Cat & Mouse

[heeeyadora]

WHO: Catra, Tony, OTA
WHERE: The Forge, Various Locations in Temba
WHAT: THE NOISE
WHEN: The start of the event
WARNINGS: Violence, Will update as needed.
Note:'First' is for Tony, 'And Then' is for anyone else. Respond it whichever tense/style you prefer and I will match.

FIRST

The noise at first made its way into Catra's dreams, distant, something she wasn't quite aware of as the world twisted around her, dreams becoming nightmares. The noise became more and more apparent, Catra tossing and turning before awaking in a foul mood.

She pressed her ears flat against her head with a sullen frown. What was that??? The source wasn't immediately apparent, but she had a good guess, stalking her way towards the forge. Tony was usually the one responsible for ungodly noises doing whatever it was he did in there.

"Turn it offfff," she growled, letting herself in, tail twitching and swaying in irritation behind her.


AND THEN

Catra ran, sometimes on two legs, sometimes on all fours, trying to escape the noise, trying to stop it. And in her irrational state she concluded anyone and anything in her way must be the source of it. She pounced out of the blue, eyes wild, and claws sharp. Hope you're ready for the chase, little mouse. Catra isn't going to listen to reason right now.

Comments

FIRST

[in_extremis]

There were plenty of things that Tony was feeling uncomfortably responsible for, but a noise irritating enough to wake Catra up from across the street and have her come bursting in to this new mess he was in the centre of did not make the list. She didn't quite startle him, but her arrival was followed by an erratic clattering and a whirring hum cutting through the air as Tony tried to conceal the evidently very broken lightsaber, sending components that had started vibrating and hovering scattered across the workbench or floor and the eerie light of the glowing metal all around him winking out.

Clearly, these effects were more far reaching than the forge, Tony thought. "I did! Sorry! I didn't know it would do that!" he insisted, tossing the hilt of the sword out of sight so Catra wouldn't know exactly what to blame and start wreaking havoc. That wasn't really Tony's to destroy.

[heeeyadora]

The added noise and light had Catra grimacing, but the end of them didn't snuff out the prime offender, making her wince in frustration.

"You did not, it's still- gah- what is it??" she demanded, holding her hands over her ears to try and shut it out, eyes searching desperately for the source.

[in_extremis]

"Uh," Tony provided helpfully, not sure what to make of this accusation now, and giving a glance around the workshop. It wasn't in a great state, but everything seemed stable enough, the only movement left some bolts still rolling sluggishly off into dark corners, and the flicker of the fire. He most certainly didn't hear anything out of the ordinary, like Catra holding her ears would suggest. "Maybe...you shouldn't be in here, until I figure this out," he said, hands up to help back Catra out of the potentially contaminated forge.

[heeeyadora]

"Just make it stop, it's- UGH-" With very little warning Catra dropped one hand from her ears to slap Tony away from her, claws extended and breathing heavily, hardly seeming to realize she'd been so rough before she smelled the blood in the air.

[in_extremis]

For all of Catra's threats and grouching, she hadn't actually drawn blood before, shocking Tony into a moment of stillness as he clutched his forearm against his chest where he had tried to jerk it back, rocked back with his weight on his back foot, and red seeping with alarming speed from between his fingers. It stung, distantly, in a way that Tony knew would hurt a lot more the moment he let it go, but in the meantime he stared at Catra, not entirely sure what to make of this escalation. He had some idea of what she was capable of, but less so of what he had done to earn it.

"I'll take care of it, okay? I'll figure it out, I'm going to fix this," he tried to placate, spreading the fingers that weren't trying to staunch the bleeding to warn Catra way again. "Just, give me a minute, I'll let you know when you can come back, it's not going to take long."

And Then

[doubled_speed]

He hears the noise just before there's a body on him, and Tommy twists aside, confused over what's happening. He sees Catra, and frowns.

"Yo, Kitten, you okay? Or did you find the nip?"

[heeeyadora]

She gives an agitated sort of growl, swiping at him with glinting claws.

"St- hhh- stop-" she hisses, as though Tommy's responsible for this damn noise. If she breaks him maybe it will finally stop.

[doubled_speed]

Woah. He dodges aside as she swipes. That's rude.

"Yeah, seems like if I stop I'll get cut up. So, you know, pass."

[heeeyadora]

"Nnn-" She shakes her head. Not that. Stop the sound. Its driving her insane! She hisses, unable to explain herself, and attempts again, and again, panting with the effort of trying to catch him.

AND THEN...?

[beholding_archivist]

Jon hasn't returned to the library after the Countess has attacked him and he was lucky enough for Cal to come and help him out with the irritated feline. But what has gotten into her, he still has no idea.

He is still pondering anxiously when he spots Catra a little in the distance, the sight putting a little smile to his face. He hasn't seen her in a while, has he. And so Jon raises a hand in greeting, calling out to her. "Hello, Catra! It's been a wh-oah!" Jon is cut off and barely manages to jump back when she pounces at him, leaving him wide-eyed and confused.

"Wh-wha...?"

[heeeyadora]

He's greeted with a growl and a flash of sharp canines.

