[Flashback] Bite me (Vynia)

[Siiri]

Timestamp: Midday - 63rd of Winter, 507 AV

Sunlight filtered through the small breaks of the jungle's canopy, leaving bright colored patches on the earthen floor and highlighting the faint tracks that Siiri had been following for the greater part of the last half hour. She was out alone today, her fang on a three day break after returning from a long patrol. Restless from the lack of activity, the warrioress had slipped out the gates early that morning looking for something to hunt to bring back to her siblings once she dropped by for a visit in the Snapping Jaws clan home. She had to venture a little farther out from the five-mile buffer zone that her people had filled with traps of all sorts, knowing that she would be hard-pressed to find prey in that area. It wasn't until thirty chimes ago that she found a set of tracks to follow.

The freshly shredded leaves and broken twigs littering the jungle floor had been her first signs that there had been a bit of a struggle between two creatures, and the droplets of blood splattered all over them had told her that one had prevailed over the other. Survival of the fittest was the rule all creatures of Falyndar followed, and it was true now between whatever beasts that crossed paths on that spot. using her rudimentary skills in tracking, Siiri had combed through the underbrush to determine which path the victor of the fight had taken with its kill. The crimson stains left by the blood of its victim were blessings in pointing her to the right direction.

North.

That the predator did not take to the trees told her that she was hunting no jungle cat today - a fortunate thing, for she did not want to use her blades on any of Navre's children that day if she could help it. As long as they did not attack her, at least. From the way the detritus on the ground had been disturbed and the three-toed tracks she had discovered, she surmised that her quarry was some sort of reptilian beast. It was not a crocodile she was hunting however, as far as she could tell from the indentation left by its footprints. Those beast did not venture so far in land during the current season anyway.

A giant lizard, maybe, was her guess.

She crouched low now, her instincts telling her that she was close to her prey. A bone dagger, its edge serrated in wicked fashion, slid out of its sheaths from her thigh, adorning her hand now as if that was where it truly belonged. Slowly, she used the flat of one blade to part the large fronds before her, revealing a small copse of fruit-bearing trees, as well as her prey busily ripping apart a small feral pig with its powerful jaws and clawed front paws. A burrow hole at the foot of one of the trees hinted it to be the creature's lair.

Tearing it up for its young? No mate in sight to greet it, so that means its either alone or its mate is guarding its young in the burrow, she thought, analyzing the scene before her. I'm sure they can survive without you, meatling. I'll leave your kill alone for them to eat, but your meat is mine!

A wicked grin spread on her lips as she charged out of her hiding place like a mad woman, her dagger leading in preparation to rip the lizard's throat to shreds. Siiri was certain there was no way the beast would run away from her, not if it wanted to defend its lair from her. It seemed she had chanced upon it in the perfect place.

Little did the warrioress know that another had picked the lizard out as her own prey as well.

[Vynia]

Syna’s rays weaved relentlessly through the thick foliage of the jungle. Even the season of winter could not calm the heat that elicited a gentle sheen of sweat from Vynia’s body. A slender, long-nailed hand wiped the glistening moisture from her forehead as she inspected the broken grasses before her. Tracking took a considerable amount of time and thought, and she was in no rush to lose a potential kill. She would be rewarded for her patience. As she crept and crawled, she utilized every bit of knowledge in her mental and physical arsenal to stalk the supposed reptilian beast ahead of her. Clawed feet trekked through the brush, leaving behind clues to its direction. As she breathed deeply and steadily, she could have sworn she picked out the coppery scent of blood. The smell raised the hairs on the back of her neck. A fierce beast, this one, she presumed. Perhaps doing some of its very own hunting and tracking this afternoon. In the distance came the scuttling of claws against a softer surface. Lowered down to the ground, she inched forward. Then, so very carefully, she raised up a fraction so that she may see through the trees where she hid. Ah-ha! There you are, little beast…. Tearing at the flesh of its very own kill was the reptile she had sought. Two kills for the price of one seemed like a fairly advantageous situation, especially considering the growling her stomach was doing. With a victorious grin itching at the corners of her mouth, she slid her glaive from her back and held it just off the ground. And then, lightning quick on her left side, a cynical sight. From another hiding spot sprang another hunter! A woman? Yes, a Myrian woman! With every bit of power in her thighs, Vynia lunged forward with a snarl to confront this woman. This was her kill, and she would be taking it with her. She thrust the length of her glaive out, perhaps too slow, in an attempt to trip the second huntress and win an advantage.

[Siiri]

Siiri could not stop her charge to avoid the glaive shaft that seemed to suddenly appear in her flight path. As her legs tangled up with the wooden pole, a wave of varying emotions flashed through the Snapping Jaws warrior's face. First was surprise at the fact that someone had actually caught her unawares and tripped her, and then anger that someone would do such a thing while she was in the middle of a hunt, and after that, desperation as it dawned upon her that the person wielding the glaive was out to steal her kill.

Her kill!

