[IC] [TZDL2017] Rai vs Tasuke - Preliminaries

[Mobius]

DUEL TOURNAMENT

Wheat Field[/SIZE]

Information
Time: 4:44PM
Location: Wisconsin
Date August, 29th.
Weather: Slightly humid and clear skies
Temperature: 70°F[/align]

Posting format:
After both fighters have posted, the initial poster will be allowed to make the first strike in their second post.

Format of the fight:
A battle shall end only when one or both fighters lives have expired; however, if their fight last longer than need be their bout will continue whilst everyone else progresses to round two. This way both fighters may play out their feud without seriously inhibiting the tournament’s progression.

Rules:

• Players must be at either side of the road.
• There's no field limit.
• Everything can be manipulated and/or destructible.
• You can not attack in your initial post
• Layout is here
• You are disallowed to edit your post without permission from Mobius and authorized personnel. Once your opponent has posted, the previous post YOU make shall remain untouched unless authorized. I will immediately disqualify you if you edit post after your opponent post (with some exceptions)

---

Flavor Text

Enter a farm: broken and abandoned, it teetered upon the edge of Wisconsin in rusted red coating. An unassuming fixture forever frozen in a tableau of glistening chartreuse, and infinite expanse rich with naught beyond the scenery offered by wheat fields and green pastures. Picturesque if not for a loose aggregate of dilapidated machinery crumbling beneath the weight of age and rainfall, once proud tools of economic progress they have since then been relegated to a sideshow existence. Added to this graveyard of motionless machinery on the west, a barn, while traditional in its dimensions and appearance, elemental influence has reduced its lustrous red coat to a dull hue. Barn doors no longer stood as protectors of the overgrown shed, but as remnants of savage vandalism, leaving them torn and divorced from their charge exposing its hay filled insides. A farmhouse was the final attraction, complete with broken windows and worn surface, an echo of the decay that surrounded it.

It was a simplistic arena, but more than adequate for a wise fighter who knew how to exploit his/her environment. Humble terrain provided each warrior with a plethora of tactics to be implemented at leisure. Whether it was to simply charge recklessly into battle without fear of compromised equilibrium, thanks to dry terrain, or to hide behind one of many rotting tractors in preparation for an ambush. To each his own appeared to be a major focus of this bland battlefield as the opportunities it offered suggested. Malleability to situational variables was another key essence it gave to both fighters.

Poised at the forefront of a dirt road ambiguous in its length, they stood as one of few markers for a site that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. An unlucky victim of poor location attracting only monthly visits from whatever greyhound bus happen to be passing by or even rarer, a drifter. Even then it was a rarity for anyone outside of those few spectators who knew where to look to even acknowledge its presence. Though an unwise place to live, it was ideal for a fated battle set to take place shortly. Two contestants entered, but only one would emerge whilst the other found them self cast into the maw of oblivion.

Choice of transportation was optional, be it by boat, plane, or some metaphysical form of travel, conceived through supernatural means. Drawn by bravery, valor, or something else entirely, it was here they flocked for a prize to be announced only at the tournament’s end. Until such a time came blood sport was the central premise of this game as implied by its purpose and overall scheme. Of course why anyone would want to take up this challenge and traverse the globe simply to fight was another story. The reward for survival this round, however; would be little more than satisfaction one received from tearing asunder their unworthy foe. They would manifest their courage on an elongated path tar from one horizon to the next, cutting a black scar between the barn and limitless wheat. ~Credit to Doll Maker - 2007 Tournament preliminaries

BEGIN

[Tasuke]

The red leaves of a lone maple rustle in whispers of defiance to autumn's command to let go and be carried off to far away lands. They cling to their branches, perhaps colored with anger, determined to remain at home; refusing to accept their destiny to depart and make their tree cold and unclothed. Even when the pleasantly warm winds blow they hold and sail 'til the weakest can no longer last and finds itself in free flutter; following airy avenues to a golden pasture of welcoming wheat where the fields are divided by earthen arteries. There walks a woman alone and the lonely leaf flits above in fascination while admiring her elegant appearance.

She wears a crown of black obsidian tied in a long ponytail and alabaster kimono; sandaled steps drowned by the sharp droning shrill of a sword drug by the mangled lacing of its hilt. It shines an ugly, rusted reflection of the afternoon sun as it carves a line into the land behind her; a curiosity compelling an investigative circling to her front to behold a gorgeous face of feathery bangs, listless coffee brown eyes and pink lips form a mask of melancholy. They look so very unhappy; so devoid of feeling that the leaf cannot glide by without aid. So it pirouettes downward upon a draft of lavender perfume to come flush with her forehead in a friendly kiss. It's all it can do to pierce the gloom.

Yet she is not enchanted; disregarding the gesture with a shunning shake of her head to cast the leaf away like an annoying insect; left to watch her walk away to the painful song of steel at her back.

[Rai]

A ripple in the air. A splitting crackle of fiery light distorted the perception of the reality around it. Bending until a ripple wide enough to allow a being to escape its inner pockets. Coming from high above a comet of fire hurtled to the ground. Despite the hurtling nature of its dramatic drop it landed with little sound beyond the crackles of fire spreading gently from its drop point. Emerging from the circle of flames created was the large figure of a man.

