He succeeded in getting Gina to toss two more balloons his way. One was fast and the other seemed more an afterthought. Drew ducked to try and avoid the fast balloon but it was not to be. It brushed the top of his head and in the peculiar way that balloons have this was enough to break it. He wiped the water out of his eyes in time to avoid the second shot though. That meant she was down to just three more shots at him before she had to reload. Drew grabbed one of the balloons and gave it a toss. He wasn't really trying to hit Gina, more like keep the fact that he was biding his time hidden until she came in to reload.

"Nice shot but you missed again captain!"

All he had to do was keep her busy and not toss too many balloons. There were about ten left in the bucket after he'd thrown on at her. Drew grabbed another and tossed it, aiming a bit more this time. Maybe he'd hit her, maybe not. These shots didn't really matter. He smirked confidently over at Gina.

"Come now captain, try again!"

Gina scowled playfully, her lip sinking into a contemplative pout. It was obvious that Drew was achieving whatever it was that he had in mind, Gina had killed off half of her supply of water balloons, and was going to need to reload very soon. She had to be unpredictable, had to think tactically. Why wasn't Andrew firing back?

Oh, she'd spoken to soon-- Drew picked up a baloon and lobbed it at her halfheartedly. Oh, for the love of God-- was he afraid of hitting her, or what? He commented on her aim, to which Gina simply retorted,

"I would've hit you if you'd just stop moving!"

Of course he wouldn't stop moving, which Gina noted with a grin, but she had to defend the fact that her aim was just fine. Drew wasn't really getting under skin-- he hadn't made any low blows, so it was merely banter thus far.

>> "Come now, captain, try again!"

Rather than keep at her safe distance, Gina suddenly charged forward, tossing another balloon Drew's direction. Water balloon supply was likely to lower quite soon, and she wanted more. The best offense was a good defense, thus she utilized her final balloons in an attempt to close-in on the bucket, and grab some more ammo. She lobbed the second when she was within ten yards, and the third when she was within ten feet. Gina was ammo-less, and closing in on the jackpot-- her hope was that, in drawing closer and lobbing balloons at Drew, he'd be forced to stumble back and leave the jackpot wide open. In reality, this was perhaps less likely to happen than how Gina pictured it in her mind, but it was worth a shot.

He laughed.

"Well then why should I stop moving if you're just going to hit me? Aim better!"

His gambit worked when moments later she threw all three of her balloons at him in intervals and charged. Drew grinned widely and ignored the balloons. They hit him while he grabbed a handful of balloons from the tub and began a barrage against the oncoming gargoyle girl. She'd done exactly what he'd been hoping for and now he was emptying the tub as quickly as he could against her. Four balloons had already been thrown and he was reaching for numbers five and six. That would leave on three left in the bin.

"Bad move captain!"

Drew grinned widely as he seized two more balloons from the bin and started lining up his shot.

"Well then why should I stop moving if you're just going to hit me? Aim better!"

Low blow, Drew, low blow--

"My aim is just fine, thank you very much!" Gina retorted indignantly. It was that low blow that led her to attack. After said spending of her final ammunition, all she could do was charge and hope not to get hit.

She was getting too close, the first balloon zinging right between her ear and her wing, the second clipping her shoulder. Gina sank low, slipping on the slick grass as she went. By that grace, she dodged the third, which broke onto the grass, right at her feet. Gina's heart leapt up in her throat. But as she scrambled to her feet, the fourth caught her right in the sternum. Ooh, and that fourth one had stung with a vengeance. Gina might have let loose a teeny, tiny swear at that, but that swear was peppered with a shrieking laugh of alarm.

>> "Bad move, captain!"

Gina gave a winded laugh, "Desperate times, dear subordinate--"

Gina took the opportunity to pause, pick the shreds of balloon off of her shirt, which was now soaked quite thoroughly. She'd slowed down, now, as Drew gathered two more balloons and got ready to throw them. Now, rather than charging, she circled slowly, trying to rub the sting from her chest. Crap, that'd hurt. She needed to form a counter attack-- either get the balloons that were leftover, or find another way to soak Drew.

A devious plan alit in Gina's mind, and a smile quirked on her lips. But, she wanted to wait-- she didn't feel confident charging in empty-handed.

He scored a hit and made Gina back off. Drew grinned and lobbed one of his balloons, instantly replacing it with another.

"So, it is down to you and it is down to me."

Why he'd just quoted Princess Bride at her Drew wasn't quite sure but whatever. Gina could be Westley. That is if Westley had been a young female gargoyle. Hmmm, maybe he'd picked the wrong thing to reference. Oh well. Drew could do Vizini. He watched Gina circle and tossed another balloon. Once again he quickly replenished his ammo, leaving the score at two balloons in his hands and two in the bucket. He decided to give Gina a fair chance. He scooted the bucket across the grass with a kick so that she could grab the last two balloons.

That wasn't something Vizini would do though. Princess Bride western maybe? Or he could switch characters and be Inigo. That would work. Not much to say here though to reference Inigo so Drew just grinned.

"How about we duel?"

>> "So, it is down to you and it is down to me."

Gina smiled as Drew lobbed another balloon at her, but she was hyper-aware now. She took a step back, and the thing fractured at her feet. Gina glanced up again, hadn't spied him retrieving yet another balloon, so she was a bit baffled when she saw that he once again had two balloons. Gina eyed the bucket carefully, and was surprised when Drew nudged it with his foot with enought force for that it went sliding towards her.

Gina eyed the bucket, and eyed Drew, confusion apparent. He wasn't going to make her fight for it?

>> "How about we duel?"

