Duel:Mahri v Lita, Match 2 of the 2023 War Games - Larket v Cenril
Duelists: Mahri vs Lita Duel: Traditional 3 rounds with final defense, 20 minute posting limit. Stakes: Standard, autohit delivered by winner with allowance for final reply. Judges: Miya, Meri, and Kasyr
Outside the Jail
Outside of the stone barracks known as the jail, the road is populated with many people who all seem to scatter themselves amongst the various different discussions. Stone steps lead west through double doors that guide strangers of all kinds into the jail. At the base of the steps, a board littered with assorted footnotes attracts the attention of dozens of by standers, revealing recent cases or cases to be carried out in the future. To the north the trees begin to thin out and die, leading towards the stockades. The courthouse towers towards the east and the voices from the busy intersection float from the south.
Lita still had friends in low places. It came in handy that her goal for all this war business was in no way personal. So getting into Cenril hadn't been particularly difficult, despite having allegedly thrown the city's mayor off a bridge recently (I mean, the only witnesses are avid supporters of the woman after all, so trust that about as far as you can kick it). Regardless, her plan has little to nothing to do with supporting any war efforts for Larket and everything to do with a little payback for Khitti having thwarted all her plans. Of course, that was also entirely Valrae's fault, somehow. Lita is dressed in the usual black sundress and barefoot, with a dark cloak around her shoulders and the hood drawn up to cover her face. Just because she had a few friends still around, doesn't mean she's in any hurry to rack up enemies. She's got a bag over one shoulder and something tucked into her left arm amidst the folds of her cloak as she stalks her way through the shadows towards Cenril's jail. The plan wasn't overly complicated, or even thought out, really. Sneak past some guards, fiddle with some locks, hope whatever Larketian troops Cenril might have stowed away can run faster than their captors. Crouched in the shadows at the edge of the stone building, she sets her bag of supplies on the ground and reveals the little bundle she'd been carrying with her. The little calico kitten meows up at her with bright eyes and fluffy ears. No, don't be distracted by the cute! Enter: Lil-Kas-X. There had been no time to train him up in the way of underhanded criminal activities, that would come later. But this is clearly his origin story. And what kind of people- guards or not- wouldn't be distracted by an adorable lost little kitten! Lita boops the snoot of the little creature and sets him on the ground before nudging it forward. It teeters a few steps, wobbling the way kittens do, out from the shadows and into the light to draw the attention of the two guards on hand. One of them tries to shoo it away but it meows up at him and he practically melts. Gross. Lita didn't have to kill the guards, not really. But she did want to send a message. And the best ones were always written in blood. She draws her dagger from its hiding place within the bracer on her left arm. All she'd have to do was wait for the guard to come a little closer.
Mahri’s also making her way to the jails. Her goal is to extract information. But for whom? Is she being paid? Maybe? Information was a commodity after all. She herself wasn’t even sure if there was anyone in those cells who knew anything worth even a copper, but she’d find out, one way or another. She’s almost there when the faint scent that is distinctly Lita’s tickles her nose, but that’s not right. Lita was supposed to be at home. The mewling of that cursed kitten isn’t far behind and the softy guard steps into view to scoop it up, “M’daughter always wanted a kitt’n,” he’s telling his eye-rolling partner. “Daughter, sure,” he’s mocking the rather large Cenrilian guard. Maybe it’s a flutter of cape too dark to be a shadow that catches the wolf’s eye but at least the guard’ll be saved when the wolf calls, “Hey! Shouldn’t you be checking the prisoners and not petting kittens?” Mahri’s already there, in front of them and seemingly oblivious to Ace’s presence.