His blade sitting on his back and attached by a single leather strap. He walked without tension out of the flames and toward what he saw was a lone slender figure of a woman in the distance. He licked his lips with a smirk emerging on his mouth. Women were his weakness and despite the strength of his own female kin he found there to be little honor in besting them in combat. However in bed was a different victory. His eyes widened at the scenery. It was empty except for strange machines and homes of a different realm. He found his situation similar to being cast into a arena by forces conspiring against him. Was it the Mages? The seraphim? Or perhaps the dark assassins.. it did not matter. He aimed to return using any means necessary and in this particular situation perhaps his strength was needed.

Magnixx Hanoxx stepped forward at a strolling pace. His eyes not leaving the sight of the woman who grew ever larger in his sight.

[Tasuke]

Dry but pungent fall fragrances fill the nostrils as the woman carries on in wanderlust with ears tuned out to the endless wail of her wretched weapon. Though persistent for attention, screaming in hunger at her every step like a helpless infant, she is neglectful; testimony to the sinkhole in her soul each day she must tolerate its company. Yet she is not without ability to feel the waist-high wheat at her dexter, lifting her hand to brush her fingers across their bristly feathers. It inspires the smallest of smiles and compels her to halt and force the sword's hush. Eyes close as a zephyr blows through her; rolling through the meadow with a long sigh as it rustles her fabric and plays with the bangs over her forehead; even the obnoxious cawing of crows in the distance is a mellifluous replacement.

A fleeting pleasure fading when eyes open and behold a vision of falling flame far ahead.

Her wide stare watches the falling star land in the field without boom or quake while her lips form an indifferent line. Soon snakes of black smoke slither upward to signal a fire; A lump of dread rolls in her gut and she purses her lips into a frown at thought of what might follow the event: the dry grass and wheat will catch and raze the entire area following capricious wind. Then all bets are off for any nearby homes and people within them; because she has power to prevent that it makes putting out the blaze her responsibility. Although the cruel truth is hinted by a solemn sentence of velvety timbre. “...but you wouldn't want that, would you?”

Nevertheless she walks afresh and resumes the famished howl of her sword, her fingers still run across tickling wheat as anxiety builds with every step closer to the source of smoke. Focus upon that prevents registry of the figure ahead but they are not priority; a friendly warning will suffice before she passes by and tends to the threat at hand.

[Rai]

No other being seemed to travel the paths that sat between the crops that layered the land. None other than that woman whom strolled his way, as he too strolled to her. He ignored the cackling flames behind him that dwindled as the seconds rolled by and left nothing more than smoke, a clear sign of a fire as the black lines marked the open blue sky. It was when his sharp eyes could make out the design of this woman's attire did he pause. No armor. No visible strength and a rusted weapon being dragged along. Perhaps this was her mere means of protection from bandits. It was only a woman, a weak looking one at that. But weak was not entirely bad as subservience was easier and better in his trials for concubines. As a rare opportunity this may be he was wary of this lone woman who had eyes that have seen blood. He knew these eyes well but the figure did not match. She was like an angel the way she appeared so fragile and this was opposite to the warrior women he knew well in his armies.

As she approached he stood with arms crossed. He spoke to her when she reached 7 meters from his person. "You. Farmer woman. Have you a moment for a word to please your ears? It will be worth more than the fields before you I assure you."

[Tasuke]

The smoke has suspiciously dissipated in the time it took her to half the space between herself and the monolith of a man; closer and now without distraction she appreciates his size and majesty as he bars her path, arrayed for war like the commander of some dragon-riding army or a bounty hunter searching for a mark. She cannot tell if his horns are part of his skull or some clandestine helmet but ascertains he expects respect.

In compliance she yanks the cordage of her katana to take reverse hold by the hilt and silence its shriek for good; he'd likely already heard it for some time but this ensured it wouldn't cause him displeasure or pain of ear. If a mercenary, at least if a stubborn one, he'll know agony in ways much more severe than a popped drum.

At seven meters to go he speaks and she stops, soaking in his strong voice and scrutinizing stare. Although impressed she does not convey it; only maintains her exhausted expression of disenchantment. Then he presumes her profession and teases with a promise. She corrects flatly, saying, "I am not a farmer but a drifter, Sir... as far as a word... I am listening."

With the fire somehow extinguished she has nothing else to take up time; her only hope is that what he says next will be an offer she can't refuse. Alas the one thing she desires is what no one has been able to bestow.

[Rai]

A odd sound it was. A scream from a strange source. It's silence following the fastening grip on this woman's weapon. This was noticed but not taken as much more than a spell perhaps used for keeping things at bay with fear rather than strength. As he looked into the dead expression of the woman with his own. A swirling color like flames sat in their depth like a shell containing unquenchable fires.

His emerging smile contrasting the gloom she wore and his brow rose to intrigue as she rejected the farmer status. A drifter he thought as his right thumb cupped his chin in thought. Accepting his initiation he spoke "Yes indeed you are.. I come from many battles. Ones that legends are made of. My power has cursed me to remain at combat.. unable to appreciate the simplest of fine things life may offer." As he spoke he expressed grief for his situation and brought himself closer to her with a gentle step. He would stop only a meter before her. Well within his reach. He would look down on her. Taking note his size covering hers in width. His smile was back but it was a somewhat cocky and seductive one with eyes lowered like a bedroom lover.

