[Open] Fear No Darkness

[Deleted]

It was an early (and cold) spring shower than had driven her into the safety of the forest eaves. In the shadows of the forest, the rain came down lighter, reduced from a freezing torrent to a chilly drizzle. Aryel shook out her neck, attempting to dry her sodden pelt somewhat, and looked about. The forest was gloomy, to be sure, but what unnerved her the most was that, aside from the sound of the rain, it was utterly silent. There were no birds calling or deer bleating in the distance. With a snort, she tossed her head again and began to walk deeper into the woods, determined not to let a little silence send her skittering off like a scared filly. She was out of the rain, and that was all that mattered.

As she walked, however, she couldn't help the growing unease within her. There was a pervasive wrongness about this forest. Aryel might have told others that she didn't believe in ghosts, but when she walked through a place like this, it was easy for one's mind to run away and imagine that something horrible and bloody must have happened here in the past, enough to taint the land for years afterwards. She came to a halt under a large pine, where the rain could barely reach her. She had picked bad terrain to take refuge in, and she knew it. The trees were close enough together that running at full tilt would be dangerous, but far enough apart that she could be attacked from all sides. Attacked--she snorted again, though this time her ire was directed at herself. Did she honestly think there were spooks out there coming to get her?

Crunch.

Her head shot up at the sound of a something rustling the pine needles underfoot. Had she been a human, she would have gone white as a sheet. Despite the sudden rapid beating of her heart, she faced the darkness, eyes darting about for signs of movement. "Who's out there?" she challenged, flicking her ears back. Whether it was spooks or something flesh-and-blood, she didn't want to be caught off-guard. Aryel pawed the ground angrily, as if in preparation to charge. "Either you come out, or...or I'm coming in after you!"

[WHIPSTER.]

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

It has been rather hot the past few days, so he did not entirely mind the cold rain as it pelted his golden skin, or the fog that made everything hazy. Lucien was wandering, ever curious of these new lands. It was not normal for him to leave his lovers side like this but things were already looking up, he needed to scout... Needed to start building his band. It would all start here in the forest, scoping out its tightly woven passage ways and keeping an eye out for anyone who might be willing to chat. He wasn't the most social, but who didn't enjoy the game of small conversation? Those chances looked bleak. He saw no other equines — not even the birds sang today.

The dunalino stallion had almost given up hope that someone would be closeby. His silver eyes were wide with wonder and his audits flickered casually back and forth. His pace was slowing, coming to a stop, when one of his hooves cracked down on a twig and the snap could be heard for miles. Luci looked down at his feet, and then shot back up as a voice peered through the fog and slight darkness of early morning. For a second his teeth were bared and his haunches raised. It was not until he processed the voice of a woman that he settled down, clearing his throat. “Shame you for being so brash to a stranger,” Luci said sternly, snorting under his breath and stepping into a better light.

The mutt cocked his head to the side and looked upon the blue woman with curiosity and a predatory haze that his father once had. Everything was political to Luci unless it came to Invidia. But he composed his body and let a smile crack his lips, raising a brow in her direction. “You must be new here as well.”

fennecfyre / HIII <3

[Deleted]

Aryel wasn't sure what she expected to answer her shouts. Perhaps a ghost, perhaps nothing. The voice that came back in reply, however, sounded decisively normal. When a cream-colored stallion stepped out of the gloom, Aryel had to admit it was a bit...anticlimactic. But she decided she much preferred him to a ghost. "Shame on you for sneaking up on folks," she retorted, curving her neck and giving him a look. As he drew closer, she noticed the height difference between him, and that she had to crane her neck back slightly to look at him. That was one thing that had taken some getting used to since leaving home. The horses out here were big compared to the stocky plainsdwellers she had grown up among. Aryel had always been a bit on the short side, but in Tathra, it was more noticeable than ever.

She whisked her tail, surprised as he correctly surmised that she was a newcomer to these lands, as he was. "What gave it away?" she asked, grinning. Perhaps she did look a bit of a bumpkin, jumping at shadows and shouting at fog. She found it odd, and somewhat amusing, that he was a stranger here as well. "If you're a new arrival as well, then what brings you here?" Forgetting ghosts for the moment, Aryel cocked a hoof and leaned back to a more comfortable posture. She tended to be a rather active horse, but she didn't mind a good conversation every now and then. Perhaps he had seen places in Tathra he hadn't and would give her some ideas for new spots to explore.

WHIPSTER.

(Hullo : D )

[WHIPSTER.]

