A Return to The Citadel [Archive]

Witchblade

09-06-06, 09:30 PM

(Open through here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=35780#post35780))

Witchblade sighed as she walked through the doors of The Citadel. She couldn’t remember the last time she was here. She knew she’d come before, like most fighters to test her strength but that had been so many years ago she couldn’t even recall who she’d fought or even the outcome of the battle. Memories were pushed aside to make way for the present and locked into the recesses of her mind. It wasn’t important anyway, nothing that could be forgotten so easily could be important and yet…she eventually forgot everything. Did that yet mean that there really wasn’t anything important or was it just in her mind that nothing really mattered in the end? She didn’t know she didn’t care. She wasn’t here to think about the ways in which her sick and twisted little brain worked, she was here to practice her fighting skills.

The Cell had taught her one thing, that she was rusty. Sure she’d fought long and hard, but had not been standing at the conclusion of either Cell match. The final round, well that had been her own choice, she’d performed a move she knew would knock her unconscious, but the first. If she hadn’t been poisoned by that human Zerith the outcome might have been much different. Then again, she heard that at the end of that Cell match not a single person in her cage had been left standing so she really didn’t feel too bad about it. She still wished for things to have gone differently and she wondered about what might have happened if she changed the slightest thing in her strategy or been just a little faster. You can’t always have your way though. But you could train your ass off so that next time things will go better.

“Looking for a room?”

The halfling stopped and turned around, behind her a monk dressed in the usual brown robes was looking quisitively up at her.

“Yeah, preferably one with a forest setting…”

She might as well put herself at an advantage.

The monk nodded his head and began leading her down the stone hallways. Other fighters were preparing themselves for battle, some were even being taken out of rooms unconscious or ‘dead’ until the monks could revive them. Oh the wonders of The Citadel, you could die…but not really. Just kind of made you all warm and tingly inside knowing the death breathing down your neck wasn’t real death, but then again in the heat of the moment you don’t usually think about things like that. It’s a battle and in your mind it’s real and technically it is. It just takes a little bit of the fun out of it knowing you’ll be revived afterwards if you died. Whatever happened to the old ways of losing a battle and dying for good? Then again, that still happens all the time around Althanas.

After a few minutes of weaving in out of random people lining halls, the monk finally led the halfling to one particular door.

“No one’s in there yet, but I’m sure someone will join you momentarily.”

Witch nodded her head and took off her rucksack. She didn’t need it for a fight and the sleeping bundle inside was of no use to her here. He was better off dreaming the day away then watching her battle. After the rucksack went the cloak, revealing the clothes and body and the oddities of herself she tried to hide. Strange purple markings on each cheek, the fact that her mouth was sown shut, red eyes, pale skin. Yeah, she tended to stand out a little, even in a crowd. The monk glanced up at her but showed neither surprise nor care, not that she expected him to. He probably saw a lot here and she was no different than any other killing machine that walked through that door. Sometimes she wondered whether or not the monks would just love not to revive some of the people that died within these walls. It would probably spare the lives of others, in her case anyway.

Making sure she was ready, the halfling checked over her weapons. Sais were strapped to her boots and legs, throwing knives around her hips, daggers in the small of her back and staff collapsed at her waist. Armguards were laced tightly and she had her plated boots on so everything seemed fine. So nodding her head to the monk, Witch opened the door and stepped into her arena. It looked exactly like Concordia, but then again, all forests tended to look the same. Only to spice things up a bit, the monk had given her a forest during the fall. All the leaves on the trees were turning to different shades of orange, yellow, red and even brown. The forest looked like a tapestry any painter would love to get their hands on and every time the wind blew through it took some leaves with it. The perfect setting for a battle, there was even a small field where they could fight out in the open.

Not knowing how long it would take her opponent to get here, Witch walked through the field, running her hands along the tops of the grass, which tickled her palm. The glass was up to her waist and would be interesting to fight in. Climbing one of the trees at the edge of the field, Witch leaned against the trunk and propped a leg on the branch in front of her. From here she’d be able to see her opponent enter and assess him…or her before they even got a chance to see whom they were battling. It might also give her the chance for a surprise attack to see just how much of challenge the fight truly may be.

Artifex Felicis

09-07-06, 08:13 PM

There was almost always something dramatic about entering the Citadel with some sort of goal in mind. The large doors entering, the surprisingly clean walls and floors, the steps. There was just something about the place that made it so worthy of the legend it held. Though, anyone that really bothered to stay on the steps by the door was likely to get shoved inside or away from the building by those who wanted to fight.

Leon was among those that enjoyed the Citadel for it's ingenuity. Probably hundreds, if not thousands, of skilled wizards and healers ran the great landmark. Not that the grandmaster had enough patience to learn how to re-grow a man's limb without a scar, he still held a great amount of respect for those that did do so. The cat boy once heard a rumor that the entire Citadel was merely a temple to some god of war, and it was from him that the monks gained their powers. Whether it was true or not had no effect however on simply how many people went to the arena to fight without fear of death.

Though, there was also the somewhat shadier side of it as well, which was why the cat boy was there on the somewhat cloudy day. There was quite a lot of money to be made gambling on fights, since many were watched by men too weak or cowardly to do it themselves. In the cat boy's own case, he's be able to get a few meals after beating the crap out of some wet-behind-the-ears kid with a rusty iron dagger. If he was lucky, something that he hadn't been of late he win the bet so he could eat for a bit.

With a pickpocket stealing most of the money he had for his visit in Corone, there wasn't many other options from his chosen endeavor. Most of which would have involved swallowing quite a bit more pride than a lost fight, as well as other things best not described. Still, he at the very least hoped the man he was gambling with actually paid up. For all he knew, the balding man may already owe a considerable amount of money to other people Leon waved over a monk, trying to find one that wasn't busy. Most of the monks were powerful looking men, though here and there an oddity stuck out like a sore thumb. A small man here, a chubby one there, not that it mattered. Leon didn't know of a monk who couldn't put up a good fight if pressed.

"Got a room," he asked quickly, smiling perhaps a it too widely. Almost gleaming pointed teeth were revealed, though if the monk was put off he didn't show it. There was probably many more stranger things than the cat boy over time. For all that mattered he could be considered normal here.

