[ to the older man's credit, he truly had chosen the best time to ambush lance, whose attention had been so directed at richard that he barely had time to register the other man's presence, let alone actually react to it.
it's instinct that winds up kicking in at the last second, which coincidentally is the only second he's afforded. he sees a familiar face, registers it in confusion, but also notices the flash of a shiny, dangerous blade and —
he has just enough time to shove richard out of the way (even though he wasn't even in the line of fire to begin with). fortunately, he'd flung his own body along with the shove, so he narrowly avoids the axe to the skull. still, he doesn't think to scramble up or even reach for his weapon, instead just outright gawking at magnus. ]
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[ to the older man's credit, he truly had chosen the best time to ambush lance, whose attention had been so directed at richard that he barely had time to register the other man's presence, let alone actually react to it.
it's instinct that winds up kicking in at the last second, which coincidentally is the only second he's afforded. he sees a familiar face, registers it in confusion, but also notices the flash of a shiny, dangerous blade and —
he has just enough time to shove richard out of the way (even though he wasn't even in the line of fire to begin with). fortunately, he'd flung his own body along with the shove, so he narrowly avoids the axe to the skull. still, he doesn't think to scramble up or even reach for his weapon, instead just outright gawking at magnus. ]
What the heck's going on?!