RP:Maddening Magics And Melee, Part 2

Part of the Do You Believe In Magic? Arc

Summary: Brand forces Dominic away and gives Khitti the spar she was wanting. All goes well for awhile until things get awkward and Khitti runs off in typical Khitti fashion to go and look for clue concerning Raiez.

Amazing View

Khitti pushed herself up off of the ground, brows furrowing as she stared at Brand's back. She actually looked like she might say something, like to bring him back, to let her hug him again, but she doesn't. Instead, her line of sight drifts towards the ground, the frown worsening, "I'm no better zhan you...forcing him like zhat to fight..." The guilt she felt was clear, as well as the hopelessness for not being able to pull Dominic from that state he'd been in. Her own pale hands curled into fists as she moves past him to overlook the side of the cliff again, watching for anything, something that might point her in the direction of Raiez. "I don't know vhether you vere listening to zhe whole zhing, but do not let him follow me. He's not allowed to help me against Raiez." She pauses, gathering her thoughts, "And if something happens to me...you take care of him, okay?" Her voice falters a little. "No. You take care of each other. Try not to get impatient. Don't treat him like a child. He'll trust you zhen. Eventually." Her words sounded so oddly final.

Brand cocked a brow at her back before adopting a more casual stance, arms folded and most of his weight on his right leg. “Don’t think you have much of a choice in that, lass.” A frustrated sigh. “Though it’d likely be me rather’n him, the way he is with magic.” He strode up to meet her at the cliff’s edge, a grim sidelong glance given at her tone. “Don’t blame yourself. I’ve been tryin’ to get him to be more self-sufficient with magic for months. At least. ‘N you got him further than I did in all that time.” A hand reached out for her shoulder, hesitated, then retreated again. “You’re not the one who’s the issue here.” There Brand was, being almost… kind to her again. The attitude was an odd fit on him, like he’d gone to the tailor and come away wearing a size too big lengthwise and a size too short in the arms.

Khitti caught that hesitant reach of his arm out of the corner of her eye, but said nothing about it. What the hell was his problem lately? Why had his attitude towards her changed? Even if it wasn't much at all, it was still enough to notice. She turned her head away, looking out towards the east, towards Kelay, "Just don't force him to use his magic. It'll only push him further away, make him even more scared. It's either going to vorsen zhat or turn him into a monster and zhere's only room for one of zhose in zhis relationship." Bare arms cross over her chest, her voice lowering somewhat, "Do me a favor and take it easy on him for a little vhile. Don't be like Amarrah." The frown returns, her thoughts turning back to that day in Xalious when the shadow creature decided to stir up a heavy dose of mischief.

Brand snorted. “Hmph. Amarrah’s a --” He seemed to think better of whatever string of curses he was surely going to say, more for Khitti’s sake than anything else. If he gave that butterfly more reason than usual to be angry, she might take it out on the vampiress, and that just wouldn’t do. “No one here’s a monster ‘cept for maybe her,” he said instead, choosing to word his thoughts about a thousand times more mildly than initially intended. “Though you’ve made it sound, before, like maybe she’s just a bit bonkers rather than intentionally malicious. You, though,” and he emphasized the point with a finger jabbed into her arm, “you’re no such thing.” There was an awkward beat in which his eyes briefly meandered away from her. Yes, even Brand could have moments in which he floundered for words, under the right circumstances. “I’m thinkin’ maybe you and I just got off on the wrong foot, s’all.” He pulled away and crossed his arms again.

Khitti had heard that type of talk from everyone, but there was one person she never thought she'd hear it from and he was standing right next to her. An incredulous stare was gifted to him after his remark about 'getting off on the wrong foot'. "Vait...who zhe hell are you and vhere is my friend? Did you somehow switch bodies vith him? Because he looks a hell of a lot like you, but he's not nearly as nice." Did she seriously just refer to him as her friend? No way. Couldn't have. You're reading things wrong.

Brand blinked just as incredulously back at her, before trying -- and failing horrifically -- to hide a smirk behind a chewed lip. He’d definitely caught her usage of that particular word. “Heh. Sorry. It’s just me and the kid.” A beat. “Dominic. Whatever. Point is, you’re … well, you’re alright.” He couldn’t be -too- nice. “And you do him well, stickin’ by him like that.” And maybe Brand enjoyed her presence just as much, even if he refused to admit it or acknowledge it beyond the softer demeanor and the playful ribbing he gave her. “Kid just has things to work through that have nothin’ to do with you.” He said it like he had none of his own such issues. No, of course he didn’t. Brand was the sane, logical, socially capable one. Brand was smug perfection -allowing-, with grace, Khitti to remain in his and Dominic’s presence so often. Deeming her, perhaps, worthy. Perhaps. Hmph.

