Winning is Everything [Celestius]

[Fedafyr]

For Your Consideration
.So if you love me let me go
Pawns: Fedafyr & Celestius
.And run away before I know
Status: Private, Active
.My heart is just too dark to care
Current Count: 3,852
.I can't destroy what isn't there
Time: Present
.Deliver me into my fate
His Style: Disshevelled; Braided
.If I'm alone I cannot hate
Her Style: Armor untouched; hair down
.Oh, my smile was taken long ago
Scene: The truth is, I won
.If I can change, I hope I never know

The grassy plains spread before him, the castle looming in the present distance. Through here, the wind raged merrily as it ran to and from each edge, daunted only around the rising hill in the center. Today, the wind cruelly pressed the tall grasses to bend to its might, playing its power and whipping the black braid at the nape of his neck, even with all its weight of hair, strictly westward. He dared not remove his own clothes as he had his precious victim's for fear of them drifting away in such a maelstrom. Rain washed the sweat and blood from his body, keeping his prey clean even as Fedafyr's claws dug into the bottom of her lungs.

What a voice to lose; the wind and rain beat it down into the ground but Fedafyr could hear its angelic intonations crying for release from his grasp. Before, those eyes had sought shelter with the Kitsune, now they rolled two and fro, unable to focus, willing anything to save them from the chilling horror of his crazed yellow gaze as it seemed to search her body like fine artwork, gauging what touches would heighten her screams or dull them. It was coming to an end, this game. Her voice was dulled by the air that perforated her lungs and the blood that began to drown her, even though she spat it up freely.

His tail swished across her bare legs as he straddled her thighs, as if to keep her very body from being rushed away in this wind, though the weight of it was not quite heavy enough for such a thing of yet. The ice cold water of the rain continually washed the blood that gushed from her coughing mouth between gasps for release and freedom, but hope had left her eyes by this point. She was aware that this was the end of the line for her, even as he dipped down and bit into the flesh of her neck and doused himself in the gushing fluids. The rain had kept his own body clean, though the soft red stains of blood still decorated the lower pieces of his haori. The wind had half torn it from him, leaving a good bit of his neck and right shoulder exposed, the rest clung to him, the thin fabrics of the decorative piece showing hints of his pale skin beneath it.

He withdrew his teeth, the blood barely running from her gaping wounds anymore. Her breath was so very shallow. The last moments of the kill, the very end of the game, but there was still... so much more.

[Celestius]

Celestius watched in horror as the wind dragged blood across the two bodies, beading it into morbid cords. This woman’s screams had been carried to her ears by the same wind which pulled insistently upon Fedafyr’s clothing. Celestius’ hair had been torn from its manageable ponytail and flew behind her in a torrent of orange, flickering in a manner harkening to the fire burning in her emerald green eyes. She ground her teeth together, hand grasping the hilt of her sword. She took a deep breath.

Celestius had no desire to harm Fedafyr, no desire to fight him. But the only thing that could stop this now was all out conflict. She ran forward, screaming his name as she deftly freed the blade from its sheath. The grass smoldered at her feet, the air tugged at her armor, but nothing could distract her mind, intent on its target.

[Fedafyr]

The echo of speeding footsteps rang in his ears, slowly ascending their desperate notation, even as his fingers loosened their grip through the white ribs of the child beneath him. Something desired to see that agonized relief, so far into pain that even the smallest release of pressure put a soft, serene smile on the frightened face. Eternity passed in the milliseconds it took to slowly remove his grip from her, letting her breathe easily even through the slow drowning. Brown-red strands of hair clung to her face and neck, plastered their by the pressure of the rain.

Those gold slitted eyes moved beneath the heavy black eyelashes, taking in the image of the woman even as her sword ascended above him. Her movements seemed so slow, as if she had been set to half speed by her very will.. or perhaps by his own. Having fed, the demon element was at his best; complimented by her hesitation, the small gap in their power became large for that moment. His tail swung to the side as his head tilted just far enough to the side that he watched the swinging blade pass his soft cheek. Its warmth touched him, reaching his memories with the heat of realization, causing his lashes to lower just a few more centimeters, a serene look on his face even as his body twisted beneath her swing.