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

Lucien cocks his head at the blue woman as she speaks, grinning ever so slightly but also keeping a composed stand over her. He does not wish to intimidate or try anything, but she is small and this is amusing to him. He is not insulted like some men might have been with a woman talking to them as such... He shakes his head when she finishes, but agrees with a flash of his silver eyes. He is wondering why she is here alone in the first place. She did not necessarily belong in a place like this whole creeps lurked about. Was he no better, really? Luci shakes the thought from his mind and refocuses on the woman, shrugging. “Point taken,” he says with a quiet chuckle at the end. The gold skinned man is left thinking again, but he still tries to hear every word that she says. It's not that hard, really.

The dunalino stallion leaned backward to rest himself, confident enough in this mystery equine that she would not simply attack. Nobody really did that these days, they left fighting open for debate and avoided it. Not him, though. Luci was a firm believer in vibes and spirituality. He was set back by his fathers strictly practiced religion, but believed all the same. He twitches his ears and raises a brow toward the dame, picking his words carefully. He's a natural flirt, he wants her to notice the strength in him and fiend for it. Sometimes there is darkness in his mind. But Luci would never hurt her, try something, no. He just wants conversation, he's only just got here. “Your eyes told me.” he says this because it was true. Aryel's first look upon the land told him enough to assume. “I looked about the same. I'm from the South, maybe that's why.”

What brings you here? It hits a nerve but Luci doesn't show it. This woman doesn't know him or the way his heart bleeds when he wants his family. She doesn't know his suffering. He takes no offense and lifts his head, taking a step forward. “I was lost and never found my way back home. Tathra was told to be by the few native horses that still live here.” Lucien sighs to himself and outwardly shakes his cream colored mane. “Now, what about yourself?”

fennecfyre / <3

[Deleted]

Aryel blinked at the mention of her eyes. Well, she supposed she did have a tendency to get a bit wide-eyed when she was in a new place. She couldn't help it, though--there was so much to see. Aryel herself was from the lands east of Tathra, and she found herself wondering what his homeland was like. Her ears perked as he told of his own reasons for coming here. She couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than simply getting lost, but something told her she shouldn't press, so she didn't. When he asked after her own origins, she pawed the ground idly with a hoof. "My life started off kinda boring, to be honest. My father was the leader of our herd, but he had a lot of kids, and it wasn't really the kind of herd where fillies could grow up to do something other than stand around, look pretty, and have a bunch of foals. I knew I was never going to amount to anything as someone's broodmare, so I slipped away and followed rumors of Tathra. Don't know what I'll do here, but it'll be on my whims and nobody else's."

She shook her neck out as a particular memory of her travels here surfaced, and she remembered what it was she had wanted to ask the other horses living here. Though he wasn't a native, perhaps he would know more about the bipeds than she did. "Say, have you seen those two-legged creatures that live around here? No fur, but they have long manes like us, and I sometimes see them with horses or these wolf-looking canines." The skin around her withers twitched, as if shaking off a fly. In reality, she was recalling what one of them had tried to do once. "I met a pair of them on the borders of Tathra. They weren't really aggressive, one of them even started patting my head for some reason, but then the other tried to slip this vine-looking thing around my neck. Lucky for me, they can hardly run at all." Maybe that was why she had seen a few sitting on the backs of horses as they walked. They had wanted to borrow their speed and strength. It was perplexing, to be sure, but at the same time she was on fire with curiosity. Only time would tell if she would end up getting burned.

It occurred to her that, in her wonderment about this strange new land, she had neglected basic courtesy. "My name's Aryel, by the way." she said, bowing her head briefly, then looking back up at the stallion. "And yours?"


WHIPSTER.

[WHIPSTER.]

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

Lucien stares at the blue woman, and listens well as she talks about her home. He does not know what it is like to not love his parents immensely. He can understand, vaguely, why she felt the need to leave. Since accepting the loss of his family, Luci had found it well to accept that there was more to life than them. He could still be amazing, still raise an empire. And she does not have a mindset nearly like his: Lucien is driven, bursting at the seams with light and energy, he wants to rule and Aryel is sweet. She is more innocent, maybe she knows that. And if he understands, she wanted life on her own terms. The stallion grins. “I can't say I match your goals,” Luci replies, shrugging as the skin on his shoulder tenses. The blue woman mentions the two legged, and he remembers what they did to his father. But he also remembers a painted girl on his journey here — too sweet, too tame — who loved those two legged native to Tathra.