Gina nodded. Even in water-balloon fights, he was playing it fair. What a stand-up guy! Gina edged toward the bucket, letting her peripherals linger on Drew's motions as she peered into the bucket. Lo and behold, two water balloons remained there in the bucket, as did a substancial amount of water. Enough for my evil plot? Yes, but-- Gina retrieved the balloons and tipped the bucket over by stepping on the lip with her foot, thus emptying it of excess water. She wanted to duel fairly, two balloons against two balloons.

"It's so on," Gina agreed, her tail flicking with anticipation. Having been on the receiving end of a torrent of water balloons, she was none-too-eager to waste the water balloons that she had just acquired.

Gina's caution while approaching the bucket was good. If he were not being honorable at the moment it would have been a good point to attack. His honorable gesture apparently garnered one from her in response when she tipped the bucket over and let the water at the bottom drain out. She could have used it to counter attack if she'd felt like it. However she did not it seemed. No, her tail simply flicked back and forth like a cat getting ready to pounce and she agreed to the duel. Drew grinned at her and began circling slowly.

It was a shame they didn't have some western music and a few tumbleweeds.

Drew eyed his opponent warily as he circled. At this distance Gina could probably hit him easily. Dodging from a distance was easy. This close would be much more difficult. He'd wait until she spent at least one of her balloons before he made a move. Waiting worked well for him. It had done a good enough job in keeping him intact back when he sparred with Sam. Though he still suspected that was largely due to Sam holding back on him.

Gina's train of thought also lingered in a similar area-- she could really go for a pair of cowboy boots and a hat right now. The lack of tumbleweeds and western music was a less vital aspect that could be handled after the costume change. They continued to circle, a smirk tilting on Gina's lips. Why did she have a feeling she was going to walk out of this drenched?

Neither of them moved, each sizing the other up, weighing their options, wielding their precious cargo protectively and equally reluctant to throw. Except that Gina wasn't waiting for Drew to throw, she was just relatively certain that she would miss him completely, and was none to eager to waste her ammo-- because then, it was back to running once again, and her little legs were faintly throbbing, though not to a painful degree.

But circling grew tiresome, Gina made her move, chucking a water balloon in his direction. She was hesitant to throw it right at him, with no angle, because the one she'd caught to the sternum had stung just enough. Even in battle, she was still just "the nice girl", so she lugged this one balloon with a faint arch in Drew's direction. She eyed the second, yet opted not to throw it. No reenacting last time, where she'd run herself dry of ammunition by rapid-firing all of it at once.

Apparently she was reluctant to send a balloon straight at him. That gave him breathing room but only just. He managed to move enough so that only his left side took the hit. The rest of Drew remained fairly dry. He tossed a retaliatory balloon at a straighter angle than Gina had done. Sure he was a nice guy but he wasn't going to be quite as nice in a war. Which this was. Or at least a duel.

You just didn't offer mercy to your enemy until after you had them trounced. That was all.

Now they were down to one balloon apiece and instead of see the duel drag on Drew tossed his second balloon shortly after the first. They could both probably use a rest. Maybe he'd warm up a couple of muffins or cookies or something he'd baked the night previous. There were probably a few things left over in the kitchen. If not, well he could always make more.

She hit him, she actually had hit him! Gina tried not to look too excited, but it was hard to contain her smile. And then, the counterattack-- Drew lugged his first balloon in a rather direct way, and Gina turned sideways to protect her sternum, for she didn't want to reenact that misfortune once again, and instead took it to the shoulder. Which, admittably, hadn't hurt as much, since there was much more sking and less bone in that area. Drew then lugged the second, which by an insane strike of luck, Gina was able to dance out of the way of. But, only barely. She threw her final balloon seconds after Drew threw his, settling to a stop.

Without even realizing it, she'd been holding her breath, and she inhaled deeply so as to get more oxygen into her lungs. She looked at Drew, smiling and laughing in a winded way.

"That," she announced, "Was a lot of fun." Now that they were both unarmed, Gina began to make her way back towards Drew, positively drenched and enjoying every moment of it. She was almost tempted to offer him a hug and share the overall sogginess that penetrated her clothes, but resisted. She simply stood there, grinning like an idiot and sighing.

The first balloon hit but she, like him, had done her best to minimize the damage. Gina managed to dodge his second balloon. Her second balloon quickly follow his second and Drew didn't bother to move too much, just enough to take the hit on the left side that was already wet. Now that they were done Drew picked up the bucket that had held the balloons while Gina talked.

"Yeah it was. We should get inside and dry off though. Maybe have a snack?"

Gina grinned widely and Drew grinned back. The whole thing had been a wonderful way of getting his mind off of...well the weirdness. Now that it was over he'd probably start worrying again. Hopefully not before he had a cookie or something though.

"There's probably some cookies or something left in the kitchen."

He shifted the bucket to one side and headed for the closest entrance to the mansion. Maybe Gina would follow?

>> "Yeah it was. We should get inside and dry off though. Maybe have a snack?"

Gina caught up with him as Drew retrieved the bucket.

"A snack would be lovely," she agreed. Drying off would be lovely, too. Or at least, changing clothes would be lovely.

>> "There's probably some cookies or something left in the kitchen."

"Excellent," Gina agreed. She kept pace with him by walking a hair quicker than Drew was, her fast steps compensating for his longer strides. They both seemed to be in better spirits, and this small, happenstance water balloon fight seemed to have done the job. No longer was Gina so melancholic or pensive, and no longer was Drew going absolutely bonkers.

The two mutants slipped inside, to dry off and to partake in a much anticipated snack.

-end-