Completed [The Anthonius Fighters Pits] No Best; Only Better (Kaie)

[Razkar]

Unfamiliar as he was with this weapon, Razkar was learning more about it with every chime he spent in that pit... and he was learning it was just not built for this kind of combat. He didn't know how Eranis made them work... but, at the same time, the Akalak had been using them for longer than the Myrian had been alive.

Her swinging, slashing kukri felt more like hammerblows with every impact now, his weakened arm shuddering with every block, and to his silent, icy anger he was on the defensive. Though hobbling and wounded and throwing drops of blood and sweat about her, Kaie was keeping him on the back foot now, his arms just barely managed to intercept her.

Because her weapon is meant for this. Larger, heavier, designed for slashing and hacking.

He knew there were a dozen other factors - lack of experience, wounds, her own anger at being wounded, his own over-analysis (ironically enough) - but right now, all Razkar needed to know was that if he didn't up his game or change it, he was going to-

Razkar jerked his right arm down again as Kaie repeated another combo now becoming familiar to him: a sharp thrust at him, usually between his throat and groin, and then the retreating arm was protected by a wide roundhouse punch from her other hand, stymieing any attempts to counter-attack.

Don't just change your form, or tactics or technique: change the entire game. Make it into one you know you can win.

She was being canny, quick, but it was becoming predictable and Razkar waited for her latest jab, twisting away from it-

-lakan tossed lightly from his right hand to his left-

-and knee slamming straight into her foot.

Razkar yelped in pain as his uninjured leg collapsed under him, and thus did the rest of his body. His knee thudded onto the stone and even Kaie looked surprised, follow-up slash almost confused, perfunctory-

-but her thrust was still coming back for him, only now it was aimed squarely at his throat after he lost a foot and a half by crashing down to his knee-

Razkar snarled in defiance, feeding his gnosis, seeing the curved, vicious blade power towards him through the humid air... and moved.

Left hand snapping out and fastening like a vice around her thrusting wrist-

-barking out sharply in agony as his wounded leg jerked him back to his feet, twisting her arm to her side and around at the same time, loosening her grip, denying her a weapon-

-and then robbing her of it completely as his other knee smashed upwards vertically, hammering into her knuckles, howling with mingled satisfaction and pain as his wounded knee sent a flash of pain through him at the impact-

-other hand snapping out with speed only the Mark of Myri could give, two lightning punches, one aimed at her bruised and battered thigh-

-the other aimed at her kukri, just in case she wanted to retaliate-

Change the game to one you've already mastered.

-and his forehead exploded towards her face.

[Kaie]

"Ah, so tell me, Brother...How is it to be the one taking the beatings again?" She finally managed after landing her kick, only when the initial shock had passed. She was enjoying this far more than she should have. That was certain. Finally she was sparring with her own and a capable one. More so, this battle was on an even playing field. And now she had the upper hand. Arrogance flooded her being and she couldn't help but grin broadly at him. He was a weapon short now. She needed to strike hard.

Don't just stand there and stare at your minor victory! Get him while he's down!

Wasting no time, Kaie moved her Kukri hastily toward him. Hoping to get a quick few blows off him to finish him. It didn't even matter to her the quality of the strikes as long as they landed. That's when Razkar turned the match on its head.

Before she could understand what was happening, Razkar had her arm wrapped behind her. The relinquishing of her weapon was enforced by a swift knee to the knuckles holding the weapon so tightly. She hissed but complied. She had no choice in the matter after all. He has used her own body against her. Kaie was paying for her conceit in full.

Once, then twice did the side of his dagger punch a deep slice in her thigh. Bruised and weak already, he certainly just about did her in. Kaie cried out in a mix of fury and astonishment. She wildly swung her first to meet his coming one in a sloppy parry. Just a swing to force harmaway from her without building off it. Blinded by her pain she couldn't have seen what came next.

Turning her head to the side in hopes of sending a wild slash outside his body, Kaie had no idea the gravity of her misjudgment. Practically leaning into it, Kaie's face was assaulted by Razkar's forehead. Another round of shock flooded through her followed by a dull, familiar agony.

