[1v1] Self-Destructive Habits [Shik/Shaheen] (FIN)

[medigel]

(( Note: Double Points Week ))

Breathe in. Breathe out.

The hatred still roiled within. Tempered by the satisfaction of a battle won, but enkindled nonetheless. This was the sort of fire his mentor Orithia had always warned him of: that which burned long after battle, that which fed off the need to fight even after a victor is proclaimed. It had been an issue Shikoba struggled with when he was younger, and even still to this day sometimes felt tempted with. But this was more than just temptation: this was something innate, something he knew was born from feeding his fragment too much power.

Sitting on the stump by his tent, the horseman plucked the crystal from its hidey hole beneath and gazed at it. It was no longer quite so red and had darkened clouds marring its contents. Revenge, it seemed to whisper to him. One battle was not enough. More had to be made, more had to be won, more had to be sacrificed.

With more effort than he thought necessary, the horseman put the fragment aside and picked up the large piece of wood he had been working with, using a regular woodcutter's knife to begin molding it into . . . something. He didn't know what. Anything to keep his mind off the tension within.

Breathe in . . . breathe out . . .  

[Seussi]

No matter how many times she told herself that she was done with him, Shaheen somehow managed to find another excuse to seek him out. It was maddening, really, when she stopped to actually think about it, which she actually didn't do very often. Whether it be to ask him a question, or to request a spar, or just to find ways to wind him up for her own sick amusement, there was always something.

And so she found herself landing in the middle of his little campsite that late afternoon, after her spar with the student had been finished and she had felt that she had had ample time to recover from her near defeat. Not that she would ever admit that the battle had been so closely fought, mind you. Not in a million years.

She landed a little hard, in crouch and a sweep of wings that left dust and small debris rising around her before it settled back to the earth, though she also had to brush herself off as she straightened. She kept her gaze diverted from Shik for a time before she finally turned towards him, offering him absolutely nothing by way of facial expression. Yes, she was still annoyed with him. When was she not? Still, she was trying not to let it show. He'd probably just use it to get under her skin more.

"What's that?" She cocked her head the side, and gestured towards the peice of wood that he was sculpting into...whatever. It reminded her a little of the baseball bat thiing that another student had shown her.  

[medigel]

The tell-tale thud alerted him to company, and Shik looked up to find that - joy - Shaheen had decided to pay him a visit. "Not sure yet," he answered with a small shrug during which she might have noticed a few angry circular indentions in his shoulder and chest, turning his attention back to the wood. Schk went the knife as it slid another thin layer off. "I hope it reveals itself to me with time."

What did she want now? Probably to continue the gloating from earlier. Gods, that task had been such a botched effort for him . . . Shik dug his knife into the wood harder. "Do you need something?"  

[Seussi]

His words, while not exactly insulting, held a tone which struck against the war chieftains nerves. Like she was unwanted, and Shik wished to dismiss her almost as quickly as she arrived. Again she had to ask herself just what she was doing here. She had decided after the lair task that she was finished with him. Or at the very least, finished with any civility towards him. And yet here she stood, struggling to understand her own motives as well as his.

"Not particularly. Do I suddenly need a reason?" She snapped back, her annoyance leaking through her words, her eyes flashing. The truth was...she really had no valid reason for stopping in. Nothing that made any sense, at least. Was she looking for another fight so soon after another had been finished? She hadn't thought so. But maybe that was all that it was....

His injuries were noted with nothing more then a flicker of her gaze towards the inflicted area. So he had been fighting as well. He seemed quite a bit worse for wear from it then she did, however. None of her injuries were visible, though she was still tender and sore in some areas.

"Have you finished pouting about the task you screwed up on, yet?" Oh yes, she might as well get her digs in now before the feathers began flying.  

[medigel]

A hollow laugh escaped him. "You always have a reason," he stated. "Usually to infuriate or flummox me somehow. You have this incessant need to get a rise out of me." And her words only proved him right.

Schk went the knife, excavating rough bark and turning them into thin strips at his feet.

"I'm quite over it," Shik went on even as the burns within flared over that flop of a task. "I vented at a Hunter who was all too pleased to listen. In the end, you could say I left my mark on her, as she did me." His lips curled into a dark grin as he thought of the scar she would bear on her face, hidden or not.

"Did you come to gloat, Shaheen? If so, hurry and be done with it. I'm not in a right state of mind now for witty banter."  

[Seussi]

Her jaw set at his first words to her, a sure sign that she was going to be stubborn about this. She did not always have to have a reason. She could just want his company, however horrible, disagreeable, and obnoxious that company might be. Not that he ever bothered to seek her out for company himself. Not even after he said that he would.

Indignation flared up inside of her as her arms crossed over her chest. She stood her ground, leveling a steely gaze on him from where she stood. The hunter remark did take her slightly aback. Where had he found a hunter to fight? Add jealousy to the mix of feelings boiling just below the surface now, just waiting to bubble over. And here she'd been sparring with a mere student. Bah! He could have at least shared in the fun.

And there it was again. That clear dismissal. He didn't want her around. He was just being his usual loner self, isolating himself from everyone, pushing her away even though as far as she was concerned she had done nothing yet to deserve it.

Yet being the key word. She could really only behave herself for so long.

"You stupid, stubborn, hulking waste of space. Your mount should have been a donkey, Shikoba Len, except even an a** is more useful then you." That totally made sense. Every word.

And then if the executioner was paying any attention at all, he might have found a rock flying towards his face. Apparently she'd been holding one in her hand this entire time.  

[medigel]

Surprisingly, he was paying attention. Perhaps too much attention. His gaze might have been only for the wood in his hands, but his ears were all too focused on each and every word that came out of her mouth. He realized he was looking for an excuse to fight - it was the only way to get dispel himself of the red haze that threatened to obscure his vision. Yet in spite of the well of anger he could have drawn on, the horseman found himself also being filled with amusement at her statement. In some respects he agreed.

