[ Cloud can be as strong and as fast as he wants to be, but, at the end of the day? He does have a couple of disadvantages when stacked up against the Fatui Harbinger— at least, on the surface. The first and foremost one? Their height. That man has some longer legs, and no amount of muscle in his own was going to bridge that gap when he had a gut feeling that Tartaglia was probably ripped from top-to-bottom too. But that hardly mattered to him. Not when Cloud was already genetically enhanced beyond what typical humans could accomplish. And as he's goaded by the combined menacing that is the tag-team of Childe and Yoimiya, he grits his teeth and clutches Ayaka's thighs around his waist a bit tighter.
Life flares in his eyes as he rounds the corner after them and prepares to launch himself, like a spring coiled and primed for release as he breaks his limits when: ]
[ "Ah..." ]
??
[ For that blip of a second, her whimper registers louder than any of their rivals' banter ever could. And his grip on her against his back slacks. That burning build-up he feels in the lower half of his body (his legs, people) feels like it's had water splashed on it too. And though he doesn't stop? That burst of a lunge he was planning to take to close the gap between them doesn't happen, instead keeping his pace behind them as he calls, ]
S'not over yet!
[ Though he continues to hold Ayaka tight, that initial clutch she would have felt is gone. In the back of his mind? She never stopped being a priority. There's still a chance like this, he thinks to himself as he carries her towards the end! ]
next time i poke dsfajhkl
Life flares in his eyes as he rounds the corner after them and prepares to launch himself, like a spring coiled and primed for release as he breaks his limits when: ]
[ "Ah..." ]
??
[ For that blip of a second, her whimper registers louder than any of their rivals' banter ever could. And his grip on her against his back slacks. That burning build-up he feels in the lower half of his body (his legs, people) feels like it's had water splashed on it too. And though he doesn't stop? That burst of a lunge he was planning to take to close the gap between them doesn't happen, instead keeping his pace behind them as he calls, ]
S'not over yet!
[ Though he continues to hold Ayaka tight, that initial clutch she would have felt is gone. In the back of his mind? She never stopped being a priority. There's still a chance like this, he thinks to himself as he carries her towards the end! ]