Meat, Greet and Blood

[Hysteria]

Talen's feet played a sombre melody as he walked through the stone halls of the Citidal. The tune was one played by hundreds of warriors before him, all matching towards death and re-birth within these stone walls. The youth, a child born onto the streets, was there like so many others. He was there to test himself. This time was a little different though, because he was going to test someone else as well.

Sara Sixblades...

The name sang with sweet assonance. It belonged to the first person that had volunteered to join Talen's team in the Ixian Knights. It was this elf that Talen wanted to test and the youth was a firm believer that in battle one's true self emerged. Rather than meeting her at the castle he had sent her a message to come to the Citadel. Talen stopped abruptly in front of a large wooden door. The number engraved, 241, signified that this was the room that he had been given. The youth pushed opened the door and stepped through.

Soft rain danced across the green grass of the clearing while a gentle warming hand of the sun found its way through the clouds. The grass was ringed with trees and Talen moved with an easy stride to the edge of the clearing. As he walked he pulled back his cloak and let it slide down his arms. His attire was simple, a black vest, pants and shoes. The boy dropped his cloak at the base of a tree and swivelled to lean against the trunk. His face was easy as he let the odd rain drop fall through the leaves of the tree above and splash against his pale skin. The boy loved the rain, he had asked for it especially.

[Petoux]

Sara sighed and entered the forest, feeling like she was floating a few inches off the ground. Being an elf had its advantages. The first was her appearance. A flawless complexion, deep blue eyes, and waist long maroon hair. Only the gods and goddesses could compare with the elves in beauty. Add a white dress made out of the finest fabric that flowed nearly to the ground and you had one beautiful lady. The second advantage was how she moved, swifter than the average human, even the fastest one.

But that was neither here nor there, and at the moment, she was getting lost in the forest. The forest was too thick for her to navigate through, and the first sun was already being thwarted by the rainfall as she noticed what seemed to be a boy, alone and mysterious.

Talk about suspicious.


“My name is Sara SixBlades, High Elf. Show yourself properly or you will be considered a bandit and subject to judgment. It's not everyday you see a boy alone in the forest without good reason other than to steal.”

Sara spoke with the authority that came with her race. She knew the laws against bandits and could enforce them fairly well despite her fragile appearance.

[Hysteria]

The waking dream ended with Sara's words and Talen lowered his head. The elf was beauty itself; personified, dressed and paraded around to make others feel insecure. Talen smiled at her. His blue eyes flashed with mischievous glee as he straightened up and pushed himself from the trunk. He reached into his belt and pulled out his sheathed Wakizashi and dropped the sword onto his cloak but left his Katana. With his eyes locked on Sara he reached behind him and pulled a white mask off his belt and held it up.

“I could be a bandit. I do have a mask. Maybe I'm a wolf on the prowl searching for small elves?” Chilled Talen.

The youth lifted his free hand to his face and held an inch away. Darkness spread out and enveloped his face and shoulders. With a flourish he pulled his hand away as the darkness took the form of a pure black wolf's head. The bared teeth and raised hackles dripped with saliva as its eyes stared at the elf. Talen's hand waved in front of his face again and it was gone. A cruel smile spread across his face as he lifted his other hand and place the mask on. Like always he felt the magic of the mask clench onto the energy his body was composed of and allow him more control. Allow him to be faster.

“Oh little elf, will you play with me? This forest is ever so lonely.”

Talen shot forwards, twisting as his legs carried him across the ground towards Sara. His hand grasp his blade's handle and whipped it out. With each step Talen felt the soft wet grass below his feet and the rain on his skin. Most of all the youth could feel the ecstasy of battle rise within him as he lurched to the side and slashed at the elf.

[Petoux]

Why do people persist into rushing into battle without observing your opponent more closely before you go in "guns blazing?"

Sara sighed as the simple boy started to rush at her, something she actually expected from many many battles. Bow ready, she noticed a pair of trees that were pretty close in proximity to her and the boy as it had already accumulated quite a bit of rain already.

Perfect.

She aimed at one of the trees and fired the arrow as it embedded itself into the center of the tree, but that wasn't the true intent.

Freeze.