"Sure," the big man said in a lazy drawl as he nodded. Leon tried to place the accent, giving up after he was waved to follow the monk to one of the doors. He didn't try to figure out where they were going. The Citadel had way too many doors as it was and in his opinion spent way too much time weaving in and out to find one. Combined with having to get by the occasional stretcher or fighter following a different monk it was almost mind numbing.

"Here we go," the monk exclaimed, opening one of the many doors that looked nearly identical to one another. How so many rooms, and in such different variety, exited under the same roof was a testament to the Monk's power. Leon snapped the big man with a sharp salute, grinning as he stepped through. His yarn balls were left behind in a safe place where he was saying the night, assuming he won his gambling bet. If not, then the night would be long sleeping outside in the city. It was something he did his best to avoid, at least in the countryside there were trees to sleep under.

His smile widened as he looked around the field where blood would soon be spilt and a person killed. Tall, golden grass waved lazily with a gentle breeze. The trees were a cornucopia of color, greater than the masterpiece of any artiest. A few clouds twirled by across an azure sky. The setting was almost too perfect for there to be a killing in it, not that Leon truly minded. The Citadel was the place of mulligan. One false step on the battle field and you lose than far greater than pride like in the Citadel.

He took out his jacket, revealing his body. He didn't have any of his normal weapons this time. His hands worked quickly, undoing the small knot that kept a small bell around his neck. Both went into a small pile, by the, now vanished until the end of the battle, door he had just entered through. No one had shown themselves yet, though in his gut he knew someone was here. He stayed put, simply trying to find someone before running around and setting up his own ambush.

Witchblade

09-08-06, 08:34 AM

Patience was a thing Witch learned long ago, she had it in overflowing abundance, however she didn’t really need to use it in this case. Perhaps a half hour maybe a little more and her opponent was stepping through the now disappearing door and into the battle arena. She felt his presence before she saw him, turning her head and watching the hu—no wait, that wasn’t a human. The energy didn’t feel the same as a human. Looking closer the halfling could see ears; animal ears protruding from the top of the creature’s head and fur, the thing had fur. Sniffing the air, Witch smelled—of all things—cat. She was battling a cat creature, what half human half cat or something? She really shouldn’t be too surprised, she’d met stranger races on Althanas and had seen stranger things, she just never expected the fates that governed this world to create a race of half feline half human. It was just a little on the weird side. What do you even have to have sex with in order to create something like that? Shoving that train of thought to the back of her mind because she really didn’t want to go there, Witch observed her opponent from her safe hiding place.

She watched him take off his jacket and a bell from around his neck.

“You have got to be kidding me…a bell? What is he, someone’s pet?”

Pet he may be, she didn’t really care as long as he could put up a good fight. She needed to train, she needed to hone those rusty battle skills that had fallen into disuse over a year period where she hadn’t done much of anything but hide out in Concordia. He wasn’t moving though and taking a quick peek into his head she found why. Because he knew there was someone in here he just didn’t know where she was. You’d think someone bred with a cat would have a good sense of smell and be able to sniff her out. Apparently not. But sitting around in this tree was not going to help her. She wasn’t battling a stupid whelp that was going to walk right under her. But that at least showed her he had some experience fighting she just began to wonder how strong he really was.

Wrapping her legs around the branch the halfling swung down so she was suspended upside down. Then she grabbed the branch below her, swung down from there and dropped about a good ten feet to the ground. She landed softly in a crouched position in the grass. If she stayed like this there was always a good chance the feline hadn’t even seen her and he couldn’t see her right now considering how tall this grass was. But what was the fun in that? Slowly she stood up, pulling the long strands of hair back away from her face that the wind was blowing about.

“So you’re my opponent…interesting.” She spoke telepathically to him, the sewing job on her mouth preventing her from talking out loud unless she really wanted to feel some pain, which she didn’t. Not yet anyway.

The feline didn’t appear to have any weapons on him, but looks were not everything. He might be a hand-to-hand fighter, or he could have some more natural weapons like her claws. He was after all a cat, just because she couldn’t see anything sharp and shiny on him didn’t mean it wasn’t there. With a slight smirk playing across her lips, Witch began to slowly move closer to her newfound enemy, assessing him as she went. He looked like he could be hiding some muscle under those clothes but she wasn’t sure. He had an air about him that said he knew what he was doing, experience in the eyes. He wasn’t new to The Citadel; he’d graced these walls before.

The halfling stopped about seven feet from him, “First move is yours…” No pleasantries from her. No ‘hi, how are ya? My name’s Witchblade.’ She didn’t come here for that, she came here for a fight and she was going to get one by the time that door reopened to claim whoever’s body was lying dead in the grass or she would be one very disappointed vampire. First move was his, it would give her an idea as to what she was up against and she just plain hated making the first move.

Artifex Felicis

09-09-06, 08:27 PM

It was easy enough to say that the cat boy didn't plan on his opponent showing herself before the opportunity moment for her. His surprise was easy to read on his face, though part of that was as much as actually fighting someone who had some sense of honor. That, or she was a complete idiot. There was a gut feeling that she was the former however. The weapons he saw on her body and the way she stood were different than the average guy who fought in the Citadel.

"Crap," the cat boy swore under his breath. Despite some small part of him that wanted a real fight, a true test of skill and filled with blood sweat and tears, he really just wished to have a quick and easy way so he could go back and actually get food. Luck was definitely not going along with him the way he wanted to. "Not freaking again."

It wasn't even the first time that the cat boy had fought a vampire either. Plainly obvious from the way deathly pale skin, odd hair and creepy red eyes still managed to make her look hot, sewn lips shut or not. The first time was bad enough. He still remembered the vampiress, especially details that he sometimes bragged about to friends after a few drinks. Though, the fight ended with a rather large dragon breathing fire and nearly killing both of them in the process. Fun times.

He sighed for a moment, smiling though. She knew what she was doing, and it was always a treat to learn of another great fighter that was near him., and a larger one to see just how he matched up. Leon was of the opinion that he couldn't really see how good he was or where he need to improve unless he fought someone better than him. He still was unsure of how good she was, but he knew she probably wasn't going to shrink away from blows and run when she shouldn't.

