A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory (Rhi)

[paganchick]

Sapphira shrugged as she looked up at him, seeming completely unfazed by his harsh language.
"You are the one who asked for it, you can blame no one but yourself, you were over confident. I say it is about time karma come around and bite you on the ass," She pointed to the dragon teeth around his neck as she finished speaking, his next answers would determine whether or not he would die.

"How did you get those dragon teeth? I suggest you be honest my friend, more for your benefit than my own, because there is only one thing that I hate worse than a dragon killer, and that is a liar," Sapphira spoke slowly, her eyes growing hard as she stared at him.

[Rhindeer]

Malak stared back at her, unflinching. He had no reason to lie.

How do you think I got them?" he said, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. The contact stung and made him hiss in pain, and it would be difficult to hold it with his hands wounded, but he would have to push through it; he was no stranger to injury. "I killed them."

[paganchick]

Sapphira's face twisted in rage, her body trembling in anger, she felt her body temperature.
"They were only children, do you kill human children as well you heartless wretch?" She spoke, her grip tightening around the sword in her left hand as she reached back with her right, pulling the sword from its sheath.

"You think you are in pain now, you haven't even begun to feel pain yet, I will have your soul begging to be released from your body before I am done," Sapphira spoke, her face seeming to calm, her eyes seeming almost serene.

[Rhindeer]

Malak's face twisted at her question. "Of course not. They're human. I only hunt beasts," he said, and painfully drew his sword, hissing a breath through his teeth. He slid into a defensive posture, sword raised and body turned to provide a smaller target.

"What do you eat, dragon? Do you hunt plants and berries and chew grass like a cow, a peaceful little herbivore? Or do you hunt and eat animals?"

[paganchick]

"What exactly makes something qualify as an animal to you, the way you are acting makes you more like a beast than myself, you are the animal between the two of us. A selfish cold hearted egotistical beast. You clearly have no thought about anyone but yourself, like most humans, and that will be your downfall," Sapphira spoke, eyes raging but voice calm.

A circle of fire surrounded the two, he wouldn't be able to run away. The fire wasn't like normal fire though, it didn't spread or burn out. Just burned waist high intense flames.

"If you believe in a god I suggest you pray to them now, pray for your soul."

[Rhindeer]

Fire surrounded them and Malak could feel the intensity of it on his skin, through his clothes. Perspiration began to bead along his body from the sheer heat of it, slicking his palms and making him glad of the leather binding around the sword's handle.

He adjusted his grip and watched the dragon-girl, expression calm and eyes focused.

"Ah. How gracefully she dodges the question!" he remarked, and began to circle along the ring's perimeter, sizing her up. "If we're going to play the moral game, ask yourself the same question. What is your answer? Do you not kill? Poor, innocent animals that all have mothers, perhaps 'children' of their own. But do you not eat them?"

[paganchick]

"There is a difference between killing an animal with higher intelligence, like you or I or an elf, than killing a rabbit or a wyvern that isn't of higher intelligence," Sapphira spoke taking a deep breath, adjusting the grip on her sword.

She had  done her fair share of killing higher level intelligence beings, but never without a just cause, never for money or for sport, it was always to revenge her fallen dragons, killing the ones that had killed them.

[Rhindeer]

"Ahhh, I see! So you're the great arbiter of whose life is worth more or less than others, are you?" Malak said with a cheery smile. "I'm afraid the rabbit will disagree with that. But whatever makes you feel high and mighty and moral."

He tilted his head curiously as he watched her, then held out a hand, palm up, and made a beckoning gesture. "Well? Are we just going to stand here all day or are we going to do this thing, whatever it is we're doing?"

[paganchick]

Sapphira laughed at his words, completely amused by them, wasn't he such a hypocrite. He kills a dragon because he sees a dragon as an animal but a human would be a different story. She saw the man as pathetic, really. She saw his mind as small, of course how could a being with such limited years hold any true wisdom.

"You seem to be in quite a bit of a hurry to die child, plus, it isn't polite to rush a lady, of course manners is something lost to most humans, so I will not hold it against you," Sapphira added with a dark chuckle, taking her time.

[Rhindeer]

Malak snorted a laugh. "You sure talk a lot. Now are you going to kill me or what? Or..."

He gave a little shrug. "Perhaps you're afraid?"