He swallows and looks at her, silver orbs burning with conflict. Luci picks his next words carefully. He is neither for or against. “Some say they are hard handed. Others would disagree.” And then he listens once more, chuckling softly at her. “Lucky for me, they can hardly run at all!” he feels the excitement and emotion in her voice. It's vague, but she questions these creatures with passion. She is truly curious. He admires that. “You have brought me many amusements, miss. I can't remember the last time I laughed so,” he says because he doesn't want to seem rude, gazing at her and instead of instinctively wanting to jump her bones... Luci spoke. She replied. She was fire, just like him. Not so easily broken. She's not a common whore, and he doesn't mind her. He realizes then that he has yet to give her a name because she is introducing herself. Lucien is a prince, soon to be king, and he had been so terribly rude.

“You must beg my pardon, miss Aryel. I am Lucien. I come from a quaint island, the once-heir of the world; my father died when I was quite young. My mother kept me tucked in her bosom. I'm nearly two weeks in, this has become my home. My story, though... Well, these lands will decide that.”

The stallion is staring into the fog as he speaks. His dunalino coat glistens with sweat and little droplets of water from the moisture in the air. He grins and looks back at the blue woman, Aryel. He wonders if Invidia would like her, if their fire would be spellbound. But this woman does not seem like she wants to be tame, she has a mission in life. Luci cannot make her a queen. A warrior, perhaps?

“What do you love most in life?” He is childishly curious.

fennecfyre / I got so rambly but I have so much muse, these two might be bros.

[Deleted]

He didn't seem to want to answer her questions about the upwalkers at first, and she wondered why. Perhaps he had run-ins with them as well. When he finally spoke, his opinion seemed to be a neutral one. She was still plenty curious, of course, eager to know more about them and about the land in general, but it seemed she wouldn't be learning anything more about them today. He chuckled, telling her that she had been rather amusing. Aryel's tail whisked--it rather made her feel like she was a child amusing her elders--but she chose not to take it as an insult, and grinned back. "Well, I'm glad I was able to bring a little laughter into your life."

He introduced himself as Lucien, and she accepted the name with a nod of her head. So he was from an island? She couldn't but cock a brow as he reminisced about being heir to the world once, but supposed that for those living on their own landmass, that would indeed seem like the entire world. He had come to Tathra to seek his fortune, as she had. She couldn't help but hope he found it, whatever it may be. She liked this horse, even if he had nearly scared the daylights out of her at first. For a once-prince, he was certainly nothing like the puffed-up stallions that had come seeking her sisters for their own herds. Perhaps luckily for her, Aryel had often been overlooked in favor of her more lithe, better-tempered siblings. Still, she hadn't wanted to take any chances, and was quite glad she had gotten away from all that. If she ever took a mate, it would be by choice, not political arrangement.

He asked her a very interesting question, and she fell quiet for a moment, pondering to answer. "To be honest, I can't think of one particular thing that I love most of all," she mused. "I like running as fast as I can, feeling the wind in my mane," Here she chuckled and shook out her neck, causing her naturally-cropped mane to flick back and forth. "What little there is of it, anyway. But I also like to lie in the sunlight and look up at the clouds. I like foggy mornings like this, but I also like summer thunderstorms and starry nights." She tossed her head. "I like to test myself against others, and feel the excitement of battle." Oh, how her mother had hated that. As a child, Aryel had insisted on sparring with the colts, no matter how unsightly it was for a filly to do so, "But I also like to just sit and talk, like right now. So, I would say that what I love most in life is simply being alive." Privately, Aryel wondered where this sudden burst of muse had come from. Normally, she wasn't quite so articulate. "And yourself? What do you enjoy the most?"


WHIPSTER.
(Bros 4 lyfe)

[WHIPSTER.]

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

Luci watches her closely, but still tries to keep his attention on the surrounding area as well. The world is masked by fog, and Aryel is a prime target to any man who saw fit to want her. He believes that she could handle herself, the little stout thing, but apart of him worries. Bachelors roam in numbers, usually. He's seen some horrible things in his days, heard the stories of his father of what happens to women when they're alone. It's an unusual sense of protectiveness. Suddenly nothing is political, and he realizes this is because she does not look at him expecting anything. She knows nothing of him. He is a mere mortal among them all, no longer a supposed God or to-be king. He is merely a boy still, when life was simple. His eyes tear from the depths of nothing when she replies to him, clearing his throat and refocusing at what was in front of him. He feels as though he has shorted Aryel about the two legged ones, so he backtracks.