"And a good day to you," Leon said in response after a few moments of confusion. He heard a thought in his mind that wasn't his own. Still, he had been through enough strange things to recognize telepathy, though he was somewhat peeved at her lack of manners. He smiled broadly, winking at the girl standing in the tall grass. "I trust you're well?"

He stood for a moment, almost surreal in its serenity. Then he flashed his hand out to the side, snapping his fingers once. A thin coil, quick as a snake lashed out towards his pile, wrapping around and securing a grip on the bell that normally went around his throat. A grunt escaping the cat boy's body, he forcefully swung the whole makeshift contraption at the girl. The bell dinged merrily once before it's journey as the tip of a whip.

His paw let go of the hard yarn after it was on its way, full well knowing that it wouldn't be around for much longer. It wasn't too often that the yarn was created by that trick, but it was always fun for a random moment in battle. Not many people often suspected yarn to be dangerous. Though, most others who use the same type of magic as he did often also use things such as razor wire or something considerably more dangerous than simple yarn. Though, Leon also could get a mile's worth of yarn rather than a couple hundred yards of the razor variety.

He backed away a step or two, then began to quickly make his way towards the forest. She probably didn't have anything that could be used to shoot him in the back as he ran, and he was safe. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was faster than the vampire, but he was worried about her magic. He leapt, claws catching a branch and getting a grip so he could get up. His weapons of choice slid back into his paws as he went through the trees, feet finding safe limb after limb. It would be a fun hunt today.

Witchblade

09-12-06, 08:07 AM

Sensitive hearing came in handy at times, especially if you were ever curious as to what your opponent was mumbling about under his breath. This one did not seem too confident in his abilities against her, not only did his words give it away but it was in his eyes and demeanour as well. It seemed like he’d been looking for an easy fight but had decided with one look at her that she was not the type to go down easily, which was true. If she ever went down it was kicking and screaming the entire way and if she could find a way she’d take any opponent down with her. A smile spread over his face and instead of taking the opportunity as she had offered it to him he began making pleasantry with her that she found extremely annoying. The halfling was not here to chat. Eyes narrowing, she folded her arms under her chest and leaned heavily on one leg as she waited for him to just get on with it. He was stalling, perhaps trying to figure out the best way to attack her, she didn’t know and she didn’t feel like invading his thoughts to find out.

Finally he made a move though. Hand out at the side and that damnable bell dangling from a tight-corded string in his hand. Raising a brow and wondering what he was about to do with it, the halfling got her answer when he threw the thing at her like a whip. Eyes narrowing, Witch easily rolled off to the side avoiding the little dinging bell, which harmlessly thrashed through tall grass impacting on dirt. She hated whips with a passion, they were so annoying but it seemed like he’d only used it as a distraction. Concealed in the grass, Witch watched as the feline ran off towards the forest, jumping into one of the trees and using—were those claws—to dig into the wood and hold himself in place. Smirking, Witch tensed the muscles in her legs, the soles of her boots digging into the dirt creating more traction. From her crouched position she burst off towards the forest, he was going to regret not sticking to the field, the forest was where she shined. She’d spent too many years in Concordia not to know how to use the trees as her advantage.

Reaching the forest, Witch jumped up and grabbed the first thick branch she could reached, then swung herself up into a crouching position. Not surprising for something that was of feline nature the boy seemed to have an easy time jumping from tree branch to tree branch, but so did she. Following after the feline, Witch snapped her fingers and excited the ions around her hands, which burst into blue flames that warmed her flesh, yet did no damage to her. Trying to anticipate which branch he was going to jump to next by the sheer fact of which one looked to be the safest, Witch began to toss fireballs at the feline. The first two missed, embedding in other trees and branches before they even reached him, but she wasn’t deterred. Waiting until she reached a space where there were fewer trees to get between the two of them, Witch through two more at him, one aiming at the branch which would crack, splinter and then hopefully break right off under his weight and the second aimed straight for him.

Artifex Felicis

09-13-06, 05:39 PM

Despite his own appearance and what was generally suspected of his kind, Leon's hearing was considerably sub-par as to what it should have been. It didn't effect him too much most of the time. He could still hear normal sounds and raised yelling, but only if he was concentrating. Most of the time he couldn't tell the difference between a shield blocking sword and the sound of a sword through flesh. Remembering this, the cat boy wasn't surprised in the slightest when he stole a look behind him, seeing the unearthly pale demon following him.

From the way she moved and looked, he began to find it hard that anyone would want to eradicate all of them from the face of the earth. Vampire hunters seemed to come a gold piece a dozen where he went to get his drinks, and he was sure only a handful ever so much as saw one of the creatures stalking him. Still, despite some of the more primal urges within him telling him differently, he knew most of the reasons why they were hunted. One such example was the blood sucking ordeal they went through every once in a while, and another from their lack of a soul. Beyond those two simple facts about them, Leon was as clueless about vampires as he was about the history of Alerar.

The trees felt good under his feet, their rough bark allowing him to actually keep a grip without his claws. The way he moved over the branches was decided mainly by just how fast he could get on the safest possible branch. Once or twice he had nearly stumbled, but it wasn't nearly enough for him to even slow down through his escape. He had originally planned to double back and ambush the girl, but that plan went up in smoke when he saw her following. Most of his other ideas were more wishful thinking than actual plans. He heard two crackles from somewhere behind him as he continued his dash, ignoring just how large the battlefield appeared to be.

A blue light flashed out ahead of him and lit up the dark area for a moment, digging into a tree branch that the boy's paw was about to it. He wasn't high up, but the drop was going to be a dozy none the less. The burned branch snapped under his weight as it hide, dropping as second fireball singed over his head. His tail lashed out quickly, wrapping around the tree limb he was just on and swinging himself to a lower position. The pain was quite a bit more than he had expected. It wasn't often he really used his tail for anything beyond a makeshift pillow. He took a moment to rub the sore muscles that suddenly decided to make themselves known.

He stood, hardly a hair out of place as he looked for the vampire. He saw a flash for a moment, then decided upon a new course of action. Without his yarn, the trees were almost a mysterious place to the cat boy, but he was still faster than the girl, and had a trick or two up his sleeves. He extended his claws again, moving along the lower branches, cutting into the branches and weakening them. Not many of them would fall, but there was always hope. He grinned, hopping up to a taller branch as he did so, keeping watch for his prey.