His movement was so fast that the average eye would have seen nothing but where he had been and where his hand stopped, fully extended out to below her diaphragm. Each minute movement was no secret to her, though, from the twist of his upper body to his knee falling into the muddied dirt, leaving him kneeling at her knees for the span of time so small it had no measurement, to the swing of his palm toward her in its quick aim to drive her back and knock her air from her lungs.

[Celestius]

A brief moment of hesitation had been enough to ensure his escape. The attack had accomplished its mission, pulling Fedafyr from the girl beneath him. But there was a strange taint to his power. He seemed faster and stronger. Within seconds, Celestius had gauged his attack and knew she couldn’t risk taking a blow so early in the game. Her blade gave her reach, but his speed would bring a challenge. She felt her armor press against her chest as she willed her momentum backwards, narrowly avoiding the full impact of Fedafyr’s incoming blow.

She stepped away and to the right, putting her back to his for less time than any could calculate; her eyes away for the same breadth. Her sword moved across her body in a tight, perfectly practiced movement. The blade slid through the air, slicing through individual drops of rain in its perfect arc towards Fedafyr, as Celestius’ eyes once more found their target.

[Fedafyr]

Blood sprayed from his hand as the wind lifted and drew it away, but his eyes were nothing short of pleased. In his hand he held her blade, the momentum of the swing slowed by his closing grip just enough to only sink half an inch into his bare palm. Pain didn't register in his body, his eyes narrowing at her, studying those lines of worry, reading them with a look of piqued curiosity. As if he was attempting to seize something within his mind in those moments of mild clarity before he twisted his body inward. Still holding the blade, he pressed the flat to the back of his shoulders, so close to his neck, so very reckless.

I can see that you don't want to hurt me. His smile even as he rolled in, hand swinging through the air and gathering momentum, told her the realization in his mind. He was not secretive, not sweet, he knew what was beyond her eyes, even as he did so many centuries ago. Insight had not been lost, but it was a clarity now gifted not by wisdom but the madness that had swept his body free.

Claws struck at her flesh to dig sharply but shallowly as his knuckles swung in. His open hand swung with the back of it aimed to hit her cheek with crucial but not crippling force.

[Celestius]

Celestius watched his blood on her blade, falling from his now wounded hand. She knew this meant she had first blood. She didn’t know what provocation this would cause in the mind of the creature before her. His face was still that of Fedafyr, sweet and cherubic. But his eyes. His eyes gauged her as a predator its prey. And now, she was prey that had shown its weakness. His wicked smile nearly made Celestius sick as he twisted her blade, taking it under his control.

The flash of claws brought Celestius’ mind back to the imminent danger too late as she felt his knuckles press against the flesh of her cheek, knocking her back and liberating her blade from her grasp. She kept her balance barely, right hand flying to her cheek, left hand bracing herself against the ground. Blood. She was bleeding and his attack had been an insult. It was proof to Celestius that Fedafyr had no desire to see her come out of this battle safely.

The blade clutched in Fedafyr’s hand turned to flame as soon as Celestius’ hands left it. It flared brightly before turning to ash, a last effort to bring harm to its captor. Though it would return to her in time, Celestius knew the speed of this fight may not permit her to draw it again.

[Fedafyr]

A burst of flame behind his head was barely a whispered breath against the nape of his neck as the blade swung away. He had possessed little intention of holding it hostage, even if the gut feeling to toss it away was not present in his subconscience. She was left with no weapon, left without armament. His fingers reached out into the air, feeling the rushing water as his fingers tangled in the invisible strands of her hair. It was a motion--a caress that did not touch, accompanied by a smile that possessed no light.

