort of staging point once. Perhaps they would again.
She let a wisp of her power surface, a dull glow forming around her. Her attack would begin soon, and though the Saibamen had no way to sense her--they could feel the rustle in the wind, their ears standing on end. One glanced in her direction, to spy the trouble to come--but it was too late. With a sudden burst of speed, she appeared before the Saibaman, cleaving it asunder with one fell swing of her blade. A burst of ki from her palm sent the next Saibaman bursting apart.
"To any of you who have control of their minds," she said aloud, floating above the courtyard. "Leave now. I am laying claim to this manor, and any who do not evacuate will be dealt with."
There was stirring, but no Saibamen nor Saibabeasts made to leave. It was what she had expected. Intelligent Saibamen weren't unheard of, but they wouldn't be sulking around ruins among the most monstrous of their kind. Still, she had delivered her message: once by sword, once by word. That was enough. Any that remained behind would now face the consequences of their own volition.She turned her attention towards the manor itself, clicking on the side of her scouter. She detected a few fair power readings from inside, though none that would challenge her. She touched back down on the ground and started towards it, a lazy flick of her fingers sending a burst of air forward like a shockwave. The doors were blasted open, the lock flying loose. She made a note to repair that when her work here was done.
The manor was dark and dusty, but she could hear the growling echoing from across its miserable halls. She strode forward, leaving the daylight behind.***It was nearly midnight when Cato had finally finished clearing the way through Bonewood Manor. In all, she had fought several Saibamen as well as four large Saibabeasts. A fifth Saibabeast had emerged from out of the barracks, requiring her to put real power into its defeat. She hadn't any idea how it had gotten so strong, but it seemed to have found a food source that empowered it beyond its peers in the Breeding Pits.
Wearied from her work, she sat alone in the courtyard with a cloth, wiping the last of the murky green Saiba blood from her blade. A fire crackled before her, fueled by felled bonewood trees trees and the remnants of the larger Saibabeasts. Most Saiyans would have seen it as a feast in the making, but she had no taste for Saibabeast. Mindless through they may have been, they were powerful and to her, had earned some right above ordinary game.
Maybe it didn't make sense, but it didn't need to.
She clicked on her scouter idly, flashing up a list of communication channels across the screen. She clicked from one to the other, contemplating sending out a message to Vocado. He was a Bonewood, after all, and this place belonged to him by right -- and not to her. If she really did manage to form a small base of power here, it would be one that looked to Vocado as its natural leader, and not to her. She could live with that, just as long as they were out from underneath the shadow of Sadala and a Crown they could never quite trust to stay on the same head.
But maybe it was better if he found it on his own. Maybe it was better they all found it on their own.
She stepped back and raised her palm, aiming it towards the fire. With a shout of energy, she blasted more air towards the fire, fanning the flames and sending its smoke billowing up into the air. With a few choice sparks of ki here and there, she turned what was already a blazing fire into a veritable inferno. The sign might be seen from miles away, but only those who already knew where this manor was would make anything of it. Most would assume it was just the result of some wild brawl or another.
Now it was just a matter of waiting.