[1v1] SHAHEEN SEMPAIIIIII (Shaheen/Senga)

[keiifuu]

It was high time for another spar with his favorite dueling master and Senga had no idea where she was.

The young executioner had been pacing about the reserve nervously, fluttering from tree to tree like a tiny hummingbird constantly in motion. When he finally found her, he was nearly red in the cheeks from the amount of running around he'd been doing. The reserve was so tiny compared to the Lair, and yet it was so infinitely difficult to navigate that the boy constantly found himself going in circles. As it was, he'd been also actively attempting to avoid clan contact as well.

"Shaheen, hello." His head bowed respectfully. "I hope I have not caught you at a bad time?" His tone was strained, and he forced himself to calm down, taking a deep breath and straightening his body. It was not immediately obvious, but it almost seemed as though he'd grown just a bit, his legs too long, his arms too lanky.

"I was hoping I might be able to spar with you again sometime. I - " He tumbled over his words awkwardly, pausing as flashes of his recent battle with Mengyao played out again in his head, "I need some help."

Seussi

SPAR TIMEE

 

[Seussi]

Shaheen might have been difficult to find because unless Shaheen wanted to be found, she often kept herself hidden away somewhere. Today she had spent most of her time alone in the forest, as she so often did. The whispers continued to get worse, the grey inching steadily further across her features, beginning to claw their way up her left leg, as well as spreading up the fingers of her left hand. It was an affliction she could not run from, one that would not stop until it either consumed her or she chose to finally do something about it.

But today was not the day to rebel against what was likely to be an irreversable fate. That would just have to wait until later. She would probably continue to put it off until somebody forced her to do otherwise, and she had a feeling she knew who that someone would be.

It was only shortly after the chieftain emerged from the forest that Senga approached, and she offered the young executioner a small but warm smile, the best she currently had to offer. It had not been a terrible day, compared to some, but it was not a great day either. It actually laid somewhere in the realm of just okay, but she would take what she could get.

"Senga." She greeted him, with a small inclination of her head in return. The strain in his voice did not go un noticed, however, and her smile faded a bit around it's edges, a small frown creasing her forehead. "No not a bad time at all." She lied, because lying was easier then admitting the truth; that every time was a bad time these days.

Rather then pry and ask what was troubling the young man, she let him speak, knowing that if he wished for her to know he would tell her in time. As he continued to speak she let her gaze flick over him, and mentally she wondered if he looked a little...different, then he had before. It wasn't something she could really pin point however....

Spar? Now that got the cheiftains attention! She visibly perked up, her eyes alighting with a certain kind of passion that had everything to do with steel ringing against steel and blood spilled upon the ground.

"Of course I will help." She practically purred.

"Is there anything in particular you are struggling with?"

keiifuu

 

[keiifuu]

Senga tilted his head at the elder chieftain, his eyes bright against the pale of his face. "Are you well?" He hummed out of both a sibling-like concern and a protectiveness for his fellow clansmen, wings ruffling gently as he tried to still the heavy thuds of his heart against his ribcage.

He visibly perked in response to Shaheen's agreement to help him, the bright red on his cheeks getting - if at all possible - even redder. "Thank you." He replied, pushing himself up to the balls of his feet before settling back down, shrugging his pelt off and laying it down in a safer place. Sparring with Shaheen, he would not need it after all. The dense fur sometimes kept blows from striking hard, but with the chieftain, he was more concerned with his speed.

"A few things." He responded awkwardly, twisting his hands together. "I - I'm finding it difficult to keep my self control lately..." He bit his tongue on talking about voices in his head, whispering and wavering in and out of focus. He bit his tongue on the thought of talking about how difficult it was not to lose himself as the familiar pain and soreness in his muscles reminded him of a few nights before.

"I need more practice if I want to better myself." His voice seemed almost irritated. "I'm not nearly where I want to be, and it's frustrating."

He wanted to get better, to be more useful to the clan. That was it. That was all.

And self-control issues weren't going to help him out there.

Seussi

 

[Seussi]

She simply shrugged off the are you well comment, her wings rising and falling with the action, and a hand was waved to dismiss him from the subject. He was afflicted with the same disease, the same taint that creeped along in fissures not just along her skin, but through her mind as well, fissures that were filled with whispered taunts and paranoia. He knew better then anyone that they were not well. He also knew better then anyone that life went on regardless.

Shaheen nodded in understanding. Loss of self-control was now something she struggled with as well. It disappointed her to hear that he was going through the same troubles as she was, but if they didn't help each other through this, who would?


"Sometimes a loss in self control is not such a bad thing." She finally spoke when her war-brother had finished what he had to say. "Sometimes it gives you an edge, one final push that gives you the victory over your opponent."

Even as she spoke she got ready. They were just on the edge of the forest, and there was hardly anybody around. It was as good of a place to spar as any. Her dagger was summoned to hand, and she began to move, her arms spreading out at her sides, her feet crossing as she paced to the side, her golden eyes narrowing.

"Sometimes...well no, most of the time it is dangerous. It makes you sloppy, you make mistakes, it becomes your downfall. This is why we practice meditation, a calm center, clearing our minds..." She blinked her eyes slowly, giving a small shake of her head and a quiet chuckle. She treated what she had just said as a joke, because to those with insanity, having a clear mind was a joke.

