RP:Lesson Seven in the Starry Heavens
Part of the Requiem Nocturnus Arc
Starry Heavens
This room doesn't seem to have walls at all instead you are standing underneath the dark sky. The roof of the tower is completely flat, and there is nothing between you and the ground below. Millions of stars are sparkling above you, and you feel that if you would stretch out your hand you could touch them. The constellations are clearly visible here, slowly moving around the polar star in a gracious, eternal dance. After you have been standing here for some time, lights appear on the northern horizon, slowly moving and changing colors. Then twelve stars grow stronger in light, and you see they form a circle in the sky, like a silver wheel or a starry crown the corona borealis. They slowly begin to spin, slow at first, but then faster and faster until it looks like a brilliant circle in the sky. The other stars become less visible as the light brightens, and all that you can see is the spinning orb in the darkness of the sky. After a while the spectacle in the sky has stopped, and you find yourself standing again underneath the quiet heavens. You realize you have witnessed something very special and mysterious, although you are not sure yet what it all meant. Slowly you go down the stairs again. Blended in almost perfectly as a set of steps made of stars, heading up.
Kasyr is currently enjoying a glass of winter-berry juice whilst comfortably seated at the very center of the towers rooftop. Really, he could almost be mistaken for the very image of serenity, were he not essentially seated in the midst of a garden of metal - a rather large variety of mundane swords jammed into the roof in a sort of haphazard matter (especially given that a number of the blades are, in fact, broken). Still, the kensai doesn't seem to be allowing this to detract from his enjoyment of the moment- even if he is awaiting a rather frigid dance partner.
Satoshi reaches the top of the tower stairs and peeks out from the hole in the floor ever so warily, more than half-expecting the usual trap set by her husband turned instructor. Quickly enough she spots the kensai and his steely company, and manages a thin smile in greeting before her gaze is drawn upward with an awed whisper of, "Oh." The kit remains watching the skies as she climbs the last of the stairs and steps out upon the rooftop, and only after a delayed moment does she tip her head to look at Kasyr. "Points for scenery. Would be almost romantic, if you weren't intending on skewering me in the non-innuendo fashion~."
Kasyr can't help but grin at that particular comment, though the vampire waits to respond until he's finished his drink and settled the glass to the ground, "It's quite the marvelous spot, oui, et yet I only find myself drawn here when there's some sort of conflict, cherie." It's on that note that he rises to his feet, arms drawn above his head in a prolonged stretch, "So, are you done marveling?"
Satoshi's head tips a bit further as she watches Kasyr stretch, a ghost of a smirk flickering across her features. "Not quite~." Blatant staring aside, the kit does her own brief stretch before nodding. "I suppose I'm as ready as I can be. What are the rules this time?"
Kasyr cracks his neck slightly, before simply gesturing towards the weapons scattered about the area, "Well, you're spared of having any lightning used against you, be it Empera or otherwise- et I will be limited myself to what's in the environs to attack tu with. You're limited to your sword, et those in the area- for the moment. Though, tu can use your magics to move around, as you please. Et to defend."
Satoshi perks up at those terms and looks genuinely eager as she draws Ko'tar humming from its metal sheathe. "Sounds like the first lessons~. In the Corpse, and on the Vailkrin bridge~." The foxkin isn't one for dwelling on memories, but she allows herself a moment to linger on those fond ones while adjust her grip on the katana's frozen hilt.
Kasyr casually begins to walk from the spot he was in, fingers brushing against the hilt of a long sword that's protruding from the ground. "Well, Madamoiselle, I await your first action- lest you desire me to take the offensive, et all."
Satoshi's grip tightens and she takes a cautious step sideways in the opposite direction as Kasyr's moving, eyeing his ever motion. "Of all our rounds, when have I -ever- taken the first move, hm~?" Another sidestep. "First strikes are for the wolves that can endure the retaliation, and all that. Only time I'll go first is if you're not looking, and you're -always- looking~."
Kasyr begins to step away from the longsword, and yet- he doesn't quite abandon the weapon, fingers instead tightening their hold upon the pommel. With a brutal twist of his wrist, the blade snaps partways down the middle, liberating it from where it resided within nary a moment- so that the Kensai is unimpeded as he abruptly bursts into a dash towards Satoshi. Abusing every particular iota of speed that he possesses, the figments dash quickly morphs into a bit of impromptu acrobatics- a highspeed hop bringing him to briefly perch upon the hilt of a broadsword, if only so that he can launch himself towards Satoshi. With an abrupt twist of his body on the way down, the vampires' attempts to slam the flat of the weapon into his wife whilst at the same time serving to keep the portion of his body that is not covered by armoured trenchcoat he's wearing in motion.
