Fantasy Magical Assassins

[andujarprime]

He watched her his temper flaring as she called him a coward once more. He opened his mouth about to speak but the small gem in her hand caught his eye. He watched her cautiously as he stood up, pulling a dagger from beneath his cloak. He winced at the sudden burst of light. but his vision came back quickly. He took a small breath as he watched her momentarily shaken by the appearance of horns and a tail. "Uuhh" He stammered before remembering himself. He held the dagger in a reverse grip as he brought his fist level with his face. He stood poised to attack. "I am not a coward. I'm gonna learn you today little meteor." He said as he took off towards her at a run. The shadows from deep within the water rose up to meet his footsteps, allowing him to walk on water. He closed in on her with a final jump through the air. His fangs bared in a snarl and his dark eyes glittering. But they weren't glittering from anger, or rage. They were alight with excitement and anticipation at the fight to come.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

"Little?" Her eyes glowed. Him calling her that made her feel like a child. And, as she watched him sprint across the water, she couldn't help but give a silent snicker. Water gave both of them a certain advantage. It made shadows and reflected light. Such a thing found her amusement. As Shade closed in, she widened her eyes. All of her senses felt like they had been heightened. The core of her body blazed with anticipation and thrill. The last she ate a diamond was such a long time ago and she only ever needed one when she was facing more foes than she could take. For her to gobble a precious source of power for one fae showed that it was a near, terrifying, compliment.

For the first time since meeting the man, she dodged. She skidded forward, ducked down and let the man attack the water instead of herself. The amount of relief that consumed her was almost unbearable. After everything that had happened that night, it was nice to finally get an edge besides when she tapped him with her shooting star. The horns and tail flared once more as she opened her mouth and a ray of light came bursting out. It wasn't the same as the shooting star, more of a beam than a projectile. It lasted a mere three seconds before she had to shut it off temporarily.

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

He was grinning as she evaded his attack. He rolled across the water and came up in a crouch facing her. He ran towards her and dove down as 5the beam of light came at him. It didn't last long, but it didn't need to. It threw him off his balance and he went under. He kept it moving swimming deeper into the water. It went down a lot further than a pond should. It was practically a lake with a small surface. But that was honestly to be expected in the dead woods. Nothing was what it seemed. He came up behind her in a spray of water, swiping at her leg as he popped up.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

As she felt the spray of water land on her body, she moved forward to get, though, this time, she didn't dodge fully. She twisted along the water, facing Shad once more. The knife had cut her pants and just barely opened a slice in her skin. Nothing she couldn't handle. From her wound though, an ambient light formed. She tsked. Getting cuts surely wasn't a big deal, but in this state, the more she got, the easier she'd be to locate, as wounds would glow until the diamond wore off. Rosen considered diving beneath the water to use as he had done, but stopped herself as she realized what a mistake that would have been. Going back into his territory wouldn't do so well.

Thus, she plowed forward. She sprinted along the water, pivoted on her heel, lifted a leg and aimed to kick her other heel against his temple.

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

He frowned slightly, seeing that he mostly missed his attack. He shrugged off the disappointment and braced himself as she charged him. It was a simple matter to block her incoming kick and push the heel away. Throwing her momentum in a hard jerk back the way it came. He did so with a backhand swipe, then as her back was turned he extended the same arm, fist connecting to the middle of her back, followed by a cross from his other hand. He took a quick step back and braced himself for a counter. Not knowing her style, he settled for landing quick hits instead of lengthy combinations. The last thing he wanted was to get tripped up, or so caught up that he gets blindsided by a light attack.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Rosen gritted her teeth as her heel was pushed away, and gasped when the air was knocked out of her. She ducked once more and heard the tips of her hair take the brute from his other hand. Sure enough, she wrinkled her nose. She wouldn't want to admit it, but hair took some time to grow. The light demon bounded forward, slid on the water, spun around and bent her elbow as she pointed her fingers. She straightened her knees until she stood straight again. A star formed as it had done so many times that night. This time, as the spinning ball of fire formed, she began opening her mouth again. Just as they had done before, the demon side of her flashed once as she let the star go and a beam of light zoom from her lips. These kinds of battles were especially tough on her. He was so light on his feet, while each of her attacks were made for impact.