"I know you." He whispered, softly, and for a moment his eyes seemed to soften from the hard gold they had become. His smile slowly faded away as he observed her. A second, then two, and his hand dropped back to his side. His foot stepped forward and his body rocked a bit as he tilted that cherub face to one side.

He smiled again, this time soft, this time... this time...

Hope.

He took a few steps toward her, leaving a noticeable space between them still.

"Celest..? Why are we fighting?"

[Celestius]

Celestius’ head snapped up, her hand pulling away from the blood on her cheek. The rain had finally succeeded in plastering her hair to her head, keeping the wind from tangling its fingers through the strands. The blood and water slid across her skin, evaporated by the heat burning beneath it.

“Feda…” Celestius stood and began closing the distance between them. Her sword appeared in its sheath, but she didn’t reach for it. She was relaxed and confident. “You are still in there. I’ve been searching so long.” She placed her hands on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. There was something not quite right, but Celestius didn’t care.

[Fedafyr]

"I'm sorry, Celest." His voice was calm, holding the benevolence it once had.

His fingers moved up to cup the back of her hand and he closed those golden eyes, the only physical manifestation of his change, having been green once. He kept those lashes low, so low that it seemed like he slept, even as he studied her figure with soft echoes of awe and mild disdain, invisible. He turned his head and pushed those soft lips to her palm, a familiar embrace for the taller, combat-oriented woman.

His tail was still, despite his desire to twitch it. His body language spoke his calm though his insides raged at her for stealing away what joy he had. The body faded away in the background, and it caused a swelling in his gut, but he did not show it.

He didn't want the game to end.

Not yet.

"I didn't mean... to make you worry."

It was too bad, so drunk on blood and hate, he couldn't hear himself. Fedafyr might have stopped had he been at all lucid. He wouldn't have stepped in close, he wouldn't have wrapped his arms around her in that familiar embrace that she had been forced to get used to back as a child--he would not have used such a precious memory to get close to her.

He wouldn't have reached for her thigh.

He wouldn't have dug his nails in.

He wouldn't have tried to remove the muscle from the bone with the tearing motion as he pulled back.

And he would never have smiled at her pain.

I would never...

[Celestius]

Celestius tensed a moment, just as she always had when he had hugged her. It was unfamiliar, uncommon in her society. The battle-wrought race from which she was spawned had no patience for affection. She was relaxed again almost immediately and slid her arms around him in return. For that moment there was peace and comfort.

But the moment didn’t last as pain tore through her body, claws rending flesh from bone. She fell to the ground, her hand flying to the hilt of her sword, gripping tightly in panic and uncertainty. She screamed. Blood soaked through her leather pants and ran down her leg, creating a small river as it mixed with the rain water at her feet.

Celestius released the blade from its sheath and held it defensively before her. She’d never found herself on her knees so often in battle. Never felt so at the mercy of her opponent. Anger and humiliation nearly replaced all thought of sparing whatever still remained of her dear friend. Fire burned behind the green of her eyes and her hair once more lifted itself from against her neck, hissing and popping as it dried itself with an inner heat.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Fedafyr, but it looks as though you will leave me no other option.”

Celestius gathered her strength and heaved herself to her feet. Taking a calming breath, she ignored the pain tearing through her leg. She quickly took stock of her situation. Her left greave was shattered. She suffered a grievous wound from which blood would not stop flowing. Her hand shook with rage and the only guarantee for her survival had too much potential to kill. Fedafyr was yet unharmed.

She leapt toward him, surprisingly nimble still. She obviously favored her left leg. But she no longer had restraint. Her intention was to bring harm, as much as she could, to the creature before her. The body that once was her friend, but now belonging to something horrible.

Her blade fell from above, aiming to split is skull.

[Fedafyr]

In his hand he smelled her blood, and his bright eyes flashed to it to appreciate the texture and scent, understanding the need for visual appreciation. Just a millisecond, but as he moved his eyes from her, washing over the pain and betrayal vividly portrayed on her face, he lost his concentration. There was no appreciation for that blood--he wanted to clean it from himself. He wanted to sever that hand and throw it far away. For the briefest of moments, something unknown washed over him--something that felt a lot like...