Witchblade

09-16-06, 10:33 AM

So, the little fur ball had fast reactions and a tail, great. Not only had he not plummeted to the ground below but the second fireball had completely missed him. Luck was not on her side today or maybe she should think about cutting down on the magic where there was so much to get in it’s way here. After all, it’s not like she relied on it much anyway. At least now her opponent had proven the point that he can dodge and he can manoeuvre very well, but could he fight? Face to face and not running for his life just how good of an opponent would he be? She was not going to chase him throughout this entire illusionary forest forever that would not help her fighting skills anymore than running in a circle would. She already knew how to hunt and stalk; she needed an opponent right now, not a mouse.

Continuing her tirade of jumping from branch to branch, the deep groves on the soles of her boots digging into the bark and ripping it right off the branch as she leapt to the next one. She lost sight of her opponent for a few seconds, too many branches, too much foliage. When she finally caught sight of him again he was once again up and running. Changing her direction she went in pursuit of him, picking up her pace. She wanted to catch up with this fur ball. As she hit the next branch her mind had two seconds to process the loud sound of wood snapping before she began to tumble to the forest floor beneath her. On instinct, she gripped at the trunk of the tree. The sensitive skin on her fingers scraping against bark as her fingernails extended slightly and turned as hard as Plynt. They began to dig into the wood leaving deep scars that slowed and then eventually stopped her descent. Grabbing a branch with her other hand to steady herself, Witch let out a deep growl from within her throat. That branch should have supported someone much heavier than her, that little shit must have weakened it. No matter, she never said she absolutely needed the trees; she had other, faster ways of getting around. Oh, he was going to regret that.

Steeling herself, the halfling called on her wings. The sounds of flesh ripping and bones cracking echoed throughout the silent forest as a pair of black wings ripped through Witch’s shoulder blades covered in blue blood. Ignoring the pain she could never get used to, Witch stretched out her wings, each one almost the same size as her once fully spread. Letting go of the tree, she beat her wings until she was in a hovering position then took off in the direction of the fur ball. She’d lost sight of him a little while ago but it was easy to follow his scent. Even while having to dodge tree branches, in this form she was much faster than the feline and it didn’t take her long to catch up to him. Calling out the claws in her other hand, Witch continued to fly at the cat boy. Coming up along side him she made for a quick attack to his legs. One clawed hand aiming for the back of his thigh and the other for his Achilles tendon.

Let’s see the little furrie run on a wounded leg.

Veering off from course prevented her from seeing if her attack went through, but it was either that or fly right into a tree, and frankly she wasn’t that fond of the foliage. It did feel good to have her wings out. The wind against her face and the feeling of freedom that they provided were like nothing else. She got to call on them so little and they were a great asset when fighting, it was disappointing that she had to call upon them so early. She preferred saving them as a trump card, no matter.

Artifex Felicis

09-17-06, 07:57 PM

The sound of the branch snapping was music of the greatest quality to his ears. If the vampire's mouth wasn't sewn together he was almost sure a string of obcinities would be echoing throughout the forest right about now. He grinned widely, following the base of the sound as silently as he could, hoping to see her broken form upon the ground. It probably wouldn't happen, but it wouldn't hurt the grandmaster any. He remained higher up in the trees as she came into his sight, clinging to the side of the tree like a lover.

Slowly, and without a conscious thought going through his head, his mouth watered for a moment, claws extending slowly from his paws. He went to a different branch, every intention of pouncing upon the girl as he clung helpless. He stopped quickly, however, when the vampire did something he did not expect. Two things exploded out of her chest with sounds that made the cat boy shudder. They formed themselves, after a moment or two to form themselves, into wings. By the time she was hovering, Leon was already beginning to make as much distance as he could.

"This is either really good, or horrifically bad for me," he said under his breath, swinging from a thick branch and landing solidly on another. His breath came is quick gasps, holding the thick gnobbly surface of the tree to steady himself. There was something disconcerting about suddenly seeing things explode out of a relatively small girl's back, knowing that she wanted to kill you in the most inhumane way possible.

There was a soft rustle, almost as if it came from far away, but it was more than enough to send Leon on his way. A large, fast black thing came out of the trees without anymore sound. With his last glance he noticed the pointy ends of her hands, making the connection about what she was going to do. He hopped, getting maybe one or two trees away before he felt a light scratch on his thigh, and a considerably deeper one on the end of his tail.

He kept moving, teeth beginning to dig into his lip to stop himself from swearing loudly. He ignored the pain in his tail, as well as the drops of blood that dripped quickly from it. The cut hurt, but it was nothing more than a long, painful scratch along the end of his tail. Leon was merely thankful that the vampire must have misjudged just how thick his legs were under his pants. A bit tighter, and he probably wouldn't have been able to walk.

"Why the fuck does it seem every goddamn person on Althanas has some crappy 'special skill' they can use," he swore, not bothering to muffle his voice much. He was positive the girl could track him now, and with her goddamn wings she was faster than him. He stopped for a moment, staying in a relatively protected position with a few trees growing close together. He searched for a moment, then smiled, gripping a relatively thick, straight branch and pulling hard. The branch snapped off after a moment of grunting and pulling, nearly slipping off of the tree limb he was on as it was ripped from its former home.

Without missing a beat, he sprinted off again, carefully choosing the safest route for him as he did so with stick in hand. He paused ever once in a while, carefully cutting and bending the smaller branches off the stick, making a rudimentary club as he did so. His plan was stopped however, as he came to something he did not expect to see.

He climbed down the tree he was on as quickly as he could, surveying the relatively open field to what looked like a small village a whiles away. He looked behind him, not seeing the feared white of his prey-turned-dangerous. He sucked in a breath, swallowing as he did so. And without some much as a backwards glance, he began to run as quickly as he could towards this new battlefield.

((Just a note that the stick is oak))

Witchblade

09-21-06, 07:45 AM

She didn’t wound him enough. She’d felt it, her claws slashing through flesh but she knew the moment they made contact they didn’t go deep enough, they didn’t rip through flesh, muscle and tendon like she’d hoped, she’d misjudged and because of that the desired effect had no occurred. She had hurt him though, she could smell it, the feline’s blood was in the air and it made it even easier for her to track him now. Blood was such a potent thing and he wouldn’t be able to disguise the scent no matter what he did. Her wings still beating around her, Witch circled back around, avoiding tree after tree and tree branches as she went, some of which she never bothered to and just let them whip against her body. An annoyance more than anything, the leaves kind of tickled and the small branches scratched against sensitive skin leaving small red abrasive marks that quickly disappeared.