"I am Magnixx Hanoxx. King of Fotia. Dragonslayer. I seek only a moment to feel those simple pleasures before my next battle... to feel warmth, and to share my own." Hands spreading out he spoke with an open and inviting posture. "

[Tasuke]

She doesn't expect to take anything of interest in what he has to say; nothing more than a polite but brief attention to his request preceding an inevitable declination and parting of ways. Then the words caress her ears like a mother's silken fingertips: “My power has cursed me to remain at combat... unable to appreciate the simplest of fine things life may offer.”

Awe parts her lips and she's hanging on everry word to follow as his towering frame thunders toward her with each metallic step. She moves back to keep the distance at three meters then receives an introduction; a name or sobriquet, then...

...disappointment.

A game of company and flesh is his desire; to bed pursue whatever companionship which may or may not last beyond morning. The statements are almost dizzying and certainly not virgin to her hearing; her traveling beauty has attracted many suitors and the persistent ones are able to be such pests. However with daylight still far from gone there is plenty of time for the possibilities she's allowing her suddenly salacious mind to entertain; wondering just how long it's been since she was loved by a man even if it means nothing to either of them. So she smiles and delivers a name of her own with a deep bow. “I am Hisame of Japan.”

She rises, still smiling with eyes a-twinkle in fascination. “Tell me more of this curse and the things you seek... preferably with wine, meat and a roof.”

[Rai]

A small step back from her to retain distance. But all his words and charm did reach some part of her, perhaps the weariness of a warriors path. He sensed her carnal desire in her eyes. But what he found intriguing, if not a tad outside his tastes, was the lack of sheer infatuation. Yes she was fair and must have many suitors. But to a mere traveling woman his presence and alluded wealth would humble her to complete servitude. He wanted feel like a king again. He did little to soften his expression and simply smiled with a stiff raised chin. He knew little else about this dimension but the needs were mostly the same throughout. As she listed the things she desired he found it all to be conviniently alike his world. Yes all things I am familiar with.

"Hi..same.. of Japan." He spoke slowly as he tried to properly speak these entirely foreign words. "My land is named Fotia, or the fire's womb. You would be in awe of our volcanoes." He looked up proudly. His voice softening into a more elegant pitch that carried with it the majesty he saw in his visions of his home. He looked her in the eyes and met his stare with one of his own. A assuredly deviant look before breaking it to look to the barn. His dreaded hair tied to a ponytail whipped as he looked back to her. Smiling with a smirk as he regained sight of her. "Perhaps we will have all we need there... come. Let us setup a place to rest our feet and then I will tell you what a king desires.." He turned and as he did so his wings on his back flowed across before dangling behind him and above the ground. They acted similar to a cape that rested on his back but with black scaled properties.

Once arriving to the barn Magnixx would rip open the large wooden doors. The violent way he did so would break it from it's hinges. He would toss it behind him and look to the open hay floor. There atop two stacks of hay he sat. Next to him were more and he motioned for Hisame to sit on them. His blade was placed on the ground next to him. It's massive length and width made it seem like an impossible weapon for any normal warrior. "Perhaps there will be what we seek within the living quarters.. Perhaps you can fetch it.. you are more familiar with this land, no?"

[Tasuke]

In all her travels to and fro upon the earth Hisame has neither seen nor heard of the place Magnixx is from; even the name is foreign to her multi-lingual ears. His talk of volcanoes spurs a flashback of a hike with her and her late fiance through the forests at Mt. Fuji; they had navigated the labyrinthine sea of trees known as Aokigahara and scaled the mountain's heights to stand on top of the world in all its vastness and splendor. No feeling can compare with that triumphant yet humbling experience; of course, it's now a tourist attraction anyone can enjoy for a fraction of the effort so only the truly ambitious dare to mimic such an adventure.

He diverts her attention to the buildings in the backdrop: a barn, farmhouse and silo; surely places where one might find board, bread and brew... assuming those living there, if any, are hospitable. She nods in agreement and he turns to reveal another curiosity in the form of the wings he wore like a twin cape of feathers. Memories of angelic stories come to mind and thoughts slither toward the fantastical if not outright silly. However if he is such a being then there is a chance; a sliver of hope he may be able to relieve her of a particular burden. It's why her lips grin with white teeth and her eyes gleam in refreshed optimism. After all, if he is even just a king, she may be granted access to nearly anything; something to unlock the shackles once and forever.

The repetitive clangor of his perfectly gaited steps on earth is like a hammer to an anvil but somehow soothing; like a countdown ushering away an old year as the new rolls in. Such a feeling only grows when they halt before the massive doors of the barn – ignoring the proper procedures of checking the house – and he parts the red ingress by force; like a veil ripped and strewn aside with hard, wooden thuds. Hisame has to swallow the laugh tickling her throat as they enter the shadowy interior sliced by dusty bars of leaking light.