No.

His eyes snapped back to her, taking in the slow trembles in her body. Rage seeped through her, changing and contorting her features in a way that drew the childlike glee back to his eyes. Yes. Yes... That was what he wanted--he wanted her to know her place. He wanted her to know where she was--who she was condescending to by fighting so weakly. I want you to kneel... bow to me, for I am superior... for I am... greater than... anything.

As she drew down upon him, he waited. The steel came so close to his smiling face that even he might not have been sure his head had not been sliced in twain. Only the slightest flick of his head to the side spared it, leaving it instead to dig lasciviously into the skin stretched between his neck and shoulder.

Blood flew from the wound, dousing him, splitting the fabric of his haori and vest, leaving the blade buried as he had not given way but let his body decide where it would stop. Three inches. Three inches...

They were close now, so very close. His blood bathed them and was washed away almost instantly by the torrential rain. His hand reached forward and grasped unpleasantly at the meeting of her pelvis and stomache... The onslaught came even before the end of the momentum of her crushing blow, and if she did naught, it would find him with a very intimate grip on her spine...

... through the walls of her intestines.

[Celestius]

Celestius felt the blade dig deep, buried in her enemies flesh it did her little good. She felt herself showered with blood, which caked and cracked against her burning skin. A small smirk lit her features. She saw Fedafyr’s lethal arm, aimed at her stomach. She reversed her moment as she hit the ground, shoving her weight into the air and over Fedafyr’s head, dragging her blade up, and out with her.

She landed behind him and covered her slight stumble as pain shot through her left leg once more. She swung to strike Fedafyr’s side. His haori was turning pink from the blood and rain. Celestius watched the colors run in patterns across the clothing. It was odd that such a thing would catch her attention in battle, but she always appreciated the fine art of the thing.

Celestius waited for his dodge, knowing the blow was nothing to catch him off guard.

[Fedafyr]

Fedafyr followed her actions over him and felt the blade as it tore from his skin. A wave of irritation moved over him as he contemplated the fact that he had let her strike him with no returned blow. Her sword swung in toward his side as blood spread down from the wound in his arm.

Only you could leave a wound on me this long...

He burst forward, disappearing even from her sight for a brief moment. The sword swung at nothing as he ascended the hill just a few steps before leaping back over her at great height. The momentum slowed through the air, letting him become conceivable halfway through the flip behind her, but it was not his acrobatics that mattered.

The earth beneath her had become sticky. The ground had started to sink.

With fire she could burn away caked earth, but if she was knee deep in it, it would prove much more difficult.

Sorry, ... I'm so very, very sorry.

He burst forward with enough momentum to loose her from whatever the ground still clutched when he arrived at her body.

[Celestius]

Celestius watched Fedafyr’s motion through the air and turned to follow. Her movement was all that saved her already tattered limb from being caught in the earth, her weight completely resting on her right leg. With an almost panicked yell, her leg lit on fire, baking and shattering the earth which trapped her. She kept her eyes on Fedafyr as he drew closer, the seconds it would take her to free herself were not fast enough. She braced herself for the agony, ready to ignore the pain and take a strike of her own as Fedafyr leapt toward her.

[Fedafyr]

There was a bit of resistance even as he smashed into her, the feeling of flesh tearing, the sound of tendon releasing from bone, the smell of blood, all of it washed over him at once, sending him into a small fit of frenzy. He lost his balance, or, rather, lost his will to backflip away from her, instead landing upon her stomach, near straddling the taller woman. Fedafyr's eyes dilated, his smile just a little bit more crazy than it should have been...

I want more... more, more, more!

Fedafyr let out a chuckle that seemed like a small child, so engrossed with the actions, raising those claws up to dig through her skin, raking them over her body and creating hideously high pitched noises as they slid across her metal armor.