The halfling had lost sight of him having to double back like that but she was on his trail and he was running. Her predatory instincts were on a high and though she was enjoying the chase of prey she wanted a fight and this was not a fight. This was her making passes at an enemy that was not fighting back. All he did was run and all that did was make her predatory instincts want to chase him all the more. He was now the wounded animal and she was the hunter and that was not what she’d had intended for this little match. Still, she couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling. The smell of blood was in the air, the wind was against her face and her claws were free for the first time in a while. That light tingling sensation in her fingertips, the urge to thrust them through flesh and rip open whatever she could. It was all there in the forefront of her mind.

Ahead of her the trees began to thin and through the lines in the thick brown and grey trunks she could just make out a field and her quarry heading into that field. So it seemed he was finally going to stop playing cat and mouse in the forest and fight her out in the open. That worked fine, she didn’t need the trees as an advantage against this guy. Bursting out of the tree line, Witch quickly gained speed not having to constantly dodge and weave in between trees. Flying ahead of her quarry she noticed the small village further into the valley but ignored it. Those weren’t real people, that wasn’t a real village and this was not the time to pillage and plunder, she could do that later in a world that wasn’t illusionary when the screams of the dying were real. Flying down to the ground, Witch manoeuvred her body around and touched ground a good ten or so feet in front of the cat boy, between him and the village if that was where he’d truly been heading. She didn’t know.

“As much fun as it is to play this game of cat and mouse I’d prefer it if you fought me like a real warrior and not a scared little boy running for his life.”

She’d thought he’d been an experienced and skilled fighter when he’d first stepped through. He’d had the look of that in his eyes and she wasn’t entirely sure if she first assumption of him was wrong.

Witch noted the club in his hand. He’d probably ripped it off one of the trees. Did he expect to club her to death now? And where were his weapons? Was that stupid ball of yarn the only thing he had? She knew he had claws, she could see them, but he didn’t seem very interested in using them. Claws were melee weapons though, you had to get up close and personal and see the whites in the person’s eyes, maybe he didn’t have the guts for that. After all, his first attack on her had been at a distance.

Watching her opponent, Witch’s wings folded around her shoulders and clasped themselves together, enveloping her like a cloak.

Artifex Felicis

09-25-06, 06:18 PM

He felt the vampire flying over head before she even began to land in front of him. With the wind her quickly moving form brought, his plans to go to the village went as well. It wasn't like they had too much value as it was, she would have probably found someway to get through the houses to fight with some advantage she'd cook up. At this point, after watching the two large wings come out of her back, he wouldn't be surprised if a team of groundhogs came out her bag and dug a ten foot hole for him to fall into.

He dropped down to all fours to stop, all of his paws digging into he soft earth to slow him down. The grass was surprisingly good, and probably would have taken an entire summer to get just right for taking an afternoon nap on. Too bad his hands were tearing it to shreds just to stop. The club managed to stay in his hand as he slowed his mad dash, the only sound his breath coming quickly. He wasn't entirely tired, yet he had already run a bit more than he normally did during a fight. Most of the time he could just move in close and give a quick shot or two to the gut, and that was the extent of it. With this stupid girl, he'd probably have to rip her face off to stop her.

Still, this strange girl was a bit different from all of those normal rowdy idiots that were a part of any successful bar on althanas. For one thing, she either had the single worst honor system or enjoyed wearing black leather and using a whip a bit too much. The grandmaster could handle people preaching religious bull crap during a fight, but it was rather disheartening to hear moans while he was getting hurt. He shuddered slightly, then raised his head, smiling widely. He'd find out or he wouldn't, either would work with him. He just wanted to get a taste of her after all of this.

"You need to get laid," He remarked casually, standing straight despite his protesting back. He didn't like standing straight too terribly much, but there were times when it was important, such as insulting an enemy. He leaned the club against his leg, extending the claw on a single finger before slowly cutting his shirt into two halves which dropped from his body into waiting hands. His scarred form was revealed, but he took no notice of it, instead enjoying the slight breeze as he breathed normally again "Maybe that'll take care of some of your problems. You don't look that bad, a couple of the guys outside of the Silver Pub will take you for a gold piece."

He tossed the stick up into the air, arcing it seemed to fall near the vampire when it finished travelling. Leon went off like a bullet, his ruined shirt splitting in his hands as it unweaved and turned to three relatively short strings as they did so. His feet ate up the ground behind him as he pushed forward, growling as his fore claws extended and pointed hungrily at the girl. His legs tensed, a sharp pain when she had cut him earlier racing through one of them, and he pounced, the strings seeking to grab the girl before she could avoid his reaching claws.

((I feel I have to say it, but Leon is Leon and I am me remember))

Witchblade

09-29-06, 07:52 AM

(( Uhhh… okay? o.O ))

“You need to get laid.”

Laid? Why would I want to lye down at a time like this?

Wow, you know you really can be quite stupid when you want to be. He totally just mocked your ass.

I do not see what you’re talking about. He told me to go lye down.

The sexual innuendo went right over her head, crashed through the window behind her and flew off towards the sky never to return. There were a number of different reasons for this really. One of them being that she was virgin. Another that she couldn’t touch people and then the less important ones of the fact that she never really had any naughty thoughts and she’d never been interested in having any. Sex was the last thing on her mind, in fact, she was pretty sure sex was never on her mind.

No, he told you to go get laid, basically, he thinks some of your problems will be solved with a good fucking.

Fucking? Fucking…wait a minute…what? That’s gross…ew.

…did you just say ‘ew’?

I would rather not think about that disgusting thing humans do…

You really do have issues…more pressing; your little feline opponent is attacking you.