[paganchick]

"Your immature attempt at an insult might enrage others of your species, but that is because they too are immature and lack the confidence only wisdom and age can give. I don't have to prove myself to you and I don't care what you think," Sapphira replied, a broad smile on her face. Was she annoying this man, was he himself growing fearful. Was he so dense that he didn't think she could just set him ablaze? She could, but she found it very inhumane.

[Rhindeer]

Malak held up one hand and made a talky gesture with it. "Still with the talking. I have half a mind to think you have no idea what you're doing."

And then, no sooner had he spoken that last word that he gripped his sword and came at her, sword arcing.

[paganchick]

Sapphira laughed, this human was absolutely funny, or at least she thought that. She wasn't a bit surprised when he attacked, she was actually waiting for it, humans were always so impatient, or course with their short lives she could understand why.

Sapphira brought one sword up, blocking his attack gracefully while bringing her other sword to slash across his midsection.

[Rhindeer]

He saw the other blade come and was quick to swing his sword down to block it, but that left his upper torso vulnerable again. Acting fast, he swung his sword up again, hard and fast to try and force her to block, and used the motion to bring him in close to her--a risky move, but he wanted to end this fast. Up close to her, he wasted no time in aiming a hard, downward kick for her right kneecap.

[paganchick]

Sapphira let the momentum of her swing turn her, only flashing her back to him for a brief blink of an eye. The hand that would cross him first had changed its grip on her sword. Now holding it backwards, she aimed it, planning on impaling him with it. She used her other sword to block him, seeing him moving in she knew he would go for a body shot. So the moved the sword not blocking hard down, if he kicked her, he would receive a very nasty cut.

[Rhindeer]

Unfortunately, his kick was already in motion.

Malak struck her knee, but her sword struck him, sliding into his side. He made a choked sound--less because he actually felt it with adrenaline pumping through his blood and shock taking over, and more because he saw it happen and it was a very surreal, strange sensation--and went very still, his sword still locked with her blocking sword.

His body hadn't yet caught up with what had happened, but he knew. And he knew this was bad.

Shoving against her sword, he yanked himself backwards--and off her sword--and stood there, wide-eyed and breathing hard as blood began to soak through his clothes. Shakily, he fell back into a defensive stance. Still no pain, still that surreal sense of being outside himself, but it wouldn't last long and he had no idea how badly he was injured; this needed to end now.

He went for her again, thrusting for her middle.

[paganchick]

Sapphira stumbled back as his kick landed, but let a dark smirk creep across her face as she felt her sword land true. He had made a mistake, and now he was going to pay for that mistake, that simple. Even a being with his level of intelligence could understand that much, though he would not like it.

Sapphira dodged, stepping back with a smirk, time would kill him now, she would have to do no more, just watch and wait.

The fire that was at one point waist high was now completely gone. She didn't sheath her swords, but she had no intentions to use them in a offensive way.

[Rhindeer]

She dodged, and it was in that moment that he saw the flames were gone.

Screw the dragon-girl. No beast was worth dying over.

And so Malak bolted--to the left, so as not to turn and put his back to her, sheathing his sword as he went. He clutched at his wounded side as he went, and blood seeped through his fingers as the first hints of pain began to come. Not good. Even worse was the dizziness that came with the movement, and the blackness creeping in at the edges of his vision.

[paganchick]

Sapphira sheathed her sword, seeming rather relaxed. She wasn't going to run after him, no he wasn't worth it when it would be so easy to track him. He was leaving a trail of blood, and with her acute senses, he would be no problem to follow

She she let him run off and she walked behind him, following his trail at a pretty leisurely pace.

[Rhindeer]

Malak's goal was to get back to camp and quickly, for that was where all his supplies were. There he could assess the damage and use what knowledge he had to patch the wound. He was no healer, but when one had such a dangerous career that caused frequent injury, one learned a little about how to tend to their own wounds.

That was the plan, in any case.

Plans had a habit of not always panning out.

Dizzy from blood-loss and weak and shaky from pain, Malak eventually reached a point where he could go no further. Stumbling, he fell--and had no energy or strength to pull himself back up.

Breathing heavily, he propped himself up against a tree's trunk and lifted his hand so he could study his injury with failing vision. He grimaced at the sight, then gave a bitter laugh. Ha. Wow. What a way to go.

Even in that state, he had to find a little humor in the whole dragon-slayer getting slayed by a dragon angle. But maybe that was deliriousness talking.