Khitti's eyes got weirdly misty. It was as if Brand provoked some sort of emotion -besides- the typical irritation and anger. There's hesitation, but she ultimately pivots and takes the step or two forward to throw her arms around his neck in an awkward hug. It wasn't the same, of course, as the hugs she'd give Dominic. Instead, it was certainly the type one would give to a close friend, just before they were to part and perhaps never see each other again. "Just take care of him, okay? After I'm gone...you're all he's got again. You two need each other...I know you do." She did her best to hide her sniffling, her voice shaky again as well as her thin form now as her anxiety decided it was time to be at peak levels again. The prospect of fighting Raiez on her own, should she go against Dominic's wishes and seek the dragon out alone, was definitely not helping things at the moment.

Well, -this- was not the kind of reaction he’d been expecting. Brand peered at Khitti with tilted head and pursed lips. His hands went to her waist, not entirely returning her hug but not entirely rejecting it, either. “Stop that. This talk like you’re … dyin’, or sommat. You aren’t allowed to go anywhere that we can’t follow, y’hear?” He plucked her up out of the snow with an expression that would allow no argument and began carrying her up to the top of the rock formation that stood above the rest. “Kiddo needs you too much. No suicidal dragon hunting for you.” Nevermind that Brand had grown plenty attached to her, too. “Though I don’t suppose me sayin’ that is gonna make much of a difference in what you do. You’re almost as stubborn as I am. Which is why --” he set her down at the crest of the stone hill with a soft grunt, “-- you and I may as well get that spar you wanted. Dominic ain’t the only one who needs practice, and I think I’m good enough to dodge the worst of what you could throw at me. No need to pull your punches or nothin’.” He took five steps back and dropped into something like a sideways runner’s crouch, leering up at her. “Come now. Don’t act like you have nothin’ to vent out on me.”

"Brand...no." She stared at him sadly, her sentiments mirroring that of Dominic's in regards to his using fire against her. "Zhere's nothing to practice." She didn't move from the spot he put her in, but she didn't look at him either. "I vasn't going to do zhis vith magic. At least not in zhe beginning. I don't even know zhat it'll vork on dragons, especially one like Raiez." She awkwardly rubs her left arm with her right hand, "I don't know -how- I'm going to go about it, but I'll just ving it and figure it out vhen zhe situation calls for it." A sigh. "Maybe Amarrah really vas right. Now I've gone and pissed her off so much zhat I doubt she's even reliable at zhis point." It would appear that she didn't care what was said about the butterfly. "And now I've lost my bow too, so...I don't have much of a choice besides going into zhis completely unprepared." She offers a faint smile in his direction, her voice attempting reassurement, "I'll be fine zhough, you know? I always make it out somehow."

Brand dropped out of his stance somewhat as she spoke, to regard her from something closer to eye level. “From what I’ve heard, Amarrah -wants- you to be able to work your magic. Not that you should be doin’ anything just ‘cause she says so, but.” A shrug. “She’s right in this case, if you’re chasin’ after dragons. And the rest sounds like nothin’ but excuses to me, lass. You have a choice. You have plenty of choice.” Smirking, he dropped back into his earlier pose, and simultaneously a number of icicles formulated in a circle around her head, each tip pointing at her from no more than a foot away. Another ring formed beneath at waist height, these ones larger, more jagged. “So. Cute, but I wasn’t asking. I was telling.” And the ice shards circled and began to close in on her.

Khitti eyed the human carefully as he spoke and crouched back down into that fighting stance of his, her own smirk forming. Her tongue runs across teeth and fang as she eyes the shards that closed in, the worry she held switching almost immediately to same sort of snarky tone that Brand always greeted people with. It really didn't take much when it came to him. They were much too alike at times and she certainly enjoyed their banter. "Have you ever fought a vampire, Brand? Do you know vhat's going to happen if I manage to use up all of my magic? I'm going to start getting bitey...and from vhat I can recall, you didn't enjoy zhat so much last time. Unless, perhaps you do now." She bats her eyelashes cutely at him, hoping that the odd flirting would catch him off guard. Simultaneously, those oh so familiar tendrils would spring forth from her fingertips, one hand used to try to knock away as many of the icicles as she could while the ones on the other hand were utilized to grab at his leg from afar. They'd not try to burrow into his skin as they often did with the enemies she fought, but rather would just attempt to wrap around his leg, to which if she succeeded, she give a flick of her wrist and endeavor to pull his foot out from beneath him.

The icicles were mostly to goad her into fighting, in truth, and were cast to the side easily. Even the ones not targeted by the tendrils crashed to the ground now that Brand’s goal had been achieved, shattering harmlessly at the vampiress’ feet. Besides, he was focused now on somersaulting away from the shadowy tentacles that threatened to claim his leg, a twist that took him sliding down much of the rocky outcropping and giving her the advantage of height in the process. “I dunno, peach. You’re the first to ‘get bitey’ and live to tell about it.” His expression smouldered just a tad at his words; the barb had irritated him more than anything. Because dammit, it -had- changed his understanding of her, even if he’d never humble himself enough to admit he’d been wrong. About anything. Ever. Probably. “Really quite the privilege, that. I hope it’s not taken for granted.” A pounded fist into the ground sent a series of stalagmites cascading out of the stone and ice, threatening to cage her within them if she wasn’t quick enough on her feet.

