A nerd?? Seriously? But Brisa didn't wriggle away. Even as she scowled up a storm, Starr's knuckes on her scalp were . . . kinda nice, actually. Was it possible to be grumpy and delighted about the one same thing?
"Well, yeah," she grumbled, "I'd say so. Fer one, it's a tactical advantage fer us – the whole team – to understand each other's powers better. More'n that, though, Radiance an' Shadow ain't just combat techniques that appear randomly, they correspond to the intentions we hold back and our innermost feelings, an' we can explode or frenzy if we don't keep that shit in check. There's a reason I've been chasin' folks to sign on fer therapy, partner."
What was it about Starr, that let her hold such guilt in her heart without being vulnerable to her own Blacklight the way so many of them were? She'd seen Astrid's detonations, she'd seen Brisa with her Shadow floating above her... Maybe she'd rationalised it all...
Starr was making one of her classic Faces (in the region of cynicism, just off the coast of disapproval), but she remained attentive. The important part was that she thought what Brisa had to say was worth listening to.
Brisa continued, the words coming easily.
"Radiant Arrest is that confinin' move you've seen me use," – that I've used on you, – "and I'm not sure if it comes from my experience as a ranger detainin' outlaws, or 'cause there's some part of me that doesn't wanna let people leave."
She winced, and sighed with the discomfort of admitting such a thing, but Starr didn't leap in to judge her. Of course not.
"Shinin' Whiplash is born outta my wish to connect t'people in battle. Anyone I hit with it gets pumped with Radiant energy, sure, but they get t'feel my true intentions too."
She zapped Starr momentarily with a flash of gold.
I'm too goddamn comfortable, so don't you go gettin' up.
She grinned, earlier grumbles forgotten.
"Shadow Maul is what I call that frenzied tearin' I do t'lay into folks as've been hexed. Used t'be I believed that was how people saw me. Somethin' t'be feared."
Not you, though.
"Umbral Overcharge... Yeah, I used t'reckon that one was from my moral duty. But nah. I figure it's resentment. Whenever I pump up my moves past their limits, it's like I'm lashin' out at every time my pa was ever unsatisfied."
She smiled awkwardly.
"Then there's Void Arcstrike. I, ah. I picked it up fer the first time in the Voidlands. Still not sure what makes it the way it does, but I know I was thinkin' of ya when I used it..."
