[RPBT:SS] Carolina Candensis v. Avril Triglace

[CassinoChips]

Setting: A large open stretch of beach, 3 miles long and 2 wide. Although it is mostly sand, clusters of sharp and blunt rock alike dot the beach. Aside from that, all that can be seen to the south is a vast expanse of blue, foamy ocean as far as the eye can see. To the north are sheer, sanddunes full of sharp grass, and to the west and east are large, steep mountains that would be extremely hard for the average human to clmb.

 

[Gaige]

Her feet imprinting upon the golden sand, the tall, lithe woman breathed in the scent of salty sea air. It was so quiet but for the sounds of nature all around her. Bottle green eyes raised to the sky, Avril realized that there was another presence on this beach, which had been long ago abandoned. It was usually empty. Devoid of life. It was why this was the one place Avril felt at peace.

That someone was trespassing on her beach, as she considered it, was nothing short of inexcusable. Avril would have to punish this violation brutally and without mercy.It was only right that she should do so.

Her hand rested at the hilt of her weapon, Delano. It was in passive form, a rapier sheathed at her belt. No doubt it would change forms a number of times throughout this conflict. Matter was fleeting and ever changing. Delano represented this, and soon, Avril Triglace and her intruder would prove this rule, changing to bloody messes in the brutal dance of ecstatic death.

Her sword was drawn. Her mind steeled. Her soul full of adrenaline. Ready to spill the blood of another.

 

[Noblesse Oblige]

Carolina was walking in an unfamiliar beach, in an unfamiliar land. The beach was surprisingly barren, no signs of life. She was sent by her superior, the king to explore the area. She already had to endure the trek sailing across here, but Carolina managed after a few weeks travel.

The ship landed on the beach, with the young Duchess (young by Felidian standards) looking out to shore. To Carolina's surprise however, she saw another female, human in appearance, but with a mysterious aura around her. She had her weapon, a rapier, already drawn. This meant that she was preparing for battle. How dare she assume to attack a newcomer to this beach? She felt disrespected, but that did not matter at all. If she wanted to do battle, no doubt Carolina would be willing to honor her decision. After all, it is considered the most honorable thing to do.

Dropping from her ship, Carolina landed on her feet. Like her possible opponent, she had her sword, "Espada de la Antigua", drawn and quickly assumed the position for battle. Carolina said allowed, "If you want to do battle with me, then come at me!" She taunted her opponent, wanting her to make the first move so she can counter and strike back.

 

[Gaige]

There was an air of nobility from this one. She was used to getting her own way. But she was no lightweight, and not a stranger to battle either. She was probably ready with a counterattack as soon as Avril went on the offensive.

Still, one of them had to make the first move, and this time it would be Avril. Walking forward with her sword point drawing a trail in the sand, she looked at the female trespasser. She was taunting Avril. Hoping to provoke a reaction. Well, she would get one.

Time to run. Feet kicking up mounds of powdery yellow sand, she raised her sword, ready to strike the woman on her beach. Best to start with a non fatal, melee blow. Aiming for the knees would be a good start. If she dodged, Avril would commence a more magic based assault to bring down the girl. Now, rushing forward, she brought her sword down towards her opponent's right now, hoping to slice through it and hit bone.

 

[Noblesse Oblige]

Carolina saw the individual run forward, her sword drawing a trail, a line in the sand. The Felidian saw her sword raise, aiming for her knees. Timing it right, Carolina jumped over her sword, and quickly landed on her feet beside her opponent.

It seemed the person wanted to prolong the fight, which provoked Carolina to want to end it as soon as possible. Her sword, it's blade resting on the golden sands of the beach moved in an arcing motion, aiming towards her opponent's waist. If successful, she would be able to wound her opponent slightly, enough to weaken her a bit. If it turns out unsuccessfully, she would be ready for a counterattack depending on if she used her sword, or if she actually a magic user as well.

 

[Gaige]

She'd dodged it. Clever girl. And now she had time to launch a counterattack too. Avril raised her sword to intercept it, but the girl was on the other side of her. She couldn't turn fast enough, and her opponent's sword bit into her waist, drawing hot blood which ran down her hips and legs, to stain the sand a dull crimson.

"Ugh." Avril grunted and closed her eyes for a moment, resisting the urge to crouch. It would only move her flesh into the sharp end of the sword, causing further damage. So instead, Avril carefully but quickly pried herself off the sword, causing more droplets of blood to hit the sand. It was little more than a flesh wound, but still.

First blood.

The noble was faster than Avril had anticipated. It was time she took the battle up a notch. Time for some magic. Avril regarded her enemy for a second, thinking on what would be best to take out the girl quickly and without too much fuss. Something to cover a little more distance. Getting in close with a sword user wasn't always a good idea.

As she tapped into her magical source, deep within her body, Avril pulled out a strand of white energy, glowing like crystal in the moonlight. The drain as immediate and shocking. For a brief second, Avril felt short of breath, and her vision became blurred for a brief moment before refocusing. It had been some time since Avril had last accessed her magical network, and Avril had not felt that drain for some time.