Khitti let out a soft growl at the nickname he'd seemed to have favored with her, the tendrils disappearing when it was obvious that they'd missed their mark. "Peach? No no no. I am not some soft, delicate, and disgusting zhing." As the cage begins to surround her, she manages to slip past two of the bars of earth and skid down the side of the rock face in his direction. "I'm much more of a lemon. Vith a nice outer shell and a bitter core." Just before she reaches the bottom, tendrils would pop out of the dirt to grab him and hold him fast, and whether they missed or not, she'd push off of that last bit of rock, her feet propelling her into his direction to pounce him to the ground.

Brand was too busy laughing to bother moving as much as he should have. The tendrils succeeded in their aim, and down he went as she pounced him, still chuckling. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t taking this as seriously as he should be. Certainly, he hadn’t even attempted anything resembling a strike that would injure her, much less anything more lethal. -She- was the one that needed the practice, not Brand. Still, he couldn’t let her hold on to such an advantageous position for long, and so he wasted no time in entwining a leg around hers and flipping them both so he was pinning her, at least for the time being. “Lemon, hmm? No, you don’t fool me. You’re not nearly so bitter as you pretend to be.” He smirked down at her, hands bracing against her wrists. “Kiwifruit, maybe? Sometimes sweet, sometimes tart, always more than a bit odd.” Like he was one to talk.

Khitti lets out an 'eep' as she's flipped and pinned, her nose scrunching up in disgust. "Damn you." It was then that she devised the most vile of plans. Just what exactly could gross out Brand so much so that he'd get distracted and she'd be able to strike. "No...I suppose I'm not. But, I am still not to be trifled vith, Brand." With a bit of pain in her heart and hoping that either Dominic would forgive her if he sensed it from his part in their shared mind or maybe he'd be none the wiser, she leans upward and kisses Brand. It's nothing special and there's nothing sensuous about it; the act purely for shock value and nothing else. While he's busy processing that, she'd tap into her vampiric strength and push him off of her with a bit of force and send him flying backwards. Before he'd get injured, however, those shadowy tendrils of hers would spring up out of the earth again to cushion his fall.

By the time Brand’s startled mind was able to react, there was nothing more he could do than let the tendrils catch him and wipe her kiss away from his mouth with one sleeve. As he rose again he stared at her a moment, agape, before breaking into a wild grin. “I... I see. Well played.” He actually seemed in genuine awe, though the praise didn’t last long before a swipe of one hand would bring three flickering orbs of lightning hurtling down upon her position. For the first time he was throwing a genuine threat of injury her way -- she’d just earned -that- much respect, at least. And she should be honored, frankly. It wasn’t -every- sparring partner Brand would take the figurative gloves off for.

Khitti could only grin in return at his compliment before the electrified orbs headed in her direction. Of course, she'd not really know how to counter such a thing, what with her lack of knowledge on the different classes of magic. Instead, she dodges to the left, letting the orbs go where they please as she darts behind him. Another collection of tendrils snake out from the digits on her right hand, twirling and swirling together to form one thick vine. Using it like a whip, she snaps it at him, aiming directly for his backside, her grin widening with mischief. "Come on, you fossil," the vampiress playing on his 'kiddo' nickname for Dominic. "You're starting to get slow in your old age. Vere you actually going to hit me vith zhose?"

Brand grunted and ducked away from the whip, the lash grazing the hair atop his head. He spun around to gift her a scowl before springing away to create more space between them once again; annoying pet names were far more fun to give than to receive. “Focus,” was all he said in response, as the orbs converged on what had been her position. They merged into one large ball of fury that continued to follow Khitti as she moved, twitching and bobbing through the air after her not entirely unlike some kind of enraged jellyfish. It wasn’t the fastest, sure, but it was persistent in its pursuit. Another fist into the ground sent cracks through the stone and ice splintering their way toward Khitti, more obstacles to dodge while the lightning ball chased her.

Khitti frowned as the orbs merged, a few uncertain steps back taken. "Vhy couldn't you be zhe punching type right now? A few hits I can take, but zhis..." She continued to back herself into a corner, until her small frame hit the back of that rock they'd been standing on not long ago. It was clear that she'd no idea what she was doing when it came to magic, despite all the reading she'd done. The whip, still formed and dangling from her fingertips lashed out again, this time at the electrified ball, though she was met with shock and a pained cry bubbled up from her throat. "Damn it!" The vampiress growls angrily, muttering more curses beneath her breath as she eyes the ground, trying to recover from the contact with the foreign magic.