And then she lunged, her body lowering as she swung forward with her dagger, and then driving upwards with a beat of her wings.

She'd talk more in a minute.

HP: 50
Damage: 9

keiifuu

 

[keiifuu]

Senga frowned, summoning his dagger. "Usually its fine, and I can practice meditation easily. But this one person drives me... to a breaking point." He rolled his shoulders, wincing at the soreness in his muscles. "I don't mind hurting him." He muttered mindlessly. "I just want to be able to control myself enough not to kill anyone."

But now that talking was done with, Senga lunged at the war chieftain, his wings beating in tandem with her own, though he merely blocked her attacks without returning the favor. Yet.

HP: 31
DMG: 0  

[Seussi]

Shaheen kept her lips pursed in thought, even while she watched his moves carefully, her feet alighting back down upon the earth. "Sounds...familiar." She couldn't quite stop her lips from quirking up into a smirk, nor the sudden image of a tall, dark, muscular man of war that came to mind. She might have spent less time actually wanting to hurt, maim, or otherwise destroy Shikoba Len then she used to, but.....ah, those were some fond memories, and she would cherish them forever.

"So you have feelings for this man?" It seemed only natural, especially since whoever it was was clearly driving the poor young colt out of his mind.

She was still watching him closely, and when she saw another opening, she struck, her dagger lashing out at him once more, her lip pulling back from her teeth in a grimace from the effort she put behind the swing. "Perhaps if you just let him know, you will no longer feel quite as strong of an urge to destroy him."

It had worked for her and Shik, so therefore it would work for everyone else.

HP: 50
Damage: 5

keiifuu

 

[keiifuu]

Senga nearly fell over at the response, his expression turning quickly to horror. "Feelings?" He reiterated, looking positively disgusted. His wings fluttered and gave a few distressed flaps, and he crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "No. Not the kind you're - no." He shook his head fervently. "It's different."

Rolling his eyes, he uncrossed his arms, flicking the dagger between his fingers at the idea and grimacing when she lashed out at him, leaping away even though the dagger caught and tore at his arm. "Yes, and what would I say? By the way I want to kill you on nearly every day of the week." He snorted. "And he already knows that, anyways."

Shaking his head, he leapt forward and lashed out at her in return.

"It's pointless to talk about it. Nothing will change what already is."

HP: 26/40
Damage: 5

Seussi

 

[Seussi]

She frowned, a small look of confusion flashing across her eyes. "It isn't like....that?" Clearly, being one who was absolutely not an expert on relationships, Shaheen did not understand what Senga was talking about. "So you just...simply hate him then..." She had somehow managed to work it out, even while parrying against his blade, just a second too late as it glanced off and bit into her shoulder before she could pull away.

She let out a small grunt in response, and the whispers surged through her mind, picking up on her emotions, on her confusion, and her self doubt. Her eyes locked on his, her breathing quickening slightly as she fought against it, chanting a mantra through her head to remind herself that they weren't real, that they were not what controlled her.

"Listen to no other voice than yourself." The words came from behind clenched teeth, and were a repeat of what Medea had told her when she had been sent upon a task by the woman, a task that had all but ruined her.

And then with a loud and piercing battlecry, and a whirlwind of movement she went on the offensive, slashing, spinning, bringing her blade down again and again to beat him back.

HP: 45
Damage: 13

Xkeiifuu

 

[keiifuu]

"No," Senga responded, frustration in his tone. "I don't hate him but he frustrates me to no end. He's - " He shook his head, flicking his wings in aggravation. "He's one of us." He said finally, gesturing to the grey markings on his body and hers. Losing the will to continue trying to explain, dodging the first few of Shaheen's blows in a frantic flurry, even though she was still so much stronger than him, and quickly knocked him back.

Gasping from the sudden lose of breath, Senga pumped his wings and leapt into the sky, his wings flaring out. The advice was taken with a raised brow before he let himself vault back down, his dagger slicing out to parry Shaheens with fierce quickness, even though his bones were quickly beginning to protest, aching and growing numb beneath his skin.

HP: 13
Damage: 2

Seussi

 

[Seussi]

One of us.

The words were like a cold douse of water, words that chilled her not just to the bone, but much deeper. A hollow and numb feeling that spread out from the pit of her stomach, that clenched tight in her chest. One of them. Inflicted, tainted, diseased. One of the slowly consumed.

One of the dying.

Because that's what Shaheen considered them. In her mind it was the worst case scenario that had the best chance of actually occuring. She didn't have any time left, no matter how much she fought. And Senga, and Lifen, and any of the others...well, it was only a matter of time for them as well.

"Why? What does he do to make you lose control?" She stopped her relentless attack on the executioner, her breathing heavy, but more from exertion now then an effort to control the voices in her head. She half heartedly blocked the parrying blow he sent back at her, feeling the blade graze against flesh, but ignoring the sharp pain that followed.

She beat her own wings, lifting herself off of the ground in pursuit. "Is it the voices? Are you giving in to them?" She let her dagger de-summon, instead choosing to attack with a swing of her leg, kicking out towards his stomach.

HP: 43
Damage: 4

keiifuu