"Petch!" She yowled as she stumbled back. Her focus and her confidence temporarily destroyed left her balance weakened. Kaie's feet were practically tripping over each other and she searched for distance. Migraine becoming prominent. The left side of her face throbbed and she could already tell a bruise was forming. Free hand lifted to prod at the injury, holding it for a moment. She lashed a round of harmless punches before her like he had before with his dagger. Her only attempt at keeping him back.

When she felt recovered, she shook the pain from her head. Settling back into her stance she deemed herself ready. This time with a new passion for victory. Gnosis like a hot brand on her body, Kaie returned to him wildly swinging her blade. All the while keeping her free hand in mind, searching for an advantage. Something to capitalize on. Though now she was playing Razkar's tune and it was not one she could perform as well. All she could do was hope to remain on her feet.

[Razkar]

Now, this was more like it! Razkar felt new strength and confidence course through him as his opponent reeled back, face reddened and already puffing up from his head butt. His own cranium felt like the inside of a drum but it was worth it; the initiative was his once again and now?

You are playing the right game and thus, unlikely to lose it again... but just to be on the safe side, lets finish the game quickly, hmm?

Not that Kaie was going to make it easy on him; even with her fresh wounds she came on hard and fast, swinging wildly, free hand jabbing and jerking out to grab and punch, keeping him back. Razkar swayed and slid away, or steel met steel over and over-

-lakan and kukri clashing, Razkar grunting a little with every impact, sweat on his arm glistening as much as the metal-

-aware of the growing crowd above them the same way he was aware of the sky: that it was there, a fact, but irrelevant-

-and after a few chimes, decided he was ready.

Kaie's kukri slashed for him again, a sideways swipe that should have disemboweled him, and he stepped back, swaying as he did, blade passing harmlessly from right to left in front of him-

-and his hand snapped out again around her wrist, gnosis burning, sensing the time had come-

-lakan slashing down vertically the draw a red line down the back of her arm-

-then Razkar's body exploded back forwards and the elbow of his lakan-arm (still cocked from his slash) was thrust towards the female's jaw-

-knee hammering diagonally upward at the same time, aimed at her stomach. If he was lucky he would disarm her and throw her back to the wall again... and if not, he'd still caused damage. But would she break? Meekly submit?

Razkar snorted in the confines of his own head. "The fight is over when your enemy is dead, not just beaten." So ran one of the many mottoes pounded into them during their time at the Taloba Training Yards. Endless sparring sessions, physical exercises, dozens if not hundreds of katas and techniques repeated thousands of times. Yet all of it was nothing compared to the mindset beaten into male and female alike: you are the Children of Myri, Goddess of War and Victory.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she was female, too, sparring with a male. She would rather chew off her own nose than admit defeat.

Razkar spurred himself grimly onward, anyway. You are no less Her Child, he reminded himself as his limbs lashed out, and she grants Victory to those that earn it.

[Kaie]

Her slashes were unbalanced and wild like a boar thrashing within its tangled trap. And just like a wounded animal, her movements were rash with inexperience and bloodthirsty. Never did her Kukri line up and flow just right like an admired wielder's. She had been rigid and uncertain no matter how well she concealed it. And then she had lost it all together. Even without the weapon she should've known what was coming.

He had her wrist again and before she knew it he had given her a mark of his own. A deep, angry red slice through her flesh. Kaie hissed at him, forgetting herself for a moment, and idiotically tried to simply tug herself free. For someone who practiced so often both in the Jungles and in the Arena, how could she have become so blind?

The elbow cut across her jaw brutally. Her head had no choice but to move with the blow. Immediately that familiar pain crossed her and distorted her expression. Despite the fact the spot he hit was a flat plane, it still hurt like hell. Razkar was smart enough to read her. And too quick. Before she managed to recover herself, his knee was in her gut and she felt as if she could drop. Her knees shook with the urge to buckle under the attack. Myri on the other hand had a different agenda.