Huh? Oh…

The conversation she was having with The Malice faded from her mind and Witch focused on what was going on in front of her. The feline had ripped his shirt off revealing a scarred form that didn’t phase her one bit. She’d seen plenty of scars in her time, worse than that actually. The club the little cub had been holding flying up into the air and landing a few feet from her with a soft, dull thump against the dirt. What did surprise her slightly was when his shirt suddenly shredded itself and turned into three strings, three strings that were reaching rapidly towards her even as the feline was taking off from his stationary position. He was finally making a move and that she could be happy about. As the strings and the feline came closer to her, the halfling made no move to block or even get out of the way. Her arms unfolded from across her chest and the reaching strings wrapped around them, attempting to secure them to her body so she couldn’t defend herself. The moment they did, the halfling smirked and excited the ions in the air around her hands, bursting them into flame and quickly letting them spread up her arm, disintegrating the strings. The cat was fast though and he was on her quickly, claws seeking to tear through flesh. She turned to the side to avoid his attack, the razor sharp claws slicing through her shirt and grazing against the skin of her stomach. A nuisance and a slightly shock of pain, nothing she wasn’t used to.

With her opponent probably off balance and wide open before her, Witch quickly changed her stance and brought up her knee towards the felines stomach and then quickly followed with her elbow coming down on his neck.

Artifex Felicis

10-04-06, 11:06 PM

Feeling the tip of one of his claws go through the cloth and skin of the vampire was great. He wasn't sure entirely why, but just the feeling of knowing your prey is almost taken down left him in a state of accomplishment. A inch closer to the girl and her guts would be dropping from her stomach. The strings he didn't care so much about, instead simply dropping what remained of his shirt as he continued. The small pile that the rest of the shirt was made of was of no use to the cat boy, and too far away as well.

He bared his teeth for a flashing second, revealing his pointy teeth as the grandmaster twisted slightly. The knee clipped his side, nearly sending him sprawling, though it did little more than knock him off balance. The elbow to his neck he barely felt at all, though there was the feeling it would be serious later. Leon dug his paws into the ground, turning around and ripping up the soft dirt as he did so. He hadn't gone far from the girl, though enough to gain up some speed again.

He rushed forward, a deep roar escaping his body. The sound was almost impossibly loud for his size, though the quiet country side did little to soften the call. He gained speed again, moving quickly and close enough to the ground so he was almost on all fours. Most of his own reasoning was now lost in his mind, filled and replaced only by two simple thoughts that drove him to his goal. Kill the prey, and don't get hurt.

The Kitty side was something the boy often had very little control over, instead calling it by a "cute" name and trying to pass it off as something tat couldn't be terribly dangerous. The opposite was often true, as something bad usually followed whenever the cat boy slipped into it. It was not unlike a werewolf turning at the full moon, though he didn't gain any mass when it affected him. It was often interesting for the boy's memories, as there were sometimes blanks that often followed periods of the Kitty side. It was also during these gaps that he had done things earning him he hatred of quite a few people.

The roar ended as he neared the girl, lasting only a moment or two. The vampire was his prey, he had to kill her and he had to avoid unnecessary damage to himself. This was everything that propelled him as he lifted his claws for yet again for that battle in hope of rending flesh and splitting bone. The girl's soft skin and lack of blatent armor helped him for this, leaving most of her open. Also leaving it far more easy for the cat to decide which part to eat first.

Witchblade

10-12-06, 07:54 AM

Her attacks went through. Her knee impacted on a hard muscled stomach and her elbow on the back of his neck, however they seemed to do little to deter the cat creature, in fact it seemed more like he’d barely felt either of them. It appeared unarmed combat was not going to get her very far in this battle, she would either have to use her claws or pull out one of her many weapons to take down this cat, not that that was going to be a problem.

With the blues flames still flowing around her hands, Witch watched as the ‘cute and cuddly’ cat before her turned into something not so cute and cuddly, not that she was worried. It looked like his more primitive needs took over and forced rationalism and most thought from his mind, a state she knew well and lived it during most of her days. Perhaps the battle was going to get that much more interesting now, or perhaps not. She couldn’t say. She did however hope that this new side of him knew how to attack better than the other one.

Suddenly the little cat creature took off from his crouched position, sending out a roar that ripped through the silence and into her ears. It was annoying and Witch grimaced. Her ears were sensitive and sudden loud noises always irked her. As the kitty drew nearer the halfling didn’t bother to try and move away, instead she stood her ground. When one clawed hand came in for a quick attack on her stomach, she brought up her arm. Claws and fingers made contact with the Titanium plating on her armguard and the spikes protruding from it. As he raised his other hand in hope of digging his claws into her flesh, Witch simply blocked it with her other armguard.

“So much for not having any armour…”

Smirking, Witch slammed the heel of her foot down in the soft grass and heard the lightest click echo back to her in response. Then she thrust her arms out, moving his clawed paws away from her and possibly cutting them up in the process. Balancing on her one leg, Witch aimed a kick towards the unprotected stomach of the cat, the shining blade of a small Titanium knife sticking out the toe of her boot.

Artifex Felicis

10-16-06, 10:17 PM

There was an almost soft, yet still jarring, grating noise as his claw slid along the vampire's bracer. His paw vibrated slightly, though he knew from past expereance that the claw would be fine. They were still hardening into their final form, and it wouldn't matter much it one or two got dulled. There was still five other claws that could rend and rip flesh for the prey to worry about. His other paw caught the girl's bracer on his palm, the spikes poking at his tough skin, but doing little more than a shallow cut.

He kept moving forward quickly, twisitng his paws as he did so. They grabbed the bracers, the very spikes digging into his flesh and helping to him keep a grip on the girl. His tail thrashed from side to side behind him as he did so. A wide smile forming on his face as he did so. The cat boy was once asked why he was so happy all the time, and he replied that he didn't really know. What Leon never really noticed wasjust how much easier it was to use teeth as a weapon when smiling.

He held on as the girl spread he arms, steeping forward with the same inane smile on his lips. Without looking at the situation he was in the cat boy could have jsut as easily been somewhere else, not dancing in a game where a single mis-step lost a limb. He pulled the girl closer the next moment as her leg swung up.

The blade entered his stomach with slightly less resistance than weak leather, yet it was surprisingly smooth. The cat boy paused for a second, not bothering to look down but instead using what he felt to see what happened to his belly. The kick itself from the girls strike seemed to hurt more than the actual blade that was currantly making itself comfertable in his intestine. He'd be fine, but only if he got to a healer quickly.

