Frostfite

Quote:

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Closed to Fenn.

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~~~

Felicity likes to fight. That was why she was in the Citadel. To fight. This would be a fun one. . .

Stepping into the darkness of the next arena, the redhead was alone against the pitch black scenery. Dark orange hair pulled back in a ponytail, her footplates clanged against her leather boots. Brown pants, dark green shirt, and ebony magim leather jacket giving her a rugged yet youthful look, her peridot eyes opened. Pulling her elkan round shield and delyn sword out and equipping them thoroughly, she did not realize that the setting around her was already shifting. First to blurred shapes, then grayscale, then full blown color; her surroundings were being painted like a canvas of scenery.

The feeling of a dot of cold brushed against her forehead. Releasing a childlike gasp, the teen looked up to a cloud coated sky. It was snowing. Looking out, she surveyed a snow coated clearing in the smack middle of an evergreen forest. It was kind of reminiscent of her old haunts in Eiskalt. However, this snow was lower than the seas of powdered, crystallized waters that covered the great mountains there. Here, no mountains could be seen in the background either. There were not many types of plants there. The fresh, rich smelling evergreens surrounding the clearing were strict pines. The scent of sticky sap and crisp needles made the Citadel feel only too real again. As did the nipping breeze and the many snowflakes topping her head like confetti. Already, the plummeting temperatures were causing her to shiver. In the chill, the girl scuffled the snow at her feet as she briefly jogged in place. Hopefully, her opponent would come to help raise her internal temperatures in a duel as heated as these blasted winds were cold.

Oof!

Ass-first, Fenn fell through his portal and landed in ankle-deep snow.

The boy rubbed his buggy green eyes and swept his gaze over the endless forest he had been cast into. His breath made little dragon-puffs of fog in the air, but the chill was nothing to him; the layer of sparkly frost dappling his bare skin and sage green cloak was attestment enough to that. Fenn grinned. Another winter arena? He picked up a pine needle and sniffed it. With trees too! Those were his favorite; those were the ones where he was most in his element, those... pine trees just smelled really nice. Fenn brushed crunchy snow off his butt and hopped a bit closer to one to poke at the slurpy, resin-y stap oozing out of tree's dark bark. Soon as his frigid little fingers touched it, it completely crystallized over. Oops. Licking it, just to see what it tasted like, was a very tempting thought. He leaned in as if to…

No! The little fae stumbled a few steps back and glanced around suspiciously, reminding himself of where he was. The Citadel was not a place to screw around!

Practice, practice, practice…

Fighting was a lot like picking pockets, Fenn was learning. It was risky, but the only way you were going to get better was by taking the plunge. Each visit to Radasanth inevitably became a visit to the Citadel too. The little fae had fought a handful of battles in the past year, and he had yet to win a single one. Thinking about it made him wince a little. Still, it was important to figure out how to fight, and Citadel battles were a relatively risk-free (if painful) way to learn. His world seemed to get a bit more treacherous each passing month; the dark iron-burn scars cuffing his wrists and ankles were a good reminder of that. He knew he’d puzzle battling out in due time. The mistake of cockiness was already working its slow way out of his system…

Crunch.

Fenn’s sharp ears swiveled towards the sound. He glanced over his shoulder, wondering who he was fighting. He’d find out in short order. Taking the lowest branch of the nearest pine tree, rattling the needles in a way that made him cringe, Fenn hoisted himself up for a better look.

As the blistering world of frost surrounded her, Felicity looked down to her already soaked sollerets. No matter. She already scaled one of the tallest mountains in all of Althanas before. She had dealt with worse.

It was here that she caught the sound of trees shaking, like an animal was stalking from the forest. Peridot eyes widened. Immediately stepping in the direction of the noise, she slipped into a defensive guard. Slipping into the wild boar stance, her left foot slipped in front through the snow. Shield in front of her, her sword was at hip level at her side.

For the suspense, in the pine trees she saw a small, hooded fellow. Confusion crossed her eyes, her head tilted. Am I finally meeting a hobbit?

As the little fellow peered in through the trees, Felicity cautiously walked towards him. Her footsteps made the snow beneath crunch as she approached. It seemed like the snowfall was getting heavier, as she still could not see the lad completely. Even while she squinted, she attempted to smile from the ten feet radius between them. "Hi, I'm Felicity!"

Hardly the call of a warrior. A young teen, Felicity's peppy tone was slurred, the latter word coming off as Fewicity. It was a lisp she tried to control - although it took concentration to speak normally. It was a concentration she could not currently expend. Your opponent could be anyone, anything. Your opponent could be a monster, a saint, a loner, a trickster… Felicity would be civilized to them regardless, but you never knew…

As the snow fell, the breeze so cold it smelled cold, Felicity smiled with a sweet but still guarded expression. Waiting for the hobbit-like creature to make his move, she kept a distance from the individual as he peaked through the evergreens. She knew very well not to underestimate anybody - so many times did people underestimate her. She also knew to be kind to everybody - as nobody was ever kind to her.