As pain wrecked havoc on her nerves, the Goddess Queen's mark became a ruthless burn like raw fire. It spurred Kaie from her major setback. Just enough to compete. To hold out before she would dare let her knees hit the dirt. She was a Daughter of Myri. She would prevail, and if not, crash and burn for the glory of their Mother. Kaie needed to try. Hard.

Now she was on the offensive as her only defense. Twisting into him, she shot a low elbow toward his rib cage. She worked to pivot quickly on her heel, gritting her teeth as her shin acted up again. With her hand clenched tight, Kaie swung around hoping to dig into his upper shoulder. If she succeeded, she'd hope to continue that momentum and plant her foot behind his. A last ditch attempt to hurl him over her leg and off his feet. Myri help her if she failed.

[Razkar]

She trembled, she tottered, she shook and careened like a ship crashing on the waves... and then she plunged back into the hurricane with a snarl and a fire that Razkar recognized oh-to-well.

Dead, not beaten. Only with our people, dead is the only beaten we understand.

Her right elbow came in tight at his ribcage, his free arm jerking down, forearm aiming to block it-

-barely making it, make grunting as his arm soaked up the impact, numbing tremors racking it-

-but that damn last kukri refused to leave her grip, swinging back down towards him-

-flashes of his duel with Markus, a slash so close, so brutally quick that he had no chose but to-

Get even closer.

Razkar lunged forward and instead of her blade hitting his shoulder, it was the hand that held it, raking it down the ball of his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her-

-screaming out in pain-

-lakan slashing down at her thigh-

-lifting her in a bear hug-

-just as he felt a pressure, a feeling, questing behind his own foot-

-and his whole world shifted sharply to the left... and to the ground.

Both Myrians went down in a tumble of fists and knees and elbows, snapping teeth and butting foreheads. The crowd winced and muttered as they would at a dogfight, but naturally there was Gerard, taking bets and egging on the customers, and while half the crowd hung their heads and deplored the savage violence, the other half was eagerly drinking in every moment.

Syliras. Gotta love it.

Down where things actually mattered, Razkar managed to roll Jaie onto her back, other lakan now lost as well, knowing that using a blade this close would end up killing one of them. His right hand slammed her kukri hand into the stone floor, over and over-

-left arm jerking forward-

-forearm pressed against her throat, blood and bruises pulsing and running from his battered frame... breath coming out in ragged bursts... and he remembered how long it had been since a woman had been under his body...

"You... yield...?"

OOCMy thanks to Edreina for the awesome new sig!

[Kaie]

Now it was her turn again to cry out in pain. Just when she managed by fate alone to catch his arm, Razkar landed a nice slash across her already battered thigh. She could feel the warm blood beginning to trail down her sunkissed skin like a small stream. His arms were around her in a bear hug that was too close for her to have warded off. If not for her well placed leg, the battle might've ended much sooner than expected. Or would it be cut short for other reason anyhow?

Somewhere behind her she could hear voices. Barbarian octaves both high and low. Some whispers and others shouts. No matter what part of the audience she might've focused on, there was no doubt they were focused on the grappling Myrians. After all, what was more entertaining than a pair of bloodthirsty savages at each other's throats? The answer didn't matter to Kaie. For the crowd was just the back drop to the main act. This stage was for two. Kaie was determined that her part would not end so quickly. Now that is always easier said than done.

Razkar had her pinned and disarmed. Weaponless and on her back with him on top. A position that was utterly unacceptable in her culture for her end. Women were supposed to be the ones who rose above. The dominant sex. The matriarch. She wouldn't let a few years between them lower the expectations on her end.

So even with the male's forearm choking her ruthlessly, she refused to give in. She would battle until the last of her air was pushed from her lungs. Yet she was tired. So, so tired. She was bloodied and bruised. Muscles were tight from fierce exercise and sweat beaded across her forehead. Fatigue was setting in just as quickly as she was losing oxygen. She thought about giving into him right then. Claiming defeat just to let her body rest. To make it end and lay there for a while, recovering. But she was a Myrian through and through. She would never disgrace her Goddess with such mental weakness. Dira would allow her plenty of rest when her time came. For now...