Brand cursed right along with her and dropped out of his stance as the shocks hit Khitti’s form; the orb crackled and splintered away from her with another wave of his hand, vanishing into the frigid air. “Seven hells, lass; thought you’d be able to fight that off better,” was the closest thing he’d give to an apology as he stepped closer to her, the duel apparently on pause now. He was glancing her over, trying to assess the extent of the damage. “Leave some space between yourself and your magic if you’re warding somethin’ that off next time, or it just pulses right on through you.” A sigh. “You all right?”

Khitti held out her hand, warning him to keep back, "S-stop." The last remnants of the magic surged out of her body as she leaned back against the rock with a sigh. "Vhat zhe hell am I going to do, Brand? I don't know how to protect myself against other forms of magic. Zhe only reason vhy I survived against zhe necromancers vas because zheir magic is predictable...and very similar to my own." Her head tilted back, eyeing the sky as snowflakes fell, "From vhat I've read, blue dragons vield lightning. If I can't properly protect myself against zhat, zhen I'm toast. Zhis seems like something zhat vould take years of practice...not days or hours, vhichever it is zhat I have. And I'm not gonna be able to outrun a dragon's magic forever." Sidestepping away from him, she cracks her neck, and then each of her fingers as she limbers up her form a bit. "No magic." She seemed angry and frustrated, but she tried to keep it on the backburner in her mind. "Hit me. Don't hold back. I promise I von't hurt you or Dominic." Her slender fingers curled into fists, a defensive stance taken.

Brand never backed away, but he did allow Khitti to step away from him, responding with a slight pivot to keep her in his view. “I don’t understand. Days still ain’t nothing, y’know. Could learn a lot in a few days, if you were really determined.” So he really -did- have some respect for her capabilities. “You’re gonna have to tell me how this helps.” Brand closed the gap between them again, miming a jab out past her face in slow motion. “You don’t dodge -one- lightning ball, so instead you plan to, what, punch your scaly friend into submission? Is that gonna work?” He sent a couple more mock blows out at her. “Don’t know much about dragons, admittedly, but I hear they’re made of sterner stuff than all that.” He looked askance down her slender frame, taking her in a bit longer than strictly necessary. However begrudgingly, he had to admit Dominic didn’t have bad taste in women. Hmph. “Though I s’pose you’ve got more strength on you than you rightly should, at least, bein’ a vampire an’ all.”

"Because I'm angry, Brand. Out of everyone in zhis gods forsaken land, I zhought you'd understand zhat." She dodges his blows, and goes to throw her own faux punches in his direction, but stops when she sees him staring at her. "You're so different now...and it's only been a couple months. Vhat happened? It used to be zhat someone vould tell you to punch zhem and you'd gladly do it, but now it's all pretend and you give me such odd looks." A heavy sigh is let loose, and then her own side of the fake brawl finally lets itself be known with a jab to his gut and another to his ribs, "And vith zhis whole dragon business, you'd have taken Dominic far away by now. And you rightly should. You -should- leave. Both of you. Before I lose you both." She'd still be losing them though, if they did leave, but at least there'd be less of a chance of either of them dying.

Brand blinked. A lot. Different? He didn't -think- he was any different, but this wasn't the first time she or Dominic had accused him of being so and he was starting to think that maybe that meant they were right. Ugh. “Dunno,” he replied, biting back an odd grimace. “Not exactly the introspective sort. Go by my gut more’n anything.” A mock blow went to hers before he spun away from her again, adopting a defensive stance from a little over a meter away. “Kid wouldn't leave you though, you know that. Wouldn't let me, either. Guess that means you're stuck with us.” He shrugged and beckoned her forward, curling the fingers of one hand up in a ‘come hither’ motion. “But fine. You want your brawl? You'll have one.”

Frowning a little at his grimace, she mutters a faint apology, letting him land his mock punch to her stomach. This brawling wasn't going to help her against Raiez and she knew it. Brand was right. What was she going to do? Go in there and get into a punching match with the dragon? No. This was more punishment for herself than anything. Like that time in the park with the frost giant. Thankfully whatever damage was dealt wouldn't be as severe, but maybe it'd be enough to jar her out of this funk she was in. "No holding back." Well, at least for him anyway. She'd certainly not hit him full force, even if Dominic and him didn't share a body. Her vampiric agility is tapped into again as she takes a few steps forward, closing the gap between them. Her left leg sweeps out to try to trip him, her right fist moving soon after to land a real blow this time to his stomach. It was clear that -she- was holding back, but for obvious reasons.

