League A (Division 1): BlueGhostofSeaside v. Forbidden

[Max Dirks]

Battle at your leisure folks. This thread must be completed by January 9th, 2014 at 12:00 AM EST. If you finish early, please submit it for judging per usual.

[Ashla]

Ashla (for once) was able to get to her arena before her opponent did. She had casually walked into her battlefield and decided to take some time to loom around.

This place was unusual compared to any place she had ever fought at before... She was inside a very large room with metal walls, a strong, wood floor, and a glass roof. The entire place was one, large square. As big as this place was, what was more interesting was what was inside. There were lain upon lain of long, steel shelves. Some were very small and on wooden wheels, meant to be moved around across the one, large room in the building. The others were stuck to the floor, they reached all the way up to the ceiling. The only things in this apparent shopping place were millions of marionettes! Marionettes and clothes were stacked and hung carelessly on all the shelves and hangers that hung on the walls.

Ashla slowly moved her feet and in wide eyes, began to walk through the indoor market. This place had been swept and cleaned very recently and the floor and some empty storage places for all the stringed dolls and their accessories were were sparkling silver. Rays of light burst through the see-through ceiling and lit up the entire place entirely. Dust was swarming in a lot of the place, floating in the air as it had been taken from where it had been collecting on the shelves and wooden play-things. Her cat, Fireleaf sneezed a couple times from right beside her feet.

Ashla didn't take any notice. She just hummed as she thought to herself, What an interesting place to fight in... This looks like a happy place, not somewhere dark where fights like these would take place. She stopped and looked around from whatever current isle she was in. It seemed as if nobody was here, so it would only be her and her opponent. Ashla sighed and leaned against on of the shelves; humming as she continued for her challenger to arrive.

... Nobody came.

It had been hours now and sun was beginning to set. Purple and pink clouds were covering the clear sky. Ashla sighed, Great, by the time this guy comes to fight it'll be too dark to see anything! And soon enough it was. Fireleaf's green eyes shone in the dark, giving Ashla the sinking sensation that this fight wouldn't go well.

She resorted to blindly reaching in the shelves and grabbing one of the wooden puppets. She tore of two limbs and rubbed them together, trying to start a fire. Once again, it was later until she had been able to start a good fire on one of the legs and used it as a torch, stepping forwards into the darkness again.

OOC: This thread needed to get started anyhow, so I tried to stir up my creative juices and came up with this setting. Two things inspirited it: 1.) I wanted to have a set where it would be easy to get lost. 2.) I just finished listening to a new Flyleaf song called "Marionette", so that inspirited all of these dolls... If any extra detail are needed, Forbidden, please message me and ask.

[Forbidden]

Ellenora Sekuerba Pope lay in meditation beneath the stream bank, water eddying and burbling steadily to her left. The solid earthen wall to her right, interwoven with young roots, hummed with Njal's energy.

You have become weak, the voice of the Goddess echoed in the vampyre's ears. Your skin melts to the sun's touch like a yearling's hide. Perhaps you are unfit to lead the Liberi Nocturna Tribe. The sound was like a thousand sweet roses stabbing her ancient heart.

"Please, oh Great One," she begged in the dark, "I have grown weak as I slept under the crust so many years. But my people sleep still." She gathered her composure and spoke evenly. "I may grow strong enough to lead them as before. And bring your word to the realms of men." She salivated at the thought of leading her troops into battle.

I have prepared a test... arranged a particular arena with other Powers above your comprehension. If you do not turn the young woman you meet there, you will know my wrath before you taste blood again. The humming from the earth vanished and a portal opened between Nora and the flowing stream, long and slender just like her. She rolled straight into it without a second thought...

and landed on her back looking at the stars past steel ribs. She practically fawned over the darling puppets that smiled from the long shelves. And then she took further stock of her surroundings. She was trapped in a room with a glass ceiling... and by the moon's place in the sky, there could be only an hour or two left before dawn. Panic rose in Nora's throat as a woman bearing a torch strode into sight. She must subdue the woman. The iron wakizashi and tanto slung about her naked body beneath voluminous midnight hair would run too great a risk of killing the human outright. They were such a delicate existence. As Nora crouched behind a smallish shelf, it rolled at her touch.

Njal offered great challenges, and Njal offered solutions to the canny observer. Ellenora loved her Goddess in all her endless glory.

She put her slender shoulder into the shelf and got it moving, generating as much momentum as she could before sending it rolling toward the young woman.