"Not..A....Chance," She choked out defiantly in his face, struggling to breathe past his arm. Quickly she lifted her leg to wrap over his and used her free arm to grip his shoulder. Feeling Myri's mark burn with a final burst of divine motivation, Kaie bucked her hips up in a ploy to send him reeling over her shoulder. If her plan worked, she'd hold onto him for the ride. Perhaps try to get him on his stomach where she could choke him from behind and limit his options.

Body slowing naturally with tiredness and lack of energy, Kaie was almost lackadaisical. She was slipping quickly. Her body was crumbling before her spirit. One way or another, something had to give.

[Razkar]

"Not... A... Chance."

Razkar was expecting the verbal response; he wasn't expecting the physical one.

The female heaved under him with strength from Goddess-knew-where (literally, in fact) and her arm gripped his shoulder, leg wrapping around his leg and why in the hells wasn't he passing out-

-before her body lurched up and back, a burst of strength born from desperation and sheer bloody-mindedness throwing Razkar forward and back, over her shoulder-

-but she kept her on him as they tipped over... over...

Not far enough. Her spirit was undimmed but her body was weakened, and the full roll she attempted ended with both of them thudding onto their sides, but Razkar's arm was gone from her throat and he heard her drag great lungfuls of air into herself-

-knee hammering between his legs and making something explode in his pelvis, eyes glazing in agony-

The world shifted again, face above, stones below, all blurring and melding together in meaningless blotches of color. Then he was on his stomach, a choking arm around his throat, tightening, pulling dark tendrils down around his eyes...

No...

Razkar coughed but no air came out. Goddess, he was going numb... he couldn't feel his fingers... his wounds were without feeling but he... yes... he could feel the smear of his own blood, slick under his body-

No...

His teeth gritted, eyes snapping open, sucking oxygen down through his nose even as his throat was scrubbed raw by the rush of air. Would he submit like this? After all he'd achieved, all he'd worked for? Female or not, she is an enemy, an opponent, and he went soft on her because of their shared blood.

NO!

A decade of street-fighting brutality flooded into Razkar's black eyes, and he abandoned the shackles of a distant land that shacked him... and sunk his teeth into the arm around his throat until his gums met flesh.

Kaie screamed and bucked and he felt his teeth wiggle as he arm thrashed-

-Razkar's left elbow hammered backwards and low, once, twice, three times, pulping her ribcage on that side, her kidney, liver-

-snapping his head forward until it nearly kissed the stone floor-

-and then hammered it back hard so the back of his head smashed into her face again, hopefully throwing her off him-

Hopefully giving Razkar a chance to roll away and haul himself to his knees... if he could even do that. Goddess, he didn't know whether to rejoice or lament. This could kill both of them, he realized with a flash of icy clarity. Human, Akalak, Isurian, even Dhani... they knew when they had to quit; when Dira loomed large and smiling before them and to continue on was to embrace her.

Not Myrians. They're greatest fault and perhaps most potent weapon.

Dead, not beaten. The words rattled around Razkar's head one more time as he began to roll, cold purpose now entering his eyes, gnosis purring even as his wounds began to take their toll and sweat and blood and caked sand smeared his almost-naked body.

You need to end this now, or she will die. No mercy. No consideration. For her own good, finish it.

[Kaie]

Before she was gasping as fits of air were yanked into her lungs. Her body rejoiced with one short wheezing sort of sound as oxygen was returned. Somehow within their tumble, she had managed to force the Myrian man onto his stomach and wrapped her arm around his throat. A pleasant surprise for Razkar to return the favor.

Kaie glared down at her choking opponent, eyes wild with excitement. A potential victory so close within her grasp then! Her breath was ragged with exhaustion, inhale deep like she had run for miles. Their battle was a challenge that forced her to exert herself in. One she was heavily determined to finish once and for all. He made some sort of desperate sucking noise that let her know she was no doubt winning. Kaie began to pull her arm tighter across his throat with eyes gleaming with anticipation. Drawing her arm in closer her to her chest. Tighter, tighter...

