Fight:Mark v Misaki
Part of the Festival of Aramoth Contest.
Outside Frostmaw Tavern
Misaki ||Snow. And lost of it. When wasn't there snow in Frostmaw? Misaki stood in front of the warm tavern, where lots of joyful laughter and song could be heard - the giants, no doubt. Perhaps Her Majesty was in there, too. Misaki didn't know, nor did she really caare. She had other things on her mind at the moment. Kneeling in pennance next to her was her companion and weapon, Satoru the crossbow. Misaki looked down at her friend with cold, green eyes. "...I hope you've learned your lesson," she said. Satoru lifted his blindfolded head up. "...please forgive me, Mistress," he said pleadingly. "...you've had your fun," Misaki said, "now it's time for mine. Please transform." Satoru bowed his head again, his body melting into the whirling, smoky shadows. Out popped from the shadows a large, black crossbow. Misaki gripped the weapon to her side. "Let's see how well you can do hungover," she said. Waiting for her opponent, in the cold, hard snow.
Mark had simply be walking about, it had only taken two days of being completely lost for him to gain an understanding of this area. It wasn't much, but at least he knew how to come to Frostmaw from the Kelay Tavern and back so long as the snow didn't decide to consume him... not to mention the possibility of snow storms and the like. Up ahead was the Tavern of Frostmaw where the aroma of freshly cooked foods permeated the air currently during its busiest hours of the day. Adorning his usual choice of garments, the wanderer looked rather shady, but then again who wouldn't with the majority of their face covered by a hood and their body concealed with a cloak? A brisk wind blows from the west, causing his cloak to part, revealing his choice of simple, light, black clothing, just a shirt and pants. At his left hip, a decorated hilt of silver stuck out from an equally decorated sheathe of black leather and silver adornments. As the wind died down, his cloak returned to conceal the shady man's body once more. Perhaps it hadn't been noticed before, but on his back was a rather large package of sorts, it almost had the shape of a coffin and was wrapped in black cloth. While the man's choice of clothes seemed suspicious, the man himself didn't seem to be looking to cause trouble. His face was calm, almost blissful as he made his way towards the tavern. Emerald green hues seemed to be observing the world in a child-like fashion, as if he wanted to see everything at once and even the form of an Avian with a rather disgruntled look caught his eye... not that he could avoid her as the woman was in his path, though a small distance away. It was... Misaki? Was that her name? She'd come to his aid after his little incident with a Wyvern. The presence of the woman causes Mark to stop in his tracks, his expression is yet still calm, though he is curious what the woman is doing. It'd be rude to simply walk by so Mark, with a respectful bow of the head, greets her, "Good afternoon, Lady Misaki."
Misaki narrows her eyes at the human. His rudeness was still ticking her off, even two days later. Was he trying to make up for it by acting polite now? "...good afternoon, Mark," she replied. Her white-stained-pink hair flowed in the cold wind, but she ignored it. Normally she'd be shivering, but she'd had a few of the warming ales - she wasn't drunk, nor the least bit tipsy, but her rage burned along with the ale, giving her enough heat to ignore the freezing wintery area. "...and how are you today?" she asked. Might as well get the pleasantries out of the way. Even though she did so holding a very menacing-looking crossbow in her hands.
Mark notices first the woman's attire, unfit for cold temperatures. So he calmly removes his cloak, 'causing the object on his back to fall into the snow with a heavy thud. The fall has caused the cloth around the object to unravel, revealing an exotic instrument, a Gu Zheng. The instrument was rectangular and lengthy, many strings were stretched across the top of it. The instrument was a shade of silver or white and was crafted of petrified wood. Towards the area presumed to be where the musician was to play the instrument, two arcs a bit of a length apart near the middle of the instrument resembled the "straps" where a warrior would hold onto his shield, a rather strange decor for any instrument. Yet Mark seems to think nothing about the fall his instrument just had as he holds out his cloak, offering it to the Avian, "I fare well enough, though I would imagine a lady such as yourself would be cold wearing what you are in this weather. May I offer you my cloak?" Without the cloak shrouding his body, the man looks much less intimidating as a gentle smile crosses his lips for the Avian.