Within is everything to be expected: bails of hay, a wall full of farming tools; a tractor and empty stables; the odor of rotting wood and other neglected duties flaring her nostrils while she looks around to note each sign of abandonment. Hisame wonders if his senses of the unknown are a bit keener to trespass as he did without fear or reprisal; then again no farmer would go against a man such as he: the professed king now sitting on a throne of straw. Soon enough the lonely lord aches for a queen and pats the bedding nearby.

He'd notice her school-girlish expression by now but she can't care; the forgotten feeling of being alive compels her left hand to cast her weight aside. The katana lands with a loud clang of protest she hears as a victory bell; then she moves to him in a jubilant frolic and stands at his dexter before turning. The soft skirt of her kimono is guided around her knee with one hand as she lowers to kneel beside him, leaning in to let their shoulders touch while palms lay astride; to feel the cold metal of his armor through the silk. There she listens to the strong lilt speaking suggestion to search; an inquiry of familiarity that has her shaking her head with a soft stare, saying, “In truth I am a foreigner myself. I understand the basics of this country and how to live in it; the workings of a home, cooking and cleaning are only different from my homeland in style, approach and tradition... but...” Her eyes dart left at the open egress. “Ask me where the local market is and I'd find myself lost for words...”

Hisame looks back at him bashfully, similarly speechless at how easily she's opening herself up; perhaps it is the hope, as they say, which lights up her seemingly perpetual night. A spark of hot, electric emotion pumped from her heart and through her veins like magma, urging her completed reply. "Now that we're at rest, please tell me what it is you desire, O King..." She dips her face to bat her lashes seductively. "It will be my pleasure to serve you in every way you wish."

[Rai]

He took notice of her gentle pace and soft laughter. Yes it was familiar to him. Though foreign to his own people's customs he found the air of simplicity and the subtlety of nobility within her actions. He found this very close to those who lived in the land of light and forest. These people, they commune with nature and demand it's simplicity to be their culture. Yet she adorned herself in long flowing clothing like the Queen of the mountain he missed dearly. Though her demeanor was always analytical and stiff to him he found her to be a inexperienced girl in his hands and when alone. Now he sat alone with this new woman Hisame and her elegance did stir within him old feelings. It was when she obediently came over to his beckon and, in her own way, elegantly sat before him entirely pleased to be in his presence. Even within the dust and mold that was his momentary resting place. It was this that skewed his past and present and he instinctively resisted this. He sat with hands together, fingers intertwined, and elbows on his thighs. His eyes lost their luster for a moment. His mind wandered as he took in his own situation a bit. He was not home nor was this the one he loved. But her smile tugged his center, that is, the center of pleasure he felt from observing a new concubine.

It was the depth of his needs that he knew would plunge such a woman into a grime she would not rise out of easily. His search for new concubine was mostly filled by this desire. The desire to overwhelm, both in battle and in bed. So he brought his eyes to meet hers as she explained her lack of awareness of this land. Despite the topic it only bought him time to make peace with his circumstance. Though he had the life of a king he now felt more than ever how he truly saw himself. A warrior. But now he faced a test that he didn't know if a return to his luxuries was feasible. In the sadness of this thought he cast aside his caution and would fall into this moment entirely.

"Now that we're at rest, please tell me what it is you desire, O King..."

His fiery eyes appeared golden brown in the sunrays that broke through the ceiling and illuminated the dust particles like the stars in the sky. He looked somewhat seriously but a smirk rising on his left cheek could not leave his full lips. "Desire.. is not the correct word." His voice almost echoed as his vocal cords rattled through his honed mass. Now he slowly rose. His weight having clearly flattened the hay significantly and many pieces of its making falling apart with his gentle rise. Said pieces falling from his backside. His wings rose now, expanding slowly before extending out entirely like a stiffened cloth. The hay fell from around him like confetti. He stepped to her, only needing half a step to be only a foot from her. He brought a hand down in invitation to use it to rise. "We have a word called kindling. Its as you imagine, a fire. But it is made within." He pointed to his chest, his index finger touching over his heart. "The phrase being.. light my flame."

[Tasuke]

Not unlike a king it seems Magnixx has grown discontented with their current rickety residence; a den far too hot, hard and sweat-inducing to achieve a full enjoyment of the activities Hisame now wrangles him toward. For she is a woman first and not without her charms; beautiful enough to snare any man with a flutter of the lash, naked shoulder or sultry whisper. But with him it is not her intent to use like an electronic toy: gently pushed in all the right places as every fiber aches for the touches which build like his volcanoes until climactic eruption.

So he rises and offers hand, trailing off mid-correction as Hisame slips soft flesh inside the cool clasp of his glove to rise with poignant ease, one leg after the other. Then with a point to his heart he speaks a smoldering sentence:

"We have a word called kindling. It's as you imagine, a fire. But it is made within. The phrase being... light my flame."

Her brows jump at the bluntness but she giggles in a velvety lilt with their eyes locked in a lover's staring contest; her other hand opens across his midsection, traveling up the cold metal of the breastplate until the icy fingers may melt upon the warmth of the curve of his neck. There the digits circle and nails dig gently like pen tips as she thoroughly enjoys his every twitch and emotion at her true touch; when armor is passed and flesh melts together. She bites her lower lip and whispers in a tease, saying, “You can feel that, hmm? I think you'll need to lose that armor if you want me to go lower...”

