SimpleRP-(John Caldwell vs. Calendar Girl)

John Caldwell was not a man that was fazed easily, but the bounty he was currently chasing had him baffled. A woman who was wanted in various towns and cities because she left a trail of forlorn lovers in her wake? The role reversal was pretty hilarious, if not for the fact that the sum was so high and there were no puritan religious zealots involved in any way. The woman was said to appear only during set festive days throughout the year: Spring Clover Brewing Day, Summer and Winter Solstice, Easter, all the holidays celebrated across the realm. She would typically meet with her 'victim' during the hustle and bustle of the day, they'd go on a whirlwind tour of all the festivities and end the night in an exhaustive bout of lovemaking. In the morning, she would be gone, and her erstwhile lover would slump into a deep depression, typically only really living up again during the festival day on which he'd met the woman. Could she possess some sort of supernatural means and nefarious otherworldly purpose? John was skeptical, but coin was coin. Dead, alive, it didn't matter as long as he knocked the mischief out of her.

He had tracked down his quarry to an abandoned cottage in the mountains, probably where she stayed inbetween her trips to villages and towns. He had scouted the premises, but so far didn't see any traps or other signs of concern. He could probably barge in and scare the daylights out of her without needing to get physical. He snuck in through the door, making sure not to make too much noise, and siddled across the hallway to the living room. He was surprised to see his bounty waiting for him, splayed across the couch in an elegant red satin dress, her blonde hair done up in a bun and her piercing blue eyes staring back at him undaunted. "It took you too long to get here," she said in an accusatory tone. "I almost would have to change to my Lover's Day outfit if you had took a few more days." John was somewhat stunned by how beautiful she was, but growled: "Listen, lady, since you know I was pursuing you, you know why I'm here. I care little about your games, but you have left a trail of broken hearts and marriages in your wake, and the people have had enough." You're coming with me to answer for your antics."

The strange woman clapped her hands together. "Oh, very impressive. You're definitely not some weak-willed fling like my previous lovers. I think I'm going to keep you here around the house. Wouldn't you like that? Every day will be a holiday in my company.", she answered, standing up and winking coquettishly.

"I don't know if you've heard of the name John Caldwell, lady, but I'm not really someone you can just string along. You're coming with me", the rogue fired back as he drew his trusty blackjack.

The woman didn't seem to care, whimsically saying: "Nice to meet you, I'm Sophia, and we're going to be coming together alright!"

=Simple RP=
The old ruleset applies: the rolls are 1 to 100, even rolls are a success, uneven rolls are a failure.
Double even or uneven numbers are a critical success/failure.
The adventurers have Willpower and the midara have Stamina.
Special abilities may be involved, and their effects are specified as they appear.
========

John's Abilities:
(Temper): John does not like to be on the losing side, and ups the ante in a pinch. Whenever the difference
between his Willpower and the opponent's Stamina is 5 or higher, his attacks do double damage.
(Blackjack): John's trusty weapon allows him to strike true even if his opponent is slippery. Rolls between 1
20 are always a success, no matter whether the roll is even or uneven.

Sophia's Abilities(New Year):
(Bad Resolution): Willpower attack. Sophia tells all the naughty things she's going to do to her victim over the next few turns. If her next two Willpower attacks succeed, her victim will forfeit his following turn, eagerly anticipating what she's going to do to him next. Cooldown of two turns.
(Firecracker): Willpower attack. Sophia blows an enchanted kiss towards her victim that fireworks flashing in his heart and mind. During his next attack, the victim has to roll two successes in order to make his attack hit. Cooldown of one turn.
(Holidaze): Sophia changes outfits to another holiday, granting her a new set of abilities. This is a free action and does not take up a turn.

John will succumb after losing 25 Willpower.
Sophia will succumb after losing 25 Stamina.

Battle start!

Bollocks. Should've known it wasn't going to be THAT easy...

Caldwell took a cautious step forward, tightening his grip on the worn, yet reassuringly familiar, leather of his blackjack. "Suit yourself, missy. Only rule the magistrates gave me was that you were coming back to the town hall with me. Personally, I'd much rather you were alive than dead, but I'm willing to compromise- I'll just bring you back short a few teeth instead."

With that, he dropped down to a hunch and rushed forwards, taking a low swing at her legs.

Caldwell barely had uttered the threat or he attacked, striking at her luscious legs.

4=(Blackjack activated)Success!

His swing was fast and hit her in the knees, and she yelped in pain. Strangely, no bruises appeared, making Caldwell wonder if there wasn't something supernatural about her after all.
"Is this how you treat ladies? I'll suppose I'll fill you with regret for hurting me soon enough!", the woman uttered through gritted teeth.

(Ability: Bad Resolution) "You obviously don't want to start the new year by beating up innocent women, do you? Let's give it a happier beginning instead. First I'll give you a little kiss to show how wonderful I can make you feel. Then I'm going to give a relaxing massage while you lay down on the cough. How does that sound?", she said in a beguiling voice while walking around the wary rogue.

49=failure!

