[i]It was a vast world with many kinds of people. For some does power manifest differently. Zande had made good on his rebuttal, but yet had Tanya offered a recourse of her own. His last terms had been [i]"use no weapon"[/i]. In the stead of another round of terms, she had instead opted to claw at his torso and scream for his soul. Even if that were meant to be a term, any wiseass magician or Harvard lawyer in this realm or the next would be quick to point out that such a thing would be, in a court of law, referred to as a claim and an iffy one at best. Not only that, but she was plunging through her own taboo to try and make a kill. If the innate power to take souls at a touch was indeed within her grasp, then one with as much living vigor as the terrible Zande would have a high resistance to an attack with so little metaphysical weight. Ah, but a dagger to the eye. Now that was the sort of thing that could snuff a monkey real good. But Tanya was not the only one that had a nasty trick up her sleeve. The human body can hold just as many surprises as a wizard's hat.

Zande's body went soft after the dagger was raised, his muscles sagging and bulging outwards. Flabby. Plump. As if they had become putty beneath his skin. Self induced hyposthenia. He allowed himself to weaken. To give in a little. To let her win, just a bit. He knew she would probably see her chance and go for it. A momentary lapse through which she may try to shove her essence through in one titanic assault. Go for it. Stab. Skewer. Pull out the soul. 

Except...
The cannibal had only brought his body to the supreme point of relaxation so that he could then contract it with the greatest amount of force that he could possibly exert. The brief power he exploded with now would make his strength from before seem like that of a pregnant schoolmarm. He intended to obliterate any hold she had over him in a single go. The knife could be dealt with after he was free. Paltry steel may draw out his blood, but once he had ruined her aim, in which way might be reckoned with depending upon how she'd react to his actions, then he would be back in his familiar territory. A physical plane where he could freely maul her to death.[/i]