[Ashla]

Against the wooden floor, weals whirled. Ashla turned to see one of the smaller shelves coming right towards her. She quickly skidded out of the way and the it just kept rolling on its way. It crashed into one of the larger shelves and sent everything stacked inside it flying to the ground. Ashla's cat jumped as high up as the self reached in reaction to such noise, however, Ashla was able to actually stay focused.

She drew her long sword and holding it with her left hand and still wielding the torch with her right, she looked to the direction it had come from. Within the darkness lurked her opponent. She swung her sword once then said, "You're late. Would you be kind enough to explain please?" She was trying to hide the fact that her mood was wrecked, but she failed as her voice sounded quite bitter. Aside the light from the torch which formed a circle of orange light around her, everything around her was dark. The moon was now high in the sky though, so grey light made the center of the square quite visible. However, they were close to a corner, so it was still a little darker there. Ashla kept her sword close to her chest and pointed the torch to the darkness. Some of her hair fell over her face, hiding her bright, blue eyes.

Meanwhile, Fireleaf had stopped doing his Halloween cat dance and had slipped into the darkness. He too knew that there was an enemy out there. Ashla briefly looked to where her loyal cat's tail vanished into the shade and smirked. She didn't know which of of the fighters had more luck right now, but she certainly did have some. Her smile vanished as her eyes darted into the shadows again. "I know you're in there. Come out."

[Forbidden]

Nora chanced a glance upwards the wheeled shelf crashed into one of its elder brother. Moonlight bathed the arena through the crystalline glass ceiling. It was beautiful, but had struck a dark chord in the vampyre's heart. In the instant where her opponent turned toward her, dark hair falling across vibrant blue eyes, the note of foreboding evolved into a clear thought.

I will die at the sun's mercy if I cannot turn this woman. Njal did not make promises of pain lightly.

Bare feet padded over solid wooden floor as Nora entered the spill of torchlight. Dancing flames flitted about her pale sleek thighs and bare midriff. Long hair wrapped 'round iron fasteners fell about her shoulders and hips like a scanty cloak, barely hiding small breasts and the heat of her loins. Sweat hung heavy beneath the vampyre's arms and between her legs, and she knew the scent of her pheromones would entrance the young woman as they did all humans. No... this one is half-elven. A thrill of excitement ran through Ellenora, and fresh sweat beaded on her neck. Mixed breeds had a unique savory-sweet blend to their flavor, and made excellent servants once turned. This half-elf could make the perfect companion. But the flickering torch blinded Nora's sensitive eyes, making it difficult to see her opponent in detail. She glimpsed the glinting sword and rested both fine boned hands on the hilt of her own wakizashi. She left the blade hidden in its wooden scabbard however.

"My kind does not walk about the surface by the light of day," Nora said in answer to the youngling's question, "we prefer to spend our waking hours investigating the mysteries of night." The ancient vampyre took a coy step closer, nudity hidden only by carefully arranged hair. Her wrists flexed and hands silver in the moonlight caressed the wakizashi's hilt. "Would you not prefer to lay with me by day, and walk the darkness with me by night?" Nora pointed her leather-wrapped hilt at the torch as it guttered in a sudden breath of wind. "Join me in Njal's eternal embrace and you will have no need for the fickle flames." Marionettes still on the shelves seemed to dance at the suggestion. "We do not need to fight. There is no need for pain this night." Nora released her weapon and let long slender arms hang at her sides, hands getting lost in endless waves of hair. "Embrace me as a sister."

Overhead a bat winged across the moon's face, snagging an insect in midair.

[Ashla]

OOC: After being extremely tired and sluggish I'm finally replying. :P Listening to rock songs to keep me awake... And I may add more detail later.

If anything was certain, this one thing was... This lady disgusted Ashla!

Ashla could tell that she was using for sort of magic on her though as the most horrible feeling came across her.. She was actually attracted to this other woman! Ashla felt sickened but was unable to resist the mysterious power. She dazedly stepped towards her, unable to control herself. Her steps were crooked and out of line. However, she wasn't alone.

~~~

Out of the shadows, Ashla's cat Fireleaf watched her weird behaviors. Seated on top of one of the many wood shelves close by, the cat could sense his mistress was in danger. The cat was not too far away from the woman they faced, so he could easily jump on her. He crouched into position and got ready to pounce. In one random second of major confusion, the feline jumped from its perch and landed strait on the woman's head. In this moment, Ashla had been able to gain her better senses back and quickly stepped away from the new feud.
Meanwhile, what about Fireleaf himself?