Hot Chaos (M)

[visualspice]

OOC: A quick post in the mornin'~
Also,  we're at 28 pages now 8D

---------------

Katahnia gave a gasp when the sword came after her. It seemed their training was hardly over, even after a few clumsy steps. It made her smirk a little Cauwyn was being so serious in her training.  It reminded her of her own training. Her father was softer on her than her actual instructor, and she felt thrilled at the chance to have a real challenge set before her- a method and way to try to improve herself.

Raising her hand to defend, she felt his blade smack heavily against hers so hard it vibrated her blade fiercely, the sensation stinging her hands at she let out a grunt, nearly dropping her weapon but opened her eyes just in time to realize, even if she was keeping his sword back from slicing her, his shield would be ready to easily smash her against the tree.  Panicked, she kicked her foot out against his shield and tried pressing back on his blade, but he held it so tightly and fiercely against her own smaller blade, she ended up dropping it clumsily in her attempts, and the only thing she could do now was leap to her side in a roll to avoid either sword or shield coming after her, and found herself rising back to her feet, now swordless as she danced lightly, keeping her hands braced before her, trying to anticipate Cauwyn's next move.

[Doc]

OOC: Woo! 28!!

IC:
He hadn't expected to disarm Katahnia, but when he did it Cauwyn didn't even pause. She managed to jump out of the way just in time, his shield slamming hard and loud against the tree trunk she had braced herself against. Cauwyn whirled about quickly, shield first, and found himself facing an unarmed duchess. Once again he hefted his shield and steadied his sword, point first, pointing it at her from behind his shield.

"Do ya wanna try this without a sword?" Cauwyn asked with a only the hint of a smile. While he thought that it might be good training, even in his current state Cauwyn knew that maybe he was asking too much of the girl. After all, there weren't too many men who could survive once their swords left their hands. It was practically a death sentence on the battlefield. Luckily when Cauwyn was a child, Bryn had taught him to fight with his hands first. Elven techniques that were smooth used body momentum and joint manipulation over brute force, "Alls ya gotta do is say nah, an' I'll let ya pick it up.." and with that said, Cauwyn moved between her and her sword.

[visualspice]

Katahnia smiled and shook her head.
"No, I don't need it," she said, jutting her chin out just a bit in a show of arrogance and pride. "After all, I won't always have a weapon to defend myself against bandits or other cruel men." she reasoned, her green eyes sparkling. Gesturing to Cauwyn, she pressed, "Let's continue and see where this goes." but she wasn't about to make the first move this time, eyes going to where the sword was now, behind Cauwyn and on the forest floor, then back to him, eyes ever studying his face, his movement, his breath.
She nodded again, letting him know she was ready as she tensed, moving lightly on the balls of her feet and scouted the area, contemplating a new plan of action. It would be do or die if Cauwyn was actually a criminal, and she wanted to see if she could face this sort of challenge just yet.

[Doc]

Cauwyn flashed a brief, but proud, smile as she decided to continue. It faded away back into that hard indifferent mask, however, as Cauwyn began to slowly advance toward her. She was waiting for his move, which was good. Inwardly Cauwyn was very impressed with Katahnia's skill, though outwardly he showed nothing but restrained anger.

He feigned a forward lunge with his shield, but stopped up short on his lead foot. Forcing his weight back, Cauwyn pushed off with his rear foot and twisted at his hips, driving more power into his sword as it swung in a horizontal arc for her head. Realizing of course that she was unarmed, Cauwyn turned his wrist to present the flat of his blade to her. It slowed his swing down somewhat, but it was better than accidentally cutting off Katahnias head!