Satoshi hisses with a sharp intact of breath at the abrupt approach, but rather than heed her instincts and attempt to dart away, the kit braces herself and stands firm, frowning in determination to face the kensai head on. A growling, brief melody coming from the kit and a faint flare of azure outlining her form is the only indication that she doesn't intend to face Kasyr without a little back-up, however, while Ko'tar's jerked upward in a hasty attempt to place it between herself and the descending vampire. The meeting of sword and sword is announced with a pained keen from the frosty blade and a high-pitched crack, Satoshi buckling under the force and dropping to a knee with a grimace at her miscalculation. Yes, freezing the waters in her body into a cryomancer's version of stoneskin might have lessened the blow and prevented her from being flattened by Kasyr's weight, but his sheer strength has proven more durable than iced flesh and still managed to bring her to a knee. Not that the half-frozen kit can't use that as she tucks her small form inward and makes for a hasty dive and roll between the kensai's legs, to bounce back to her feet behind him and snake Ko'tar out to nip at the backs of his knees.
Kasyr hits the ground not a moment after the feline has begun her roll, the sole defensive preparation made by the vampire coming in the simple form of his body curling down into a crouch, robbing Satoshi of any particularily vulnerable points to attack. As of such, where her attack was originally intended for the back of his knees, it now finds itself redirected towards his still garbed back- Ko'tar carving a fine line across the kensais' back, the blades reward coming in the form of a patchwork portion of sanguine slits forming where the preklek plate beneath the trenchcoats surface is lacking. The revenant is hardly faltering however, instead simply rolling forward to get out of his wifes sword range. Slamming the longsword into the ground to use as an improvised anchor, Kasyr abruptly twists himself around to face his Student, seemingly heedless of the manner that the swords steel warps further. Even as a secondary snap of steel sounds out as he barrels towards Satoshi, he pays little heed to the development, more than satisfied with the foot of steel that still remains beyond the hilt as he moves close the distance once more- raking the broken weapon along the ground so that when he swings the sword up towards his wife, she's greeted by a rather vivid shower of sparks.
Satoshi is in the process of irritably shaking blood off a keening Ko'tar, the blade clearly unhappy at inflicting damage, when she's alerted to Kasyr's rapid turn around and approach. There's no time for a repeat of her ice-skin spell, and her throbbing knee suggests a second collision isn't the wisest course of action. Instead, the kit opts for returning the favor by lowering herself and dashing toward the kensai; but whatever it is she's intending, it never reaches fruitition. Not after a shower of sparks are hurled into her face, temporarily blinding her with pain and light, and forcing her headlong charge into a stumble and sideways crash. And while that spares her the worst of Kasyr's swing, she still earns herself a deep gash along her forearm for the trouble, Ko'tar held onto through injury and tumble by sheer stubbornness--on the part of fox and sword alike. When Satoshi's rough momentum eventually skids to a halt, it's not a moment too soon as she's left with shoulders and up hanging over the edge of the tower rooftop, the dizzying heights a sight she's spared only by her momentary blindness. For the moment, her attention isn't devoted to returning a strike at Kasyr, but simply trying to drag herself back to her feet and shake the stars out of her vision while quiet cursing the trick. "...that so counts as lightning..."
Kasyr watchs Satoshis' tumble closely, though upon her recovery at the edge he momentarily allows his focus to drift. The longsword he's been wielding, now mangled beyond all recognition, is carelessly discarded over his shoulder- the Kensai taking a firm grasp of a broadsword before wrenching it out of the ground. "Oh? Are you going to complain, or learn?" Turning back to face her, he'd merely swipe at the air a few times, as though testing the weight of the blade.
Satoshi swipes at stinging eyes with the back of her hand--and knocks herself upside the head with Ko'tar's hilt in the process--before glowering at Kasyr and sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm talented enough to do both, thank you very much~," the magus declares with a haughty flip of her hair--as well as a wary glance over her shoulder at the uncomfortably close edge leading into oblivion. With limited subtlety she limps forward to put more distance between herself and empty air before levelling a shakily held Ko'tar at her husband. "One out of two blocked isn't bad, right? I think that counts as learning." While she speaks, the kit shuffles from one side to the next, slowly closing some of the gap leading to Kasyr. Satoshi can't exactly manage a charge with a knee that's beginning to give, but she can at least lessen a bit of the distance and use the time to think before he makes his next move.
Kasyr offers the magus a grin of sorts, before he starts to match her pace- weaving his way through the field of blades with a certain dangerous sense of ease, "You're alive, you're learning. It's how it goes." A Casual shrug is offered to the feline, before the Kensai simply draws his hand down- the flat of the broadsword touching along the ground. And just as simply the swords flicked up in a wide arc, the likes of which brings it into direct contact with a partially buried bastard sword- the wedged blade shattering with little resistance. The actions hardly haphazard, however, given the manner in which both a fair portion of the metal fragments, and the dislodged blade are all in the current process of hurtling towards Satoshi- with the Revenant in their wake. Once he gets sufficiently close to her, Kasyr simply intends upon diving forward- his free hand to catch upon the ground, if only so he can launch himself bodily towards her- the flat of the broad sword used as a both shield and battering ram.