Caldwell was weirded out by her act. Sure, she was absolutely stunning, but did she really think offering her body would make up for that large bounty? He couldn't decide whether the woman was crazy or perhaps a witch.

John has 25 remaining Willpower.
Sophia has 24 remaining Stamina.
(Note: Cooldown only activates if an ability succeeds)

Caldwell took a couple of quick steps towards the doorway leading back into the hall, cutting off the woman's most obvious escape route. Granted, she probably could have gone out through the living room window if she was desperate enough, but she'd be a sitting duck while she was unlatching it- and besides, right now she still seemed too confident to consider running.

"I'll have you know I can be perfectly civil to women..." He hesitated a little. "Well, the ones who aren't marks that refuse to come quietly, anyway. So, last warning- are you going to give up or not?"

Deciding to try a more diplomatic approach, John slowly and deliberately holstered his blackjack and began to approach the strange woman, placing one hand on the length of rope attached to his belt. If she surrendered, great- he'd tie her hands, bring her back to town and be done with it. If not, and she tried for a cheap shot when he got close enough...

Well, that was why the free hand currently behind his back was slowly balling into a fist.

"Oh, I'm going to give it up alright if you're so interested," the beauty flirted. She readied her arms as if welcoming the approaching assailant into a hug. John saw she was not complying and wanted to opt for a quick gutshot....

15=failure!

...but the soft hug she gave him mellowed him out. She was bonkers, probably. A blithe spirit, easy to blame for the fact that villagers and townsmen in remote places would fall too hard for her. She probably belonged in a nunnery somewhere, or another place that could set her straight.

The woman kept the hug chaste and asked: "Isn't this nice? Don't want to remain in my embrace forever?" John nodded along to keep up appearances, readying the rope. Suddenly, the seductress turned her face towards the bounty hunter to go for his lips in a crushing kiss(Ability: Firecracker)...

11=critical failure!

...but John kneed her and pushed her away. It was a feint, but a poor one. Evidently the temptress had some tricks up her sleeve if she was trying to get physical with him constantly. Poisoned lipstick perhaps?

John has 25 remaining Willpower.
Sophia has 23 remaining Stamina.

Having deflected her sudden- and strange- attempt to kiss him, Caldwell capitalised on the distance he'd gained courtesy of both his vigilance and a kneecap padded by at least two inches of hardened leather, grabbing for his cosh once again.

Beaten unconscious it is, then. Shame, really... she seems like a nice girl, actually.

Maybe I should stop for a minute and give her a chance to-

Wait, what? NO. This was a fight, not a date. Get your head back in the game, boy. Shaking the mental cobwebs out, he tried to re-assess the situation- she'd clearly done something to his head when she'd grabbed him- a hidden vial of alchemically-produced vapor, maybe? Or poison on her lips? Wait, that wouldn't make sense, it'd poison her t-

ARGH! STOP THINKING AND FIGHT, YOU PRAT.

Seeing that she was starting to push herself back onto her feet, he rushed in, aiming a swing at the back of her head.

Was it unsporting? A little voice in the back of his head said "Yes."

Was it effective? Years of experience said "Yes.", in a much louder voice than the other one.

His thoughts were muddled but his instincts prevented him from standing around indecisively, and he made use of the moment to throw a dirty attack into the mix. His weapon went downward with a whoosh...

83=failure!

...and the blonde beauty turned her head out of the way only slightly at the last moment, so that not even a lock of hair was harmed. John recognized those reflexes, and it meant bad news. She had far more combat experience than she let on.

"My, you don't know how to play nice," the seductress chided, looking him in the eye cheekily from her bent position on the floor. She stood up, and backed away a bit. "I'm going to have to teach you a thing or two about love overpowering hate." She pun on her heels and snapped her fingers, and whirlwind of what seemed to be calendar pages materialized around her, shielding her from the view of the man(Ability: Holidaze). It subsided only moments later, the arcane effect seemingly vanishing into thin air. What was a scandalous red satin dress had now been replaced by a cute little outfit with poofy sleeves, pink gloves, heart motifs and stockings with high heels. A pink hairband held the long blonde strands of the midara in place, and she had make-up and lipstick in the same colour as the rest of her outfit. "I usually wear this for Lovers' Day, but since we're going to be lovers in a short while it feels appropriate," she smiled at the stunned John. Okay, definitely magic then. He was in for a hard time. The blonde posed in place, showing off how the cute outfit hugged all her curves...

89=failure!

...but Caldwell had discipline, and was not about to succumb so easily to the wiles of a wanton woman. He had to be extra cautious, though, as he had no idea what kind of trickery she would be able to pull off.

New abilities:
Sophia's Abilities(Lovers' Day outfit):
(Rose Reversal): Action. Sophia blows a kiss at her victim's weapon, turning it into a bouquet of roses. The change lasts two turns, or until Sophia changes outfits again. Cancels special abilities the weapon had, though damage is unaffected as the victim can still attack using other means. Cooldown of two turns.
(Aching Arrow): Willpower attack. Sophia summons a bow and arrow, kisses the tip of the latter, and fires it straight at her victim's heart. If succesful, the victim is now Charmed for two turns, and any even roll lower than 40 will be a miss, unless another ability overrides this effect. Cooldown of three turns.
(Holidaze): Sophia changes outfits to another holiday, granting her a new set of abilities. This is a free action and does not take up a turn.