The other hand drifts south across the cool accouterments to rest upon his inner thigh. “As for the fire, I understand the way to a man is through his stomach... so let us go to the house and find something for dinner..” She turns for the door and walks away to add, “...then we can have dessert.”

[Rai]

With a gentle passion she touched his protective covering and right above it her hand rose to carress bare flesh. Her movements were calculated and expressed the fever that rose within their moment. How quickly one forgets of peril in the face of a opportunity to forget it was there. Even if that opportunity was void of substance. But despite how little time went by before the two began to match gazes Magnixx felt her delicate and small hands to be cold. Weak and tender. He looked at her charms like a man enjoying a show, his amused smile being visible even as they never broke from her lashes. Her texture was clear and the fade of red over her pale face matched the cold she seemed to have recently suffered from. For as she touched the warm flesh of Magnixx he could feel the brisk loneliness of a cold body. Though he was not burning if it were lower in climate his body would be emitting a steam from it's constant breathing. Needless to say his body was glistening and was very warm.

Her laugh graced his ears. Like a flower field he felt at ease amongst it's pitch. A welcomed difference from the expected bloodshed to be had once he arrived to this realm. Though a bit chilling at first he grew a liking to her attempts to see him quiver to her. Though he let his closing eye lids give away his slow rising pleasure. It was when she began to speak again did he return to focus as best he could. His mind whirled but he kept the flood of passion at bay, food was mentioned after all. Though his mind did not think of food it now felt appropriate to have a meal and perhaps feel a bit at home here. He watched as she lifted herself up to make way for the door to the inner departments of the home. "I don't assume there's a meal befitting a king within. But a drink and perhaps some bread would suffice." He found himself following her. His eye looked back to his blade, only side eyeing it as he recalled his situation once more. By shaking his head he left the lonely blade there, it's only companion now the hay and silent blade Hisame left behind as well.

The door would open, but Magnixx would be the first to open it. He insisted as such, a king, no a man such as he would be insulted to have a woman make his way. So with similar results the door opened but fell to the ground after being let go. Dust gently rose but there they stood in the living quarters with the kitchen before them only a few feet ahead through a corridor. "Though old.. This shelter may do well."

[Tasuke]

Hisame follows his departure from the stench of disrepair and back outside into the robust autumnal smells as her slick skin is swept by cooler air; an enjoyed relief which has her inhaling deeply amid her look upon the horizon of trees encircling the two-story building like browning broccoli. Crows still bicker to scraping sandals and the thud of metal boots as if mocking in avian tongue, but what she takes important note of is the position of the sun at about six o' clock. This left less than two hours before the fall of dusk; just enough time for them to have their fun before she takes leave until dawn. She's hasn't missed the detail of the brand he left back in the barn; perhaps a token of trust which may prove to be a fatal folly but only time will tell.

In less than a minute they arrive at the mossy stone porch of the farmhouse and like before, he foregoes knocking in favor of immediate entry; ripping the door from its hinges and casting it aside. The grinning Hisame supposes customs for royalty quite different in his land and ponders just how to rectify that social difference; that is, when it mattered. It appears there has been no one occupying the land for some time and inspection of the building interior affirms this: worn wood caked with dust, peeling wallpaper and the stuffy sense of a building long left alone. Whatever their reason the original owners have forsaken the property and they'll be lucky to find anything salvageable; the most important of all being running water.

She walks forward to the kitchen, scanning her surroundings while her steps creak on the floorboards. Hisame spots a staircase to the second floor at the right hand of the four-way intersection ahead; likely a home with at least three bedrooms and two baths. When she turns in she finds the kitchen to be spacious with a single large table, four wooden chairs and the expected appliances along the left wall where the countertops and sink sit.

There's a light switch to her dexter and her right hand flicks it upward; the lights of a hanging chandelier glow in warm greeting. “We have electricity,” she informs happily on the way to the faucets; she turns the knobs with a set of squeaks before water rushes out. Hands cup the cool liquid and she sips the clear elixir to find it untainted. “...and clean water as well.”

Hisame turns the water off and turns to face the man who fills the entire archway of the room like an out-of-place gargoyle. “I'll see if I can find something for dinner... I think you could use a shower or bath... just remember that the left knob is for hot water and the right is cold...” She pauses for effect. “...I wouldn't want you to burn yourself before my hands get to you." Another turn to the faucet before she makes a loud addition to make sure it's heard. "And do open the doors this time! It'll get cold tonight if you rip off those of the bedroom!"

[Rai]

Though not entirely familiar with the way power worked Magnixx felt little awe over the working lights. However how the seamless electricity functioned in such a peasant home was a bit confusing to him. In his realm farmers were the lowest class of people and were not even citizens within his capital city. Hisame seemed well able to maneuver through the home and did so with her petite size. Though Magnixx was a large man amongst certain groups of people in his realm he found Hisame nonchalantly prepping their intimant moment which presumably would take place upstairs. How she felt no fear when in his presence fascinated him, but also gave him wary. Her eyes seemed determined for something. What was her goal? Finding the gentle sound of water running breaking his thought he looked to the stairs. He hasn't moved beyond the front door to walk about the home. He instead only looked about with a turn of his neck and darting of the eyes. Were they entirely alone?

