Duel Necessary Violence

[Kryos]

Blood dripped from the tip of his dagger as Kryos made his way into the atrium of the outpost. Two bodies lay collapsed on the floor behind him, slowly staining the stone tiles red. They never even got off a shot.

“I know you’re here,” Kryos taunted, sliding the blade into its sheath and pulling back his hood. “Come out and face me!” In a flash, he drew his lightsaber and ignited the crimson blade, allowing the hum to fill the silence as he awaited his opponent.



OOC: Just looking for a short form duel. No background or setup, just two FUs battling it out with lightsabers in short posts back and forth.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Wearing: Armatura | The Forgemaster's Ring | Ring of Stasis | The Sofitor
Wielding: 8 Nozhi Blades | 2 Whimsy Knifes | 2 Nastirci Combat Knives | Clarion | Copero's Wail | Fire and Smoke | Combat Gauntlets | Tessen | 2 TOTT-001 Arc Light Blaster | 2 Dissuader KD-30 Pistols with Glitter Bullets

---

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Some might have imagined the voice to be playful. Others would have imagined deep malice, a sharp edge. But no. The owner of the voice was none other than Scherezade deWinter, and she asked if he were sure as though she was asking if he was certain he wanted that as a dinner option.

She stepped confidently out of one of the bigger shadows in the room, the darkness cascading away from her like watery sand. The glow of her green eyes looked around for a moment before coming to rest against Kryos , intrigued, but ultimately, not yet impressed in any way.

Two bodies lay on the floor. A shame. She had been tagging them for a while now, intent on using them to find a lead to a certain blood sucker she had been chasing for months now. Her two lightsaber hilts slid from where they were stashed, one into each hand.

And on her face, was an ear to ear grin.

 

[Kryos]

Her smile was inexplicably playful and evil at once. He had expected a Jedi. This she was certainly not. He sensed only a powerful darkness as she exited the shadows.

Kryos removed his cloak with his left hand, revealing his commanding physical presence that would strike fear in most. He knew that would not be the case here. She did not seem the type to cower in the face of any enemy.

Blood boiling, senses electric, every muscle tense. He had no desire to engage in verbal sparring with the witch. Moving into a readied stance, he switched to a two-handed grip, holding his saber low, angling the red blade in front. Kryos charged forward with a cautious speed, confident in his power but not foolish enough to rush to his own demise. As he closed the distance, he brought his weapon higher, preparing for an overhead strike down on his opponent.


Scherezade deWinter

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Kryos

---

Glowing green eyes followed every miniscule movement of his muscles' fibers, the Force alerting her ever so subtly what he would do just before he did it. It wasn't really much to write home about. They were at the very beginning stages of their violent dance, still at that part where they both tested the other out.

The lightsaber hilts in Scherezade's hands remained unignited, but her body was ever ready, years worth of training ensuring that when the day she fell arrived, it would not come easy. And above all, she could sense his blood beneath his veins. It was a little present she had no intention of unwrapping… yet.

The difference in their heights was not enough to grant him an advantage in reach. Scherezade waited until the absolute last possible moment before she made her own move, merely to evade his strike with feline-like dexterity and ready to send a kick into his backside should he be foolish enough to expose his back to her.

 

[Kryos]

Her catlike reflexes allowed the Sith to avoid his initial strike. Kryos followed through the attack even as he anticipated a kick, letting the heel of his opponent’s boot connect with his lower back. He felt the slight burst of pain, the agitation, the force of the action pushing him forward. Let her play, he said to himself, accepting the counterattack as part of a much longer game.

Kryos stumbled forward, but he quickly spun back to face his foe, blade held defensively in case of a follow-up strike while his back was turned. Her lightsabers were not even activated. She was a lioness. She wanted to toy with him. Yes, he seethed, that’s it.

Lunging, he thrusted the tip of his blade, aiming for the female warrior’s midsection.


Scherezade deWinter

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Kryos

---

The excitement that coursed through Scherezade was tangible. It had been too long since she'd had a proper dance partner, and there were few things she enjoyed more than dancing in this manner. If she should have felt intimidated, scared, or anything along those lines, the Sithling was unaware of it. She fought the same way she lived, in the moment, all her focus pinpointed in front of her.