Round One
Lita makes a mental note to pack extra kittens for future missions, just in case. She narrows a look at Mahri from the shadows as the she-wolf makes her way towards the jail. Don't do it, she tells herself, trying to communicate with the woman telepathically. She can't, of course. Had she packed a spare kitten, she would have chucked it at the woman instead. Very subtly. The guards are turning to head into the jail at Mahri's chastising and Lita finds herself echoing their mumbled complaints under her breath. She waits for their departure before sending the dagger flying through the air with the flick of her wrist. She's not aiming for the woman exactly. Maybe just to take a few inches of hair off one side of her head, there in front. She follows the dagger out of the shadows and glances towards the jail's entrance. If she wanted to continue with any sort of plan, she probably would have to kill the guards now. "You should have stayed on the island." She says to Mahri finally, reaching for the second dagger sheathed beneath the hem of her skirt at her thigh. "Cenril isn't neutral territory." As if she'd needed reminding.
Mahri had to sigh softly as the dagger went flying past her nose, nicking just across the tip of it. She’ll assume it was a temper tantrum or a warning. “I had work to do, same as you.” She didn’t reach for her own dagger, not just then, but she blade her stance, sliding her right foot back a bit, leaving her arms hanging relaxed at her sides. “No, not it isn’t. But we knew this was going to happen one way or another,” Mahri shrugs. But while she’d been speaking, from behind Lita came those trusty vines, thick, supple with a greenish-grey hue to the stalks. Slithering along the ground, the bundle of smooth vegetation, sought out their target to encircle and pin her in place from ankles to shoulder. “I’m sorry, babe,” her fingers flexed, just in case, “we’ll have to work this one out at home later.” She means the fight they’re about to have.
Round Two
Lita is fairly used to Mahri enjoying pinning her to things, but she really did not enjoy those vines. They had been a nuisance in their first duel, even. She's even more agitated after the shadow magics she'd had to deal with from Khitti. At least the vines weren't spitting acid across her skin. Even so, there was a reason she'd kept that second dagger at hand. She barely registers Mahri's apology as she crouches again, turning in a little circle to slice through any of those creeping vines trying to ensnare her. A green stalk wraps its way around her forearm and she tosses the dagger from her right hand to her left before driving the blade through the vegetation and pinning it into the dirt. She turns her wrist, wrapping the length of vine around her hand and pulls hard until the vine snaps like rope. She reaches for the blade, tugging it from the ground and stands to face Mahri again, a length of that vine hanging from her right hand. She takes the other end of it in her left hand, pulling it taut in front of her. "I just need you to not." She says, trying to be reasonable and knowing already that they're both entirely too stubborn for such a thihng. "Otherwise, I'm covering all the cannons in pony stickers." She warns with a grin before she makes a run for Mahri, aiming to capture one or both of her hands with the length of vine in some attempt to keep her from using that little magic trick any further.
Mahri couldn’t help smiling and shaking her head. She figured Lita would do something to avoid the snares and while her back was turned took the opportunity to withdraw her own dagger so that when Lita came rushing she was ready. Actually, this wasn’t quite what she’d imagined. She’d figured this would be more … hands on but a knife fight is ok, too. Mahri let Lita come at her and just before she might have wrapped the vine around one or both wrists, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, the silver dagger flashes upwards to sever the length of vine in the middle, splitting it harmlessly. “I’d rather do, love,” she breathes, pivoting to always face Lita. Vines weren’t the only flora in her arsenal. Bursting from the ground comes a rose bush, the thorns darts that shoot off with a neurotoxin dripping off the tips. They fly, sharp enough to shred through regular clothing to find vulnerable skin beneath, and barring that, her bare feet or ankles. Stepping backwards, Mahri seems to have forgotten about the thick trunks of the vines Lita had left behind, her heel catching to trip her up with a curse. Dang it Lita, can you weare something more appropriate than a sundress next time? Mahri wouldn’t get to see if any of her darts landed while she rolled out of the next of vines for the next oncoming attack.