Even a human as experienced as Brand would struggle against superhuman speed. She successfully knocked him off balance and landed her punch -- at least her vampiric strength was not currently accompanying the agility. Thankfully. Brand’s best option from here was to take the blow and try to turn the fall to his advantage; he gripped and pulled her at her wrist as her punch landed, redirecting some of the force past his torso and hoping the same momentum that was carrying him backwards would then wrench her forward and off her own balance, as well. And he twisted as he fell, landing on his side in the snow and rolling quickly over and back up to his feet, all of it in one fluid motion. If the whole movement was successful, he’d be able to send her crashing to the ground for long enough that he could pin a leg to the ground, neutralizing the agility problem somewhat and leaving her in a suboptimal position.

Ever distracted by the things going on in her mind, Brand's plan worked wonderfully on Khitti. It never mattered how much force she put behind her attacks, she'd never be focused enough to follow through after the fact or defend properly against oncoming blows. There's a slew of curses that escape her, but they're soon cut off as she gets a mouth and face full of snow. She tries to scramble to her feet, but fails again as nails dig through the layers of snow and ice to try to pull herself free from Brand's hold. "Damn it..." is muttered quietly as tries to spin about to access the situation briefly. Using her free leg, she plants it against his chest, bends it at the knee, and attempts to kick him off of her, doing so several times if need be before trying to escape again.

Brand was pushed back enough by her leg to create the distance needed for her to get away, but rather than scowl or seem otherwise irritated by her victory, he merely took another step back and began circling to her side. “Good,” he grunted, a stiff nod sent her way. “Don’t get discouraged if you’re in a bad spot. So long’s you’ve got some mobility, you’re probably golden, even if it doesn’t seem like it.” A beat. “So: what if I --?” and he charged forward again, slipping past her and arriving flush against her back. An arm wrapped around her neck -- not enough to choke, but tightly enough that she wouldn’t be able to bite -- and another locked around her waist; behind her he adopted a somewhat sideways stance, pinning one hip into her back.

After Brand had taken hold and posed his question, she took a moment to consider things. "You know, Brand, if you vanted to hug me, all you had to do vas ask." She snickers a bit, putting hope in that their continued banter would distract him again. With his focus on her throat and waist, she takes the opportunity to reach her hands back and tickle his sides. She was clearly a very dirty fighter.

Brand growled and flinched away, out of her range. How utterly annoying, to share Dominic’s ticklishness like that, of all the damned things… “Heh. Well. Not what I had in -mind-, lass, but I’m not gonna argue if it’s effective.” He was quite deliberately ignoring her ‘hug’ comment, though he did step around to stand before her again. “If you’re ever in a hold like that and your arms are pinned, you can also try dropping at the hips into a forward fold, or you can bend at the knee and kick your feet back, or--” he cut himself off, abruptly folding his arms across his chest and canting his head at her. “Not sure when this became an educatin’ session.”

Khitti couldn't help but beam brightly at him as he ignored her mention of hugging, the cheesiest of grins plastered on her features. It was always so wonderful teasing him. "Vell, you sure know quite a bit about fighting, so vhy not?" The grin widens further, if that's even possible. It does, however, take a mischievous turn as she suddenly turns to naught but a blur, appearing behind him soon after. Tickling is used as a distraction again, her left hand dancing away at his side while the other shoots out to grab his own right and pull it tight behind his back. She taps into her vampiric strength, just a pinch and not much more, but enough to keep him restrained in this position. Khitti is just a tiny thing in comparison to Brand, you know. Quickly ceasing with the tickling, his left wrist is also snatched up, and brought to meet with the other. "You're lucky I like you. I could be awfully mean right now. I might not always be focused, but I can -usually- take advantage of zhe situation vhen zhe opportunity arises. Most of zhe time, anyway." Her grip of his hands tighten a bit, just to show that she wasn't going to release them just yet.

Brand bit hard into a lip to keep back the automatic laughter that would normally accompany being tickled so, and through it he gave her an exaggerated sigh before launching himself backwards into her, one foot latched around her ankle as he did so in an effort to further trip her up. Hopefully the sudden movement would distract her enough to loosen her grip on him, otherwise he’d likely be falling right along with her.

Khitti really should've expected that. Seriously. But, being the occasionally dense female that she is (how is she not blonde?), Brand does indeed trip her. But! Yes, but. -But-, she does manage to loosen her grip and pushes at his back, doing an odd sort of spin out from underneath of him, and moving to the left to land beside him rather then underneath of him. "See," she says as she pushes up off the ground and turning to face him with her fists at the ready should he lunge at her again, "Zhis is zhe problem zhat Daermon had vhen he attempted to train me. He is quite gifted vith predicting attacks. I zhink it vas something he knew before his turning, and vas heighten after zhe fact." The vampiress scowls a bit, "I vas not given zhe gift of foresight, it vould appear." A pause. "I honestly don't know vhat my gift even is...or how I should use it to my advantage. I suppose I'm fast, but zhat's not exactly going to help against a dragon." Another pause before she continues, "And don't mention zhe magic. I doubt zhose tendrils or zhe acid globs are going to help anyway."