[visualspice]

Cauwyn's movements were slow, but purposeful, but also slower than hers, as she had no blade nor shield to bog her down.  So when he began to lunge at her with his shield, she was already dancing back a few paces and had enough momentum going to dodge easily out of the blade's path. However, he was forcing her in a direction away from her weapon, and she'd much rather be in a position to at least consider retrieving it. But if he were a smart 'villain', he'd know best to keep her away from it. But she had to think and had to think fast, lest she fall prey to the 'villain' before her.
Keeping quick on her feet, she looked for anything she could use to her advantage as she kept backing away, trying to keep her distance from Cauwyn as well as drag him away from her weapon so it could remain out in the open, rather than so close behind him.
However, she made no move to attack him, and kept her eyes solely focused on him, ever calculating on her next move.


OOC: Ever calculating, since her rper has no idea 8D *brain dies*

[Doc]

Cauwyn followed after her as she backed away, increasing the distance between himself and her sword. His focus was on Katahnia, perhaps a bit overconfident in his ability to keep her away from her weapon lying discarded on the ground. She was nimble and much quicker than he was, probably even if he wasn't weighed down with a shield and sword Cauwyn considered.

He gave her a few half-hearted swings of his sword, just to keep her on her toes and keep her guessing, cutting a few arcs through the air. Pulling his shield back against himself, Cauwyn launched himself forward in a sprint and lunged shield first at her, his sword held out trailing behind him. He was ready for when his foot landed to use his own momentum to throw himself around, bringing his sword back around for a vertical strike down onto her.

[visualspice]

Katahnia was light on her feet, hopping this way and that to remain out of his sword swings, but when he lunged forward, Katahnia found herself needing to tumble away, and she did it with a purpose, dropping to the floor and tumbling to his right, and at his side, rising back up in his blind spot before quickly backing away before he would follow through with another swing and-
held her palms out before her as she summoned a quick bolt of lighting that hissed between them-
Knowing it was coming, she shielded her eyes, but she hoped the lighting was enough to temporarily startle and blind her opponent as she turned tail and ran, rushing over to her blade and smiling once she retrieved it and smiling over at Cauwyn in triumph, only to realize, a moment later, the skies over head cracked with thunder. It seemed her magic caused the over cast skies to suddenly swell, and now rain began to fall. Blinking, she merely smiled and lifted her chin in a taunting manner, goading Cauwyn to press on as she twirled her sword with some finesse.

"I hope it's ok I use my magic," she said, eyes dancing playfully.

[Doc]

As Katahnia ducked and rolled out of the way, Cauwyns sword sliced through empty air. He grunted his displeasure at the duchess' speed and agility, whirling around to continue his attack as she disappeared behind him and toward her sword. He barely got a step before the bolt of lightning slammed into the ground between them.

While he wasn't exactly afraid of magic, it was definitely something Cauwyn disliked. For better reasons than most, as he had actually survived fireballs and lightning strikes just to name a few.. It didn't do much to endear the mystical to a person. And though magic didn't affect him, the blinding light created by the lightning strike certainly did. Cauwyn raised his shield defensively to protect his eyes, though he was hardly fast enough. As the light began to fade and his vision return, Cauwyn had to be begrudgingly impressed with her ingenuity.

"Fuck.." He growled, blinking his eyes repeatedly as it was now his turn to begin backing up defensively as he waited for his vision to return. Cauwyn raised his shield defensively, struggling to listen for her approach as dark shadows began to gain definition and become objects around him. Her smug comment garnered her a grunt, "Only fair fights th' one ya lost.." As thunder cracked above and rain began to fall, Cauwyn did his best to ignore it trying instead to focus on Katahnia..

[visualspice]

Katahnia smiled and gave a playful laugh, lunging forward with her sword as it poked at his shield. She could tell he was still temporarily blinded so she went easy on him, but not for long. Drawing her weapon back, she went back into a light dance before him, body becoming slicked with rain, hair matting down against her forehead as she struck out her blade a few times, trying to goad out his own.
"Come on, Cauwyn. How am I to learn to defend myself if you can't get past a little bit of magic?" she teased, knowing full well her trick was a little dirty- but she was still playful about it none the less.

