[ it doesn't work, but she keeps trying. every time she pauses with the shield between them, carolina looks her opponent in the eyes, looks to see if she can see maine there again. every time, she doesn't, so she keeps fighting.
for a few short, seconds-long rounds of this, she manages to keep maine from getting another solid hit on her, keeping it to glancing blows as she works around him, using the full floor space to her advantage. she fights better when she can move and from the blows she manages to get on him, carolina almost has the upper hand.
but keeping him at bay can't last and carolina knows full well it's her own fatigue that causes her next mistake: a stumble as he runs at her shield and she deactivates it with a sidestep. her leading foot catches on the ground at an odd angle and she has to use the other to compensate, resulting in a move that doesn't take her far enough away from him. maine's forearm hits her full force in the chest, wrist near her shoulder and elbow impacting her sternum with enough force that it winds her as she's knocked down, hitting the ground hard.
she probably needs to take a minute, but the ground is not a safe place to be right now.
carolina uses what momentum she can to roll back on her shoulders, hands meeting the floor briefly before she jumps back up to her feet. she tries to take a breath and is rewarded with a sharp pain for her efforts and remembers, all at once, just how mad wash is going to be about her getting hurt like this, without him.
this is the first hit she's taken that looks like it might have done damage enough to worry about but, stubbornly, she isn't signalling for help. she can take a few more.
she raises both hands in a defensive stance as she activates her shield again. it flickers in an odd way and the nagging voice in the back of her head that only ever sounds like epsilon anymore points out that that's very bad. carolina has to agree with it.
the next time maine throws himself at the shield, there's only resistance when he first makes contact, enough to absorb some of his momentum. then it flickers again, dissipates, and lets him hit carolina hard enough to knock her back to the floor. ]
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for a few short, seconds-long rounds of this, she manages to keep maine from getting another solid hit on her, keeping it to glancing blows as she works around him, using the full floor space to her advantage. she fights better when she can move and from the blows she manages to get on him, carolina almost has the upper hand.
but keeping him at bay can't last and carolina knows full well it's her own fatigue that causes her next mistake: a stumble as he runs at her shield and she deactivates it with a sidestep. her leading foot catches on the ground at an odd angle and she has to use the other to compensate, resulting in a move that doesn't take her far enough away from him. maine's forearm hits her full force in the chest, wrist near her shoulder and elbow impacting her sternum with enough force that it winds her as she's knocked down, hitting the ground hard.
she probably needs to take a minute, but the ground is not a safe place to be right now.
carolina uses what momentum she can to roll back on her shoulders, hands meeting the floor briefly before she jumps back up to her feet. she tries to take a breath and is rewarded with a sharp pain for her efforts and remembers, all at once, just how mad wash is going to be about her getting hurt like this, without him.
this is the first hit she's taken that looks like it might have done damage enough to worry about but, stubbornly, she isn't signalling for help. she can take a few more.
she raises both hands in a defensive stance as she activates her shield again. it flickers in an odd way and the nagging voice in the back of her head that only ever sounds like epsilon anymore points out that that's very bad. carolina has to agree with it.
the next time maine throws himself at the shield, there's only resistance when he first makes contact, enough to absorb some of his momentum. then it flickers again, dissipates, and lets him hit carolina hard enough to knock her back to the floor. ]