RP:Cat and Dog
Summary:
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Its your newest favorite ship flying high! No, wait, that's just Laharl being flung across the forest by Karasu.
Edge of the Eternal Forest
"One more." Her rounds in the Hero of Freedom tournament were over, but that didn't mean she could slack off on her training. So long as her Magister Templi was still in the tournament, she had no intention of going back to Xalious with the other mages in training. At the edges of the Eternal Forest, a stuffed dummy borrowed from the sports arena, closed for repairs after a duel, stands battered in the morning sunlight. Karasu stands in her usual training getup -- a black cropped tank top, khaki capris, and her heeled boots. A deep violet mop of curls bounces with every step. Hands wrapped in bandages make easy work of the target as she lands blows, one after the other. Her thick tail, the same dark violet as her hair with brown and black spots in between wags lazily behind her. " Lost in the first round." She mutters before giving the dummy a hard kick, sending it back into the trunk of a tree. As she takes a few steps out to pull the dummy back into place, she pauses, sniffing the air hesitantly. The scent she catches is unmistakably lycan. Her freckled hand reaches down her leg to the opening of her boot. In a flash, the dagger is thrown into a tree nearby. "Get out here and state your business. You think you can sneak up on me?" In the pause, she withdraws an identical dagger from her other boot.
It was a nice day, and like many before the lycan had taken to a bit of a wonder. Having toured the darker places of the lands the past few days he was in the mood for something a little less bleak and depressing, so he found himself in what was know as the Eternal Forest and from its size alone the man was not going to argue the name. He had lost track of time as he simply meandered around before catching the steady rhythmic thumps of blows landing, his curiosity peeked Laharl gave a slight shrug and picked the quickest, quietest way towards the sound. There he found Karasu, he recognized her from the few rounds of the current competition going on, both as a competitor and a spectator. Leaning against the tree he was contented to watch her form as she threw the flurry of punches and kicks the dummy’s way. He was so lost in the show he hadn’t noticed the subtle change in wind direction until the dagger of the feline buried angrily into the tree and her demand was shouted. Heaving a soft sigh he pulled himself from the tree, after taking moment to divest himself of his weapons, a handful of hidden daggers and a pair of swords on a belt the lycan would round the tree as ordered hands up trying to be as nonthreatening as can be. The man stood six foot three, his frame athletic and with a decent amount of muscle definition. His hair is raven black and well groomed, currently brushed back. He looked the be in his late twenties, skin a deep island tan. He wore a white silk button down shirt with its sleeves rolled to the elbows, over that he wore a dark blue vest. On his legs he wore a pair of loose fitting leather pants and a pair of comfortable black boots. A tail hung lazily from the small of his back, long and fluffy, the fur was raven black and well groomed just as his hair was. His left arm held an elaborate interlacing tribal tattoo that started at his wrist and disappeared up his sleeve. Gray eyes so bright they seemed to carry a bit of a glow peered at the feline and she reached for the second dagger. “Okay if your going to stab me you get two before I start to get upset.” His voice soft though deep, the tone calm and joking, though getting stabbed twice would put a dampener on the fine day so far. “I was just curious as to what was going on and so I came to look... that’s all” he still kept his hands up though, better safe then stabbed.
Karasu narrowed her eyes when the man stepped out from behind the treeline. He looked awfully familiar, and a few beats of tense silence passed before it occurred to her. "You were at the tournament the other night. The mutt blowing kisses." She says, raising the hand holding the dagger to point at him. It seemed her intention of throwing another one was off the table, at least for the moment. The suspicious expression, however, did not waver. If anything, a look of mild annoyance was now added onto her sandy features. She was significantly shorter than him, and the growing light seeping through the foliage only served to highlight this. Even wearing the heeled boots, one of the only touches of femininity on her, the top of her cat ears barely came up to his shoulders. Her figure was lithe, yet muscular for someone her size. Hazel eyes continued to bore into him until she seemed somewhat satisfied with his explanation. The feline lowered her weapon. "So you're a voyeur, then, is that it?" Her lips curl up into a smirk. Without taking her slitted eyes off of him, she lowers herself to one knee to return the dagger to its hiding place. The wounds present from that tournament are significantly healed, with only three streaks of burnt skin, still pink, showing on her shoulder.