No matter. She would adjust.

The air became cold as Avril closed her eyes for a second time, directing the strand of pure energy into solid form, almost coaxing it like a frightened animal. It was then that the energy became visible in a glowing rope of light, trailing through the air. With a sound similar to the cracking and splintering of bone, the energy fragmented into five equally sized pieces, and began to swim through the air towards the sea

Each piece of energy was fragmenting further, touching foamy residue left on the sand and joining with it, raising tiny droplets of water into the air. Enveloping them.

And freezing them.

A dozen tiny spheres of ice hovered at her side, making the tinkling sound of a tiny bell as they hovered in place.

With a loud exhalation, Avril pushed her hand forward, and the dozen bullets of ice joined her, jolting forward at rapid speeds, their target identical. If they hit the noble they would do some damage, and kick start a little temperature drop. If she couldn't defeat her physically, Avril would overwhelm her with magic.

 

[Noblesse Oblige]

Carolina smirked a bit as the blade bit into her body. The opponent was skilled, but she was too slow to react. Unfortunately, the fight had only just started.

No matter, she will probably bleed out if this drags out too long. Carolina got her sword ready again, only to discover that the opponent summoned a strand of magical energy. What sorcery is this? Using the power of the strand, she let it grow, almost to the thickness of rope. Using the moisture around her, this witch created small orbs of ice, the size of musket balls.

Carolina knew how effective muskets were. While musket rounds were incapable of penetrating an armor like hers, it was however brutally effective at a distance and capable of killing or severely wounding a person if armor was not protecting a spot.

Not wanting to take chances, Carolina drew her shield to protect her chest and moved to the left to avoid the incoming fire, whatever didn't get dodged would be caught in the shield. Her tactic was mostly successful, with most of the 12 Ice Shots missing the target, and a few got caught by the shield, which surprisingly managed to do some moderate damage.

However two such rounds manage to ricochet off the shield and had enough momentum to actually punch through Carolina's armor on the left shoulder. The Felidian felt a chill run down her spine, but ignored it and moved on.

Magic users enjoy range, and if she is to overcome her opponent, she would have to put her speed to the test, and close the distance as swiftly as possible. Carolina knew of one way, to use some magic of her own.

Using the sun that illuminated the daylight sky, Carolina pointed her finger in the sky, and shot out a beam of light that drained her considerably, but should be enough to change the tide of battle, Carolina covered her eyes as the beam of light shot up to the sun, when it got up high enough, the Light exploded, creating a blinding flash that should temporarily blind her opponent. At least enough for her to score another hit.

Wasting no time, Carolina ran forward towards her opponent, her sword dragging across the beach sands. Instead of a forward strike that her opponent would probably expect, Carolina quickly sidestepped and swung her sword, aiming for her arm. This would give her an advantage as it would be difficult to use magic with an injured arm.

 

[Gaige]

Avril showed no emotion as the spheres of ice were deflected, but felt a small chill run down her spine as a few from the volley hit. That would hurt. But she couldn't afford to become too lenient on her opponent. She had to stay all out until the end of the fight or it would be she who would die today.

The cunning little bitch had a trick up her sleeve, but it wasn't until the woman actually released the magic that Avril realized what it was, and by then it was much too late to muster up a defense or even get some distance from the attack.

The flash of light was instantly blinding. Flecks of colour danced before her vision. Green, pink, red, but mostly a white that consumed the rest of her vision. Stumbling back, Avril's loss of sight meant her hearing was amplified, and she heard the noble's footsteps rapidly approaching her. A blind attempt to stagger aside failed, and the last thing Avril heard was the whistle of metal through wind before the sword bit into her flesh again, just above the elbow.

Her arm immediately went numb, and her grip on Delano slipped for a second, before she mustered up all her pain to overcome the numbness and grip the weapon tightly once again. The pain was nothing short of excruciating but it was preferable to the numbness that would erase all use of a physical weapon.

As her vision began to clear, the steady drip of liquid on liquid was audible. She was bleeding again. Standing in the shallows with her sword arm hanging by her side, the trickle of blood staining the water a rusty scarlet.

A florescent red strand of energy unbound itself from her consciousness, and that body assaulting drain struck again. It was considerably more taxing this time, and a tiny flow of blood emerged from her lips and down her chin. Avril wiped it away and looked at it almost in wonder. She was using too much too quickly.

Nontheless, she had to continue fighting. The strand of energy burst into thick, amber flames, and a black leather-like hilt formed at the lower tip. It was this that Avril grabbed as the formation of her weapon was complete. Sheathing Delano, Avril was forced to use the blazing whip in her left hand. It was less painful on her injury.

With the crackle of sparks and leather combined, Avril pulled back the whip and flicked her hand forward in an intricate, yet decisive motion. The whip flew forward, homing in on the woman's face like an uncoiling serpent, ready to strike. Avril would disfigure that pretty little face.

 

[Noblesse Oblige]

Carolina was able to score another hit on her opponent, the fact that it was her sword arm meant that she would not be able to hold her sword effectively in battle. A smart warrior knows that the trick will not work twice.

