David
Authority— well, maybe so. She knew that she didn't have very much of it, especially not here. What she could do if she were back with her tomes! It would have been fun to show him. No time, probably not enough to test the shrine's effects. She didn't have any equipment to keep him here, even confused. The mouse definitely had her intrigued, but she was a busy bird and she only had so long before the sun arose. Were any of the *Actual* Authority figures around here nocturnal? It was an unpleasant thought.

He seemed like he liked her dance. There was the telltale initial sway, eyes tracking her as his body lurched to the left, but to Hinoki's surprise the mouse got ahold of himself. She wasn't expecting an attack, yet alone one so effective— the Pursuit nearly caught her square on, slashing up one of her wings and sending bits of blue feather everywhere. "YOU— poor, *Poor* Soul!" Parting lines!? Even without directly fleeing, the strike was enough that she couldn't so much as lift that wing. *Slinking back to base, grounded? Me? Ugh,* She thought, almost detached from the pain. A second later, that ghastly sensation was all she could focus on. Covering her face with her uninjured wing, she fell back across the roof of the shrine in shock, the false unsteadiness from her previous move now genuine.

Hinoki hit the ground with a gasp. That really *Did* Hurt. Again she wished deeply for her books; not so much for any healing prayers, but for the opposite. Still shielding her expression, she dragged herself to her feet, muttering darkly about cheeky little mice.
Javier
*The mouse, stumbling, ended up rolling down the roof too; however, his sense of bravado made him muster up something- the will to turn that tumble into an outright dramatic recovery. Needle held at his side, he took a deep breath as his hand ran up his forehead- roughing up his fur and falling back down as he exhaled.*

"Most Pokémon are afraid. Afraid of confusion." *Slowly, he lurched forth; then, on two legs, dragging the tip of the needle across the ceiling and letting loose a stray spark once in a while, he advanced.* "What a shame. Most don't realize that it may never even matter."

*He did have to be careful, though. Perhaps the pure statistic metrics of confusion did suggest that you may escape it unscathed, but vertigo and slanted roofs did not pair well together. He stopped, regaining his balance, then continued.*

*He looked back to the bag, resting atop the roof, for a moment; dizzily, he looked to the ground, resentful of the bird for just a moment before jumping and landing. Being a mouse, his terminal velocity was quite low, and he landed without issue.*

*With a thud of dust around him, he continued his walk towards Hinoki, suddenly lunging forth with a `Quick Attack`- moving in a blur, he was right in front of her in but an instance, needle held up to her neck. A quick attack could never hit her, as was the boon of ghosts, but he did give her a nasty invasion of personal space as he held it steady. It was gently prodding at her.* "Go on. Attack me. It's your turn."
David
Blood dripped into the grass at her feet. She brushed at her facial plumes, tidying where they'd gotten crumpled. She could just make out his words on the roof, and suppressed a wince. Fear had always trailed right behind Hinoki. Sometimes, just sometimes, it did catch her. A scoundrel with the courage and fortitude to push past that... "Must be nice."

When she finally lowered her wing, her face was serene. She lifted her neck away from the needle, posture straightening except for her bad wing slumped to the ground. Placing one foot at an angle, she took the close moment to consider the situation. Priests were not trained in battle, and aside from some misplaced advice from some knights Hinoki was no exception. *So silly.* Never mind that she only had one way of hitting him. Had he dropped the bag in the confusion? She'd sooner beat him with that than try throwing any darts.

Oh, but there was still the matter of the shrine. Hinoki doubted she'd get a better chance than this, although the mouse clearly wouldn't cooperate. Maybe she could talk him into it, but with her wing the way it was... She flicked her free fan up. Better to get him in there fast! Ducking away, she swept a wide Air Slash at the mouse, hoping to persuade him to flee closer to the shrine.

"So caught up in your games, no time to listen to your elders! I did just tell you how I loathe this hamlet's sorry excuse for a clinic, didn't I?" She sung.
Javier
*The rat pouted at her answer, keeping her needle up as she ducked away. It seemed to follow her pretty well, but with enough space and her `Air Slash` headed his way, he took a step back; before dragging his needle up and in the direction of the slash, meeting it with his own `Wide Slash`!*

*His blade trailed a wide coral arc once more, the energy lashing out and greeting the wind rather fairly; the two waved collided and left a remaining flash; however, as Reaper lacked the strength to directly combat such a move properly, and he was soon met with the Air part of her slash.*

*He staggered back and tripped- in no small part thanks to the confusion- and fell backwards from the wave; and, thanks to his Float Stone, even managed to travel a bit of extra distance and closer to the shrine. He wasn't quite damaged by this, but it did scuff him up.*

*Working his way to two feet again, he took little care for wherever he ended up, needle-blade now out at his side.* "It is a game, I'll give you that..." *He lowered his head and smiled, but then stood far more upright than before.* "Well, then! I'd fight much harder than you are now! How about that, hm!?" *He tilted his head.* That was kinda lame.