Laharl smiles softly as she stared at him hard, both judging him and placing him. The lycan himself would remain silent and still as she leveled her judgments, if she chose to attack him he did have defensive recourse but in this form limited offensive without his weapons. As she judged him, he would judge her. Bright gray eyes slowly taking in the smaller feline, her frame was nimble and could hold up in a scrap, the only reason she lost the match was she was matched against an obnoxiously large dragon. Very few non supernatural creatures would be able to stand up to that. As Karasu relaxed a little he would let his arms drop finally, at least hoping that meant she wasn’t going to attack. Rolling his slightly stiff shoulder slowly he chuckled. “Well I’ve been called worse. But i guess the teasing kisses would earn me that. Laharl Mesaru, is my name. A resent arrival in the land and yes. I am a mutt as you so lovingly put.” He flicks his bushy tail to the side slowly to accent the point. “Pleased the make your acquaintance.” He snapped a finger and her thrown dagger wrenched itself from the tree behind him and slowly floated hilt first back to its owner. “A peace offering?” He smiled, hoping that wouldn’t be flying back at him.
The half-feline's eyes shifted from the dagger to the lycan and back. "Hrm." The inquisitive hum sounds just slightly higher-pitched than her guarded voice. A sign that he had proven himself to not be a threat for the moment. She takes the dagger and places it back in its hiding place. "For the moment. A handsome smile does not absolute you of suspicion, you know." The tip of her tail twitches in time with the few black whiskers jutting out from her cheekbones when she realizes her mistake. She chooses to ignore it, thanking the lighting for hiding a slight coloring in her cheeks. "Karasu Tsuji. I suppose I am a recent arrival to this area as well, though I have no plans on staying." Unbeknownst to her, the land she speaks of is only a day's travel on foot. "Well, you're here, and you look much more durable than this guy." She pats the dummy on its burlap head. "Care to spar with me, or would you rather just watch?"
Laharl didn’t let it show on his face but he picked up on her words, she thinks he’s handsome, at the very least his smile. He gives a slight bow as she gives her name. “Lady Tsuji that’s a very good name. And as for staying in one place for to long, that can lead to stagnation. It’s why I left my island, well that and to many wanna be alphas in my tribe. The fighting was almost constant.” Her words caused him to look to the poor battered dummy, he smiled softly as he nodded, “I believe I could be a decent partner for you, maybe take a bit of frustration out on this lowly yet durable mutt.” His grin grew just a little as he shifted his feet slightly left sliding before right, right arm drawing back slightly bringing the hand to his hip while his left came up just slightly, hands held open and loose. “By your lead then to start the dance?” His tail flicks with enjoyment as he lowered himself just slightly not a hint of rigidity in his stance, the lycan seems to know how to carry himself.
Karasu raises an eyebrow at the tidbit of information, making conversation while she removes the hand wraps and pockets them to discard later. "Island? So you came further than Rynvale, then. Interesting." She makes a mental note to ask the elders in the Xalious Tower about an island of lycans. Readying her stance, she takes a deep breath and quickly closes the distance between them. What she lacks in brute strength and size, she makes up in agility. She fakes a straight punch to his face with her left, and uses the opening to take a jab under his ribs with her right, aiming to wind him right off the bat. Her feet tiptoe around his own, aiming to disorient his steps. Her expression is serious as she spars with him, but her pale copper lips are upturned into a smile. She's actually having... fun?!
Laharl gives a bit of a nod as she speaks, “relatively small, a haven for those who don’t wish or can no longer deal with normal societies.” He was surprised at how quickly she closed the distance, she was pretty quick on her feet. He didn’t fall for the faint, she didn’t seem the type to go for the face right off. His left arm snapped back to take the blow for his ribs. “Me I’m a people person.” He chuckled as she danced away. Shaking out his left arm from the blow giving a soft chuckle as he assessed the punch. Slowly, almost methodically he would turn with her, though she would just be a step ahead of him, suddenly he would drop low, his trailing leg kicking out to stumble the feline. If it worked she would make an easy target as he completed the sudden rotation with a right palm jab aimed for her stomach. Taking a note from her and attempting to blast the air from her. Skipping back a step then another the lycan again fell into a ready stance. Finding this little dance quite enjoyable.