"Gods damn you!" She yowled as she felt teeth sink into tendered flesh. Unwilling to give up her advantage just yet, she moved her arm wildly trying to shake him off. Her mistake was when she adjusted her arm in an attempt to free herself from his jaws. His elbow assaulted her thrice before she really felt the power of the blows. Pain wrecked havoc on her nerves along her side, lighting a fire that was not the passion that drove her on. It was a sharp burn that vibrated through her ribs and inflamed the flesh. A brutal onslaught that creased her brow with agony. Still, she was unwilling to release her enemy.

You'll have to do better than that! She growled internally, only tightening her hold with each strike of the elbow. That's when the back of his skull met her face.

Immediately she was thrown off Razkar and into the dust. She rolled once, then twice before she could control her own impact. Body settled upon its back in a plume of sandstone sediment. Her head pounded ruthlessly like a steady drum. Sharp and constant pains dominated her attention. She let out a moan and slowly managed to adjust the position of her limbs on the ground. Kaie's tightly closed eyes finally opened to stare up. The world was hazy and dominated by day stars. Focus was almost nonexistent in those few moments. Eventually she began to fade back in. Slowly but ineffectively.

Kaie managed by the grace of Myri to roll onto her stomach and prop herself up on hand and knees. Her head down, she could only stare and focus on the ground. Somehow she got a finger to swipe the area of skin just above her lips. When she pulled it back below her where she could see, light red blood tickled her fingertips. Gradually she found her way to Razkar with a heavy head and slow eyes. She was like prey before a noble tiger. And she knew it.

[Razkar]

Had it been a truly mortal brawl, Razkar wouldn't have let the female get back to her feet. He would have lunged at her prone form and kicked and kicked until she stopped twitching. But even bloodied, wounded more than he had been for seasons in a single spar... she was still one of his kin, and certain... limitations, were afforded.

That pause would be the only one he would give her, though. They had gone too far, and both knew it. What they'd done to each other... it had more shades of Taloba than Syliras.

A distant, mythic place for the barbarians that crowed and jeered above them, but for the fighters, very real. The Training Yards where they'd been battered and beaten into warriors, and seen many who had failed the myriad of brutal tests all who were trained by the Taloba Army.

Now they stood on shaky legs, facing each other, panting, eyes bloodshot. Razkar turned his head, eyes not leaving hers, hawked out a gob of spittle onto the sand-

-turned it red when it impacted wetly, sound seeming so huge between them. Razkar wiped his mouth... then nodded.

"To the end, female."

The male walked swiftly to her, limbs lurching as his arms swung, implacable and set on his course. He was perhaps five feet away when he lunged low to her right, left arm snapping out in a low jab at her battered kidneys-

-a feint, he pulled back before impact, knees straightening fast, lifting him up and across her vision-

-right foot snapping out to hammer a kick into her right leg, already sticky with blood, seeking to drive her down to one knee-

-right arm cocked inwards, elbow swinging for her jaw-

-and whether or not it connected Razkar would go with the momentum of his body, spinning around the falling or blocking body-

-smashing her around the head and neck with a sweeping backhand from his left, closed into a fist-

-or kick out again with his left if she managed to block him, aimed squarely between her legs, putting her back on the ground anyway he could.

Razkar mused in that broken tick, as his body moved, straining beneath the weight of its injuries, gnosis and willpower powering it more than his muscles were by that point... perhaps she won't stay down. Perhaps she will rise again, defiant to the last moment, scorning her wounds and her loss of blood, her fading vision and painful breathing...

Then you will yield the fight. Your pride is not worth permanent damage to a Child of Myri. You came for training, to hone your skills... and you have.

Resolved, one wasy or another, the crowd roared like some great bloodthirsty beast, filling Razkar's ears with their white noise and the pounding of his own heart-

-and a warcry born from the deep jungle ripped from his bloody lips as he flung himself towards The End... one way or another.