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

Aeryn watched as short locks of her hair floated down to the water. He smirked as she turned to face him. Eyeing her suspiciously he began to circle her. His eyes went wide as the horns and tail flashed once more, signaling her light attack. He grunted as he dove out of the way, rolling and coming up in a run. He ran at her with better understanding of her attack, he slid low with an arm outstretched, slashing at her leg, the knife hidden in the splash of water that came up beneath him.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

The star and light shot out, landing on nothing but poor trees that took the brute of her power. She prepared to use a physical attack in response, but let out a low grunt as she felt a far deeper slice take shape in her leg. The cut let out the same ambient light, and, as her blood spilled, it appeared that it was the source of light, as it was no longer red. Moments after blood dripped out, the light faded and returned to crimson. After balancing herself out and stifling the pain, she prepared herself to punch at Shade, yet she stopped herself. The clouds were moving. The light beneath her feet began to fade. Falling into the water would devastate the situation. Thus, she jumped up, bounding off one of his shoulders and flipped backwards quite a distance onto land. Without a moment of hesitation, she sprinted forward, clung onto a branch and just like she had done many times before, shot herself into the air. This time though, she bent her elbow, pointed her fingers and, in midair, shot a star at the water before landing in a tree. She stayed in one of the high branches, crouching down and tried to hide her cuts. At any point the clouds revealed the moon again, she planned to go right back to the water.

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

He readied himself as she came at him. Grunting in surprise when she leapt onto then past him. He whistled I’m stun disbelief as she propelled herself into the air. “Seriously?! What the...” he stopped mid sentence as he saw the light burst streaming towards him. “Oh hell” he muttered as he dropped into the water, disappearing into the shadows. He flew through the shadow world, popping up on land somewhere beneath her. He reached into his pouch and threw up another smoke bomb, followed by a second and third. Covering the immediate area above the trees in dark reddish smoke and powder. He waited for her to come down, lurking in the shadows.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

More and more smoke popped up around her. As the smoke spread around, filling her lungs and destroying her view, her frustration showed through. She didn't want to deal with the dark anymore, not again. The horns and tail shined as she let a beam out for a few seconds longer this time, once she closed her mouth she shot ten different stars aimlessly at the ground. Trees toppled over and she assumed craters were made. It cleared out the smoke, she could breathe again, but her location was all but hidden. Rosen stood on the branch, preparing for an oncoming attack. Still hopeful that she may have at least injured him, though, she knew the likeliness was slim. "You alive?" she belted. "Or did your gutless self hide in the shadows all the while?"

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

He took a deep breath as he slunk into the shadows. He watched as the shadow world was distorted by the light, chuckling to himself once it was all done. He made his way to the tree that she rested on and listened to her. He took another deep breath to calm himself as she once more called into question his nature, and his character. "Let's see who the real coward is." He whispered into her ear as he slipped out of the shadows. His dagger slashed across her shoulder before he backed into the shadow then came out again on a branch beneath her. Grabbing her foot he yanked down hard, a vial in his hand clinked as he squeezed his hand shut, crushing it and releasing a sticky dark substance. He swung his hand to slap her across the face with it. If he connected she would have a dark mark across her face, smeared over her eyes and nose as well.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

When Shade's voice sounded, her eyes widened and lustered, she pivoted on her heel, ready to punch him, only to yelp by the sting that formed on her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the light come from the new wound. It was longer than she expected and tough to hide if she didn't figure out a way to cover it. Before she could conjure an idea to so do though, she heard the shatter of glass and felt as if her stomach was being pulled on. The sound of glass from Shade was always troubling. And then, a good slap fell along her face. She jumped back right after such happened and landed on a an adjacent branch. She spat out glowing blood before knitting her brows and touching the substance on her face. "What is this?" she said and looked up at the place she had been hunkering before, but she couldn't see it. For a shivering breath, she thought she was back in pitch darkness, but the light from her shoulder showed otherwise. It was dimmer than before, but it was still there. She figured it must have been on her eyes, so she blinked, made herself tear up and rubbed at them, but there was no change. "What did you do?" Rosen gasped, even her voice seemed muffled. She flared her nostrils. Those vials, they irked her and made everything far more difficult. Thus, the horns and tail showed up and she let out another beam at the tree she had been on.

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

Aeryn watched her only for a moment. Long enough to confirm direct contact, as he watched a trail of light from her new wound. He looked at it curiously then at his dagger. She had spewed light before, and he had wondered where it was from. He realized now that her wounds would glow and he smiled mostly to himself as he sunk back into the shadow of the tree. From the shadow world he watched as her tail and horns appeared once more. He shifted trees and cane out behind her as she let loose a blast. In quick succession, he sliced at both her calves, then aimed a kick to where her back would be if she fell from the wounds, aiming to push her off the branch and stumbling into the darkness below. He knew she her world was dimmed, so it would seem pitch black below, away from the moonlight that she seemed to covet.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

She winced as she felt something cut at her calves. At first, the light demon didn't think the cuts were bad, until she involuntarily fell to her knees, and then, she was thrusted forward from behind. Rosen did what she could to maneuver in the air and clawed at the branch below the one she had been on. The sigh of relief that escaped her lips was short lived as her hold wasn't anything to be applauded, and the lumber slipped right out from between her fingers and she plummeted to the dirt.