[Doc]

As the rain came down upon them, the clang of Katahnia's sword on Cauwyns shield was lost in the thunder. He continued to back track, his vision returning well enough to begin putting more effort into blocking her blows. Her goading brought a smile to his face however and as his vision cleared Cauwyns attention shifted as he watched the rain fall over her.

"A'right.." Cauwyn said with a smirk, giving his sword a spin in his hand, "Ya wanna play like that, yeah? Well, lets up th' ante then, yeah?" Cauwyn readied his shield once more and cocked back his arm, again leveling his sword toward Katahnia, "How 'bout this? Winner gets th' loser, just like if'n this were real life, yeah? You get me t' yield, I'm yers for th' night. I get you t' yield, well.." He chuckled with a playful smirk, giving a slight shrug, "Ya can 'magine what I plan on doin' with ya.."

[visualspice]

Katahnia had been dancing about on her feet excitedly, but at the new prospect Cauwyn brought up, she paused, eyes going big.
"C-cauwyn!" she sputtered, shaking her head with a laugh. "What an awful-" She shook it away, sticking her nose into the air with a smirk. "So you're saying all I have to do is beat you in combat and you're all mine for the evening?" She narrowed her eyes playfully, twirling her own sword about at her side. "I suppose the horse could use a good brushing..' she began, suddenly lunging towards him, but with less effort, she was, after all, trying not to laugh.

[Doc]

He'd received the reaction he had been hoping for and his smirk grew a bit more smug as Katahnia sputtered over the idea. Capitalizing, Cauwyn prepared to launch forward with another strike when she responded with a threat of her own. He paused mid lunge, his eyes widening a bit and his mouth falling open.

"Wha-?" He snapped his mouth shut and scowled, moving forward with wide sweeping blows aimed to parry away her assault rather than use his shield. He kind of felt like hitting something! "Now that ain't even fair! Mine'd be fun for th' both of us!" He attacked again with renewed vigor, he'd be damned if he was going to brush one hair of that stupid horses hair! If it wanted to get brushed, it could do it its self!

[visualspice]

Katahnia let out a noise, and a laugh, feeling the numbing ring of her sword vibrating after his hit off of it. It was quite a fierce hit!  She nearly lost her grip and had to step away. Finding more strength on her grip to the hilt, she swung at him again, smacking her blade against his.
"What's wrong, Cauwyn?" she teased. "A deal is a deal." She danced lightly, scraping her blade down his in order to make the desired noise- a most irritating noise, like a hiss,  before smacking her blade yet again against his in a few quick hits.
"Besides, it would be appropriate you two spend some time bounding rather than hating one another," she said simply, still dancing about and throwing her blade with extra confidence and finesse.
By now the horse's attention had picked up as it swung it's ears in their direction, blinking somewhat in confusion as to what was going on. It very well knew that scowl the man wore and.. well...
He wanted to know why.

[Doc]

OOC: What!? Cauwyn meme! LOL! Love it!



IC:
"The more time we spend together," Cauwyn growled as sword rang off sword between the two of them, "the more I'm gonna hate that dumb beast! An' it," He ducked a swing and then swung back with his shield, missing with a frown, "is gonna hate me!"

Cauwyn spun his sword and stepped forward, no longer willing to stay on the defense. No, not when Katahnia had put such high stakes on their little game. Cauwyn had been trying to be cute, maybe a little distracting, but in the end they would have both had fun! Not now though, now he was actually worried about losing. About having to deal with that stupid horse and its dumb fur and it's giant hooves and giant teeth!

He twisted suddenly and pointed the sword tip in the direction of the confused looking horse, shouting, "I'll see ya in the nine hells 'fore I brush one 'air on your head!" And then he whirled back toward Katahnia, intent on making his statement true!

[visualspice]

OOC: I KNOW. It's great and amuses me terribly!

For as terrible as it would seem...
Katahnia was laughing when Cauwyn turned his rage suddenly upon the horse, and found herself stumbling a little bit when he upped the ante. It seemed his swings were much harder, more sharper, and with an aggressive intent.
Though she collected herself quickly, tucking back a smile as her sword bit sharply against his.

