Challenger wanted.

[Shell]

Shell headed in to the Citadel and stared the attendent in the eye. She put the blade of her tail right up to the attendant's neck.

"I want a fight and I want it NOW!!!!! I don't care how many people you pit against me either. Pit me against everyone for all I care. Just give me a challenge. If you don't, I swear I WILL kill you."

"Ye-ye-ye-yes Ma'am," The attendant stuttered out of fear. "Ju-ju-ju-just wait in that room over there."

Shell headed to the room she was pointed to. The room seemed to look like a graveyard. Shell knew it was just an illusion, but she was still impressed. she promised herself to bury whosoever faced her in this imaginary graveyard after she killed them, which she was sure she would.

After taking in the sights, Shell yelled at the top of her lungs, "WHO HERE WANTS TO DIE!?!?!?"

[Oriseus]

A portal welcomed Oriseus to The Citadel, which was more than obliged to see a worthy challenger. The Citadel gateway located in the heart of Scara Brae had updated bulletins on available matches, and the ranger was lucky enough to find himself in line for one. Now, he could find out what it was like to compete in the big leagues. No more looking back at the outskirts of Uthia on evenings of fun. This was the real thing. No turning back now.

Upon entering The Citadel, he was greeted by a couple attendants who stood in the middle of a circular chamber. There was one simple wooden door that led to the main hall of the arena, and two portals. One back to Scara Brae, and the second to wherever it was that Oriseus was supposed to be going. The young man took a deep breath, and stepped forward. One of the men was literally shaking in his boots as he approached him.

"G-G-Good luck to y-you out t-there," he mumbled incoherantly to Oriseus, who was curious as to why he had taken up such an intimidated tone. Brushing his dark hair out of the path of his forest green eyes, he looked over at the other man.

"Your opponent.. is a demon," he too muttered just loud enough for the young man to catch. Oriseus felt his stomach turn over with what information the man was kind enough to extend to him. He didn't know what to expect now, when he walked through that portal, other than a tall, menacing creature of great power.

"...Thank you," he eventually responded, taking in a deep breath. He couldn't forfeit now. Not after sustaining the long wait for a spot. A chance to prove what he was made of. Casting his eyes down to the ground, he unsheathed his longsword before entering the portal, just in case a surprise round was prepared.

And so, Oriseus had entered his first battleground. A cemetary. How fitting for a human to tread on such ground before an opponent whose myths surrounded the utter torture and suffering of his own kind. The sight of the very monster made him turn away for a second and frown in dismay, before he realized he had no other choice but to confront this challenge face to face.

"Ready when you are.." Oriseus said, gaining some ground of his own to ready himself with. He wanted to see exactly how much power this thing had before he went on an all out assault. Holding up his longsword and having it play a sheild for now, the man in dark clothing simply waited for the thing resembling a mutilated woman to bring whatever threat she carried on.

"Ladies first."

[Shell]

Shell laughed out loud. She certainly was no lady, but that wasn't the reason she was laughing...

"A human?!? A single, pitiful human?!? Is that what you are pitting your life on?!?!? PATHETIC!!!! I want a CHALLENGE!!!" Shell screamed out in laughter.

Shell rushed in at her foe swinging her tailblade at him at great speed. She was attempting to slice his chest open right from the start. Her tail kept on swinging diagonally at chest height, She was bound and determined to slaughter this guy beyond the point where he could be healed within the first three minutes of the fight. Her tail was moving at great speeds and didn't appear to slow down, ever. After around 23 attempted slashes with her tail, she backed off.

"Tell me, Pitiful Human, do you truly think you stand a chance against me? Do you now realize how pathetic you are compared to me? I hope you brought back-up, because you are beginning to bore me."

Shell rushed in again to continue her assault.

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Oriseus]

The ranger's ground was lost with the high cackle the demon had given him for boring her with his presence. She read him like a book she frowned upon after reading the front and back cover, believing that the story hidden in its pages would prove to be not as entertaining as she had preferred. Oriseus stumbled back in utter fear when the.. thing.. began to charge at him. He lost his concentration, and did not suspect his legs to touch a tombstone so soon. The hunk of rock caught him from behind the knee, and brought the ranger to the ground. In doing so, the very grave was his saving grace, taking him out of the path of the dozens of strikes lashed out by the demon with her tail.