Her kick had landed, which was nice, but it wasn't really a power move. Those might come later. His blade was held high, but Scherezade hadn't come after it. She wanted to see what her new little toy would do if given the chance to recover. She was grinning, the smile no less cat-like than her movements had thus been.

When he launched for her, she did not try to move away. Rather, she let her body drop to the floor, her legs in a front and back facing split. One hand aimed directly at his groin, igniting the button that lightsaber a split of a moment before she hit the ground. Her other hand came up, igniting as well as she used it as a potential shield should he somehow manage to bring it down in any manner that would concern her.

 

[Kryos]

She finally engaged, igniting her weapons as she maneuvered below Kryos’s thrust. The first blade unexpectedly came for his most vital of organs. He quickly changed course, pressing his own lightsaber down against his opponent’s second, using the momentum from the rebounding blades to propel his body into a forward flip over hers, keeping his member from being dismembered.

The Sith’s skills were impressive so far. But she was showing off. Perhaps her overconfidence would be her own undoing.

As Kryos’s feet hit the ground, he swiftly spun 180 degrees, angling his saber diagonally, tip downward, in an effort to amputate his opponent’s back foot before she could regain her stance. Success was unlikely given her speed, but it would at least keep his back from her and better position him to follow-up on any counter.


Scherezade deWinter

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Kryos

---

A few choice curse words and slurs in fluent Huttesse escaped the Sithling's mouth as she saw her enemy of the day save himself from being neutered. He was speeding up now, managing to use their lightsaber connections to jump towards her backside. She was still on the floor when he almost landed, which was when she released a Force Wave. Not one strong enough to cause substantial damage, but just give her that small breath which she needed to move again.

Her foot pulled in time to save it from a dearly unwanted amputation, but it had still made contact, the tip of his weapon grazing the sole of her boot. She would have to remember to check the boots before wearing them again for any missions.

Once more, she was on her feet, already spun around to face him. Her stand widened and her lightsabers extinguished, though her pose remained defensive, arms holding the hilts of her weapons at different heights, ready to lash at him again at the first window of opportunity.

 

[Kryos]

The unexpected wave of Force energy pushed Kryos back as he spun, creating enough distance to save his opponent’s leg from his blade. She wasted no time regaining her posture and facing him, her own lightsabers at the ready.

He had come closer than the Sith would have liked, that was certain. But it was all a test, and he knew she would not make that mistake again. Kryos sidestepped, circling, continuing the dance, gauging his foe. He sensed she wanted him to attack, to continue to be the aggressor, waiting on him to slip up so she could strike a killing blow. His prior training told him to wait, to slow this down, let her make the next move.

But the darkness, the anger fueling Kryos forced him forward again, rushing at the two red blades waiting for him, raining down a two-handed diagonal blow as he closed the space between them.



——————
Scherezade deWinter [sorry, I have been traveling for work all week]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Kryos

---

The joy that rushed through Scherezade's body could almost be tasted by anyone who was not actively blocking it out. This was her territory. This was where she laughed, and smiled, and felt as though she was on top of the 'verse. Hours upon hours of training, of running, of working out, all had been for moments like these, where the battle ensued, and where the rest of the galaxy ceased to matter.

Bigger opponents had always been her favorite type of prey. She was considered by all accounts a large woman herself, over 180 centimeters in height and roughly 100 kilograms in weight, most of it muscle beneath the soft layers of fat. And she knew that when someone like her went after targets that still managed to be bigger, defense was one of her greatest allies.

So she let him come at her, desired him to do just that. When the glowing X came down, she might have chosen to duck away, to try to avoid it. But no. The crescendo of their spar was about to arrive. Her own lightsabers ignited again, creating their own X to block his.

And at the same time, movement flashed beneath her armor and two short blades suddenly appeared, their pointy ends aimed at the stranger who had asked for a fight. Both of them flew towards his mid-section as her left leg shot out, aiming to kick his family jewels again.

---

(Don't worry about it, had RL issues as well)

 

[Kryos]

The blades clashed, sparks jumped, as his lightsaber settled with force into the X-shaped defensive shield created by his opponent. Kryos gritted his teeth as he pressed hard into her swords, hoping to overcome her with his shear power.