Misaki shakes her head at the offer. "Thank you, but no," she stated, "I'm perfectly fine." Her eyes narrowed. "...I still remember your discourtesy the other day," she told the human. "Mistress Misaki doesn't forgive a grudge easily," Satoru's voice echoed from the crossbow, "notice how she is wearing my eyeballs on her ears." Misaki pushed her hair back. On both of her ears, sapphire blue eyes peered at Mark with an unnatural glisten in them.
Mark had noticed the look on the avian beforehand, but presumed that she'd simply been uncomfortable or that perhaps something of ill fortune has occurred to her, but from their words and actions, it seemed as though this Misaki held something of grudge against Mark for the events two days prior. "You should know that an eye for an eye make the world go blind, Lady Misaki. Although if it is what you seek, then I'd like to apologize for my actions and words for the day before..." While he speaks, the change is small, but noticeable. The offered cloak was brought down his side and the man seemed to stand up taller, the gentleness of his expression disappeared, though he seemed calmer than ever. His breathing seemed to slow down almost to a halt as even the blinking of his eyes slowed until he was simply staring at... or was it through? the Avian, "I realize I can be rather... curt when I am placed in an unfavorable situation..." His hands rest at his sides now, he makes no motion to reach for his instrument nor his weapon, although it is clear he is ready to do so in a split second if need be. He simply stares at the Avian, observing... and listening.
Misaki shakes her head once again. "Apologies don't fix the world, either," she said, gripping her crossbow tighter. "Shall we then, Mistress?" Satoru said from the crossbow in her hands. "Yes, we shall," the avian replied, jumping backwards and spreading her wings. Her crossbow was raised, and fired. The dark black bolt exploded in the air, becoming twenty small, yet sharp and deadly darts. They flew through the air towards Mark, flying around as if they had a mind of their own. IF they were to hit the human, they would burrow into his body and spread like bugs, cutting into his flesh. Misaki smirks, loading another bolt into Satoru immediatly. This was going to be fun - regardless of whether or not she won or lost this battle.
Mark :: The Avian was fast, but Mark was ready. As soon as her crossbow was raised, the cloak was dropped and his right hand came to the hilt of his blade as his eyes and ears remained focused on the bolt to come out of his opponent's weapon. There it was, the distinct whistling sound that emitted from a projectile flying at high speeds. In midflight, the sound multiplied in an instant. Louder. More. In a single fluid motion, Mark dives to the right as he draws his blade. As the strange silver blade exits the sheathe and steps into the spotlight, it rings, louder than any other blade would or should. It clearly vibrates as it continues to emit its piercing song. The bolts fly by as Mark slashes the air in front of him. At this moment, his foe might hear the ringing of the blade as if he were quickly approaching. Had she a quick enough eye, she might observe what might look like the apparition of a large blade, striking the area of snow between the two. All in a single moments, the snow flies up and the ringing of the blade is silenced as the sheet of snow impairs the field of vision between the two and threatens to cover the Avian. Footsteps now, rapidly moving around the Avian from her left, the direction Mark had dived towards earlier, and again the blade rings out from the same direction. In reality, Mark had rolled the right as he hit the ground from the dive, but he moves left now. His unblinking eyes staring towards the wall of snow as it was now falling again to the ground. But he wasn't watching... he was listening. It was like a grand performance, with only himself both as conductor and orchestra. With each step, he conducted the sound with his mind to move right as he closed in on the avian from the left. The flat of his blade is struck against the heel of his right boot as his left hits the ground and those sounds too are orchestrated in his favor. The sound of his blade made it easy to pinpoint the Avian, the sound was constant as it bounced off her body and his eyes were useless to him so long as the snow covered their forms. Now was the time to strike. He leaps towards the wall of snow before it finishes its descent, a flick of his wrist follows. The sound of the ringing blade, coming from the Avian's left will sound louder, again as if approaching, but the fall of the snow is disrupted from both sides. Again, if quick she'd find the apparition of a blade bursting from the snow, slashing for her left shoulder in a diagonal, coming slightly from above and behind slashing down and forwards, the ringing sound clearly emitting from it. This strike comes from behind the wing, meaning to at least keep her from taking flight if it's unable to render the woman's left arm useless. From her right, is Mark, slashing for her arms, the attack too coming at a diagonal, but from the bottom and front as he means to pincer her in between his attacks. Clearly he means not to kill, but only to maim, to render her unable to fight. Should Mark's strike be successful, then he should have caused a deep gash upon the Avian's arms, hopefully causing her to drop her weapon.