He pulled the girl's arm and body toward, the smile returning before fully opening his mouth. Two rows of far too white and too pointy teeth shown through, each one like a tiny dagger waiting to slip through skin. He brought his face forward amd toward the girl's neck, seeking to tear through the reletivly soft skin. Unlike the average vampire, the cat boy almost always went for the kill when it came to the neck. It often kept the meat fresher than simply going for a small major artery from his past expereances.

Witchblade

10-19-06, 07:35 PM

((Now you’re getting naughty))

The feeling of her blade sinking into the flesh of his stomach brought a twisted smile to the lips of the halfling. It would have been a better sensation had the blade been in her hand rather than attached to her boot. That way she could feel the blood trickle between her fingers, but it was still satisfying nonetheless. Not to mention the smell of blood entering the air was lovely. Always smelled of metal, iron to be exact and this little kitten’s was no different.

He didn’t seem too surprised about the attack on him though. He took it in stride, masking the pain. It was a thin blade and it slid in smoothly so it probably didn’t hurt too much but he was feeling it, he had to be, anyone would. The little feline never glanced down at the wound though, in fact, he did something she didn’t completely suspect. As she retracted her foot away from his stomach he pulled her closer to him, a grin lighting his features, one that struck her to be just as twisted as hers. Off balance, she was forced forward and didn’t realize what he was doing until she saw him go in for her neck.

Her eyes widened in surprise and realizing he had both of her arms tightly clasped between his fingers, ignoring the spikes that must be digging into his flesh. With no way to get to her weapons, Witch did the first thing that came to mind. She jerked her whole body away from him, throwing them both off balance and towards the ground. He landed hard and right on top of her stomach and chest, knocking the air from her lungs. Taking but a moment to recover, the halfling reacted quickly. Bracing her knee against the kitten’s stomach, she pushed off from the ground using her free foot and a combination of her stomach muscles. Tossing him off her, the halfling followed right behind. Pinning him to the ground on his back as she straddled his hips.

“Now that was just naughty and I don’t remember giving you permission to do that.”

With her arms still within the feline’s grip, Witch still couldn’t get to any of her weapons without risking too much concentration. So she did the next best thing, she attempted to head butt the cat creature hoping to stun him into letting her go.

((I did kind of bunny you there, if there’s a problem with it let me know and I’ll change it.))

Artifex Felicis

10-22-06, 04:12 PM

((It's okay, it works with the flow))

The blade leaving his body hurt more than coming in. Even though it was smooth, thin and his skin was surprisingly able to stop a good amount of blood loss, the small hole hurt like hell now. It also didn't help her boot probably left a bruise the size of Scara Brae on his belly. His mouth closed with a clack as he neared the girl's body though, as she began to worm away, not helping his injured body by the girl pulling away from standing upright. He gave a soft almost kitten like sound of surprise as they began to fall.

They both fell like lovers to the ground, though their purpose was as far from creating life as could be. The girl was surprisingly soft and not pointy. The cat boy mostly expect him to get skewered have a hundred times for a moment by unseen weapons. Not that it mattered really, he didn't weigh enough or fall with enough force to really harm the girl. Still, the spikes digging into his hands kept her with him, Where one of them went, the other had to go kill unless he released his death grip.

Without getting a chance to go fro another bite, they were flipped again, and again by the vampire he currently had pinned. They fell back, Leon wincing with the knee in his belly. He hissed as they hit the ground again, ignoring the girl's voice inside his head. Words had no meaning now, not when the battle was getting interesting. She reared her head back, a slight grin coming to the boy's features as she rocketed her head forward. He tilted his head forward, a rather loud snap echoing through his ears as they collided. The pain was blinding on his part, though he still fought off fainting and death. It wasn't the first time had been hit by a something like that. Probably wouldn't be the last.

He paused a moment, waiting for stars to clear. When they did, everything was almost hazy in a way, but there were one thing he could see. The vampire's neck, almost within biting distance, and no weapons or visible armor in sight. He groaned, shifting his hands slightly on the girl's arms. The spikes, while not entirely painful when they stayed relatively still in his hand, flared up. If they were built anything like the bracers he knew, ten they had an open part on their bottom. Often only a few leather straps to hold the rest of the armor in place.

He pulled the girl again onto him, claws shooting out from his paws as he did so. Unlike some others he knew who had claws, he couldn't feel much trough them. sure there was a small vibration when he scrapped against metal, but for the most part his fingers needed to hit flesh of to see it in order to see whether or not he connected. Not that it mattered in the least. Even if the girl's bracer's went all the way around, he was reasonably sure his bite would reach her neck. Then even the sharp pain in his belly and hands wouldn't matter. Healing always went better with food.

Witchblade

11-02-06, 08:06 AM

The sharp feeling of her forehead colliding with his was jolting, sending the vibrations of clashing two skulls down in the base of her neck and spine, annoyingly ticking against the nerves. But it had to have hurt him more. She used the harder part of her forehead, that small area close to the scalp where the pain was dulled when using her skull as a battering ram. So he must be seeing the proverbial stars at the moment, or perhaps he preferred mice. Of course the contact still hurt her and she could already feel that throbbing beginning with every beat of her heart, but the pain would subside and her healing abilities would take care of any damage.

When the feline pulled her in closer, it knocked her off balance making her practically fall against his chest. But then she felt his hands shift and the feeling of his claws slicing through the strings and straps holding her armguards on. Hissing and twisting her arms around and away from his grip, she saved her armguards from falling right off her arms only to feel a sudden and sharp pain in her neck as the feline’s teeth easily sliced through soft flesh to the muscles and veins below. Dark blue blood pooled and flowed from the wound, but it was the flesh on flesh contact that was tearing through her the most.

Her eyes dilated, the bright crimson irises completely disappearing in the black of her pupils. Random images and feeling flooded to the front of her mind’s eyes, overlapping each other in a collage of colour and blurred people, places and things. They erased everything else before her until she could no longer see the battle that was occurring and the danger she was in. After only a second, but what seemed like longer to her, they slowed down and one from the mass was played before her eyes. It was the feline before her in a fight against someone else, some other female and a vampire too. And she watched him do almost the exact same thing to this unknown vampire woman that he was doing to her, ripping out her throat.