Round Three
Lita would have loved a nice non-magic-induced brawl for once. But Mahri started it with the vines. That first dagger had just been a warning shot, after all. She was trying to be civil! Something Val and Khitti hadn't understood either. It's okay, Mahri has clearly been brainwashed by whatever air they pump through the city here in Cenril. Lita manages a few choice words as Mahri cuts through the vine-rope she'd attempted to use. She shakes the pieces from her hands to the ground in frustration. Mahri pivots to keep her in her sight and Lita has a spare second to step back and reach for her first dagger, which had conveniently lodged itself into the building nearby. "Oh, I'll give you something to do," she says with an amused grin, irridescent dagger spinning in her palm as she closes her fingers around the hilt. Her steps are interrupted by the sudden appearance of a rose bush of all things. She lifts her arms, attempting to cover hersef as much as she can with the cloak but there are still plenty of thorns that pierce the fabric and find bare skin beneath, scratching at her skin. She takes a few steps sideways before bumping her hip into a vendor's small vendor cart which had been carefully packed up for the evening. Lita yells out in frustration and shoves the cart into the rose bush, hopefully squashing it. The cart continues to rattle along the road towards some unfortunate end. Lita shakes her head, her vision suddenly a little fuzzy at the edges, as if everything were suddenly under water. What the heck was in those- She glances down at her arms, where a dozen or more little scratches stare back at her, bright red against alabaster skin. The cuts should be healing but leave it to Mahri to use more plant tricks of some sort. She looks up to yell at the wolf but she's having enough trouble trying to keep upright as the remnants of her vines are suddenly trying to eat her. Lita rears her arm back and sends the irridescent dagger flying towards the vines at Mahri's feet. She follows after, making a mad dash to tackle the she-wolf and pin her to the ground amongst the foliage.
Mahri’s just about to her feet, watching Lita from a curtain of hair when she stumbles. But, she has that dagger in hand again and it’s flying at the wolf. Again. End over end it sails through the air to land not at her feet, but rather, in her foot of all places. Yelling out a few choice obscenities, Mahri straightens just in time to catch Lita with a twist, her hands gripping the vampire’s upper arms trying to reverse that pin. Unbalanced as she was favoring her right foot, Mahri wobbles and they might both crash down side by side in a nest of vines coiled conveniently to catch the pair, “Damnit, Lita. Why’d you have to come here,” she grits out between her teeth while that boot fills with blood and she rears back her head to, hopefully, land a head-butt across the bridge of Lita’s nose, as awkward as their position might be at the moment, and knock out the other woman.
Final Defense
Lita is off her feet again and back to being tangled in those vines. She was really starting to hate these things today. She struggles in them, twisting and turning in a vain attempt to find her feet again but Mahri has ahold of her arms. "What!?" she asks with an exasperated sigh somewhere after her name and in the middle of Mahri's question. She turns her head, rolling her eyes- Where was that dagger this time?- and Mahri's head butt lands square on her cheek just below her eye. She grunts a complaint. "Seriously!?" She yells. That was gonna bruise. "Hey, I didn't have any problems here until you showed up!" The guards are making their way back outside to see all the commotion but don't seem to be wanting to get involved. They look more curious. Robbery gone wrong? Lovers' quarrel? The big one has Lita's kitten in hand. Rude. Well, there would be no trying to off guards and get out unnoticed at this rate. Great.
Winner: Mahri
Mahri can hear the guards coming and the kitten crying plaintively and trying to escape. Mahri glares at Lita, pulling her lips back in a snarl before pushing away from Lita. “Get out of here before I have to lock you up,” she whispers roughly, clearly mad but not sure if she’s angry this war has brought them to this or that her foot was throbbing. Reaching down the she-wolf yanked the knife from her foot and handed it, hilt first, back to Lita. To the guards she called, “It’s ok. Just a small domestic disagreement.”
Lita snatches the dagger from Mahri when she hands it over. Fine. She has a few choice words she'll save for later. She heads towards the guards to snatch back the kitten before mumbling through an annoyed apology for them and then turning to head back towards Rynvale.