The faint sound of something cutting through the air was as loud as a fly in his ear. Faster than he could think, Shik grasped the piece of wood, turned, and smacked the rock away with a small explosion of bark and residual dirt, breaking off the topmost few inches. So much for sculpting. So much for peace too.

Making a sound somewhere between a growl, a grumble, and a sigh, Shik hoisted himself off the stump and hefted the block of wood over his shoulder. "Really? You're overly fond of those things, Shaheen. What would the Hunters think, seeing the great chieftain tossing rocks like an inexperienced filly?" he said with a raised brow, playing the part of a long-suffering babysitter to try and rile her. "I suppose this is the part when I counter with how your mount should be a b***h, but you're already playing that part well enough on your own, now aren't you."  

[Seussi]

Oh yes, Shik. Really. He had once again driven her over the edge into an irrational state of mind where she just did the first thing she thought of and cared naught of any consequences to her actions. So he was going to pull the 'not very becoming of a chieftain' card again? He was like a broken record, and she didn't care anymore.

The only reply he was going to get was one large, self-satisfied smirk and another rock sent hurtling towards him. Again she was just...holding it somehow.

((initiative dear lord))  

[medigel]

And again he smacked it away with the makeshift bat, and again it fractured from the hit, developing a jagged crack down the middle and an uneven new top. One more hit and it would completely break in his grasp.

Her smirk only served to further his anger, and his feathers rustled as he took his stance and gave a challenging wave with the piece of wood. For a moment the world flickered green, like the forest's leaves had taken over and leached the color out. And just as quickly it was gone.

He needed this release. How the pieces fell afterwards Shik would deal with as needed.

(( HI INITIATIVE. They both mad yo ))  

[Seussi]

Shaheen was, in an odd and twisted way, actually almost delighted by the turn of events. Shik was being an a**, so she had an excuse to wail on him, and on top of that, he was demonstrating the very thing she had just learned about recently: baseball.

She was, however, slightly annoyed that he continued to hit the rocks that were flung his way. So, when the third was thrown, she spread her wings wide behind her, pushing herself up from the ground and spinning in the air before letting it loose, hopefully effectively adding more speed to the throw.

Still smirking, she landed back upon the ground, her wings folding neatly behind her once more.

And since she did not yet realize that she was in any danger of attack from the executioner, she did nothing to put herself in a defensive posture, just standing with her arms crossed over her chest once more.

HP: 40
Damage: 5
FP: 2  

[medigel]

One last time the makeshift bat was brought up to knock the projectile away, but the rock's momentum was too much; the wood snapped under the pressure and Shik got pelted.

Oh it was on now.

Smarting from the welt on his arm, he snatched the rock back up and looked Shaheen in her smug eyes, imbuing the stone with some of the FEAR his crystal had gathered. Winding up his arm, Shik threw her stupid little rock right back at her, aiming for her head just as she had on so many different occasions. Two could play at that game.

HP: 35
Damage: 5 + 2 (using FP) = 7
FP: 5  

[Seussi]

Well....that had certainly been intentional, so she could maybe understand the anger that was now directed at her by the executioner. Though up until now he really had no reason for it. Really.

Seriously.

Her arms slowly uncrossed from her chest, her smirk fading just a bit. She saw him grab for the rock and she took a couple of steps back. He wouldn't, would he?

He would.

She probably could have blocked the blow with her arms, and she did raise one up even as she ducked slightly and turned away. But the rock managed to hit her in the side of the head, and her teeth clenched tight, her eyes squinting and watering up instantly from the stinging pain.

And then her lip pulled back from teeth as she whirled back towards Shik, dagger summoned to hand as she felt the warm trail of blood running down towards her neck from split scalp.

"You're positive that was a hunter you fought today? I thought little old ladies were more your style." Not attacking just yet. She stood open and ready for another attack.

HP: 33
Damage: 000000000
FP: 2  

[medigel]

The release of energy through the stone seemed to help - well, at least he wasn't seeing hints of green and orange where there shouldn't have been, so that was a good sign if nothing else.

And oh, how satisfying that collision sounded. It was the sound of unprovoked revenge being sated.

Shik's face split into a grin at her glare, for when was it never so between them: one smiling, one scowling. "Hmm . . . Given who my opponent is, I suppose it is!" he retorted with more glee than usual. Somehow, hitting Shaheen square in the head with a rock had vastly improved his mood.

So he threw another one.

The simple things in life~

HP: 35
Damage: 1 + 2 (hai more FP 4 u) = 3
FP: 4  

[Seussi]

This time she did block the hurled object with her arm. It still hurt but not nearly as much as taking it in the head had done. Blood was trickling down her neck now, and trailing its way down her chest. Being on the receiving end of those rocks was not nearly as much fun as throwing them had been.

But not even nearly as fun as throwing her entire self.

The only warning he would get was a growl of annoyance before she was lunging at him, wings beating furiously, blade slashing at his stupid smiling face.

HP:30
Damage: 3
FP:2  

[medigel]

Oh dear. Someone looked unhappy to be the target of the rocky revenge.

Shik's grin widened moments before the crash, and though he was eventually forced back with several lines of red etched into his chest, it was not without leaving some more scratches in return for her efforts. Did his blood still call for more? Yes, but in a smaller voice than before. At last he felt more in control of himself, and when the horseman took his stance once more it looked a little more relaxed.

Well, as relaxed as one could be in battle.

"Much better," he commented with a breath of satisfaction, which to Shaheen probably meant very little. "Thank you."

HP: 32
Damage: 3 + 2 (last fp used) = 5
FP: 3