Satoshi is expecting the charge, but what she isn't expecting is the rain of shrapnel that precedes it. With a yelp of surprise the kit plants Ko'tar into the ground, seemingly planning to take cover behind the blade- up until she leaps up to perch upon the ribboned pommel. Even as the first of the shards slices open her cheek, Satoshi is in motion, albeit not as she had been seconds before. The brief blurring of her outline announces the shift to a shape both smaller and more agile, the pale-furred fox crouching down upon Ko'tar's hilt for the slightest of seconds before launching herself into a high leap; and while the jump does serve to carry her over the the brunt of the metal barrage, it isn't nearly as high as she'd desired--thanks to two injured limbs and one of ice--and a number of the shards still find her underbelly before the gap between herself and Kasyr is closed. Dainty, bloodied paws find the kensai's right shoulder and immediately shove off, using their combined momentum to launched herself clear of his tackle and bring herself into a rolling tumble behind him. As Satoshi slides to a stop, she reverts back to her prior state, crouched and panting from the exertion of body and magic. "Ko'tar~," she calls in a strained voice, her bleeding arm lifting and the frozen blade shuddering out of its place in the ground to come streaking back to her grasp--despite there being a kensai in its immediate path.
Kasyr can't help but smirk at just how adeptly Satoshi has improvised in the situation, the Revenant seemingly satisfied at the outcome. Nonetheless, a slight problem still remains- the Kensais not yet halted momentum and the oncoming blade of ice. With a grimace plastered across his face, the vampire twists his body in response to Ko'tars charge in an effort to draw his central mass out of its' intended flight path. And yet that is the full extent of the Kensais' efforts, his left shoulder still provided as an impromptu barrier- a task it serves at admirably, given the manner in which the obediant blade punches into his shoulder. Restraining a growl, Kasyr merely focuses the entirety of his being into pivoting with the kinetic force provided by the blade- his body twirling about with an intense violence- the likes of which culminates in the vicious swing of his sword bearing arm towards Satoshi. From there, all he needs to do is release the broadsword- the blasted thing sent hurtling towards her with the momentum generated by their antics combined together.
Satoshi said, "Well, fu-" The rest of the kit's inappropriate language is left unsaid, for the simple matter that she'd rather devote that half second to action than words, action that consists of a rather pain-filled uncoiling of her crouched form into an angled leap. For a moment it appears like the magus intends on jump -into- the broadsword's path, up until the instant her blood-soaked hand plants itself against the flat of the blade and is used to send her leaping over the damnable thing. Her landing is far from smooth, and not remotely pretty, and perhaps rolling to a stop to find herself blinking up at Kasyr is not the -best- place to be, but it still beats a collision course with a broadsword. Satoshi at least attempts to give the kensai a disarming smile then. "Aha. Hi?"
Kasyr offers Satoshi a grin of his own as he wrenchs Ko'tar out of his shoulder, his particular affinity with blades at least allowing him to use it with the same degree of finesse as Satoshi. From there, he simply directs it briefly in the Magus' direction- heedful of the fact that it would likely return to its' owner any moment. Still, the Kensai isn't trying to stab Satoshi at the current moment, so he's not immediately concerned "Hi. I believe we're done here, mon cher. I need a drink."
Satoshi doesn't reach for Ko'tar, nor does she need to as the blade readily turns liquid and flows back into the confines of its sheathe now that it's no longer needed. Instead, the magus just grins again--even if it looks a tad more like a grimace. "I could use a drink too. And a hand up~?" She's already one short, and the other's just slightly on the damaged side.
Kasyr extends a hand out to the mage with a grin, fingers wriggling expectantly, "Well, time to drink, unwind, et wait for things to get pear shaped." Obviously, the Guardian is currently thinking of the two particular individuals who are currently ...'hanging in the balance', as it were. Prisoners of war, and their complications.
Satoshi stumbles back to her feet with the kensai's aid, and uses the excuse of her injured knee to rest a good portion of her weight against him. It has absolutely nothing to do with the simple pleasantness of being pressed to him. "While we wait, I -did- promise you weren't going to sleep, didn't I~?" That comment is equally innocent, shut up. Satoshi just wants to play card games through the night.
Kasyr isn't sure if he should be dissapointed that her knees are sore already.Not that it matters, really, as he's certainly enjoying Satoshis' company and the promises that come with it. "I'm hardly going to complain that tu keep me busy, Cherie." With card games. Right.
Satoshi decides now is a good time to give Kasyr's tail a sharp tug.