As if on command, her enchanted arrow fired from her bow had glowed a bright bluish color as it started to turn into solid ice. The ice encased the arrow and all the droplets in-between the two trees targeted making a temporary ice wall in front of her. The boys slash hit solid ice as it started to crack from the heavy blow. The ice was still intact, but one more strike (even a tiny one) and it would burst into ice shards. Sara didn't have much time.

With another arrow ready once more, she began to speak quickly.

"Perhaps you should fully understand who you are up against before you willy nilly try to attack someone that has already suspected you to be trouble, and on top of that is caring an enchanted weapon, wouldn't you think so? Now who are you! Otherwise it won't be the tree I'll be aiming for this time boy!"

Saras' enchanted bow capable of bestowing fire and ice type magic:

[Hysteria]

Ice and steel met in a crack of fine ice dust. The snowy particles floated through the air and landed softly across Talen's skin in hundreds of tiny ice kisses. The youth withdrew his sword from the icy wall and lowered it slowly. The elf's words fell on deaf ears as the boy moved his sword to his other hand and held his right up towards the wall. Dark energy cascaded towards a centre point in a swirling vortex. The youth worked almost instinctively to separate the energies as they gathered and kept the most volatile. The vortex twisted into itself leaving the pulsating mass hovering just in front of Talen's hand. The darkness spewed forth in a jet of dark liquid. Talen flicked his wrist as the darkness streamed forth and activate dthe device wrapped around his wrist. The bracer of sort shot out a single spark that entered the stream of liquid causing it to burst into flames.

The black liquid struck the wall and hissed as fire met ice with steamy results. A cloud of steam entered the air as a large hole was melted through the wall. Talen lifted the jet of burning liquid, shooting it wildly into the air through the steam, hoping that if he got lucky some might hit the elf. The could of steam that rose up from the impact obscured the sight of both parties and Talen quickly continued his plan.

The youth placed his hand against his chest and pulled it outwards. As he did he ripped a layer of energy off himself, creating a perfect shadow copy, except that it was completely black. The shadow illusion charged through the obscuring cloud directly towards the elf, while Talen followed after, but behind and to the right of the clone. The shadow clone had no physical presence and offered no threat to Sara, but was instead a distraction. The first possible target for her bow to let Talen get close.

[Petoux]

She didn't have much time as her ice wall began to crack under the strength of the sword, for the boy did not listen to her. She could of struck the boy with an arrow if she wanted yes, but by the time she did and readied another arrow, or for the fact of the matter changed weapons, he could of easily rushed her since they were so close. It was time for plan B.

The ice turned to steam from the boys array of magical aspects as she returned her bow back on her back as she readied her sword one handed anticipating an attack based on his reactions. Her other hand was free to prepare for anything unexpected.

To make matters worse a shadow copy of the boy appeared easily distinguished from the true threat, yet a nuisance none the less. The shadow charged first as Sara easily blocked the blow since she was more than ready, yet the true target (Talen btw) was still "at large." She pushed herself away from the shadow and kicked the dark being into the forest to give her a few more seconds of time. The boy came in closer as she threw one of her daggers with her free hand at him turning in a complete circle quickly after doing so. As she was about to turn to the same spot she started, her sword was at a high angle as it was aiming for the boys shoulder as it came down at a 45 degree angle. If it struck the way she wanted, it would penetrate his shoulder and go all the way down to his opposing thigh.

"Who are you?"

She demanded as she struck hoping to hit something fatal.

[Hysteria]

Wet thuds sounded as the little shadow warrior's feet pounded across the grass. His eyes were locked on his target, the blue orbs never moving from his attractive opponent. As Sara twisted and threw her knife, Talen followed every movement. The youth dug his feet into the ground just in front of him and pushed to the side. His momentum shifted to the right and the blade flew through the air beside him.

The youth didn't falter in his advance and shifted forwards once more. He reached Sara as a wave of triumph washed over the normally stoic youth. He lifted his own sword up to his shoulder and caught the elf's attack easily. Holding his blade still he looked directly into the elf's eyes. His gaze only broken by the occasional rain drop exploding against his mask.

“I am the Wolf. You are Little Red Riding Hood. Won't you let me taste your flesh?”