“Some of them use us, so I hear. We are pawns to them, little toys to be broken. My father once lived amongst the bad man, they had ripped him from his home and took everything,” his voice was void of emotion, it didn't hurt him any to think of his father submissive to man, not anymore. When he knew his father it was long pass that time. The dunalino shifted his lax position, shrugging a bit. “But, Aryel, there are some who care much more deeply than others. Who use us, but love us. Care for us. They are ignorant to how we feel, and so they will never know what it's like to take our freedom. But their hand is as gentle as our mamas,” this is the last he will say of them. Let her decide how she feels, let her learn more from someone who can give it.

Lucien listens attentively as she talks of the things she is most fond of. He finds his silver eyes staring into here, he feels adoration for this blue woman. It's in an odd pit of his chest. Luci wonders if it's because she is not like any he has encountered before. His audits flickered, interest peeked. “Do you spar, Aryel?” he smirks when he asks this, head whirling with ideas. “I've been searching for an opponent for some time. Just some old fashion fun, yeah? I used to spar as a colt with the others, that was always a fun time.” Today consisted of much reminiscing and while it hurt, some parts of him smiled deeply to think about back home and what he misses. His gaze falls away from the blue woman, thinking about her question very carefully. He had never been asked before, though he asked this often. Nobody thought to return such a meaningful thing. Luci's first initial response might have been pretty women and sex, or his religious views, but he looks at a simpler picture and it's all because of Aryel.

“I love the skies. In all context, night or day.”

fennecfyre / it's been done since the night after you posted idrk why i thought i replied lmfao

[Deleted]

As curious as Aryel was about the two-legs, she was also curious about a great deal of other things, and so, for the moment, she had been content to let talk of them die away between them, especially as it seemed to be an uncomfortable topic for him. She was surprised, then, that after a few moments of pensive silence, he began to talk about them again. He spoke of the abuses his own father had suffered under them, but also of their potential for kindness. It seemed they were a bit like horses in that respect, then, able to be cruel or gentle in equal measures. For once she didn't chatter, instead taking his wisdom with a nod. "I see." It seemed hat no matter their individual disposition, getting too close to them was risking her self-determination, but at least they weren't all bad. If she observed them again, she'd just have to make sure it was from a distance.

The mention of sparring made her eyes light up, banishing all melancholy thoughts concerning the humanoids from her mind. "Oh, a bit," she said with a devilish grin, pawing the ground. "I'm a little rusty, but I don't mind throwing a few hooves. It's always good to be prepared in case I actually have to fight for real." His reply to her question (well, his question turned back on him) made the grin widen. She was growing to like this stallion, especially if he enjoyed mock-battles, as she did. Admittedly, as a child, Aryel had often ended up on the bottom of the heap. She was simply too small to maintain any kind of a winning streak. But what she lacked in physical strength, she could often make up for in sheer guts. She was tireless and nimble, able to take a kick, get up, and keep fighting. Against wolves or cougars, sheer tenacity often kept her alive, an utter refusal to back down or flee. Against horses, she had yet to find herself in a truly dire situation, but she was confident, perhaps overly so, in her abilities to defend herself. If all else failed, she could simply be such a gigantic pain in the neck that it wasn't worth their time to try and keep her under control. She didn't know what kind of fighter Lucien was, but perhaps she'd find out today.

WHIPSTER.

[WHIPSTER.]

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

All other thoughts push away in his mind as he listens to her, a wide grin on his ashen lips, immediately starting to calculate these next few moments. It's a careful selection of things he watched within his father, or the stories that his mother told him. After Charlie had died, she tried her hardest to make him a warrior. And even since, he'd fought and earned his name. This was pure fun between friends. Yes, Luci considers this mare as much a friend as anyone. She's far from anyone he would lust over, he's unswayed by her doll like expression, he is suddenly seeing her as one of the guys. Though, far more intelligent.

The dunalino doesn't waste time replying to her. He moves toward his right, circling around her front end and trailing behind her. He hopes that she doesn't mind him cutting the conversation ... There is adrenaline pooling into his body like an IV of drugs, straight energy. Aryel doesn't seem the type for petty talk, anyway. The mutt stallion starts toward her, head low and neck snaking out. His teeth bare, Lucien rounds her hip and let his lips and edge of his teeth scrape against her shoulder. With this, he pushes away and kicks up his heals at her in the process. At first, he would've just run off. Instead, Luci slides to a stop around twenty feet away, whipping around to face the blue woman with a smile on his face and long, silver curls madly in his eyes.