No way was she going to let that happen. Her mother would bitch for an hour (at least!) if she arrived in their clan home empty-handed. Siiri could imagine Ehra now... "You spent weeks out on patrol and on your one visit here, you bring home nothing?!" Yap, yap, yap. Siiri wouldn't stand for such an earful. Bad enough that their relationship never recovered since the day her aunt died and they had been sniping verbal barbs at each other for year now, but to be lectured again during her visit to the Snapping Jaws clan home, which was infrequent enough given her duties and aversion of the place, just to spend a day with her siblings?

No petching way!

As she started to fall, Siiri flicked the wrist of her free hand, releasing the binding the secured one of her throwing daggers against her leather bracer, easily sliding the weapon's hilt down to her waiting fingers. The same dagger was hurled at the oblivious reptile, but unbalanced as she was, Siiri's shot went wide, hardly coming close enough to even graze the creature. All it did was alert it of her presence, its scaled head turning to watch her as she tumbled into a heap, her arms spread out wide to prevent injuring herself with the other dagger she still held. She was back on her feet as quickly as she fell, spitting dirt and curses at the other Myrian.

"This is going to be a very bad day for one of us," she growled.

Two more throwing daggers were plucked from her belt and were quickly hurled at the giant lizard. The first missed cleanly but the second, more by luck than skill, found the fleeing creature's tail, embedding itself in both flesh and the ground. The beast was stopped dead in its tracks. Siiri only afforded it a glance before she turned to the other Myrian.

"The lizard is mine," she warned. "Butt. Out."

Her serrated dagger was raised dangerously to emphasize her point.

[Vynia]

Vynia’s eyes widened as the warrioress tumbled and fell to the ground. She hadn’t in all honesty expected her attempt to trip the woman to work. Though it seemed like a feeble attempt, she was glad in her success. Quickly, she snatched her glaive back up from the dirt forest floor, and dashed from the brush towards the great lizard. Her heels caught the ground as she slid to a stop, however, as the other woman flicked blades seemingly from the flesh of her palm. She huffed at the woman. ”Bad day for you maybe! This is my kill!” She screamed back, clenching her glaive tight in her hand. There was no way she would be returning empty-handed to have it rubbed in her face. It seemed she had two options: Grab the lizard and run, or stand and fight for it. Having those knives thrown into her back didn’t seem to be the healthy or honorable alternative, so she swung her glaive out in front of her body defensively. OOCI’m sorry this is so short!! Midterms week, but I didn’t want to make you wait. ><

[Siiri]

Siiri's response was a scowl that sent the scar on the left side of her face flaring. The other Myrian was being stubborn but Siiri wasn't about to give up the kill she had spotted first. It looked like there was only one way out of the impasse.

"I'll fight you for it," she said through gritted teeth. "After I kick your ass, you're going to dress my kill."

The Snapping Jaws warrior matched words with actions, flipping her hold on the dagger into an underhand grip. She would have drawn Slayer if she had wanted to, but she wasn't about to give the other woman an opening to stab her with her glaive as she reached up to pull down the greatsword's hilt. Besides, Siiri thought that using the much shorter blade to beat the living tar out of the presumptuous bitch would teach her a thing or two about humility. When she said it's her kill, everyone had to know and accept that it's her damn kill.

Not waiting for the other Myrian to initiate, Siiri lunged before transitioning to a kick aimed at the middle of the shaft of the glaive, her arms held out wide for balance. Her weapon hand was ready to block any counterattack, and the free hand was prepared to grab onto the glaive's shaft on the first opportunity her opponent presented to her. As always, when she was fighting spear-like weapons, her main goal was to break the pole that comprised the majority of its length. She hated the damn things, considering them the crudest of all weapons.

Nearby, the lizard struggled to free itself from the dagger that trapped. It clawed and bit ineffectually at the bone weapon.

OOCApologies for the delay in replying.

[Vynia]

Vynia scowled at the opposing Myrian woman with a glare. How dare she! And yet, just as she was beginning to retort, the lean woman lunged forward, dagger in hand. The kick came faster than expected and sent her stumbling backwards. Her footfall caused her to nearly slip on a nearby rock, but she caught herself. As she righted herself she swung her glaive around her waist to grip it with her wrist wound under the center of the pole, against her side. At this angle, she could jab with the blade, or swing its length under to attack with the short pike on the opposite end. Giving herself a defensive stance with her left arm extended slightly in front of her, she cursed at the woman. The force of the woman’s kick against the shaft of her glaive had jarred her elbows, causing them to throb. The woman appeared to have experience under her belt, which made Vynia nervous. Either way, she would fight her hardest for her kill, and teach this woman that she wasn’t one to be dabbled with.

[Siiri]

Siiri could easily read the expression in the other Myrian's eyes; she had seen it so many times on the many opponents she had faced in the past: doubt. On any other, be it human, Charoda or a mindless beast that was about to be taken down by her blade, it would have been fear and terror, but this was still a Myrian she as fighting against, and even if the other woman recognized the superiority of her fighting skill, Siiri knew the woman would not give in to her just because of that.

All the better, the Snapping Jaws warrior thought smugly. I get to teach her a lesson!