"Now, now, Cauwyn," she continued with her playful goading. "Every knight needs a trusty steed!" she pressed, dodging underneath another sword swipe and side stepping away with another bat of her own sword to his. "Have you never heard of all of those legends about the Calvary? And all of those knights riding gallantly across the battle field for love and virtue?" She smiled positively wickedly as she remained on the defensive, back stepping to avoid his more powerful swings as they met metal to metal before she caught his blade iwth her own and leaned in, glaring at him playfully.

"What if I were to get caught and you needed to rescue me and your only chance was to trust our horse?" she pushed a bit into their interlockign blade. "Am I doomed to fall prey to whatever this evil villain might hav ein store?" Smirking, she pushed again, sliding her sword up higher. "Or, will my valiant knight rise to the challenge?"

[Doc]

"A good set of long spears.." Cauwyn grunted out his words between the efforts of both attacking and defending himself in their dance of swords, "can bring down a cavalryman. Better t' be on the ground, where ya got room... t' maneuver!" His words were punctuated each with strikes Katahnia easily parried or dodges. When their swords locked, Cauwyn growled and pushed back, rising to the challenge.

"An' 'course I would come after ya.." Though Cauwyn was bigger and stronger, he was also wielding a bigger sword and a heavy shield. This meant that while their swords were interlocked, he only had one hand on his while she had both. Slowly, but steadily, Cauwyn was losing their duel, "An' if'n I had t' get there fast, yeah, sure.. I might need th' dumb thing. But, only if'n I would ever let that happen!"

As she pushed harder, Cauwyn had no choice but to step back and lose ground of face having his arm give out. He raised his shield, trying to brace his sword with it, but it was a temporary solution at best. Her last comment however broke his angry glare and a broad, wolfish grin split his lips as he looked at her past swords and shield, "An' I always rise t' the challenge, thought ya woulda learned that by now!"

[visualspice]

Katahnia smiled proudly at his comments. It made her feel good to know he wouldn't (at least not on purpose) let anything befall her. But as they kept parrying one another, she couldn't help but smile through a laugh at his last comment. If she hadn't have spent so much time with Cauwyn already, his lewd comment would have been lost.
"Cauwyn!" she chided, shaking her head, though her chastises did not deter her smile as it remained, un-erasable upon her lips. "But how can you rise to the occasion if you're on the ground after I kick out your legs?" she smirked, and before he might be able to answer, she pushed her sword heavily against his, then swung her arm out, freeing her blade and dropping suddenly to the ground, legs kicking forward and scissoring around his, hoping to drop him off his feet in one swift surprise.


... And for months, their relationship would last, until they ran into unrest further south. Turns out, Katahnia's family wasn't the only ones that had suffered mage oppression. And as Cauwyn and Katahnia traveled together, they eventually ran into a woman from 'The Free Folk', who was a free spirit, like the wind. Though times were tough, Katahnia and Cauwyn's relationship began to strain, and one night, upon coaxing Cauwyn into having a little fun with her, Katahnia found her lover sleeping with their friend.

Upset, Katahnia left him after a terrible fight, slapping him hard across the face and telling him she never wanted to see him ever again. It was here Katahnia's true journey began, where she met up with her Uncle in the duchy of Turgall, then found out she was pregnant. Keeping her identity and the birth a secret, she gave birth to Cauwyn's daughter while hoping to contact him one last time, as her heart still ached for her first true love, all the while she finds herself becoming betrothed to her cousin while her Uncle tries to help her find her way back into society...

Little did she know where her path would lead her to as Connlaoth was heading for war....
Would she ever see Cauwyn again? Would she ever be able to see her child again? And would her family's legacy ever be truly realized in a nation as closed minded as Connlaoth?

OOC: This ends this thread! Since the other player went MIA, I just summarized the events that we had plotted to have happen and more of Katahnia's adventures can be found in this thread: The Political Party.