[1v1/PRP] Beauty and Beast [Lan & Shikoba] (FIN)

[medigel]

The Lost were now allowed to expand their lands into something more constructive than grasslands and tents, but even so Shik was at a loss of what to do. There was no way he would ever be able to rebuild his old home or return to the way life used to be, not in this dismal section of a forest they were situated in. The trees were beginning to grow into handsome specimens, yes, but for the most part they were still saplings. And now he had to make the choice of what to do with himself in this shadow of home.

So Shik did as he always did when thinking failed him. He grabbed a weapon he was least used to and went to practice with it.

Today's case was the bow and arrow, as he had recently finished knives after his battle with Shaheen. Remembering the gray streaks on her face and how tight-lipped she was about it, Shikoba frowned to himself. It was just like the gray he had seen on his War-Sister Radha before she concealed it . . . Distracted, the first arrow he loosed into the tree was off by several inches, flying into the path leading west. The executioner let off a soft curse, fitted a second arrow, and fired it off with better precision.

And perhaps a bit too much draw on the string. The wooden arrow split from the force of impact, leaving only the upper half embedded in the trunk.

Balance, he cold hear his old mentor chide him. In all things you do, there must be balance.

The only thing Shikoba wanted to balance at the moment was a tower of Hunter skulls.

iStoleYurVamps

If it turns into a battle, I'll edit the title!

 

[medigel]

When a different arrow pierced the tree with a dull thunk, Shik turned with a raised brow. This one . . . he recalled her face vaguely from his first scavenging. The one who had called him a brute. "I remember," he lied with a straight face, her name having escaped him the second she and her brethren had left the forest. "I could hardly place you as one from any other clan. Your clothes are too bright and layered still, I see."

Shik paused for a moment to knock another arrow into the bow, sending it a few inches above Lan's. Shink! "A blade is my personal weapon, yes, but not the only one I can wield. War prides itself on versatility and practicality. The future is unknown, and there is no better way to prepare for it than to be ready for any combat situation."

iStoleYurVamps

 

[medigel]

"Dead?" He glanced down at the cloth about his torso and the gauze about his limbs before snorting. "The only dead I carry are the prey I've slain. But perhaps one day, just for you, I will bring a carcass to humor your artisans into crafting a headdress. I imagine you would look ravishing with a set of jaws around that face."

Shik was nothing if not deadpan most of the time, but something like a taunt laced his statements.

"Clean of blood? I wonder if you know the passion behind battle at all when you fight from afar," remarried the horseman of War, still with a raised brow but with more amusement in his voice. He spread his feet apart and grabbed an arrow from the quiver to nock. "Shall we find out, Lan of the Arrows?" It was hard to ignore such a challenge after all, regardless of the opponent.

iStoleYurVamps

WEWP WEWP

 

[medigel]

He supposed the sentiment of killing before it could become a problem had its merits, but he merely shrugged both it and the arrow off with a single movement. "Your instinct to win comes off more as a neurotic need to control," he commented, drawing the string but not firing just yet, feeling the arrow quiver too much for his tastes. Shik instead opted to begin moving closer with light steps to see how Lan would react. "But not all things can be. Are you so confident in your might, so certain, that your bows are more flexible than their wielders?"

HP: 37
Damage: Great herp there Shik

iStoleYurVamps

 

[medigel]

"Hmm." As the arrow sailed over his shoulder, Shik gave pause long enough to send a warning shot of his own at her feet, turned useless when Lan leapt back. Unlike Yuzhi, she liked to keep her distance. But then, bows were not as versatile as spears.

"We understand control in a different manner," he answered, continuing to advance at a faster pace, one hand reaching back to grab another arrow; he was down to, what, seven now? "Dominate or destroy. The end result is the same. But, while I do agree withmost of what you said," he added with a small, crooked smile, "do not suppose you will control me."

HP: 37
Damage: 0

iStoleYurVamps

Gotta love phone tags

 

[medigel]

Another arrow sent his way, another returned fire that missed. Shik was close to just tossing the damned thing away and charging her, but he still had a little bit of patience left. Emphasis on little; his smile was slowly souring into a scowl. This wasn't battle, this was a brisk walk with arrows flung at his face.

"All of your lot have the same blood, do they not?" he observed. "Therefore they must all rule, no? It must be quite a power struggle - I imagine family dinners can't be set without at least one plot being concocted."

HP: 34
Damage: srsly shik

iStoleYurVamps

 

[medigel]

the arrow still would have been blunted by his FEAR shield, but Shik disliked having such a lukewarm battle, especially when he was growing more and more irritated by his inept use of the bow. So rather than let the arrow fly away, he caught it and in one annoyed motion fitted it to the string and shot it back at her with better accuracy than his last two tries.

Apparently anger does make one's head clear after a while. Or maybe Shik was used to pent up emotions.

"And no-one chafes against the system?" he prompted. "No civil rebellions? Or do you all decide through furious letters and restrained council meetings how to go about an issue? Those methods do sound boring if so."

HP: 34
Damage: 4

iStoleYurVamps