The first thought that struck Fenn as he peered down through the fir needles at “Fewicity” was that damn, maybe the monks had finally matched him up with someone equally as pathetic. He flipped wispy blonde bangs out of his eyes, his expression scrunched up in pondering. Maybe his win-loss record was giving them a hint. Looking up at him was this adorable armored redheaded girl, at least a decade younger than he was. How old was he again? Thirty? Maybe thirty-five by now. Yes, he decided, thirty-five.

The girl was still staring at him with those expectant green eyes. He felt almost bad about the fact that he was going to have to hurt her.

Fenn gave a shy wave back and tapped the tree trunk next to him. A dapple of frost spread across the rough bark, and he swiped his finger through it a few times. NAME IS FENN, he wrote rapidly, tilting his head curiously at her. HI. WE FIGHT. I WIN.

…was she literate? He hoped so. Something about her chipperness made him doubt, though.

Just as quickly as he gave her his name, he scrambled up into the higher branches. He wanted to make certain that he was out of reach. Fluffy snowflakes started falling around Fenn’s tree as he found a sturdy branch to perch on; frost licked up his fingers, his icy affinity readying itself for some real action. A crystalline clod of ice floated above his hand as he considered his opponent below.

Fenn took aim.

Words of frost spread across the bark of the dark pine. As she read them, the girl scoffed aloud. Was he so sure about being the victor? Her face of amusement slowly faded though; a look of serious annoyance spread across her facial features. As her sword was subconsciously lowered, the thick needled tree shook as a thought crossed her mind.

"So first it was Ashla, Rehtul Orlouge, now this Fenn? How many ice users will I-"

She noticed how although the snow was falling steadily around her, the tree was being coated. Was it for cover?

Snapping back into battle mode in a heartbeat, she immediately lowered herself to her knees. The sound of snow crunched beneath her feet, her pants were now wet and legs bitterly cold. No matter. Using her wooden shield to cover her entire front side, she kept her sword close.

She did not know what to expect from this hobbit like creature.

Only moments after she went on the defensive, it hit her. - No, it hit her shield. Now, as sturdy and physically powerful as the half neanderthal was, the force of what felt like a massive blunt hunk of metal slamming against her shield caused her to experience a shock back. Green eyes widened in the impact; she gasped. As the fluffy flakes of snow continued to fall around them from the grey sky, Felicity slowly raised her head from the shield. Looking down to the powder white, she saw. . . was that a giant ice chunk?

Raising an eyebrow, she pulled the shield into a defensive posture as she stood up. Her lower legs were numb from the snow. While she did shake, she maintained her position. Why did he stay in the trees? Would he come out and fight?

Steadily, she started to step back. Making footprints in the snow, she tried to lure the small ice mage out from his hiding tree. "Why are you up there, Fenn?" A smirk crossed the innocently playful girl's face, "Why don't you come down and fight me?"

The swath of snow temporarily abated. Fenn poked his head out of the branches to stare down at this lippy human-girl, scowling puffy-cheeked all the while. Why, of course he’s like to hop down and fight her head-on, like a civilized creature. That was so certain to go better than the other times he had gotten too close to his opponent. What usually happened when he did that? Oh, right -- they squashed him like an oozy black-blooded bug, as easily as one would tip over an ink jar. He could just imagine her crushing him with the weight of that shield of hers alone.

Yeah, he wasn’t quite that stupid. The boy flipped his middle finger out at Felicity. No thank you!

If she wanted him on the ground in the open, she was going to have to figure out how to do that herself. Snow fell readily around Fenn’s tree again. After diving back among the rattling fir-needles, the tiny fae flicked his hands outward. Two new snowball-sized shards of ice expanded into existence.

Fenn’s glassy irises flicked down to his wrists. Ever since… that, his magic had gotten a bit weird. It leapt more eagerly to his command, responding to his will with a wickedness that surprised him at times. The snow? Next time Banrion visited his dreams, he was going to ask about that. The ice chunks hovering over his palms were more condensed than they had been in the past, almost, but not quite iron-hard.

Still wasn't enough to take down most opponents though.

Through the flurries and branches, he could see Ashla was backing away cautiously, shield held up in a defensive position. Fenn glanced up into the trees over her. Maybe he could knock a heavy branch on her head..?

Seemed worth a shot.

Oh, did he- oh no, he did not!