“Why don't you show me what you're made of then, little dove.”

fennecfyre // two attacks, two defenses, one dodge or no dodge?

[Deleted]

(Maybe no dodge, since they'll probably be in close-quarters?)

Her speech came to a gradual halt as he began to move again, a vulpine look in his eyes. She remained where she was, head turning to follow his path around, behind, and past her. A cocked brow and a ghost of a smile was her only response to his posturing, though inside, she was buzzing with pent-up excitement. For better or for worse, Aryel was an adrenaline junkie. She lived for the next thrill, whether it was galloping full tilt over treacherous terrains, exploring the darkest forests, or duking it out with a horse she'd just met. She could be happy enough living a calm life, but she would always want for something, some event to rekindle the fire within her.

And it seemed that today she'd find that something. Lucien's head darted towards her as he came up by her side, teeth bared. Startled, she attempted to sidestep, but she was a bit too late, and a sharp pinch stung her shoulder. She would have bitten him back, but he had already jumped out of range, kicking up his heels like a giddy colt. Feeling a bit embarrassed at how easily he had caught her off-guard, she stinkeyed him as he turned back to face her, a challenge on his lips. "All right," she said, dropping her head and pawing the ground. Her devilish grin matched his. "I'll try to go easy on you."

She drew closer in serpentine fashion, moving to circle him while steadily drawing nearer, like a shark closing in on wounded prey. The tension in her neck suggested she was planning to use her teeth, but when she did move, it wasn't to bite. Aryel whipped around to face him and charged his right side suddenly, forelegs striking the ground for only a few beats before she reared and leaped forward in an attempt to kick at his right shoulder, bringing each hoof down towards him like twin hammers. Her neck was high and arched, chin tucked down to protect her throat.

WHIPSTER.

[WHIPSTER.]

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

Lucien let his tail flag and his steps were high and haughty, eyes sharp and focused on the blue woman just beyond. He was almost sure he knew what she was doing: inching closer, baring her teeth to attempt to chomp at his throat. It had been seen many times before, practiced between many colts in his day. The stallion laughs under his breath, eyes rolling in response to her comment. "Aye, little dove. That's a big bark for a girl with a little bite." It was all in good fun, and Luci hopes she knows that. When she starts in for him, he thinks he's got her next move pinned. The dunalino snakes his neck, letting it hang low, positioned to hold Aryel's eye in case they come together - in case he decides to butt her forehead. He's ashamed of himself when the unexpected happens, and he's left with a surge of pain rippling through his barrel. Having moved mere inches forward, she caught him just behind his shoulder blade, almost directly at his ribs. 

He blinks, breath being pulled right out of him. To quickly move out of her range, Lucien bellows into the air and, at top speed for having not recovered yet, he backs, and then stops, making sure that he is lined up just right. His silver eyes are like storms clouds rolling over a wasteland, he barley has his breath collected when he charges for her again. 

Luci is kicking himself in the ass for not taking the chance of grabbing her jugular. It might not have worked, per say: Aryel was smart in tucking up her chin. This time, he thinks it through harder, slower, because it's not like him to give up. Even so, he's ignoring pain in his barrel and blood that is slowly ( like some little ravine after the freeze ) seeping from the cut she's left on his skin. He is a few feet from her, and instead of colliding head on like he had first planned, Lucien changes his mind. He whips his back end around, ears pinned back against his skull, a violent whistle stinging the air from a snarl he was fighting to hold back. He fears hurting her, loosing himself in the heat of the moment, but he does not stop. To avoid jack-knifing his back feet into her jaw, he lowballs, aiming toward her chest. He does not know if he's hit her, he just starts away again, in hopes she doesnt follow too closely. 

fennecfyre // i left it open for you to decide where or how hard he hits her, since it's a play fight and the chest could cause like idk legit injury. i'm super tired so if this is too hard to reply to let me know xDDD 

[Deleted]

(Nah, it's fine xD)

She felt the impact of her hooves on his side, and for a moment, beneath the surge of triumph, she wondered if she had hurt him at all. She was no draft, and he looked strong enough, but she had put quite a bit of force behind those blows nonetheless. Aryel heard the grunt as his air was knocked out, and brought her hooves back down to earth as Lucien shied away, a maelstrom in his eyes. She was a bit overexcited herself, her eyes alight and her tail flagged challengingly. When he charged, she didn't move--drunk on confidence, she merely splayed her legs and presented a shoulder for him to ram, intending to use her lower center of gravity to stop him in his tracks, then counterattack. Her muscles were flexed, legs tense with anticipation, but it would turn out to be in vain. Before Lucien could crash into her, he whirled suddenly, his hindquarters swinging around to face her. Startled, she tried to rear and evade his attack, but his hooves found their mark, striking her chest. Her muscles had loosened when she had tried to adjust her defense, and she was unprepared for the impact.