Talen forced his words to be calm despite the quick burst of activity. He so far was not impressed by the elf. She had tried, but lacked the resourcefulness he prided within himself and within his team in the Ixian Knights.

A vortex of shadows appeared in front of Talen's masked face. The shadows rapidly swirled inwards and then exploded the black liquid outwards at Sara's face. This time though, the youth had picked a different mix of energies, creating an extremely sticky and non-flammable substance that he intended to blind the elf. If she couldn't land a hit against the child warrior, Talen would have to re-consider her inclusion into the Ixian Knights.

[Petoux]

Sorry for the delay. One of my cats chew threw the phone cord, thus loosing internet connection since it couldn't communicate with the modem. Had to wait 'till today to get it back.

Also, FYI:

From Feb 11th to Feb 18th I will be on vacation in Florida and therefore will not be posting during that time period. Thank you.

The black ooze succeeded in blinding Sara since she was so close to the substance. Although temporarily blind, she could still hear perfectly fine, even more so than the average human. She used the sounds and scents to her advantage as, unexpectedly, she actually began smiling as she put her available hand by her side and took her other dagger out.

Without hesitation, she threw it in the direction he knew the boy was. Her other hand holding the sword clanged off the opposing blade as she held it defensively towards her chest still holding it at an angle.

"Just because I can't see you, doesn't mean you have won."

Sorry I had to cut this post short, I didn't have much time and have to get ready for the trip along with some other things like my wifes' grandpa passing

[Hysteria]

Kid's got guts.

Talen's calm eyes watched as the girl backed away. Despite the youth temporarily taking her sight, she continued to fight without a pause. Talen was somewhat pleased to see that she didn't lose her head during a fight. His momentary approval was washed to the side as she drew the daggers. Even if the fight was an initiation the youth didn't want to feel the bitter taste of defeat.

With his enhanced speed Talen brought his sword around and collected the dagger mid-air in a ring of metal on metal. The blade struck the ground and tumbled across the grass as the youth moved his sword back into a defensive position in front of him. His first instinct was to charge forwards again, but he quashed the thought quickly. With his prey blinded, the boy was presented with a unique opportunity. His free hand lifted into the air. Amid his strained fingers darkness ebbed from his palm into a floating ball. The youth forced the darkness to grow larger, forming into a black flower. Talen lowered his hand and left the black flora hovering in the air as it started to bloom. He slowly stepped to the side as he began to walk around the elf and away from his burgeoning shadow attack. Never letting the girl fall from his sight he moved with careful purpose.

“Little girl. You are not doing very well are you? For all you're proud talk, your prose of strength and warning you are here, blind and powerless. If you dropped to your knees and begged for mercy I would consider it.”

Talen watched her closely as he goaded her into a mistake. The youth felt a tinge down his cold arms as he felt a slight tinge of regret in having it rain.

[Petoux]

The sounds of the boys voice, his spells, and the sound of his movements is all she needed for her strike. She decided to keep calm and not speak unless she deemed it absolutely necessary. She needed to have the sounds to use for her advantage, not a hindrance, she had to make sure she had to get what she planned next perfectly executed.

She counted the steps he took to calculate the distance from her, and from what direction ... she could hear the faint buzzing like noise of his mystery spell, although faint if not non-audible to an average humans' ear, she could hear it crystal clear which gave the boys position away way to easily.

Will you expect the unexpected?

...

Flames that burn ... Fire!

The bow and arrow she temporarily dropped was still near her and she was standing in front of it so Sara knew he could not see the arrow head start to glow red not with her in the way. She picked up her enchanted bow and unleashed a fire arrow without hesitation at the boys' location basing it off of the sounds of his feet and of his spell, she judged the arrow was heading somewhere near his shoulder blade and where his spell lay dormant. Either it would hit the spell and force him to drop it / cast it burning his hand in the process, or hit him in the shoulder ... either way, assuming it worked, her plan would have worked. It didn't stop there though, she still had time to rush in towards her opponent, bow in hand this time, and gave a mighty overhead swing to where she new the boy was.

On another positive note, she could feel the rain gradually take away the ooze on her face as she was slowly regaining her sight, and at the perfect time too.