“...I wouldn't want you to burn yourself before my hands get to you."

It was the way she presumed his tenderness that made him raise a brow. Despite the difference in size she treated him like she would any other man. Or so he assumed. He merely lowered his head and suppressed a laugh into a few baritone chuckles. "I am a being forged through endless fire. It would take about a thousand suns to burn me to cinders." He looked up now at Hisame, his pupils swirling with brown and gold from the sunlight meeting his face from the window. Time indeed was passing. "Well I'll see if the contraption up here works." With a turn he aimed for the stairs and placed his hands gently grasped the stair rail and felt the tenderness of its age. Very unlike his home where everything was made to last for an eternity. He decided to let the railing go and focused his weight to disperse evenly and lightly on the steps. Though the creeks could be heard from below the staircase and dust was visibly freeing themselves from their hug of the ceiling to fall with weightless abandon to the wooden floor.

Magnixx's eyes dimmed as he met the fairly less lit upper corridors and the bathroom door down the hall was open with a window illuminating the outer ridge of the bath. With several more loud creeks and the dust fall that followed he entered the bathroom. With a little dip he had to do to enter in her lowered his horns and rose up as he finished going through the barrier. So now his hands knew to be gentle with the knobs. He turned the left knob and felt the water as it spilled from the faucet. He breathed in the warm mist as the heat rose to his nostrils. He used the initial hot water to clean the tub and then reran a bath with fresh hot water. The bath was rather decent in size but his body as it sank within filled the majority of it to the point of overflowing onto the floor. This splashing sound would announce his seating in the bath. If not for the foreshadowing of the clang of his few protective coverings chipping away the wooden bathroom floor.

[Tasuke]

Ten minutes of swift first floor searching yields zilch in gain; the kitchen is barren and to bake bread from the outside wheat will exhaust more daylight than Hisame can afford. This made options for food and drink limited if not impossible; if the basement holds nothing then she must surrender to hunger or improvise. Now in the dark underbelly of the building lit only by beams of glittering, dusty light she spends an additional five minutes sifting through shelves, drawers and cardboard boxes. All of them prove empty but luck strikes in the finding of a pair of full wine bottles so old their labels have peeled off; in the very least guaranteed to be of mature age.

With a bottle strangled in each hand she makes way from the scratchy stone floor, up the short set of noisy steps and back into the inviting light of the kitchen. She sets the wine down on the table and goes back to the sink, leaning over it with hands astride in a glower while she stares at the rusty metal basin below. Dismal thoughts parch her throat and pull down her heart; alone again, Hisame may take proper time concocting a scheme to outsmart her nemesis. A plot which has her looking up through the dirt-stained window at the wall of the barn in a glare of fiery defiance, speaking a frosty promise.

"I won't you let you have him."

It seemed her challenge had been heard when her ears hear the screech which slaps her face with horror and locks her throat shut as blood turns to icy slush in her veins. She runs for the front door, outside and toward the barn. Ten feet from the broken-down entrance her pace is like a snail as her and every possible source of the sound's origin twists her tummy into dreadful knots. Nevertheless her dragging feet carry her forward, inching to the opening to turn and look inside...

...to see nothing at all; the barn undisturbed and derelict.

Except for her sword now aslumber in the center of the room upon a bed of straw.

She looks in every direction, outside and in, aching to see some person nearby to explain the impossible sound she'd heard; no one is found and once again it is just her and it: she and her parasitic companion. Hisame swallows the lump in her throat and shakes her head with a prideful grin. "No... not this time. I'll just leave you right fucking here and ignore you..."

Hisame turns to walk away–

–and a cold clutch yanks her by the ankle, pulls her down to the ground and drags her into the barn, screaming; brought deep into the pervading shadows and left before her blade as the outside doors slam over the entrance like paper mâché to seal her within.

She lays on her side with listless, unblinking eyes; gazing at the katana she'd cursed herself with; what now enters her ear as a single whisper finds friends to create a congested cacophony. A myriad mutterings all demanding individual attention but it's not difficult to inference their ultimate desire: compliance.

Hisame blinks, peering out of the kitchen window at the barn; it doesn't register at first.

Then she gasps and falls back onto the floor in near-hyperventilation and cold sweat, scurrying backward until she feels the stiff wall. Eyes dart to every corner and crevice until she's sure she's alone; sure what just happened was only a vision and they were still safe. Finally Hisame catches breath and closes her eyes with a sigh of sweet relief; reminding herself of the partial control she has over present circumstances.

"I only have to get the information I need and leave before nightfall..."

Hisame picks herself up and wobbles toward the wine, scooping them up in each hand as she says, "I also need a fucking drink..."

She comes to the steps, slips off her sandals and ascends the staircase; her coming is announced in creaks while she comes over the crest and into the hallway toward a closed door. Only wet sensation beneath her feet gives pause and she stops to look at the puddle she now stands in; another shake of her head, but this time joined by a resurrected smile at how silly Magnixx is for a king. Did he not know how to fill a bath?

With a pair of knocks she calls to him, saying, "There is no food but I have found wine... when you're ready, join me in the bedroom... you'll know the one."