John has 25 remaining Willpower.
Sophia has 23 remaining Stamina.

John had seen a lot in his life as a "contracted fixer", as they called him in polite company- or "rabid thief-taker", as said company called him when he'd left the room and they thought he couldn't hear them any more. But seeing someone honest-to-gods shapeshifting in front of him? Yeah, that was definitely one of the more "out there" stories he'd have to share at the next roadside pub that him and his ilk frequented as soon as he finished up here.

Okay... credit where it's due, that was kind of impressive. Not that he was going to say that aloud any time soon. Her ego was overinflated as it was without him throwing in free compliments, he'd decided. Speaking of which, it was probably time to bring her back down to earth by a peg or three.

And you know what they say about pride, he thought, taking a couple of quick steps closer to his target...

It always comes before a fall. He dropped into a pivoting crouch, trying to line the heel of his boot up with her ankles as his momentum spun him back around to face his increasingly bizarre opponent.

John tried to get her on the ground, this time going for a spinning kick. Despite her abilities, the man was unfazed, and still aimed to take her out non-lethally, ignorant of a midara's formidable healing factor. He observed the arc of his attack and...
41=failure!
...saw how she skipped out of the way, briefly making her dress lift up to show a pair of see-through panties with hearts on them. That sort of item could sell for a fortune to debauched nobles, but he could guess from her transformative powers that she probably wasn't from the upper echelons of society.

The midara saw where he was looking and chided him: "Of course that's to be expected from such a ruffian, trying to look up a maiden's skirt. Well, I don't mind." She lifted it up again with one hand and mesmerizingly gyrated her body, while her other hand went to her lips(Aching Arrow)...
55=critical success!
..as she blew out a strange, bubbly gas, that shaped itself into a bow and arrow in shocking pink. She kissed the tip of the arrow and readied it, while John felt strange and sluggish, trying to rip his eyes away from the beauty's lower body. He managed to get himself together just at the moment the arrow flew towards him, and though he tried to turn his body sideways the weapon still sunk deep into his heart. He felt a warm sensation like gluhwine instead of a sharp pain, as the midara's magic started to work on him.
=Charmed!=Rolls under 40 miss unless another ability overrides this effect(2 turns left)
The man stood up unsteadily, and he felt increasingly mellow. So this must have been what those other victims felt. That didn't seem so bad. Maybe he shouldn't be so harsh on her if they had surrendered to her charms willingly.

John has 23 remaining Willpower and is Charmed for the next 2 turns.
Sophia has 23 remaining Stamina and her Aching Arrow is ready within 3 turns.

Caldwell barely had time to see the arrow coming, let alone dodge before it hit and, pain or no pain, the impact still knocked him off his feet. As he fell to the carpet with a faint whoomph, he swallowed hard and risked a look down at his chest as soon as the world stopped swimming in front of him.

He'd been shot.

Through-the-heart, oh-shit-I'm-dying, really-hope-I'm-insured shot.

So... why didn't it hurt? Felt... felt rather nice, really.

Fuck. He really hoped that there hadn't been anything in that arrow designed to turn him into a masochist.

As his increasingly detached train of thought drifted towards the issue of whether to pull it out or leave it in, however, the arrow answered for him by evaporating into an oddly pink mist- didn't seem to have left an entry wound, either. Rather sporting by arrow standards, that was.

Wait... he was doing something before, wasn't he? Fff... fuh... what was the word? Fighting. Right. Where was she, th- huh. Wow. From this angle, she actually looked kind of cute. Innocent. Not crazy at a-

What in the actual fuck are you talking about? She's obviously some kind of witch. She brainwashes people for shits and giggles. SHE JUST BLOODY WELL SHOT YOU. SHE. IS. BATSHIT. INSANE.

Finally getting his thoughts back into reality, John grabbed onto a nearby end table that had been placed beside one of the couch's arms, planning to pull himself back to his feet. As he did, he noticed two things- one, Little Miss Loony looked like she was about to start closing the distance, and two, his hand had closed around something small and heavy. Whether it was an ornament, a paperweight, hell, even his blackjack- where had he dropped that, anyway?- he didn't care.

Right now, he thought as he lined up a toss in her general direction whilst pulling himself upright, he only cared about whether it'd hit her hard enough to break something important.

Well, he would've only worried about that in normal circumstances, anyway. As it was, his arm was suddenly surprisingly reluctant to follow his brain's instructions, doing a sort of jerky little dance between trying to throw the mystery object and trying to set it back down on the table. That arrow had definitely done something to his hand-eye co-ordination.

Quite possibly his head, too- not only was the old brain-to-body interface apparently on the fritz, but his urgent desire to grab her and repay her for shooting him- with added interest- was being stamped down hard and subsequently replaced with an urgent desire to grab her and do... other things.

In the end, it was all he could do to close his eyes, bring his arm forward and mentally command his clenched fist to release its payload with every fibre of his will.