Brand shook his head, moving away from her, his body language making it clear he was done fighting (for now). “Well, my little kiwi, I’ll tell you what it’s not.” He stepped forward and, with one finger, tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. It would be almost … tender, except that the lines in his expression were as hard as ever. “You don’t give yourself near enough credit. Make some mistake an’ you spend five times longer beating yourself up about it than it’s actually worth. Focus on what you -can’t- do an’ downplay what you -can-.” He dropped his hand and stepped away from her, out towards the pond Dominic had put cracks into earlier. “Kid’s much the same way. ‘Cept with him, s’just annoying.” With the slightest movement of his hand the ice smoothed itself over, flattening and resolidifying as if it had never been impacted. He peered back over his shoulder at Khitti. “Cuz demonstrably, he -could- if he’d just get past his own … whatevers.”

Khitti's crimson brows furrow as he stared at her and spoke those oddly kind words of wisdom, her hands lowering when it was clear that he was done sparring for now. "He just needs patience. Something, it vould seem, zhat both you and I need to vork on. He's been zhrough a lot. I mean, zhat's zhe whole reason vhy you're here." Her line of sight drifts away from him and over to the pond, "But, I know how he feels also. You and zhe other mages make it look so damned easy. It's infuriating." Her tone takes a slightly darker turn for the moment, the vampiress almost sounding like Amarrah. "To have zhat power just barely in reach and never being able to grasp it." She sucks in an unneeded breath, then let it out in a heavy sigh. "I fully understand vhy he's so afraid of trying. He's never needed to really do anything because he had you. I vas not so lucky. I -had- to learn, even zhough vhat I do know is barely anything at all."

Brand turned more fully toward the vampiress and cocked a brow at her, a lopsided grin momentarily crossing his features. “Is that so? You sound so sure you know what happened an’ why.” He waved a hand of dismissal; it wasn’t a line of thought he particularly cared to expand upon. “Lemme tell ya somethin’, lass -- that’s the only reason most people ever learn anything. ‘Cause they had to. Maybe not every situation is as extreme as yours, but regardless, most never aspire to more than the bare minimum of what they need to survive. You desire more, an’ you’re already ahead of the crowd.”

Khitti adopts a Brand-like pose, crossing her arms over her chest, an eyebrow raised in his direction. "I guess it doesn't matter vhat I zhink. And also, it doesn't matter if I'm 'ahead of zhe crowd', I'm broken. I haven't made any progress vith my magic in over ten years, Brand. What I vant is never going to happen. Ever." One arm pulls away from her body, a small, swirling black and purple glob forms in the palm of her hand, the smell odd and a little off-putting. The vampiress studies it a moment, it's acidic touch seemingly not harming her whatsoever, before she tosses it towards the pond where Brand had just fixed the cracks in the ice. The instant it touches the frozen water, the area around the ball and beneath it starts to bubble and hiss, like a heated melted ball would, and slowly sinks down into the pond. "I don't even know how I'm supposed to practice anything vith magic like zhis. If I used it against you, it'd not go vell. I've seen vhat it does to trees, I can imagine vhat it'd be like against human flesh." No. She did know. She knew very well from Revan's trial, but nothing more than slight discomfort at the thought was given to show that she -did- know.

Brand just shrugged like the answer was obvious. “So practice against stone, peach. We’re in Frostmaw, for frak’s sake -- go carve holes into the mountains. They won’t feel it.” His line of sight followed the acidic ball down the hole it had created, inspecting the damage with an inquisitive expression, imagining the kind of damage -he- could wreak with something like that. And briefly, he daydreamed of fighting alongside Khitti, flinging ooze orbs and fireballs every which way, effortlessly destroying every enemy in their path together and standing victorious atop a pile of corpses. Maybe in the next inevitable war, if she could get over that same damned attitude Dominic had, anyway... “Careful ya don’t cause an avalanche or somethin’, though.” His gaze returned to her, along with a smirk. “Don’t want to squish that pretty little face under all that snow.”

"You didn't see vhat I did to zhe mines before I found you after you helped zhe centaurs. You remember my mood zhat day, I'm sure. A little bitier zhan usual? Take zhat into consideration now zhat you know vhat zhose little oozes can do." She shrugs her shoulder into the direction of the pond, "I guess I could and just try to not get angry, but you also know how zhat goes as vell." No sooner did she finish her thought did she catch a sneak peek into Brand's daydream, a reddish brow raising in his direction, with a look as if to say 'Did you seriously just...' to accompany her incredulous stare. "Um." is all she manages to say at this point as she tries to decipher what exactly she had seen and...well...why, but she just stammers and tries to carry on with the conversation, "R-right. So, I guess maybe I can find some place around here. Xalious too maybe. I don't know." A sigh. Another couple of globs formed and sent towards the pond. Hopefully there wasn't any fish in there.