While she rambled on with her words that were meant to still his heartbeat, Oriseus was moreso focused on the night sky he was forced to stare upon. Even through the thicket of fog that covered the fond heroes and brave knights of our time, his forest green eyes could still spot the moon hung high in the air. That little gleam of hope was enough to encourage him to find some cover. He sheathed his sword, and used his hands to push him up and away from the demon, darting far into the cemetary. The enviroment had its advantages and disadvantages. Ori just wanted to make the most out of what he had to spare. After he put himself far enough in to be not completely undectable by his opponents eye, he readied his bow, taking three arrows out of his quiver.

Oriseus crouched down onto one knee, and hid behind a large stone casket sprouting from the ground. He nocked one arrow into his bow, holding the others in the fingers of his right hand for future use. It'd make it a quicker, easier task to reload after firing. He poked his head out, and saw the creature charging once again. She thought she could take him so easily. Not this time. He stood up, and aimed, waiting for her to pass the thirty foot mark he roughly calculated. Anything within that line of scrimmage was considered his point-blank range. He was a sure shot.

With the speed the demon was coming at him, Oriseus managed to fire two arrows before she got too close. One zipped through the thicket directly at her heart. It was an obvious shot for a reason. The strategy was simple. The demon could only focus on so many things at once. So.. if her mind was stuck on avoiding the first arrow, he knew the second one aiming for the point where her tail touched the ground would be left unnoticed. It was for the most part a successful first point of action. If the arrow pierced through her hard enough, she could be left immobilized.

If she was still rushing at her normal speed towards him after those arrows, he couldn't run with how close she was. He watched to see if his plan played out well before he ducked back down behind the stone. He brandished his dagger, and stuck the leather grip into his mouth, blade sticking out to his right. Oriseus nocked his last arrow, and took in a deep breath through his nostrils, leaning back into the hard, marble surface. He didn't like the idea of getting up close and personal with his target, but he'd have to take a shot at it, to get an idea of what his opponent was more adept at. Discovering the strengths she had was the first step to taking her down. She couldn't be perfect. Somewhere behind the intimidating creature, there had to be weakness.

[Shell]

Shell continued charging in, batting the first arrow out of the way with her tail. The second arrow hit it's mark, though. Her tail was hit hard. Fortunately, it was not hit hard enough to paralyze her, so she ignored it. Shell wanted to show this pitiful human who was boss, but first she had to do something about that stupid bow.

When Shell made an attempt to knock the bow across the room. Normally she would have attempted to slice it in two, but she was saving that tailblade for his blood. She swung her tail again at his chest, this time with the intent to cut it open and scatter his innards about as a warning to any other pitiful beings that dared to confront her, being pretty sure that one slash wouldn't be enough, though, she continued to charge and slash four more times: Once at his legs, once at his head, once at his right arm, and once at his left arm. (In that order)

[Oriseus]

That's right. Come close.

The creature had to move around the coffin before it could get close enough to Oriseus to make an attack, and with that object in her way, the ranger could hear her coming, and take that deep breath before coming up with a spontaneous form of action. It was now or never to do a large portion of damage. Opportunities to get this close to the demon with such morale and determination in mind to keep your spirits up didn't come very often.

When the monster turned the corner to his left, Oriseus quickly turned to face her. He could see the arrow he left in her tail, and to his surprise, it was doing more damage than he had thought. Why? Because the more aggravated she became of the human, the more she drove herself to put him out of his misery. The rise of speed made the arrow press further into her body as she forced her tail to carry her faster.

Now he had a benefical factor he should adhere to; that wound could very well serve him as a primary target. If he could make the injury a critical one, it could very well lead up to immobilizing the monster, and giving it no use of its tail. Yes. The first point was declared in the mind of the ranger. All he had to do was succeed in the actions that mattered the most. Actions like this one.

His right hand released the arrow from the bow when the demon had dared to raise its tail for the first strike intended for his chest. He made it an easy to spot target; aiming right for her face again. She was looking down at him, so she could see it coming for her, square in the forehead. She knocked the first arrow he fired away with her deadly tail. The chance of doing the same thing here was very likely. The situation was the same, except for one major detail; Oriseus was within 10 feet of her. She'd have to get it out of the way immediatly, or suffer the arrowhead shoving itself into her cranium.

Now that there was a window of opportunity after shooting the arrow, his right hand was free to snatch the dagger right from his mouth, and get to business. He quickly shuffled up into his feet, and crouched down low to keep his height at a minimum. She swung her tail, aiming low, thanks to keeping himself as close to the ground as possible (but having no idea she was intentionally aiming for his feet). The second she did, the ranger leapt forward, and over her lower body, pouncing the base of where her tail kept her balanced on the ground. Using gravity, and the strength of his arm to support the blade in his hand, the very moment his legs got a hold of her tail, he shoved the tip of the blade just to the right of the arrow that was still in her.