The half-feline's tail swishes in time with their steps. As he shakes out his left arm, she shakes out her right hand, having not been prepared to be intercepted. "Of course you are." She taunts with a smirk, though there's no malice in her voice this time. When she makes a move to throw another punch, Laharl sucsessfully makes her stumble. Rather than stay standing, she lets herself fall onto her hands to grapple his head with her legs and throw him. This plan immediately stops when his jab to the stomach lands. "Oof!" She uses the momentum to land on her hands and propel herself back out of his reach. When she stands again, she scowls slightly. She's the one who invited him to fight and he got a hit in on her first! Deciding to try again, she does a cross between a cartwheel and a flip, aiming to wrap her legs around his neck to throw him.
Laharl winched slightly as he blow actually lands, he was hoping to have missed her honestly, but thankfully he was only going at about half strength, it was after all a friendly sparing match. Though her show of feline agility made him not feel to bad as she was able to adjust so that the impact wasn’t so bad. “It’s like a curse, you should feel bad for me” he was a second to late to sort out her movements as she rebounded from the palm thrust in a show of feline bounciness. “Oh” he managed as her legs snakes around his neck and she threw the whole of her body into a twist that set the world spinning for the lycan. Landing hard on his back with groan he takes a moment to lay there and contemplate his life. His arms splayed out to the sides as he starts to laugh. “I... deserve that” his voice mildly pained but none the less still in good spirits.
Karasu gets up, rubbing her palms together to rid them of dirt from the forest floor. "Sorry, was that too rough?" She puts her hands on her knees as she leans over his face. The mulberry curls that decorate her head are in complete disarray now, and her face has gone pink from the exertion, but the suspicious scowl is gone from her face. "C'mon, that was nothing." She says with a chuckle, offering her hand to help him up.
Laharl is far from actually wounded, but his back did pop in the most glorious way with the hard fall. As she stood and dusted herself off then moved to lean over her conquest the lycan would look up to her with half closed eyes and cough ever so softly. “I am defeated, the great wolf is dead...” he gasped then went very still. Sadly he could only maintain the ruse for a few moments before snickering. Taking the offered hand he stood slowly. Patting away the debris of the forest from his clothes. “It was a little something, it was enjoyable. It’s rather fun to spar with you. Or be your punching bag. Lycan recovery has its perks.” As she looked slightly winded he would look none the worse for wear. Though a bit disheveled from the leg toss. “You are a very good At hand to hand, and very quick. I’m impressed.” He smiled almost sweetly as he stretched out his arm, the landing having hit a nerve in the worst way. He did notice the look of suspicion and even hatred was gone, at least for now. All it took was getting tossed around, not such a bad trade off. Flashing a playful smile. “Want to punch me a few more times or are you satisfied for now?”
When the lycan plays dead, she can't help but snort with a smirk. "A comedian as well, are you?" Despite her age, her thought process is naive, if not altogether childlike: An enemy would never have taken the time to entertain her so. A drawback of a somewhat sheltered life in a relatively safe school. "Well, I suppose you're not half-bad for a lycan. Most people would flinch if I was to strike for the face right off the bat." Her eyes flicker up while he smiles, and she looks back at the ground, letting her hair hide her face as she walks across the clearing to retrieve the borrowed training dummy. Fallen leaves crunch loudly as she steps forward. She turns to face him, holding the stuffed burlap under one freckled arm. Her tail swishes idly behind her as she tries to come up with a smart comeback. "I suppose I could do with a few more punches, but I think I'll let you off the hook for now."
Laharl was glad to have been some form of outlet for the woman. She seemed to have been a little upset at the round one loss in the tournament. “I’ve been punched in the face enough, even if you committed it would have only been a mild annoyance, with the busted nose and all, again lycan healing is pretty good.” He watched her walk over to get the dummy. His head cocked to the side slightly as she seemed to hide behind her hair, but he remains silent as she gathers her things, and fired off her little promise threat one could call it. “Any time you need a target. I hold up better than burlap.” He gives a slight bow his tail swaying to and fro happily, the lycan looking back to it heaves a great sigh. “Damn thing.” he swats back, the tail wags in defiance.