So she travels onward, glancing into each room until she found something suitable: a spacious interior with a queen-sized mattress and a nightstand nearby. That is where she sets down the wine and doubles back, untying the black ribbon of her ponytail before exiting with the door partially open. Hisame decorates the handle with a bow and runs her hands through her long locks to drape them over each shoulder, then continues her search for the final pieces of seduction's puzzle: a good place to get suitably dressed and perfect timing.

[Rai]

Taking a mere bath with no servants to wash his backside was not enjoyable. He grimaced with a fist plotting against his chin and his elbow on the edge of the bath ridge. It was with a displeased slant of his eyes that he noticed the mold on the walls that was forming. He felt he remembered this. Bathing in what he could find and making the most of it. It was far before his time as King. It was when he was being raised up and trained with other soldiers. What was once a thin lad was now a hulking man. Or so many told him. He recalled what he did when presented with only a body of water.

Hisame's arrival perked his head up. He watched as her feet paused by the door. Disappointment aired his mood when she turned to leave. She was not as adventurous to gander at him when in the bath. A moment countless women chose not to forego. "Then wine we will have. Enough to fill our hearts!" He sat back in the bath as He spoke this ending it with a hearty chuckle. He began to breathe deeply and focused a orb of flame miniscule in size to arrive within the water. It boiled instantly and the water began to steam from being heated up rapidly. It overflowed quite a bit more before settling into a warm most the escaped the room. His body could handle the intense heat all dirt and germs on his body could not. So he emerged from the bath soaked yet clean. His protective wear was picked up but the only thing he placed on was his dark red trousers that were sewn with care with a fine texture.

He planted heavy foot after heavy foot as he casually strolled down the hall. With no towel available he merely walked while still damp. He shook violently to throw many beads of water off before coming to a door With a ribbon on it. He sniffed the air to find the similar fragrance he found from a woman to be near. Though Hisame was a fair woman she did not bathe as he did so as a result she filled the air with the smell of delicate flesh. Magnixx found this tolerable despite the hint of of sweat from activity he sensed from Hisame. Was it that much work to find the wine? He did little pondering however. If she was nervous she hid it well. While disatisfying he knew he could not choose a better candidate to forget the bloodshed and his doomed fate.

"It appears that I have found the room. And perhaps I grow more accustomed to their doors. Wood is so... weak." He said as the knob gently turned to let himself in. He did not make a uneven sound beneath his feet as he gently strolled in. Eyes set on observing the mysterious woman and her mood setting decor.

[Tasuke]

Magnixx would have to endure the solitude Hisame extends thru hiding as he finds the room empty with only lavender perfume permeating the air; whetting the appetite for a feast of fleshly delights fit for a king. However loneliness will not last long because his words are cue to make entrance in slow, creaking steps down the hallway. She hugs the wall at the door's right edge and peeks in with eye, bangs and dangling right arm glowing warmly in the light to see him standing there as she issues a simple command. "Sit and be comfortable."

Acquiescence will be rewarded with her left hand's inching pull of her showing sleeve to reveal the slender curves of her shoulder and neck. She slides along the hard wood of the door frame to lean in the opening with legs crossed as the teasing fingers rub the edge of her kimono's right collar fold, down the soft silk and back up her breast; tugging it down with a second pass to tickle his imagination but not quite expose what's beneath. The other hand slithers down the showing leg to peel back the skirt and reveal the calf at the knee before crawling upward, slowly giving full view of the side of her buttocks. Then she rolls her head right and lets locks fall before whipping them left and pushing herself off, letting the fabric fall before stepping forward with crossing steps and hair betwixt her busom. One footfall at a time as hands hold the hems of her kimono's collar and playfully swirls them in slow circles of teasing revelation; always so close to the sweet eye candy but never quite able to get past the scarlet rim of the bra below, her glittering gaze burning into his with the scorch of desire.

Halfway to him, her palms slide further down to the sash holding her garment together; she bites her smiling lower lip and takes hold with both hands, loosening it left and right to her stride. Once free, Hisame takes the long silken piece in her right hand and whirls it around her body from the top down; fingertips guide it across every curve, licking the sweating flesh to her clear satisfaction of momentarily closing eyes and soft sighs. The unbound kimono draws a line of skin and red undergarment down her middle and as she sways she lets it roll off her shoulders and past past her back but no further. Arms bend at the elbows and she lifts the silken sash upward and over the back of his neck like a scarf, letting it dangle there over his chiseled chest like a trophy and cover him in her floral scent.

Now he his close enough to touch and hot hands span over his upper thighs, parting his legs to grant more space to fit herself in and lean toward his deliciously fit frame to meet breast-to-bra; bringing her lips close to his with a deep breath and hard, minty exhalation. However she won't let them meet, instead turning around to melt the curve of her back into his firm chest, grinding up and down while searching for a certain firmness against her rubbing rump. How their heat could reduce her to ashes; the embers within whirling into unquenchable flame made manifest in the turn of her face to look lovingly into eyes. A second, unspoken command she knew he'd understand. For she aches to be held in the embrace of lovers; stripped, kissed and made love to like a king with his queen.

If only for now; if only for today.