Once accomplished, the human furthered his blow whilst the demon was sure to break out into a tantrum over such a powerful strike. He held the dagger in place, while with the left hand that held his bow, he quickly threw his arm into it, rolling his shoulder back to hold the bow over him by the string. Now that both hands were free, he could have his fun. He extended his free hand, wrapping his fingers around the arrow he injured her with earlier. Faster than a fire could start in a bail of hay, the ranger ripped the arrow out of it's place in her tail, and ripped the dagger to the left, directly over the wound and creating a gash.

The price of doing such damage was high, but Oriseus knew he'd be able to endure whatever it was this demon was going to try to do. He was guaranteed his damage, but at the same time was left face to face with a creature that had just been greatly agitated. He pressed his body against her tail, and held on for dear life.

[Shell]

Shell laughed a wicked laugh. Sure, the human had given her a good sized injury, but he also had kept her previous injury from the arrow from getting progressively worse. Sure, the cut was deep, but she had had many worse injuries before. Sure it hurt, but she lived for the pain. Although she was impressed at how long this human was holding out against her, she wasn't about to say so.

"You humans are so delicate and stupid. You expect a minor injury like that to at least make me flinch because that is what it would do to you, right? Well, guess what, you were wrong. On the other hand, if I were to give you a similar injury.......... Well, Let's just see how well you deal with it."

Using her opponent's tight grip on her tail to her advantage, Shell attempted to slam her foe repeatedly against a coffin. She knew that her foe could let go at any moment to avoid getting smashed again, but she was prepared to slice her foe to ribbons with a flurry of tail swings as soon as he let go. The only thing she didn't consider was the fact that if her foe let go at just the right time, he could get sent flying to a somewhat safer place.

[Oriseus]

Minor?! A gash spreading the length of a housecat and going seven and a half inches deep was considered minor to this monster?!

Maybe it was just the creature's ego that was kicking in. The need to feel invulnerable. The desire to think one stands out above the rest. A fake immortal. There had to be something Oriseus could do to prove this thing wrong. Whether it be to cut this wound even deeper, or do something to further its threat. He acted resistant to her words that tried to enstill fear upon his 'sorry soul.' No.. he wasn't afriad. He was refusing to act like a coward. However, there was something that did grow like a virus in him. Doubt.

He was shocked when he felt himself being lifted up from the ground, even when his weight was atop the demon's tail. Both hands took grasp of his dagger as he felt himself begin to fall to the right. Her agility was far too much for Oriseus to keep a hold onto. The rush forced himself to sit up, and slide his body in the opposite direction of the stone coffin to his left.

Another opportunity to make an impact? Of course.

Registering the fact that the speed the tail was being thrashed added power to the short blade, Oriseus kept his grip onto his dagger. It would have to be his saving grace. The one thing he can depend on to help lessen the effect of his fall, when he was to collide with the earth. Hanging onto it for dear life, as his body slid off the demon, his weight dragged the blade back to the right, and furthered its gash around her tail. The longest limb of the creature was at least half-severed now.

Oriseus could not get a hold of gravity, however, and without so much as hope of landing on his feet, fell back to the ground on his back, slamming and delivering a moment of pain. He winced, and arched his back, trying to get a feel as to what part of his spine felt crushed. For a second, he let a hiss roll off of his tongue from behind his gritted teeth, and within no time the fall was managable.

He was directly below the tail of the creature, which was still swinging about in the air over him like a vulture. Releasing a hand from his dagger, he thrusted it into his cloak, clutching the hilt of his longsword, and quickly processed a time at which to strike a critical blow. In the meantime, he held the dagger up in an attempt to match the demon's vicious weapon, while his gleaming forest eyes caught the moonlight. The hope of a victorious outcome after the long road of venturing into the darkness.

[Shell]

Shell winced in pain for a split second as her tailblade collided with the sword. Normally, she would have been able to break the sword in two after a bit of work, but seeing as how she had been incredibly weakened by the deep cut in her tail, she only managed a small dent in the blade. Although she was in a weakened state, Shell was able to hold her own in the test of strength that followed. She still felt all high and mighty as she decided to start flapping her wings in an attempt to break the stalemate, or at least to create enough wind to knock him backwards enough to get a free strike. Thing was, she had never attempted anything like this before, but with the gash in her tail, she had to try something.

"Blow away, Mortal. I have have had plenty of scars worse than this one. I have to say, though, that you are one impressive warmup, Now DIE YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"