RPG Assassination Duel Redux

[Dagger]

Note-- Since the only people participating in this spar are oshi and myself, and since we're already familiar with each other's characters, I thought it would be a little redundant to start a recruitment thread. If anyone's desperately curious about the terms of our battle and such, I suppose we could create a topic in Adventure Underground.

Reid is unusually untalkative in this segment, heh. ^_^;;

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Counting silently, Vestemona waited for her eyes to grow accustomed to the darkness. She reached inside her pockets and extricated an enormous tangle of jewelry--rings, bracelets, chain-link belts, none of which let out the slightest clink or clatter. All were fashioned from the same lightly burnished steel.

"Change of plans," the demon announced, threading a formidably sized hoop through one of her earlobes. "I don't think they mean to kill you."

Arveragus managed to avoid rolling his eyes. "Pity," he muttered tensely.

"Indeed. You should go out the way I came," Vestemona ordered, fixing him with a chill-inducing glare. The wall where she had entered abruptly parted at her touch. Arveragus needed no further prodding to scramble through the already-shrinking hole and set off down the pitch-black passageway beyond. The metal shuddered and sealed itself behind him.

Again in a good mood, Vestemona nudged the cell door open and slipped outside just in time to see the short assassin vanish. Yes--it was the man clad in a loincloth who had disappeared; she remembered wondering whether he was cold, and then turned her attention to the orange-eyed one remaining.

"Oh, don't worry. I [i]will[/i] kill your companion," she said pleasantly. "When the time comes, at any rate. He hurt my little brother. I don't have much of a vendetta against you, but I am considerably repulsed by the fact that you actually touched the noble."

The man had not moved. He regarded her in silence, expression hovering somewhere between disinterest and amusement. She would remedy that, she decided; fear and anger were more interesting emotions, adrenaline more productive. She seized a torch, calmly ripping its metal bracket from the wall, and flung a shower of fire and molten iron in his direction. Though he seemed to slide out of sight, almost as though swallowed by the air, she felt him materialize at her back. So he was the one who possessed such powers--not his absent friend.

The other end of the corridor was littered with flames and tiny globes of hardened metal. He shifted sooner than she had expected, seizing her arm and bending it with a kind of easy strength; her wrist was pinned between her shoulderblades. His free hand found her side, fingers sinking deep into the gaps between her ribs. Ignoring the paralyzing flare of pain, the demon closed her eyes and memorized his position. She estimated she still had a second or two until her arm snapped altogether.

Vestemona waited. She could hear her bones involuntarily straining against his grip, nearly cracking as the assassin continued to twist her limb. Another quiet breath and then she focused on her rings, forcing them to uncurl and slip like liquid down her hand, moving almost too quickly for human sight to glimpse.

He was not an average man, if he was in fact human at all--he sensed the danger and began to pull back, but the metal rivulets became nail-like spikes and gored his forearm, instantly burrowing further in. Gasping, Vestemona tore away and concentrated on forcing them to find his arteries, to worm their way up to his torso. Her right arm was badly fractured.

Her opponent calmly dug inside one wound and wrenched the slowest sliver free, vanishing almost simultaneously. This time he reappeared at her side; she lashed out with a knife instantaneously formed from her largest bracelet and opened a shallow slash across his stomach as his fingers found a tender nerve beneath her ear.

She nearly screamed. This assassin had an enviable knowledge of anatomy: the reflex was to drop her weapon, to let her muscles fall slack as the pain shot down her spine. But she too was well-trained, and shakily darted away when he vanished once again. He materialized close to where she'd guessed, and the demon found herself just beyond his reach. Smiling coolly, he side-stepped her sudden lunge swiftly enough to avoid losing an arm.

"Good." Vestemona paused, not quite panting. "You're most impressive." She could feel the fissures in her bones slowly knitting together. "Tell me your name, and I'll keep those pieces of steel from reaching your heart."

[oshi]

We're baaaack. Sorry for the wait, Dag. ^^
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The granules of metal inched through his flesh, causing a great deal of discomfort and pain; although not quite enough to break his train of thought. Reid Archer raised a brow and grinned, tensing his muscles to slow their progress. "Certainly," he replied, delighted by her confidence. "But for one such as yourself, my name is the least of what I have to offer."