It caused her to stagger back a few paces, still rearing. Her hooves came back down to the ground heavily before she could topple over, and she tried to suck air back into her lungs. She was going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow, but at least she could make sure Lucien would have the same. When he fled, she pursued, hooves working double-time to catch up with him. She stretched out her neck and opened her jaws, intending to give him a good sharp bite on the neck or withers with her side teeth. Their endeavors threw up dirt and leaves around them, but she was focused only on her target, deafened by the song of battle within her.

WHIPSTER.

[WHIPSTER.]

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

They are one in the same as they run, almost side by side, and he too hears the song. It's blaring loudly in his ears, the pounding of his heart or his lungs as they worked over time. Luci felt tired, already, coming down from the high. It did not last long. He was suddenly lifted, feeling teeth scraping down from his shoulder to his barrel, leaving a shallow cut mark, his sides twitching, feeling the little droplets of blood as they trickling into his sunny pelt. He is almost out of ideas, but makes a hasty decision. The brute leapt to the left of him, directly in front of the blue woman, legs bracing for her body to collide into his shoulder. 

When this happens, Lucien exhales a booming bellow toward the skies, and suddenly the man is bending one of his knees and throwing his head down, teeth grasping onto Aryel's upper leg, trying to grasp the loosest of skins to tear away from. He makes sure to not play unfairly, moving himself up again and whipping his body away from her to evade another attack, flashing her a grin and a wink, his silver eyes burning hot. Luci couldn't contain the adrenaline as it worsened the intensity of his high. He felt weightless, undefeated, even though all of him was wracking with anxiety and pain. In the following moments, he lets his head hang low and he stops fidgeting, a mere sign of defeat. It's because he knows that the gash on his shoulder will bruise and fester if not tended correctly. It's because Aryel is not lithe, nor the strongest, but she is smart.

"I have a question for you," he says, still catching his breath.  

fennecfyre // i wrote this fast and hope i didn't cut it too short ?? spar buddies are gonna be great tho. 

[Deleted]

The iron taste of blood found it's way into her mouth, and despite her success, Aryel grimaced. She was no carnivore, and blood was an unpleasant taste to her. She didn't have much time to ponder it, however, as Lucien suddenly moved to be right in front of her. She tried to backpedal, but was unsuccessful, and her chest slammed into his side, causing the mare to grunt in pain. She heard Lucien cry out as well, and worried for a moment that it had hurt him more than it had hurt her. Despite her short size, she had still been going pretty fast, and had collided directly with his ribcage. 

Her fears were magnified when the stallion dropped to one knee, and she had every intention of stopping the fight before he was hurt anymore. However, a sharp pain on her own knee erased her worries: the bastard had been foxing. Irate, she snapped at him again as he jumped away, though when he grinned and winked, she was unable to grin in reply, a laugh escaping her. He was tricky and insufferable, but she found she didn't really mind it that much. She was readying herself to lunge again when Lucien signaled that their duel was at an end, dropping his head and letting his posture loosen. Aryel watched him warily for a moment more, wondering if it was another trick, but when he made no counterattack, she was willing to believe him, and bobbed her head down as well, shifting out of her battle stance. She was flushed with elation, sucking in deep breaths to recover what the sudden exertion had stolen from her, but grinning all the same, "I haven't scrapped like that in ages," she laughed, shaking her neck out, sending a few drops of sweat flying. "If I ever find myself in a serious fight, I hope you're the one watching my back." That was high praise, coming from her.

She took a moment then to take stop of her injuries, and curved her neck back to look herself over. The spot where Lucien had bitten her shoulder was tender to the touch, and would probably bruise up, though that was nothing serious. Her chest had taken a real beating, and she was going to be sore as hell in the morning. Her bitten leg stung, and red blood beaded the skin there. Satisfied that she wasn't about to keel over and die, she lowered her head and began to lip and clean at the bite, making sure it was clean of dirt so it wouldn't get infected. Lucien spoke then, and she glanced up curiously. "Hm?" He had a question for her? "Ask away, Lu."


WHIPSTER.

(Yus )