The Forest Heart

A Deal's a Deal Part 1

Diamond watched as Raven climbed out of the pit, Ruby just behind her. He huffed turning back to the dimly lit hole, watching the cat pace nervously around the slowly healing man.

Raven sighed, dusting off her leather uniform. She wandered over to join him, smiling to comfort the nervous cat. Ruby snorted as she nudged Diamond making him chuckle as he rubbed her leathery head.

"Alright then, shall we start? All out fight for your freedom and theirs." Diamond suggested as he took back the vial that was offered. Raven nodded nervously as she glanced around.

"Is this supposed to be a sword fight? Cause I seem to have misplaced my weapon." Raven told him as Diamond considered it.

"Do you actually know how to use a blade?" Diamond asked, trying not to giggle at her stubborn scowl. So much like Lila.

"Yes, and I can prove it. Give me my blade. Come on. Let me show you." Raven growled as she waved her hand at him. She seemed more eager to prove she could fight than to simply fight for her freedom.

Diamond shrugged and clicked his tongue. Ruby hurried away, returning with a sword in her mouth. Raven took Seril cautiously, remembering what her spit did to Tristan.

"Mole hounds don't always produce acid spit. Only when they are eating stone. Your blade is fine, just covered in boring drool." Diamond told her as he commanded Ruby to sit still. Raven nodded, taking the blade, and holding it more confidently. Diamond worried that the girl trusted too easily. Either way, he had to give her a serious fight so that he could give an honest report. Win or lose.

Raven nodded once taking a defensive stance. Diamond pulled two smaller blades from his belt, twirling them lightly. He decided to make the first move charging forward. Raven had only trained with Hank, a man taller than herself. Adjusting to fight the man two feet shorter than herself proved more of a challenge. He couldn't reach higher than her stomach, so mostly focused on dealing damage to her legs.

Diamond got in a good jab at the back of her leg as he rolled by under her blade. Raven stumbled growling as she turned, blocking his blades. He wasn't going all out yet as he tested her abilities.

She decided to use that as a chance to adjust to his fighting style. Hank had taught her how to fight against swords, not much of anything else. Though she used her knowledge of basic hand to hand combat to gain some footing.

She needed to take out his balance as he spun and dodged her easily. A blow to the lower back would be effective though difficult. Unless she gave up her footing first. A gamble she was willing to make. Diamond started towards her as she rushed to meet him.

He dodged quickly to the side, twisting his body to catch her thigh with a blade. She fell forward using that momentum to roll and spin around. She braced her weight on her arms as she swung her legs out, kicking the dwarf hard in the back. Diamond flew into a wall, coughing at the impact.

"I'm so sorry! I misjudged the strength needed to slow you down." Raven gasped as she picked herself up from the floor. Diamond held up his blade, taking a second to catch his breath. Raven cautiously picked up her sword as Diamond nodded.

"This is a fight, not a friendly sparring match. You are supposed to take me out. I didn't pull my hits." Diamond grumbled as she dropped the blade to her side rolling her eyes.

"Yeah right. You look at me and think oh, what a weak little girl, I'm just going to mess with her a little and then use one move to end the battle. If you had really tried to cut me then you would have done more damage to my outfit. So please kindly stop messing with me and fight like you asked for or just surrender." Raven growled waving her hand at the scratched tunic.