The good part, she could take a fall, though with scrapes and bruises, and it seemed that she wasn't feeling injuries as well. After her catastrophic "landing", she lifted herself from the ground, sat on her haunches and looked at her right side, which had taken most of the falling damage. Little licks of light spilled through, even if she could barely see it. She growled beneath her breath as frustration and dissatisfaction erupted within her. Hot. Her entire body filled with a fire-like feeling. Every time her heart beat, her cuts grew in light and dimmed, grew and dimmed, over and over. Her eyes soon following suit. Due to her lack of sight, she hadn't noticed her body doing such. "Back in your world, aye? We barely got anytime on mine."

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

He dropped to the ground beside her and kicked her side. “Don’t worry, we’re still here. I just want you to have a taste of my darkness is all.” He said loudly for her to hear. Her hearing would be muffled, and her senses dimmed. He watched as she would slide across the dirt. “Why are your wounds all glowy? That wasn’t happening before.” He asked, genuinely curious.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Rosen got up on all fours as she felt herself move along the dirt and twigs of the forest. "Why would I answer that?" she said far too loudly than she should have, though, to her, she thought she was talking at a normal level. She opened her mouth, the demon traits appeared and disappeared, but no beam of light came shooting out. Her wounds, however, continued to grow bright and dim with every heart beat. "What?" she whispered to herself. She had eaten diamonds before and they lasted for far longer than this. She felt that burning inside her. Something was festering, yet, none of her beams of light was spouting from her being. So, she decided to try and stall. "Divulging such information to someone who is trying to capture me will set me back quite a bit more than I already am."

 

[andujarprime]

“Oh yeah? How? I don’t think that question is as dangerous as any I’ve asked you before.” He said to her as he walked over and kicked her again, this time hard enough to send her flying into a nearby tree. “That question was for my own curiosity, to be honest. But y’know you’re free to not answer. I’ll get it out of you eventually.” He called to her as he put his dagger away. “Let’s even things up a bit no more knives huh?” He said as he used shadows to make hands and pick her up. Standing her against the tree to let her stabilize herself. He didn’t want the excitement to be over. The adrenaline was pumping, and he hadn’t felt like this in a long time. He’d nearly forgotten the reward that would come after turning her in. His freedom. “I’ll give ya a minute. Silence should be wearing off soon.” He called to her as he readied himself. Standing sideways with one hand outstretched, Palm up and the other behind his back. His feet shoulder length apart and knees slightly bent.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Rosen grunted and winced after she hit the tree. The cuts on her back stung as little slivers from the tree pierced into the open wounds. She could feel more. At least, more than before. It dawned on her just how many cuts, bruises and overall injured she was. With the diamond though, it made things easier. When she was forced to her feet and scowling at the man who prepared to fight, even mocked her by putting away his blade., all of her senses slowly began returning. It was a gradual trickle, but what stood out to her were the lights that were dimming and growing bright. She looked around to see what it may be, but, eventually realized it was coming from her own body. "You'll get it out eventually?" She raised a brow and bit her bottom lip. What he said was far truer than Shade probably realized.

She got into her own fighting stance. Her stance always appeared clumsy and jumbled, that's just how it was. She swallowed. Letting her sense return. Waiting for an opportunity. Evaluating their surroundings and relocating the moon again, though, it was tough to find and was still dim in her eyes. She inhaled a long extended breath, closed her eyes and opened them again. And, she jumped. Not at Shade, instead, right above her. She grabbed a branch and slung herself in the air. Her cuts glowing was one thing, them matching her heartbeat was another. Rosen wouldn't be able to use any powers during this rare moment. And now, sticking around was no longer an option. Thus, once she landed in the trees, she shot herself off again, getting as far away as she could muster.