That middle finger was both immature (yes, even for her) and offensive. The crude usage of foul body language heavily contradicted her moral code of compassion and light. He just used it on her too! Her cheeks grew redder than the cold already had. A growl was emitted from the bowels of her throat. Her feet shifted, she heavily slammed her foot into the soft snow. As the snow rather dramatically was flung up, probably going even further than she kicked it to avoid her rage, Felicity pulled her sword up into the High Guard.

"Alright, you little gremlin!"

Returning her shield to her front, the hothead squeezed her armaments' handles as she stalked towards the trees. She forgot to be light on her feet. Severely annoyed that Fenn was not giving her a fair fight, her footsteps were boisterous and dug into the ground. Her footprints were so dug into the ground that the dirt of the cool earth was made visible.

As she approached the trees, all caution dropped in her reckless nature, she did not realize that this little troll was just about ready for her.

A large branch promptly fell from the tree she was under, hitting her right on the noggin!

A loud 'ow' was shouted as she lost balance. All the white snow started to seem to bounce everywhere. Vision blurred, the amount of trees in the forest suddenly multiplied by ten. Dropping her stance as she briefly went dizzy, the girl spread her feet apart to maintain balance. Durable and hard to kill, it took only several moments for her to recover, shake the stars out of her head, and slip back into a normal stance.

As pain mildly remained on the top of her skull, she closed her eyes and politely cleared her throat.

"I'M GOING TO TURN YOU INTO A PUPPET! YOU HEAR ME!?! A puppet!!!"

Soundless giggles wracked the Fae. He didn’t know what “turn you into a puppet” indicated for his immediate future, but he did know that the red-flushed snarl on Felicity’s face was hilarious! Or, at least, it was hilarious given that he had enough distance between himself and that rage -- which he did. He had a whole fir of distance, and then some. Fenn’s nose twitched smugly as he watched the girl yell. Gremlin. Imp. Puck. Hob. These monikers were something he was becoming fond of. If someone thought of him in such vitriolic terms, then it meant he had a little bit of power in their eyes.

Problem was, he… he really did not have much power, did he? His eyes flicked between the angered warrior-teen and the fallen branch; it hadn’t exactly slowed her down. Either he was going to have to find a way to hit harder, or he was going to have to dish out a very slow death.

Twitch.

Patience was not his virtue. That, and… a death of a thousand cuts just seemed excessively cruel. He wasn’t entirely heartless. This adorable, blundering idiot yelling at him almost had his sympathy. But, what on Althanas would be any faster? Fenn swung down to hang upside-down from his branch, by the crook of his knees. There was a thoughtful expression on his face.

He wondered if he could startle her to death. Just make her keel over from sudden heart attack... A cheeky grin spread across the young fae’s face.

A chilly wind swirled around Fenn. Snowflakes shrouded him in a thick cloak, before dispersing in a hasty burst. Suddenly, there was the illusion of a second Felicity in his place, hanging upside-down to stare down at the first. Fenn-Felicity shot actual-Felicity a raspberry. Even if it was a stupid frivolous idea with no chance of working, it was entertaining enough to make him at least try it out; he wanted to see her rage a little more. That, and he was apparently still safe in his tree. Fenn loved it when his actions had no immediate consequences. Nyeh!

Burning.

Rage boiled within the hot head's chest. A wildfire took place inside. Meanwhile, in the outside world of frost, the frost fae continued his little "make the redhead angry" fest.

The image of another Felicity hung from her legs appeared. Powdered snow fell from the shaking branch. In the cold, Felicity simply stood dumbfounded for a moment. Her face was blank and confused. This illusionist was just not letting up. As her thoughts came back to her, the girl glared, then shouted.

"What is this!?! A game to you?!? Come and fight like a man!"

As she tightened the grip on her sword, Felicity growled. This little punk was making her rather impatient. Was he trying to sentence himself to a stabby stab stab death at her hands? The half neanderthal's cheeks were more red of rage than the cold. It was cheeky, aloof ice against explosive, dumb fire. While she was certainly intelligent and shrewd, being an alchemist and all, Felicity's anger often times took over her. It was direly unhealthy... Caution was thrown into the wind, replaced with that old familiar rage. In the confined mazes of conifer trees, Felicity bolted forth.

As she kicked up crystallized water behind her, Rhyolite pulled her sword back. Taking on the humorously named "wrath" guard, she aimed a slash at her mocking reflection.

"Cut it out, you crummy little troll!"

Name of thread: Frostfite
Judgement Type: Basic (was No Judgement)

Rewards:

Flamebird receives:
610 EXP
65 Gold

Fenn Wenn receives:
590 EXP
55 Gold



-- All rewards have been added.