The interesting female narrowed her eyes cynically. "I have no intentions of taking up the noble's [i]leavings.[/i]"

Reid nodded, unfazed. "My name is Ciel Audric. Ciel Audric Lovell. Your brother's companion and I simply had a . . . heart-to-heart."

She gave him a sneer, and muttered, "Mouth-to-mouth, I'd say."

His smile widened. He chuckled, murmuring softly, "Close enough . . . ."

~~~~~~

Long since having wandered far from her safe chambers, Rani made her way through the halls of the palace. The flawless instincts of a child guided her, ensuring that every turn she made was for the best; although it was dark and lonesome in the strange hallways, she was unafraid.

Assured as she was in her own abilities, she searched the grounds for the being she knew could protect her. Lee had left her in Reid's care, and while Rani was aware that Reid would not harm her, the male with the striped face made her nervous.

Lee treated her with the care given to a living being. Reid moved in her presence with the same regard one gives to a tiny, poorly-made doll. As if she could not see nor hear, was in danger of falling apart; and always with a cold quality that gave her the impression that he fully resented her.

Her small feet, clever on the floors that were unfamiliar to her, seemed to be leading her along a more definite path. Throughout most of the palace, the halls were simply made to confuse and distort one's sense of direction; however, there were those hallways that were difficult enough to find that they led to an actual destination. She lifted her head as she realized that this was one of them.

Blinking in the darkness, she noticed a shape moving cautiously toward her. Unsure of whether or not to be alarmed, Rani froze, and darted against the wall. She flattened herself the way she had seen Lee do many times, squatting down to make herself as small as possible.

The shape continued on its way to her, and finally stopped upon spotting her tiny form. She was lit from underneath by a row of oscillating lights; in retrospect, she admitted to herself, it probably would have been a better idea to crouch in the middle of the hallway and bite the stranger in the calf as he passed overhead.

Suddenly she recognized the being before her, taking in a sharp breath. She then pulled a face; she had expected for this particular male to have been gotten rid of quite some time ago. The noble, Lee's target, gave her an equally surprised look, and stopped in his approach.

Rani cocked her head to one side. She was hardly frightened; the noble smelled quite oddly of almonds, which told her that he was probably not particularly dangerous. Beings whose scent was reminiscent of Reid rarely were, as his choice of companions seldom strayed from a trend of those possessing few self-defense skills.

She straightened and crossed her arms, and decided on an action that would encompass her emotions entirely.

Rani stuck out her tongue at him.

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Hey--I finally found Rani! ^^;; Only took me . . . a few months . . . .

[Dagger]

For some reason, I seem to remember Navi having pink hair. If this is completely wrong, just let me know. ^_~

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"I do hope that you haven't thought of trying to bed my [i]brother[/i]."

Yes, the family resemblance was certainly there--she had the other's lithe build and verdant eyes. "My mind, dear lady, is as pure as the driven snow." At those words the shards wormed through the channels they had opened in his flesh, erupting from his skin and tumbling, lacquered in blood, to the floor. She had wasted little time in delivering on her promise.

Vestemona was not inclined to like him, but she very nearly returned his smile. "At least you lie with style."

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The nobleman contemplated Rani solemnly, amused in spite of his anxiety. He could not claim encountering the girl had disrupted his plans, as he really had no idea where he was going or what he would do when he got there. It suddenly occurred to Arveragus that Navi might not even have entered the palace; he briefly considered this idea, decided he disliked it, and then knelt down to address the pink-haired girl.

Though rather delicate in appearance, she carried herself with an air of determination. "Looking for someone?" Arveragus asked, pitching his voice just high enough to make certain that she heard.

She crossed her arms and raised her chin, but offered him a nod.

"I suppose it's the man who tried to kill me," he said lightly. "I'm no longer certain what he wants. Since you'd like to find him, perhaps you ought to tag along with me; I'd venture to guess that he's already on my path."

If worst came to worst, the girl might make a decent hostage--provided Arveragus was nimble enough to seize her. He did not possess a tremendous amount of faith in his agility, but this was better, he supposed, than trotting around alone with a sword made by someone who hated him serving as his only means of defense. "I'm looking for someone as well. My bodyguard, that is. Have you seen him recently?"

Still frowning, she shook her head and yanked impatiently at the hem of his jacket. Arveragus blinked at her, taken aback. "Yes, you can lead the way. Maybe we'll all bump into each other at once, hm? This could be as fun as a family reunion."