And maybe he would have, but the Sith had more tricks up her sleeve. He felt the shift in her weight as she prepared for the kick, and he matched it, pushing back to once again protect his groin. This dark lord played very dirty. But she also had a mastery of the Force, and her attack was multifocal.

Two knives flew toward him as he disengaged to save his valuables. Kryos sliced downward, cutting one out of the air before it could touch him. The other, however, partially found its mark, slicing through his light armor and leaving a small slit along the left side of his abdomen as it passed by. He immediately felt the cut, and warm red blood began to seep out. It was only a superficial wound thanks to his reflexes and the combination of spidershell silk and gundark leather protecting him.

But she had drawn first blood.

Kryos fumed. He steadied his stance, right foot angled back behind his left, lightsaber hilt gripped tightly by both hands. Come to me, witch.



Scherezade deWinter

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Kryos

---

Scherezade let out a squeal fo delight as she felt one of her knives succeed in its mission. The sense of blood swelled up, almost begging her to come forth and take control of it. But she didn't, it was far too soon. They were still in their wonderful game of bladed tic tac toe and she has many more toes to go through before she'd had her fill.

Her opponent changed how he played now, taking a defensive stance. He wanted her to come to him. That was fine though, as the first blood had already been drawn, Scherezade was comfortable with releasing her usual preference of defend first attack second.

And she did as he wished.

Two ligthsabers (beams un-ignited again), two knifes (the one he had successfully blocked earlier rising into the air again) and she was on him like a cat on a dying bird. One of the knives was flying straight towards his forward-facing left foot, aiming to pin him to the floor. Another knife was cutting through the air to make its way into his right eyeball.

And Scherezade? She came forward, ready to smash into him like a wrecking ball, lightsaber hilts giving the full disco of turning on and off and on again in quick succession, ready to block if needed, though she was more up for ramming into her opponent than stabbing him with a lightsaber.

 

[Kryos]

The knives came quickly, zipping forward in an asymmetrical pattern. Kryos’s reflexes and agility were enviable for his size; years of training and a command of the Force allowed him to pivot, moving his left foot even farther back, twisting his entire body in the process, and the blades both missed their marks.

But Scherezade deWinter did not. She hit him head on, using the full force of her frame to plow into him as he moved to dodge the knives. He was bigger, but his stance was unsteady, and she came with the fury of a woman scorned. Kryos stumbled backwards, embracing the momentum and allowing himself to fall to the ground and tuck.

As he turned a backwards summersault, his free hand went to the sheathed knife on his belt. He rolled over and up onto one knee, and, at the same time, drew the bladed weapon and let it fly at the Sith Lord.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

She didn't feel like she was fighting. For Scherezade, their little dance of blades and movements translated in her mind into being a little girl in a pink princess dress being told to twirl and spin while she was encouraged by adults. This was breathing, this was life. She had tried to live in other ways. It had made her miserable. Never again.

Her ram had made her opponent roll backwards, the knife he tossed from belt moving before he'd finished landing. Scherezade wanted to show off and let the lightsaber she held in her right hand turn off as she tossed it towards the ceiling, her now free hand trying to catch Kryos ' knife before it pierced her.

Well.

It was a very nice try indeed. But she had gone too far in that split of an instant, and her hand missed the hilt of the knife, her arm closing around the blade instead, slicing through skin and muscle. Her own lightsaber, in that moment, finished its descend down, landing on her head before falling from there and rolling away. This was going to be so annoying.

Her glowing green eyes returned to her opponent. She didn't have time for games anymore, not with a hand effectively put out of the fight but still need protection or risk losing it entirely. She was definitely not into losing limbs.

But still. There was blood. That, she could use. Her momentarily surprised expression turned into a wicked little smile as the blood from her wounded hand suddenly floated into the sky, the crimson liquid splitting into tiny shards that shaped themselves like broken glass but were probably sharper.

With an exhale, she released her hands, her blood shards raining horizontally towards Kryos . It was time to end this and start questioning him.

 

[Kryos]

Scherezade deWinter was full of surprises. She miscalculated the knife’s trajectory, caught the blade, and dropped her lightsaber all in a failed acrobatic act that may have been humorous were this not a fight to the death. But her response is what caught Kryos off guard. She attacked him with her blood that seeped out from the fresh wound.