Watching her use another strand of energy, this time red in color. Carolina saw her opponent transform it into what looked like a whip made entirely of flames. With a flick of the wrist, her opponent's whip flew forward and caught a fatigued Carolina right on the cheek. She reeled back in pain, that strike left a bruise and first-degree burn on her cheek, on the center of it was a cut, and it was bleeding.

That little witch! Carolina had to admit. She pretty versatile in combat, but the fact of the matter was, this had to end now. Recovering from her opponent's last attack, Carolina ran forward, looking to end the battle once and for all. If her opponent attacked with the whip, she'll just have to be close enough, due to the fact that the damage caused by whips are generally reduced by range. If it doesn't work, she could just use her magic to shield herself from any further attacks.

 

[Gaige]

Avril had to fight to suppress a smile. The foolish little woman was rushing blindly forward, assuming her opponent was finished. Avril would soon have to teach her otherwise. She no longer had the ability to move rapidly, but she had the ability to cast magic.

Releasing the whip, she watched it disintegrate into an array of golden sparks, wheeling into the air and vanishing. She reached into her magical spring again, and drew out a small, violet rope of magic, manipulating it into a dagger of the darkest magical energy she could muster, then gripping it. A nosebleed joined the blood trickling from her mouth. She was weakening, and fast.

Striding forward, twirling the knife in her uninjured left hand, she watched the noble rush towards her. Now it all came down to this? Was the woman fast, or was she slow? Was she keeping her mind and her instinct? Or was the sheer adrenaline surge of battle too much for this one to keep mind and strength close at hand?

Now Avril was running too, a trail of her own lifeblood following behind. She could not run at full speed. Magical drain and her waist injury saw to that. But she could still run at the speed of a human, and perhaps that was all that she needed. Bringing the dagger formed of darkness forward in an attempt to pierce the woman's stomach, she spat out a glob of thick blood, and lunged.

 

[Noblesse Oblige]

Carolina saw her opponent's whip disintegrate and disperse, only to use a purple strand from within her. She then summoned the darkness to form a knife. El Pantera de Blanco knew that the witch was weakening, not that she wasn't that worse for wear herself.

Nonetheless, this battle was nearing it's end, the fight was nearing it's inevitable conclusion. There was no turning back now, no regrets. Everything rode on one final attack. Carolina saw the witch run towards her as well, trailing blood as she ran. Although she wasn't traveling at her top speed, the Felidian was still clearly faster than her opponent. She just had to avoid her opponent's knife attacks.

When Carolina got close, she used her peak-human agility, albeit slowed from the fatigue of battle to move away from her opponents stabbing motion, while swinging the sword towards her torso, around her lower ribcage area. In doing so, she avoided the knife attack to the stomach, but it would end up in her sword arm halfway through the attack. Carolina roared in pain, but the attack continued towards her intended target.

 

[Gaige]

A garglin croak sounded from Avril's throat as the sword sank into her rib-cage and continued on to cleave a massive gash in her heart. She could hear the loud, wet thud of her own failing heart as she prised herself off the blade once again.

Eyes gleaming with blood-lust and mania, Avril hugged her own ruined body to herself, swaying from side to side, not even looking at her opponent... her killer, for several seconds. A tiny smile turned up the corners of her lips. Then she looked at her opponent, smile unmoving, and wiped the blood from her face.

Then she laughed. A powerful and insane giggle that built up like a crescendo. Dying mirth. Tat's what it was. Dying mirth. It almost gave Avril comfort. Solace from the pain that wracked her body. This was her just reward. She had participated in a lifetime of murder, debauchery and dark magic. Justice had caught up with her.

Life well spent. Avril would do it all again.

A derisory sound escaped Avril's blood filled mouth as she tilted her chin at her enemy, an uncharacteristic, smug smirk adorning her delicate, blood-stained features. Turning away from her opponent, blood dripping into the sand and sea, still embracing herself in a semblance of a mother holding her child, she began to stumble down the beach.

She knew she wouldn't make it far. She knew by this sudden feeling of cold creeping up her legs and chest that death had come for her. The witch. The Ice Queen, the title she had thought up as a young girl. Still giggling with mania and a condescending smirk, she fell upon the golden surface of her beach, never to rise again.

 

[CassinoChips]

ORIGINALITY: Slight edge to Diar. Pretty basic fight on both ends, but Avril's different weapons tips that in her favor.

CREATIVITY: Slight edge to Kev. I liked the use of the blinding spell.

INTERACTION W/ ENVIRONMENT: Slight edge to Diar. He brought in the beach and water a little bit more than Kevin did.

READABILITY: Push. Small errors here and there on both ends.

YIELDABILITY: Push. I thought both characters took their fair share of blows, and reacted accordingly. To be honest, I could have stood to see a few less blows hit. i.e. more dodges/parries.

POWER-PLAYING/GOD-MODDING: Push. (No issues.)

Congrats, Diar/Lightning Farron.