Songs of Souls

021: The Spark in the Wind

- - - < ooxxoxxxx > - - -

Their movements became a maelstrom. Kleinnard attacked, spiraled slashes, a slithering coil of wind – leaves swirling around him as he swung his blade. Siebea countered with a barrage of crackling strikes, her daggers streaking straight, angled like arcing bolts of lightning shattering the darkness.

Siebea, a blur of purple and lightning energy, vaulted into the air. Kleinnard mirrored her, a whirlwind of fury. The trees became their stage, branches snapping beneath their feet. With a roar, Kleinnard lunged, his blade slicing an arc. Siebea countered, a backflip carrying her over the attack. She landed, daggers flashing, and struck. The forest echoed with thunder, sparks showering where their weapons met.

They traded blows with dizzying speed, neither gaining a clear advantage. Siebea's lightning was swift, but Kleinnard's wind blade deflected each strike. She parried, twisted, and danced around his spiral assault. His attacks were relentless, yet Siebea's footwork was like quicksilver, finding fleeting gaps in his defenses. A graze here, a glancing blow there – the fight was a whirlwind of near misses and desperate counters.

The escapees, battered and weary, eyes darted to follow the deadly dance. The wind whipped their hair back, their eyes stinging from the swirling dust. Every few seconds, the clashing blades would separate, only to erupt again in a flurry of sparks and wind.

Kleinnard snarled, his attacks growing more frenzied. Siebea unleashed a crackling flurry. Kleinnard's wind blade flickered but held. The air thrummed with volatile energy, a storm on the verge of breaking as lightning and air energies danced on the edge of destruction. Then...

Their weapons met with a resounding boom, the force of the impact sent tremors through the ground.

- - - > xox K•A xox < - - -

Kleinnard grinned right in her face. This newlight just got interesting.

His Wind Hanger wailed as he channeled his energy, forcing her back. The chit had some bite, he'd give her that, but beneath that tough act, he saw the same scared pup he'd cornered all those years ago. Sparks showered from their locked blades, the goggles in her forehead glinted. Her straining arms and trembling grip fueled his growing smirk.

With a yank, he wrenched his blade free and leaped back. "Siebea, you worm! Finally showed your ugly mug, huh?"

A snarl ripped from his throat as he lunged, his blade a twisting blur aimed for her neck. A violet flash, ozone stinging his nostrils, and the blighted annelid was gone. Empty air where her head had been a moment ago.

His fingers dug into the hilt as he activated the Direction attribute. He willed more energy to the Wind Hanger, the roar vibrating through his arms, eager to rip and tear. "Felid Noise: Leonine Roar!" The wind obeyed, a cyclone swirling around the blade. Let the worm try to hide in this.

A sharp pop to his left, and he barely had time to think before whipping his blade up... The impact rattled his teeth, and he gave ground, a predator momentarily on the back foot, but not beaten.

"Heh! Not bad –" The words choked off as a violet blur zipped past his face, close enough to shave him. He twisted, a hair's breadth from getting his ear lopped off by the annelid's blade.

He swung, a roar of wind, like a beast unleashed from his sword. The annelid scrambled back, shredded lichtwyrt leaves marking her retreat. The sharp sweet tang of the crushed herbs hit him – the stench of his coming victory.

"Go!" Siebea barked at the rats. "Move!"

He lunged towards the vermin, but the blighted worm slammed into him, forcing him back. Rats! They even got that badger girl! Where'd those slippery vermin disappear to?