Brand canted his head, confused, catching on to the shift in her demeanor but oblivious as to -why-. But, hey, she was actually willing to try his suggestion. He wasn’t going to argue with that. Instead, his vision trailed behind the other globs that she lobbed into the pond before shrugging at her again. Each time she threw an ooze, he’d seal over the hole with ice again, just because. “So practice alone if you’re worried. Or find… fodder.” Another shrug. “Target practice you won’t feel morally sore about if you get angry.”

Khitti muttered to herself after his mention of target practice, "Too bad I didn't get much time to myself to play vith zhose frost giants." She hrmphs quietly, staring at the pond in thought. "No, I shouldn't do zhat here. Not in Frostmaw. I'd really rather not have Hildegarde get upset vith me. Not sure how she'd feel about me decimating her vildlife." Another pause and then an 'aha!'. "Oh! I know! You could make some targets in zhe ice for me!" The vampiress motions to the pond and lobs another ball at it. "You seem like you're vell enough zhat you could even do moving ones too." Weird. Was that a compliment? It's almost as if she thought highly of him and his skill with magic.

Brand scrunched up his brows. “You… actually wanna try that?” He studied her a moment, as if in disbelief, convinced this must be some new way to tease him or… something. But whatever expression was on her face he must have found satisfactory, because the confused frown burst into an earnest, eager grin. The man raised a hand to the sky, and a few seconds later four diamonds of tightly packed snow rose from ground in front of Khitti in a trapezoid formation -- two closer, stationary figures, and two further away that moved back and forth across a few meters of space. “Can’t turn down a golden opportunity to show off, lass.”

Khitti smirked at his excitement, but didn't waste any time as she summoned up a ball of ooze in each hand, side-stepping away from him and moving closer towards the targets. The moving ones were focused first, keeping in mind that the magical types typically stood towards the back. The orbs were thrown, first to the left, then more created and pitched at the right. Much like normal softballs, they'd leave holes in the snow, passing right through it. But, also much like most dark magic, whatever ooze remained on the diamonds immediately began to taint and eat away at the snow. One might wonder what happened beneath the ice of the pond, and perhaps even hope that the water was enough to dilute it.

Part of Brand’s focus was on maintaining his ice creations; the rest went to studying the ooze balls’ effects on the diamonds. When her volley ceased, he stepped towards the closest of the diamonds and circled it, peering at the damage from every angle. A hand reached out toward it and retracted again; “Hmm, better not,” was muttered under his breath before he resumed his circle. But if he could just figure out how that acidic ooze worked, maybe he could recreate something similar; the thought was a siren call almost tempting enough for him to risk touching the ruined ice anyway. Almost.

Khitti cast a side glance at Brand as he inspects the ooze, even going so far as almost touching it. "I vouldn't do zhat if I vere you." She gives him a brief glance along their link of the memory of her interaction with Revan and how one of the orbs was seared and ultimately shoved into the side of a paladin's head, effectively boiling and bubbling the contents within. And that was -before- the taint kicked in. With the back targets taken care of, the tendrils make themselves known again, each of the five on both hands fusing together to create those whips that had attempted to assault Brand earlier. Each one cracks against snow-covered ground just before Khitti takes off in the direction of the one on the right. She alights onto and steps off of a nearby boulder, propelling herself towards the diamond. With furied swipes, the whips slice through cleanly, one after the other, over and over again until each piece begins to slide apart and off of the bottom half of the target. With that one 'dead', her attention shifts to the last of the four, the whips splitting into the five tendrils again. They seek out the diamond, digging in deep, pretending like it's flesh. More tendrils branch off of the main ones, weaving in and out of the entire target, crushing it more and more until it's naught but dust.

Brand flinched as the memory shard hit him. Receiving the link directly felt different than sensing it through the filter of Dominic’s experience; the feel and the quality of the memory itself found him jerking backwards, muscles tensed. A second later he seemed to realize what it was that had happened, and from that point on he stared at Khitti through the rest of her attacks. He approached her as she finished her round, one elbow in the opposite hand, and his free hand stroking thoughtfully at his chin. “That … link of yours. With the kid. You n’ I get that the same way?” His eyes darted back and forth past her, evidence of the gears crunching out this revelation through his head. Whatever he’d managed to do -through- Dominic before, this seemed different, somehow. It was actually Brand in control, fully, and yet they still shared that link.