[Kaie]

All seemed to happen so slow, yet so quickly. For a moment he was there. Standing before her and spitting into the dirt. She remembered watching the fluid hit the dirt in a tiny, reddened splatter. But by the time she remembered to lift her head to find her Brother, he was already upon her. He lunged forth and she had not the energy to stop him. Her willpower had quelled from a wildfire to but a flare. She was in a haze that was too thick to come out of. There was no mistaking her limitations now. She was spent. Her muscles and her brain hadn't the ability to synchronize in time to react. It was only in those dreaded moments, waiting for the attack, that his words finally reached her ears.

"To the end, female."

And he needn't say more. Kaie knew what the words meant. For that end was near and in this battle, she was losing. Badly. There was no fork in the road. No alternative or clever way to escape. It is what it is. She wasn't one to give up, but she understood where this romp would end. Blackened. Bruised. Bloodied. Defeated.

He was everywhere, all around her. Arms, legs, fist. They struck and beat her mercilessly. Every blow felt like an agonizing radiation of shock through her body. It seemed like pain was all she knew. Yet his fists knew it better. Once she lifted a hand, and arm, to deflect a blow. Kaie was hugely unsuccessful and so began her downfall with his retaliation. There was no part of her that escaped his punishment. She did not shy away from it rather came to accept it. Embrace it like her last defiance over him. And then her body caved, knees buckling, and she dropped like a stone back to the dirt.

It was not slow and graceful like some barbarian hero's downfall every storyteller preaches about. There was no slow motion sink of the knees to the dirt before the fall. The Myrian woman fell forward almost immediately after her knees made contact with the arena floor. Tiny stones carved at her palms as they skid into the ground. The side of her face was covered in the sediment below her like half of her was covered in warpaint. Eyes squeezed shut upon impact, forehead creased in a special kind of agony. Her head pounded. Her heart pounded. Lungs heaved and she choked, winded entirely. Muscles twitched at the very notion of returning to stand once more.

The very last of her Mother's blessing began its slow burn, like a flame dwindling as its fuel burnt out. She slid her hands to her sides like a push up position, breathing heavily before she strained even to lift her skull. By that last gift of Myri, she was on her hands and knees in the dust again. Diaphragm fighting for stability. Arms and legs shook under the very simple challenge of holding her up in such a feral position. And that was all she had left in her. Hearing the warcry of her kin roaring somewhere deep within the jungle, her hardly conscious mind fought for control. Another battle she'd never win. Spirit waiting for Razkar to break her physically before her body crumpled on itself first.

Then the predator returned to its rival, the crowd letting out cheers. A familiar common chant rang in her ears. Calls to "finish her" right then and there. And so he did and Kaie would have wished to fall victim no none other. Promptly with one last cry of victory, Razkar drove his foot straight into her head. And then came the black. She could no longer feel her body even as it dropped down back to the earth. All there was was darkness, and for the first time in a while, she slept.

It seemed like days rather than just a bell or so before Kaie had awoken. The crowd had long since cleared out to move on to spectate other battles, leaving the two battered savages alone to clean themselves up. Her headache was unreal, but at least she found her muscles were sore rather than torn. Razkar had her sitting up right on a bench beside the arena wall. She found one of her more vicious slashes had been wrapped thoroughly by her kin. When he passed along some of his supplies Kaie took her time with figuring the stuff out. One would've thought her lifestyle would've bestowed some sort of medical knowledge on her. Unfortunately that was not the case.

It took a bit of coaching for her to find which tool was used for what. Eventually she was able to apply the proper salve and basic bandaging, thanks to a bit of instruction. When she had patched herself up, it was his turn. It was only when both warriors were properly cared for when they both rose to depart. Exchanging words and phrases significant only in the jungles, spoken in such a sharp tongue. Before long, both Razkar and Kaie had left. Both walking down different paths toward very different destinies. Only hoping that one day they might meet again.