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

Aeryn watched her curiously as her sense slowly came back to her. He smirked a bit, but then his smirk turned to confusion, followed by irritation as she jumped up and then away. "Come on!! Stop being a coward!" He called after her as he jumped up into the branches "I wasn't done!!!" He yelled out landing on a branch and watching her leap into the sky once more. "Is this it? The great meteor running away?" He called after her jumping to the next branch, and then another as he followed her.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

"No, I'm...urgg!" she belted and swung off another branch. "Don't follow me! Could you let my heart rate go down? I planned on coming back, don't worry, I just can't have you be you for a second." Rosen swung off another branch and twisted in the air to face him. Ideally, she would have liked to send a shooting star at him, or the beam that she had for the time that the diamond was in use, but this time, it was just so her voice could be heard better. "I am no coward! And I most definitely don't want to hear that coming from you of all people. Me staying away and calming down is more beneficial to you either way." As she descended she flipped again, this time landing on the branch. She lifted her palm out, gesturing for him to keep his distance. "I am a ticking time bomb unless you leave me alone. I'll be fine, you on the other hand, you are far too close."

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

He watched her unconvinced. "I'm supposed to believe that you suddenly care about my wellbeing? Yeah right!" He called out making an effort to close in. "I'm not concerned about your heartrate, I'm more concerned about your bloodline. It's needed remember?!" He called picking up speed. "And I told you! I'm not a coward. Doesn't feel too good does it? " He asked, he focused on the trees ahead of her, a shadow hand raised up to grab at her feet. "You're gonna have to do better than jumping across some trees!"

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

"You--!" she spat before she felt any chance of her slingshotting be halted by the shadows. "You ignorant man. Sure, it was fun. I've never had my entire being quake from a single person before. I've never had to eat a diamond for a single person before. Can't you be happy that you are the one person who keeps me on my toes?" She glanced at her shoulder, seeing that her heartbeat was only rising. Every breath she took was rough and shaky. The tips of her fingers began to tremble. Rosen turned her glance away from herself and flicked her eyes all about the ground below. She may be an assassin, but she didn't like needlessly killing civilians, if any were around, they were doomed. What's more, if Shade survived, she'd be out cold after the event. No way of escaping, attacking, it was a done deal. And, from what she could see, the likelihood of her heart slowing down in time was low. "Fine, stay, see what happens." She wouldn't be able to return to her country if he died, but letting him take the brute of it was the best she could do.

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

"I'll feel better after I catch you!!" He shouted as he watched her jump past his shadow hand. "Besides, I know I'm skilled. But this doesn't explain what your heart rate has to do with anything? What's going on?" He asked cautiously. He hung back a few seconds putting a bit of distance between them but keeping her in view. She seemed to be sincere, and he wasn't exactly sure why he believed it but he could feel it. "Explain yourself!" He called still following her, trailing her.

AEONmeteorite

 

[AEONmeteorite]

"It isn't something that can easily be ex..." she cut herself short as it felt like her entire body vibrated. She stopped on a branch and fell to her knees. Her eyes matched the glow of her heartbeat. All the wounds she had gotten, even the ones that had clotted up, spilled blood. Rather than glowing and turning into crimson, the blood maintained an illuminating flow of spectrum. It spilled into the nooks and crannies in the bark below her knees. All she could do was cover her mouth to stifle a painful scream from slithering out of her being. It hurt. Every pore of her body burned. She had only seen a light demon do this once in her life, the ol'man she had mention prior. She had the slightest amount of time to get away when it had happened to him, and, luckily, she was a light demon herself, so she knew when to run. Rosen wasn't aware that a diamond could let her tap into the power. But, from what she saw of that ol'man, it wasn't something to be desired.

As forceful tears made glistening paths down her cheeks, the spilling blood began to take shape. It peeled off from the bark of the tree, maneuvering in the air until hundreds of butterflies formed from her blood. The bleeding stopped, but the pain still continued to ravage her body. The butterflies stayed on the branch with her for a time, and then, all of them took flight into a swarm. They surrounded her and then divided into three large groups. Each group landed on different trees. The trees lit up and then, it appeared the light from the trunk was absorbed into the butterflies. The leaves rotted, the bark curled and it fell to pieces to the ground below. The butterflies moved on to other trees, taking the light from out of them over and over.

To Rosen, it felt like it lasted forever. Hopping between trees. Desolating the land. The agonizing pull on her blood as it floated around continued to strain her body. And, she could only pray that there were no other humans nearby. She didn't know this forest. She didn't know this place. And, what lasted an eternity to her, was a mere thirty seconds. Once the butterflies of spectrum light were done, they came flying right back to her, pushing themselves back into her wounds, filling her body with blood and the light they stole, and healing the wounds they had come from. The only tree around in about a fifteen meter radius that wasn't destroyed was the one she hunkered on.

