Location: Riverside, near Camp SAM.CG
Time: 2nd Day, Somewhere around 9:30 am
Tagging: Salem, Lin
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June seemed to have calmed down somewhat, if her tone was anything to go by. It seemed Lin’s actions have managed to appease the wonderful fox somewhat.
Salem also idly noticed that June stood a little straighter when he placed his hand on her back. Somehow she seemed to be drawing strength from his touch, and that notion pleased him greatly, but he wasn’t letting his eyes wander from the erratic Sceptile.
A particular look, as if a decision made, was all the warning Salem had. He pushed on June’s back and pulled on her small shoulder resulting in turning her to face him while forcing them to switch places. While he did so he kicked his legs up and pushed off of the Delphox, and just in time too. The movement had been too fast for him to consciously follow, and he would surely have reacted to late had he not acted first, but the Sceptile’s bladed arm cleaved the air only inches beneath him. He would have been in two pieces had he not jumped over it. With Salem out of the way however, there was nothing slowing down the sudden attack and the arc of the swing continued towards Lin still kneeling on the ground.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion now. Arrow had been aiming for the much smaller Delphox and so his swing had been a downwards one. His blade cause Lin in the shoulder and sliced all the way down, diagonally across the woman’s torso.
Meanwhile Salem brought his legs down around Arrow’s neck and shoulder, hooked his foot around the arm, and threw himself along with the Pokémon’s momentum.
Arrow had already overbalanced when his attack missed, and with Salem’s added weight he soon found himself toppling forward. Salem swung himself between the Sceptile’s legs and uncoiled his body, flipping the Pokémon forward and onto its back harshly.
It was only then that his mind really caught up to what his body had been doing and he found himself kneeling over Arrow. Quickly he grabbed the offending arm, twisted it forcing the lizard to turn onto his stomach, and pressed his knee down onto his neck forcing his face into the cool river.
Time resumed as normal now and everyone caught up to the moment at once. June stepped back, fire stick instantly in hand, Lin fell over backwards with an anguished cry of pain and surprise from the sudden attack, blood freely gushing from gash in her armor, and Arrow began thrashing wildly.
The Pokémon was a lot stronger than Salem, and the man had no illusions that he would be thrown off at any minute. On the island they trained with various Pokémon because there was no realistic way to overpower them. It was always good to experience the limits of what you could do so that you wouldn’t grow overconfident. The only leverage Salem had right now was the lock he had on the Pokémon, and his weight bearing him down, but already the Sceptile was pushing himself up with his free hand and yanked his head out of the water. Before he could be throw off completely, Salem released his joint lock, as he didn’t want to cause the Pokémon lasting harm, but threw himself bodily onto its back instead. His arm snaked around Arrow’s head and pulled it upwards in the direction of where Lin laid sprawled backwards on the ground and writhing in pain, her armor was covered in blood and it began pooling beneath her.
“Stop struggling!” he yelled, trying to get through to the thrashing lizard. “Look what you’ve done!”
He twisted his body this way and that to avoid the flailing arm blades as best he could, but felt them nick and poke here and there into his sides and abdomen. Shallow cuts for now, but this hold wouldn’t be a viable strategy for much longer.
“Snap out of it!” he tried again. “Take control of your sense!”