Khitti hadn't even had the thought occur to her until he pointed it out, even after that bit of his thoughts had slipped through earlier. "Yeah, I guess so." She blinked once, then twice, "For zhe most part, I guess, your mind is pretty shut up. You've clearly been able to keep zhings from Dominic pretty vell and I vould suppose zhat it's just some sort of permanent mental block in a vay, but not really?" She scrunches up her nose, the tendrils disappating into smoke as she eyes him, taking a wary step away from him as he approached as she tries to decipher her own thoughts and words, "I don't know. Apparently some zhings slip zhrough zhough. Like earlier...you vere...zhinking of fighting beside me?" She's quick to stammer an apology and an explanation, "B-but I never force my vay into your side of zhe link, or Dominic's either. Except for zhat one time vhen I bit you." A frown appears. "S-sometimes zhings just slip zhrough if you're not careful."

“Heh. Well, I pride myself on my ability to compartmentalize.” Brand gave her a mock bow and flourish, as if keeping closed off was some sort of magic trick he’d just performed. He froze at her mention of his thought slipping through, though, the self-satisfied smirk morphing into a mild frown and sticking there as he peered up at her, still half bent over. “Hmph. It crossed my mind, yeah.” He straightened up, pouting slightly, crossing his arms over his chest and side-eyeing her once more in his trademark pose. “Gotta be honest, you fight gorram well. I don’t know -why- you won’t give yourself more credit, even if you’re not improving.”

Khitti shifts her attention away from him completely, trying to find something else to focus on, but failing utterly. "No," the vampiress rejecting his compliment. "I should be better by now. I should be like you. I should've reached zhat point before my turning and I should be even better -now- with all of those added enhancements." She finally looks to him again, her features contorted with frustration, "It's not fair, damn it. I did so much. I earned it. And yet, zhere's nothing to show for all zhe years I've been like zhis." Angrily, she created another orb, pitching the ooze full force at the remains of the nearest diamond.

“So you won’t accept that you’re -good- because you ‘could be better’? That makes -no- gorram sense, kiwi; I hope you realize.” Brand took her by the shoulders and shook her lightly, trying to snap her out of her mood. “You matched me well enough, when we fought. -Me-, with well over a decade of experience, a higher death count than I can remember or that either of us could maybe count to, anyway.” Not that he knew his numbers well enough to count nearly all that high anyway, but if it still sounded impressive to her… well, she didn’t need to know that pesky detail. He frowned harder.

Khitti didn't seem to mind his nicknames now oddly enough as it neither angered her nor did she attempt to correct or chide him for doing so. She just stared up at him instead as he shook her, brows furrow, confusion on her face. And that frown of his. That frown only rattled her brain more and even agitated her with a bit, concern mixing in. The studying of the seemingly older male in front of her goes on for a few moments as she tries to process thing, but ultimately she just shakes her head and frowns as well, "Vhy do you even care, Brand?" She was starting to sink into that same sort of dispirited mood that Dominic had been in before his freakout and subsequent banishment for the time being by Brand.

“Hmm?” Brand was shaken out of his thoughts and pulled another step away from her. “...I’unno. Literally never thought about it before. Wasn’t kiddin’ around earlier -- I don’t introspect.” He paused, circling her now just as curiously as he had those ice diamonds earlier. “Do I -need- a reason? The kid cares about you, and I’m stuck with him. Seems practical.” Shrug. Some further explanation lurked deeper in his brain and, though he just barely sensed it, he was deliberately ignoring any idea of exploring it further.

Khitti breathed a sigh, though whether it was out of frustration or relief couldn't be detected. She didn't like the way he circled and stared at her though, some remnant of a memory long since gone stirred to the surface like a bad dream only for her to shake it away again. "Right. Practical." That familiar wall of awkward rears it's ugly head again, creating it's barrier around her brain, her words likely a bit too curt. "I should go do zhat scouting I had planned on before it gets too late." She was more mouse than vampire at this point and felt that overwhelming urge to run off again. What -was- Brand's problem? Why did he care one second and then act completely opposite the next? And why did -she- even care at all one way or the other? A scowl appears and she steps out of his circuit before he can reach the front of her again, moving just a short distance away, not making eye contact with him. "Please check on Dominic vhen you zhink enough time has passed and he's more calm," her words still all business now and without the softness it had held for the majority of their conversation. "Tell him vhere I'm going and please don't be so harsh on him for vhat happened."

Brand’s inquisitive gaze followed her, the man still not piecing her behavior together in any sensical way. “Oh, already? Alright.” He simply stood there, not even hiding that he was staring after her, nor his confusion at her actions. Maybe Dominic would know -- he seemed better at understanding that redheaded vampiress. But Brand, Brand too often found himself confounded by her, unable to anticipate what she was doing or why. Odd, that one.

Khitti finally did look at him just before she left, catching that questioning stare of his. She gave no response to it, however, as she certainly didn't have an answers for him. She does manage a smile for him though, albeit faint and even a little sad. "Goodbye, Brand. Take care of him, please." A pause. "And yourself." No sooner did she finish speaking did she turn and head down the side of the mountain from their vantage point in the area, hopping down the rockface carefully and in the direction of Sage Forest.