Misaki , at first, didn't know what was going on. First her vision was clouded by snow, then she was hearing strange noises from the human's blade. That's when Satoru spoke up. "Mistress, you're being attacked!" Misaki reacted in the best way she knew how in this blind situation; she dove backwards, narrowly avoiding the blade coming at her from behind as it sailed over her body. Mark's balde, however, somewhat hit the mark, slicing through the avian's slipper and clipping the back of her heel, causing blood to start flowing out onto the snow. Misaki stumbled back a little as pain roared up her leg. However, the avian would not be deterred. She gritted her teeth, pointing her crossbow again and firing. This time, however, the bolt remained one, but it was glowing softly. If Mark tried to dodge, he'd see why. The bolt would just follow him until it hit something, in which case it would explode, causing a large injury. Misaki then continued her attack by flapping her large wings with as much of their volume as she could, causing a great, cold wind that blew the loose snow from the area so she could see clearly.
Mark :: Blood, on Mark's blade and the Avian's foot. But how? Clearly he had aimed to disarm her, but there was no time to thinking about it now, he who hesitates loses after all. Mark focuses on the fight at hand, his attack fluidly turns into a roll as he listens for the Avian's movement. As Mark recovers, he's already heading in her direction, left foot first and the flat of his blade is struck on the heel of his right foot again and again the blade rings out in response. His eyes widen as his next opponent's attack flies at him. Luckily the soft glow of the bolt makes it easy to spot, but he doesn't move back to avoid it, rather, he moves forwards, ducking under the bolt, just in time as he can feel the wind from it whip at the back of his hair. The Avian hadn't retreated back very far and he's already caught up to her, but something was wrong. He could hear it, the bolt, as it pursued him and it was catching up, fast. There she was, the Avian with her wings spread, was she going to take flight? He sure wasn't going to let that happen. He leapt with his hands spread just as the icy wind blew in his face, forcing him to close his eyes. Should the Avian take flight now, then she'd either crash into Mark leaping over her or be caught in his arms, allowing him to use her as a shield. Otherwise, he'll land in the snow behind her, hoping that the bolt will hit the one who shot it instead.
Misaki didn't have must time to think now, did she? Mark was now behind her, and her own bolt was flying toward her. She whirled, pulling her wings back in so the bolt would harmlessly skim across her bodice, cutting into the cloth slightly and causing a few of the strings to come loose. Oops. "Be careful, Mistress!" Satoru's voice said from the crossbow. "I am," she replied. Damn, this human was crafty. That's what she got for underestimating him. She then leapt backwards again, saying, "Satoru can you do something about my foot?" "Not while you're fighting," he replied. Misaki grunted in understanding, raising the crossbow again. Misaki fired the bolts one after another - just normal bolts, nothing more - not in an attempt to harm, but an attempt to make sure the human couldn't move so she could move in for the finishing blow.