Her opponent brandished her longer weapon as she recovered from a near stumbled, presenting the length of the glaive against Siiri in a defensive posture. Siiri already found several vulnerable points she could exploit in the woman's stance but she chose to ignore them, thinking that perhaps they were bait to lure her in before delivering a counterattack of her own. Instead, Siiri charged at her head on.

She lunged forward once more, kicking herself forward with her back leg such that she seemed to slide towards the other Myrian. Halfway through the motion, Siiri started for another kick, swiveling her hips as if intending to deliver it from the left side to lash out against the glaive's shaft again. But it was a mere feint, meant for her opponent to react to the telegraphed movement just so she could set her up for the real attack, which was a horizontal slash from her dagger, delivered like a right cross since she was holding the blade in an underhand grip. The attack was aimed to cut a wound across the other Myrian's chest.

Whichever way her opponent would react, Siiri would reverse the direction of her momentum, pushing herself off with her front leg now to roll away from the other Myrian and towards the struggling lizard. In truth, her second attack was another feint as well, one she hoped would distract the other woman long enough for Siiri to get to the real prize.

My kill!

[Vynia]

As the older Myrian huntress began to move, Vynia felt herself tense. The little vein that ran along the length of the left side of her neck flushed as the blood coursed. As the woman rushed her, Vynia grounded herself in preparation to either dodge or sustain another kick. A little squeak could be heard as her fist tightened around the glaive’s pole. With a powerful kick, the Myrian enemy left the jungle floor gracefully, delivering another kick. Vynia swung the pole out to jab and slash at her, and yet just as she had, the woman pivoted and sliced with her dagger. Too late, she, too, kicked off the ground in an attempt to jump backwards and thrust herself into a strange, contorted position to avoid the dagger. It caught her directly in the chest, and slid through her skin just below her collarbones. A yelp escaped Vynia, and as fury rose in her she twisted the glaive around her back to increase its momentum before slamming it in her direction. With the swing, the other woman leapt and rolled away. She screamed at the woman, pointed a long-nailed finger at her. ”GET BACK!! I’m not finished with you yet!” She knew instantly that she was begging for defeat, but she could not swallow her pride long enough to accept it. She never had been able to. Had she been on a real battlefield, the enemy would not be so lenient as to slash at her simply once and take the prize. Perhaps she should have been thankful, because the oozing slash across her chest was beginning to smart and stain her skin red.

[Siiri]

The glaive's shaft connected against her rib as the other Myrian swatted at her and Siiri grunted in pain. She did not mind though, as the blow only served to speed her towards the direction she intended to travel: away from her opponent. The impact actually unbalanced her and she stumbled forward, throwing her free hand forwards to catch herself. She hand-planted on the ground, using her momentum to cartwheel closer to the doomed lizard.

The other Myrian called for her to get back and engage her once more - an open challenge if Siiri ever heard one - but Siiri only snorted in derision. Like that's going to happen, she thought. I keep my mind focused on my objective, but I can beat you up after.

She was a good step or two ahead of her opponent, there was really no way for her to catch up with Siiri. Taking full advantage of the fact, the Snapping Jaws warrior delivered the coup de grace on the giant lizard as soon as she had regained her footing from her brief tumble. Her serrated bone dagger, it's blade blade as long as her forearm, found the creature's head and with a vicious strike, Siiri buried it into the thing's cranium down to the hilt. She spun around as soon as she felt the lizard go limp, pulling her dagger up and yanking her macabre prize from the ground. She raised its still-twitching form up into the air in victory.

"Hah!" she taunted the other Myrian as she flaunted the bloody carcass before her. "I told you it's my kill!"

It was only then that Siiri realized that perhaps it was not the smartest thing to do, as her opponent's longer weapon could easily reach and slash the lizard from where it was impaled on her dagger, possibly taking her hand off as well. No Myrian would willingly cause such a grievous injury to another but accidents do happen from time to time. Especially in situations like what she was in right now.

[Vynia]

Vynia watched as her adversary took the blow from her glaive and used it to her own advantage, propelling her towards the prize. With a scowl she watched as the woman’s dagger hid itself in the reptile’s skull. As she shook the limp cadaver in front of her, she felt herself grin. Her kill? As far as Vynia was concerned, the woman might as well be enticing her to come and try to snatch it from her nasty claws. Swinging the glaive’s shorter spear end around, she dashed forward, delivering a series of jabs in the other Myrian’s general direction. The attack served primarily to cause her to wiggle around and dodge them, so as maybe to drop the kill in a frenzy. Even as she executed the attack, pivoting with her ankles and hips to swerve and jab repeatedly, she knew her opponent was witty and experienced. She looked as if she had had her share of battles and excursions. This served as a testimony that Vynia’s continued attacking would probably end with her getting her arrogant ass kicked. She didn’t care. She had been taught to fight for what she wanted relentlessly. ”Yeah, you try – taunting – me – with that – thing!” She yelled between thrusts. ”I’ll make – damn – sure – it’s the last – time – you – do!!”