[Rai]

Mood

Through the enduring solitude he watched the sun’s glare by the window. There in the world outside these walls sat his blade. It held with it the hopes and glories of past kings and his people’s very history. He grimaced a bit at the thought of leaving it behind in the old dusty barn, which was nothing more than abandoned framework for something more suitable in his mind. He placed a right hand over his mouth and chin tilting it down with a slight disgust. What was he doing? Why could he not fight this…? These questions ran through his mind. But he knew for a long time he could not run from his weakness to seduction and fleshly desires. So instead he hid it as best he could. But there was no need to hide this now, no one was around not a councilor nor a jester. His hand dropped to his chest when the subtle sounds of feet approaching his vicinity echoed through the hall and into his ear drums. Though her location was unknown to him he took a chance to keep a lowered guard to the approaching Hisame. He felt secure that no one else was within these wooden walls and brought his posture to an ease, shoulders rolling back to expand his chest, their intricate ridges elongating. His wings dangled down like a cape on his back.

"Sit and be comfortable."

Now she issued a demand? If he knew such a bold woman in his life time it would have to be his love, the hardened diamond queen. Only she could utter such a thing from her lips and not be deathly afraid of dishonoring him. Indeed he had been entertained by countless youthful women of various talents and ways of seduction. But none could match this setting. Illumination by this world’s falling star their faces were glowing with a humming warm color of the red sky. The light began its farewell to the first half of their time together. From his passing carnal desires to this intricate moment. This lingering death around the corner brought all the warmth to a standstill. Yet it brought it to a fever. Resist as they did Magnixx knew inside all was not well for either of these travelers.

Such a thing began to melt away from his mind like water on a hot battery. The sudden sparks making his head unintentionally move up with a sign of interest. With arms crossed he sat on the bed, his weight being cushioned by the hundreds of springs within the mattress and its sturdy metal frames. His wings were beneath him as he sat and they dangled to the floor. A photo of running horses sat over the bed and a mirror to the right. Magnixx rolled his neck a bit to loosen himself up as he kept his eyes watching Hisame. Like a good observer he studied her movements with a solid stare. His eyes lowered. It was strange. He felt… intrigued... despite the simplicity. No flames danced about her nor did she use her voice or instrument to rapture him with a melody. But he found himself being pulled into the warm and soft bed beneath him and the equally so woman before him.

Perhaps it was her foreign airs, the perfumes she wore, and her delicate youthful even flesh that captured him. But he knew it was her womanly charms and the mountain of mystery between them that gave him such a strong impression of her. With slow gentle movements she rocked herself in seductive sways. It was similar to his concubines who swayed with displayed hips to be awarded his time for a night. But the intricate differences kept him almost laser focused on her dips and teasing slips. Even as she tossed her garment piece over him he did little beyond raise a brow in a slight air of annoyance. However his smirk gave way to his tease. Now she made way for his legs and moved in, her small size compared to his giving her much room. Taking this in he found himself suppressing his tightened muscles to the point he did when turning the bath knobs. With a still rather damp and warm body he felt relaxing his muscles increased in ease. With a deep breath he attempted to relax even more so. He did not want to break this toy he found so soon. Her frame giving him every indicator she could not handle his careless aggression. How trusting was she? Or did she not believe his strength was enough to harm her accidentally? He knew better otherwise and refrained from moving when she brought herself against him. His hands laying to his sides like obedient dogs refraining from a meal. His eyes lowered as her gaze turned to the door. Was he nervous now?

He could hardly believe his hesitance and scoffed before he brought his hands up to grip her small waist as it wiggled about against him. He gently did so as to not put pressure onto her. Now she made eye contact with him, being seldom prepared for such a adoring gaze Magnixx felt his head move back. It was then he knew within her was a fiery passion that possessed her to do this dance with fate with him, perhaps she needed this and he merely wanted it. But a challenge it was to his abilities to see such begging eyes and so he lowered his face into hers to meet and interlock her small lips with his own ample ones. As he did this his hands urgently gripped the cloth of her spreading garment and pulled it apart on her shoulder line and down her arm length stopping at her elbows. With little else adding mystery but her undergarments both of their flesh openly glowed in the sun’s warm hues. His hands were nearly burning with warmth as they met her red attire and with stiff precision a finger tangled against its thin fasten and lowered it with a slide against her ligaments.

With a single arm hugging her willing body he lifted her to meet his height and gazed into her eyes to see what he saw was still there. A desire deeper than his for what he could not escape. A weakness not only shared by him for once was a pleasing thought and for him to only realize this now… He smiled. His free hand pushed against his now slightly weighty damp trousers to make a loud thud on the creaking floor. To him she was weightless and so she was allowed to perch on him and feel as gravity pressed her against him. He laid back on the bed and loosened his hug. He wanted to know through this night a little about how much she desired this and aimed to let her venture for a while. But once he was sure of it he would take over and in his way it would not be a game but a marathon. So he laid there, however his hands were incapable of refraining from the feeling of petting silk on her most delicate areas. His eyes scanned the room and took sight of the wine bottle she left within and with a smirk he thought the debauchery could go even deeper. Even if only for this night he was to feel the grace of a lover’s fire merge with his.

[Mobius]

Ruling

• It has been told to you both before: We want to keep this PG13 in terms of sexual content.

Ruling We do not want graphic sexual content in our tournament. Fade to black.