As quickly as the images came they faded, thrusting the halfling back into reality and the moment and the fact that she was in some serious trouble if she couldn’t get his fangs out of her neck. Pain was flooding her senses once again as well as the fact that if she didn’t stop bleeding soon she’d be in very big trouble.

With her hands free from his grasp and her mind no longer caught within the whims of her over sensitive telepathy, Witch reached behind her and felt the familiar and worn leather handles of her Mythril and Titanium dagger brush up against her hands. Wrapping her fingers tightly around them, she pulled them from their sheathes and thrust them both forward, straight towards the feline’s chest.

Artifex Felicis

11-11-06, 10:45 PM

The cat boy almost began to purr as he felt his teeth pierce her soft skin. It seemed to go in slow motion for the boy, as he was savoring every single moment of it. She wasn't anything to him now, merely prey, and after that, food for everything else wanted got to her. He showed no change in his expression as he saw the blue blood first ebb out of her, then in bursts pump out her blood. He kept his teeth in her neck, opening and closing them as he did so, bringing the soft meat to small piece, many of which promptly fell down and into his throat.

Beyond the strange taste of her blood, which was good for its strange color, something odd was happening. He felt better almost immediately as it came into his body, like he had been resting for a few hours. He wasn't about to go bending iron bars, but he was far better than he ever should have after a battle this long. If anything, he felt great. He pulled back, exposing his feeding spot to the open air and wind. The grass beneath them began to turn an almost purple color as her blood mixed with his, though his mouth and front of his shirt was blue now. He breathed out happily, eager to have more. Somewhere in his mind there was there was a mental poke telling him to hurry up. The monks would probably stop him soon if he didn't move quickly enough. A few more mouthfuls would be better than none.

He saw the girl move as he did, grinning madly as he saw what she was doing. There was no sudden attack at his prey this time, instead he simply waited for her slow body to make its move. The two daggers that were pulled out from behind her back glinted in the quit sunlight for a moment before they sped towards him. His forepaws slipped in between them, pushing both of them outward and nearly missing his body entirely. The one on the left nicked his arm slightly, yet the pain went away almost instantly. The girl's body was strangely soft as he grabbed it and pinned her arms and hopes, rolling to the side as his paws held in a death grip. He barely noticed that the cuts on them from the girl's spiked armbands were gone, healed up like many of his other battle wounds

There was only the most brief of pauses before the boy began to go into his work again, teeth angled slightly to get more meat from his conquered prey. It was sweet, and yet still tangy somehow, but delicious to the boy all the same. There was shouting in the distance, but the cat boy paid whatever it was no mind, instead taking another bite deeper into the girl's neck. He felt her begin to convulse beneath him, and he could almost hear the girl trying to curse him. Not that she easily could with a good amount of her neck open to the air.

The shouting got closer to the cat boy, and strong, hard hands grabbed him, forcefully ripping the predator from his rightful kill. He fell back painfully on his back, taken from surprise as he growled in protest. One monk was kneeling over the girl, the white indicating some sort of spell to heal the girl. Leon tried to rise, but a boot drove him back into the ground as its owner made some sacarstic remark that Leon didn't catch. He struggled beneath the monk's heavy boot, who in turn asked one fo the younger monks what he should do. As Leon extended his claws to cut, the monk's small club promptly fell on his head, his second concussion in the hour.

"Learn to know when you've won kitty," a voice said from above him. Leon's vision faltered for a second, then blacked out completely as he lost consciousness. The boot was lifted off the boy's chest as he did so. The monk wiped it on the somewhat dry grass, getting a good amount of it off. The big man picked Leon up, slinging over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He began to carry him to the medical ward, carefully stepping around the other two monks performing just on-site healing before bringing her to the medical wards as well. The big monk spoke to the unconscious cat boy as he walked in a gruff voice, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You might want to notice when your stomach acid's eating through your body too."

((Assuming we're done, I do have one request.

I would like all of the EXP from my "nekoprince (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?u=11) account moved over to this one, as well as the EXP from this one added on. It'll come to 9813 exp. If you want, I can get people to voch that Leon did earn the EXP and not the charector on the nekoprince account. And since you'll be adding exp here anyway, figured this would be the best place to put it.))

Witchblade

11-13-06, 08:15 AM

As her hands were easily pushed away from her target any hope of ending the life of the feline in front of her was completely lost. She was too weak from blood loss to do anything else. Her sight was full of those damn annoying spots, blotting out her vision and growing larger with every passing moment. The halfling could barely feel the pain anymore, even as the feline pushed her back against the ground and continued to rip into her throat, she barely felt it. She felt the blood continue to pour out of the wound and she felt her body slowly growing weaker but that was all.

Lost again…

The sound of distant voices ripped through the surroundings and the cat creature was torn from her body by hands, hands attached to blurry brown robes, one of which was taking the feline away, two of which were nearly over her and beginning to cast healing magic. The sound of their chanting seemed as though to be coming from a mile away yet she was starring right at them, yet barely able to see them. And though she may not be able to see what they were chanting, she could feel it and she could feel her body revolt against the thought of the white magic even coming near her. Why they didn’t just let her die and then come in and revive her, she didn’t know. She personally didn’t care either, she’d lost the fight to a fucking cat. No wonder she’d been unable to win The Cell. If there was not enough strength within her to win against a cat, how was she supposed to be able to win a tournament? How had she even made it to the final round?

Witch felt the magic enter her body, the darkness within her rebelling against it and in her weakened state she could feel The Malice try to force itself to the forefront of her mind. It wanted control and she could feel it’s anger, it wanted to rip the cat creature limb from limb and it probably could too, but she would never willingly give in to it. She fought it back, slowly forcing it into depths of her psyche she could not understand. The darkness within her may not have liked the light, but in gave in to the healing effects of the magic. The wound in her neck was healing but she still felt weaker than she’d been for a long time thanks to the amount of blood she’d lost.

In such a state she was in no position to reject their help, even if it disgusted her down to the very core of her being. So when a stretcher was brought out and she was placed on it, she said nothing as they carried her to their little infirmary. They’d patch her up there and send her on her way, good as new. But she didn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. Another match and another chance to prove that she can fight. She would keep doing it until she could no longer, or until she finally believed that her fighting skills were as good as they once were.