From her point of view, a circle of death surrounded her. Rosen attempted to keep herself awake. If Shade was still alive, fainting now ended everything. She tried to rock to her feet. When she thought she made some leeway, she fell right back to her knees. Her vision blurred and she began to keel over. "Oh," she whispered, "I guess the game is done." With that, her conscious escaped her, she fell from the tree and plummeted to the dirt and tree debris below.

andujarprime

 

[andujarprime]

Aeryn felt dread creep across his skin. Blossoming from the pit of his stomach, it creeped up along his spine. Formed gooseflesh along his arms, the tiny hairs on his pointed ears now standing on edge. He stood back, then leapt back to a previous branch as her words cut short. He wasn't sure what was happening, but his gut never led him astray. As the light began taking shape, he backed off even faster. Noticing how they pulled the life force from the trees, plants and grass themselves. He could feel through the shadows as several small animals lost their life to the glowing butterflies. He shuddered in cold dreadful anticipation as they spread. Making their way to him, he didn't know how far out they would go. He couldn't take too many chances, this was way out of his element. He dropped to the base of a tree and allowed himself to sink into the shadows. He transported himself further away, faster than ever. Using the shadows nearby to keep an eye on the situation. Soon the light was glowing brighter and the shadows fading. The windows to the normal world closed in the area as the shadows disappeared momentarily. The small area around her lit up the night for several seconds then faded. When the shadows came back and he was able to see again, he noticed she was no longer in the tree. Instead she lay beneath it, unconscious but otherwise unharmed. He stepped into the world beside her and poked her with a tentative toe. He dropped to a knee when she didn't respond and inspected her. She wasn't just unharmed, but she was healed. The many cuts he left on her, and bruises from their fight were gone. But it seemed she had spent all her energy in healing. He sighed as he realized the game was over. He still had a job to complete, so with slight resignation he picked her up. Using a dark fabric, he bound her hands and feet. Blindfolded and gagged her then put her across his shoulder and began walking. The fabric was soft, but very durable. It seemed to be like silk with the durability of worn leather. Very tough to break, and very secure to work with. He made his way through the dead woods. His destination in mind, his feet seemed to travel on their own. Traveling through the shadows would save on time, but he wanted to enjoy the rest of the night out in nature. Even if it was a very dangerous nature he found himself in.

Elsewhere, in a dark tower room of an ancient tree built mansion Rio sat before a shady figure. A low fire in a small hearth in the room kept a warm temperature. Illuminating half of Rio's face, but nothing on the other side of the room He was on his knees, his body trembling in anticipation, a cold sweat built up and practically dripping from the fear. "Are you sure?" The low gravelly voice asked from the shadows. Blue glowing eyes peered down at the man as he stammered and nodded in fear. "Y-y-yes! Rio swears it m'lord!!" He all but shrieked. "He attacked us! Him and that light demon. Working together! We only offered to help escort him safely. He had her f-f-freed m'lord" He explained, his voice breaking, his eyes never roaming or raising past his master's feet. "How unfortunate." The gravelly voice responded, no amusement, all annoyance it seemed. "I'll handle him. He can't run from me, he has no choice but to return here. Return home, to his precious little family." The voice continued as the face hidden in the shadows turned to the fireplace. He waved a hand and Rio nodded, backing out of the room on his knees. "Yes m'lord. Un-underst-st-stood m m'lord." He stammered closing the door behind him. When he stood, his demeanor was changed. A dark look crossed his face and a sly smirk crossed his lips as he made his way down and out of the mansion. He went along the dark streets, into an ally and signaled for some people to follow him. He started making preparations for welcoming his unsuspecting victim.

Two nights later, They were finally on the outskirts of Ellswyr. Aeryn had stopped to rest, it was only a couple hours walk to wher he was supposed to meet his boss. He was in no rush, there wasn't a time limit to this job. His captive was secured, safe, and unharmed. She had been awake for part of the trip but it seemed that whatever happened really took a toll on her stamina. "We're almost there." He said to her as he sat beside her. Propped up against a tree, out of the moonlight. He had seen how she seemed to absorb light and gather strength. For the past 2 nights he's made sure to stay in the shadows, or keep her covered in shadows and out of the light. Tonight was no different. "Might make a quick stop to check on something before turning you in, but otherwise it's smooth sailing for me." He said rather pleased with his current predicament. Possibly his final job, and he would be free. Free to be alone and unbothered with his animals, and away from the world.

AEONmeteorite