Mark lands in the snow behind the Avian. He'd meant to prevent her from taking flight and his choice of action might have done just that, but since it wasn't what he was expecting, he wasn't prepared to roll and continue his assault. The quickest thing he could do was roll onto his back just in time to see the Avian just barely avoid her own attack, but now that she did, the bolt was now on a trajectory headed right for him. What could he do, but try to roll out of the way? The sound of the bolt imbedding itself into the ground was followed by an explosion. Luckily, Mark had gotten out of the way, but the explosion dealt a concussive blow to his head, leaving him a bit disoriented while his ears rung. Still, he was in a combat situation, he had to keep moving. He'd been distracted by the explosion and lost track of the avian. Leaping to his feet, Mark easily spots her, again not too far off. The sound of metal is the only warning as the first bolt strikes the ground right where he'd been lying before. He only has enough time to turn, causing his body to become less of a target as the second bolt strikes him squarely in the left shoulder. Pain emanates from the shoulder, as the rest of his body feels the waves of pain screaming outwards from where he was shot, but he only shows a wince on his face as he begins moving again. He doesn't run left nor right, he runs straight towards the avian, trying to keep an eye on the bolts that are fired. Any that are aimed at his legs, he makes sure to dodge, while others he intentionally allows to be imbedded in his left arm. Blood flows from his arm like a river, dripping down his fingertips and leaving a trail in the snow, but in enduring the pain, he's quickened his approach. If the Avian chose to retreat, then Mark would simply follow, otherwise as soon as he got into range he'd be striking with his blade, aiming at whichever arteries were left exposed for him while the female made her shots.
Misaki was shocked that the human was heading straight for her. So she did what first came to her head, as she has been all through this fight; she took to the air, beating her wings with such force that snow started rising, covering the vicinity in a white fog. The woman snarled, aiming her crossbow again at the ground. She couldn't see the human at all - too much snow had blown into the air. She wasn't completely vulnerable. She was ready to attack should the human charge - she had another of her exploding bolts locked in place already.
Mark :: Three, three bolts had already been imbedded in Mark's left arm and a stray one leaves a scratch on his right cheek just as he reaches the Avian. His blade is poised to strike at her neck, but the woman takes flight before his blow lands. The gust from her wing beat causes the surrounding snow to fly into the air, protecting him from her... as she now had the advantage. Obviously he wasn't going to pursue her by foolishly jumping into the air, there was no guarantee he'd strike her, but she probably had a good view from up there and could land a good shot if he just leapt up after her. Well the crossbow took time to reload so he could probably land a strike without fear if she fired upon him, but she hadn't yet, which meant she was waiting for his move. Now was no time to lose his cool and attack like some berserker, no he had to pick the best choice of action. By now the ringing in his ears had stopped and it took Mark merely moments to hear the wing beat of his opponent above. Blood continued to trickle down his left arm, but Mark ignored it as he closed his eyes and slightly lifted his right boot. A quick strike to his heel with the flat of his blade and it rung, not here, but up above, above even the avian. Once again he was the conductor of his one-man symphony. A swift flick of his left wrist, pain shot throw his arm from the bolts still embedded in his arm, but he only had so much time until the snow settled down and he was left in the open. Up above the sound of ringing blade should be heard clear as bell from right above the Avian and in a split second, the attack came, as loud as it might have been, it would sound even louder as the strike came. Right as it struck, perhaps the avian might have been able to make out what might have been the apparition of a guillotine blade as it threatened to lop off her left wing.
Misaki could hear the ringing of his blade. She's heard it several times now. She knew, then, that there was an attack coming, but from where, she didn't know. Until Satoru started freaking out. "Mistress! Above you!" he yelled. Misaki whirled in midair, the guillotine blade swished past her, slicing of some very important feathers from her wing... and also a chunk of the pink that was still in her hair. That small strike, though, seemed to get the result Mark wanted, so she was forced to land. "Satoru, human form," she said. "No," Satoru said, "it would be best to retreat for now. Your foot, and your wing... the next strike could prove to be worse." Misaki gritted her teeth in irritation, but she knew the crossbow was right. She turned her head to look at Mark, who was now visible in the settling snow. "...it seems I must retreat for now," she said, "this isn't over, human." With that, the Avian vanish in a flash of light.