[Celestius]

Celestius saw everything in a haze, but resisted the urge to scream. The satisfaction he would garner was far too great for her to allow. She saw the smiling face and heard his laughter in a far distant echo as sharp claws dug into the small amount of exposed flesh. It was a dull pain she couldn't feel over the screaming agony of her missing limb. She heard the high pitched squeal as her armor protected her from further damage.

Celestius bit her tongue. Pain. She had to cause him pain. Harm. But she didn't really want to hurt him. Nothing serious. In his rage, she found herself strangely calm, analyzing his openings and with her off hand she seized his tail tightly, moving her blade across his back in a swift motion to sever the appendage straight from his body. She knew it would come back, just like any other limb, just like her leg. But she hoped it would be enough to get him away from her. If only for a moment...

[Fedafyr]

... Ah...

It was a small hiss of pain that erupted in an explosion in his head. Nothing had ever hurt, not really, not truly hurt... before this. An impossible feat, severing a limb from his body. Nobody could have, nobody dared, nobody... nobody...

She did.

His whole body was completely immobile as he stared down at her with large, gold eyes that seemed to stare even beyond her, into some fantasy of removing her from the world's coils by relieving her of every piece of flesh she had. He must have not moved for a minute, blood coating the red hakama from where his tail had once laid over the thick cloth. In her hand, she held the furry kitsune appendage, but no matter how much he willed it, Fedafyr could not reach out to relieve her of it. When finally he moved, he stood straight up and almost lost his balance. His balance. Im... Impossible!

He felt waves of emotion--anger, hatred, confusion.. and relief. All of them attacked his psyche with a vengeance, claiming it as their own, but he had nothing with which to respond. His ears twitched, his head spun, blood poured down from the wound like a waterfall, not deadly but intense. The sound of movement in the distance alerted him, and he moved away from her, swaying again. He dropped to all fours to steady himself for just a moment before bursting forward again, toward the buildings that rose up. He lept up to a window and clung for a few moments, unable to quite gauge where his center of gravity lay even as he ascended the stone structure.

When finally he was atop the roof, he dared to stand again, to stare down at her with those gold eyes before he disappeared, deterred for the moment.. for the first moment, ever, since this cursed life was laid upon him.

[Celestius]

Celetius stared back into those eyes filled with such disdain. She saw this corner of his lips twitch, face otherwise frozen in twisted rage and hatred. Finally he blinked as he pushed himself to his feet. Celestius dare not close her eyes for even the half a moment it would take her to blink. She let him stand, watched the emotions waving back and forth across his features, attempting to stay serene and failing miserably. She knew she could take another take, but dared not. She knew now was her chance to cause him further harm, but didn't truly desire it.

She watched as he retreated, felt horrified at her actions as he struggled to balance, watching his twitching, nervous features as he moved away. The blood which fell from his wound left a trail from her body. It was only once she saw him standing on the roof, staring at her, that she allowed her eyes to leave his form.

Celestius stared up at the sky, the dark clouds rolling across and through one another. Small pins of water well into her eyes and made light clinking noises against her armor. Blood flowed from the wounds in her cheek, her left thigh, her missing right limb, as well as any number of smaller wounds inflicted by the kitsune's claws. Tears mixed with blood and rain, pooling around her, soaking through her. The blood around her was not only her own, and in this her warrior soul found satisfaction.

Sobs brought more pain into her body. But her cries were not due to pain, that she could overcome. Her mind flicked in panic through memories as she clutched the soft fur in her left hand. She dropped her blade to the bloody ground, her arm moving across her body to pet the soaking fur.

"So soft... where's my leg?" A scream of agony rose to her lips only to become laughter. Celestius found herself lost in delirium, unable to concentrate on the here and now, her mind travelling through past and present, combining memories of Fedafyr from before with the battle that had just occured. Her eyes rolled back in her skull as she began to talk, babbling incoherently to someone long gone.