Luckily for Jon, Catra doesn't strike out with her claws. Unluckily, she aims a hard kick for the center of his chest, not holding back at all. There's no explanation given, no sense to any of this. It's almost like the boys behaved with the rage bug.

[beholding_archivist]

The comparison to Billy doesn't come to Jon right away, not with his world exploding in a blinding impact of pain when Catra's kick sends him flying back and skittering over the rough ground with no air left in his lungs for a proper scream. Jon gasps in some air, unsure what has just happened, but quick enough to try and get back onto his feet, wincing and looking up to locate Catra again.

The question he tries to direct at her sounds a little sluggish with his confusion. "Catra, wha- what happened?"

[heeeyadora]

Her eyes narrow, no answer forthcoming as she's all ready charging towards with the sharp eyes of a predator. Her fingers catch hold of his shirt, grabbing him by the collar tossing him back down into the dirt.

-AND ONE

[rage_on]

That sound is positively driving him out of his mind, as though whatever its source has discovered a way to burrow directly into his brain, an impossible itch that couldn't be scratched.

There's a dangerous lack of focus in the turtle's green-eyed gaze as he turns, teeth grating together as if in some effort to keep his head from splitting. Claws bite into his upraised arm as he brings it up out of reflex, the sharp pain doing nothing to sooth his spiking irritation, but it does grant in that moment a target to home in on. The force of Catra's pounce is already knocking him back, his shell thumping against the wall of a nearby ruined building, but he's pulling his other arm around, fist balled and set to punch as he lashes back in retaliation.

[heeeyadora]

She cries out in pain, growling and leaping up to scramble up what's left of the ruined building. She ought to play to her strengths, climb higher and attack when she has the upper hand, but the state this has her in, strategy is not top of the list.

She launches herself down at him again, trying to catch hold of that shell.

[rage_on]

Not that height would have really made much difference anyway. For a turtle, Raphael spends a whole lot of time in high places.

Strategy mostly boils down to 'hit things until they stop moving' even when he's in his right mind. At the moment he's functioning mainly on reaction now that he's found an outlet, which makes it easier for Catra to get a grip when she does. Hopefully she hangs on because Raphael swings himself bodily around the moment he feels the tug of her slight weight, snarling as he tries to grab at her.

[heeeyadora]

She digs her claws in tight, kicking at his groping hands and stealing a moment to deliver a very unfair punch to the back of his head before her grip slips and she has to scramble to hold on.

And Then

[hadthehighground]

Obi-Wan had been meditating when it started. Abruptly pulled out of his peaceful state by a noise that he could hear but could also feel. Something was very wrong here. There was a disturbance in the Force that seemed to be caused by whatever it was making that sound.

He could feel the discontent of nearby creatures. Everything just felt in edge and thus he remained alert. So when someone just launched herself at him he was ready. Whirling around and thrusting his hand forward. His command heeded in a directed force push at whoever his attacker happened to be.

[heeeyadora]

Catra tumbled back head over heel, blinking in confusion for a moment. It only cut through the insistence of that noise for a brief moment before that anger seemed to click back into place, and she bared her teeth at the man, righting herself and shaking the dirt from her hair, making another run at him that seemed to defy logic. He'd stopped her once, naturally he could do it again.

[hadthehighground]

Obi-Wan blinked back at her as a bit of recognition came to mind. Hadn't he seen her on the network? Spoke to her even? He didn't have time to think long though before she was coming at him again, not unlike other creatures that had attacked him. Was that noise affecting her as well? Only one way to find out.

Putting out his hands, Obi-Wan tried to use the Force to influence her mind.

"Stop! You don't want to hurt me."

[heeeyadora]

"..." Catra slowed, before coming to a halt all together, though it seemed some part of her was fighting the compulsion.

"I don't...want to hurt you-" she repeated with some difficulty.

And then!?

[on_repeat]

To the clone, the strange noise is more like a slight ringing in the ears, something easily ignored if he doesn't focus too deeply on it. He's sure it's just the HUD acting up in his helmet.

Crossing paths with Catra in the middle of an abandoned street shouldn't have been out of the ordinary. "What the–" Echo blinks, then begins to pick up on how fast she's going. "Hey, stop– !"

When she lunges, he tries to block her with his arms and his blaster, the force of the action causing him to dig his heels into loose gravel and dirt. Kind of like jumping on a wall that bends under the added weight without completely toppling over. "The hell do you think you're doing?!" he manages to spit out, trying to throw her back and away in the process.

[heeeyadora]

Her claws do a surprising amount of damage to that armor, leaving large welts across the plastoid, even as she's thrown back. It doesn't keep her away for long, huffing and lunging again, determined to get at the man under that armor if she has to tear it away piece by piece.

[on_repeat]

He doesn't have time to inspect the damage, finding his personal space invaded yet again under Catra's relentless assault. Boots scuff the ground to keep his balance, although the second lunge counteracts his attempt to stay upright, roughly landing onto his back with a heavy grunt.

"Leave it," he grimaces, trying to catch her hands. "What's going on? There's no reason to be like this!"

[heeeyadora]

She fights to try and free her hands from his grip, even going as far as to snap and bite with those sharp teeth of hers. She seems more animal than human right now, offering no response to his questions, only that wild fury.