The Dark Jedi attempted to block the crimson liquid shards with his lightsaber, several sizzling into the air as they made contact with the hot plasma. Still, there were too many to defend against at once. A few fell flat against the gundark leather, but others penetrated through the lesser protection of his clothes, burrowing tiny holes through his right arm and right thigh. Another caught his cheek, leaving a bloody gash alongside the right side of his face. He felt more frustration and anger than pain, but the wounds could not be ignored.

Both of the fighters were beginning to sustain injuries. Kryos wiped his cheek with a gloved hand as he stared at the Sith, eyes glowing yellow. It was his turn to go on offense. He launched himself forward, leading with his left then raining down diagonally a powerful strike with his lightsaber held tightly in his right hand.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Kryos

---

His stare said it all. Scherezade was grinning from ear to ear when he launched for her again, but she had by now lost all interest in a sword fight. If he hated her blood, how would he respond to his own? It was a shame it was a lightsaber in his hand, and not a different kind of blade. The latter, she would have permitted him to cut her with just to see how much further she could take it. With lightsabers? Not so much. They burned the wound opening too quickly.

When he came for her, she jumped back in the nick of time to avoid being caught by his saber, but she made no move to use any of the weapons she carried. Instead, her focus went to his wound, the one she had made earlier. Keeping up with her calisthenics and jumping into weird positions while avoiding being poked with a lightsaber wasn't distracting enough from using his blood against him.

And unless he knew how to block those abilities of hers, she was going to continue to draw blood from his wound, letting it bleed so much more than a gash like that ever could. She would empty his body from the very blood that sustained it, drop by drop if she had to. And try not to get hit in the meantime.

 

[Kryos]

Something was off. His heart was racing, his adrenaline pumping. He was used to that feeling in combat. It drove him, gave him power. No, this was different. His shirt was wet with his blood now from what he had assumed to be only a tiny slit to his abdomen from Scherezade deWinter ’s knife. He felt the trickle on his face growing to a small stream running down his cheek, dripping onto the armor covering his chest. Poison? Doubtful. This was something else. The Force.

“What sort of sorcery is this, witch?” Kryos’s voice boomed. The Sith danced away, smiling, almost giggling as she moved like a circus performer across the room. He followed, fast and powerful but lacking the agility of his opponent. She dodged and weaved his blows, but he continued pressing, moving away from his disciplined form honed during years as a Jedi into a wilder, less predictable volley of strikes.

His life force was draining, the tiny holes in his arm and leg beginning to seep like his other wounds. She was pulling the blood from his body. Unable to make contact with his lightsaber, he stopped his pursuit and projected his left hand forward, hoping to send a blast of Force energy at the acrobatic Sith midair to push her back against a wall and break her concentration.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Kryos

---

"Still not a witch!" came her response, mingled with giggles as she continued to dodge him. Oh, he was good. Most of her opponents stopped much before this most of the time, not to mention a nice chunk of them could also no longer handle the blood loss long before they reached this point. He was still resuming his assaults while she jumped, danced, and even walked on the ceiling at some point.

But then he just… stopped.

Scherezade looked back, mid-stride between one wall and another, and then it hit her smack in her middle. She yelped, tossed backwards, smashing against the wall behind her, facing forward.

For an instant, her control over his blood paused. And then she landed, and yanked it back, this time with full strength. He knew she was doing something. It was time to go harder, deeper, unless he found a way to make it stop.

"Say pretty please," she huffed as she got back to her feet, pulling harder and harder, "Say please and the blood stops flowing on the wrong side of your body."

 

[Kryos]

There was a temporary break as she slammed into the wall, allowing Kryos a moment to think. He was bleeding out too fast. His fury kept him moving, but he objectively felt his physical strength lessening, his body weakening. The Dark Jedi did not know how much longer he could sustain the Force induced blood letting. If that is even what was happening. The source of her sorcery still confounded him, but her command of the dark side lended itself to that explanation.

Scherezade deWinter soon regained her footing along with her concentration, and Kryos once again felt the tug on his life force. She taunted him from across the room, fully understanding she had the upper hand. And worse, he had no idea how to combat this power. Knowing the Sith was too fast for him to close the distance between them in a meaningful way, Kryos instead reached out through the Force, calling his knife to his hand, then unleashing it with a practiced precision toward his opponent.

If this did not work, he still had one card to play — if he could survive long enough to play it.