Submersed within the silence of the night he found slumber against the trunk of a tree. The dark world whirled and swhirled about before bursting into an arrayment of color. Slowly the colors fanned and spread out, clustering together to finally form the appearance of the lake and its surrounding tree line. It was pitch black, the moon a mere sliver as it poised itself high in the sky above. It's light dim, as it allowed the enchroaching darkness to consume all around him.

Taking a few steps forward, he found himself confronted by the sudden appearance of a woman. Her eyes closed as she fell against him lifelessly, leaving him with no choice but to catch her in his arms and hold her so she wouldn't knock him down as well. Suddenly an overbearing shadow rose silently, began its way towards him. As it stepped out from the darkness, its features came into view. His eyes snapped wide as a lump gathered in his throat, a new fear rising inside of him as he stared blankly into the eyes of the man standing before him, which in all reallity was a mirror image of himself.

Jolting up into a sitting position, his eyes darted around him as his heart pounded swiftly. His chest heaved as he inhaled deeply and exhaled trying to calm himself down when found nothing was there. Lifting his hand to his face, he planted his palm against his forehead, “Why, why does this happen?” Out of anger his hand snapped downwards, coming into a hard contact with the ground, but doing more damage to his hand than the ground. Shaking his hand slightly to ward off the pain, he lifted his gaze up to the moon which hung high in the sky, full with its nature as it supplied ample light to see anything that wasn't shrouded by shadows. Pushing himself to his feet, he rose to an erect stance as he glanced around himself once more making sure that there was no one around.

Pushing forward from his right foot he made his way towards the lake, stopping upon its shore he dropped to a knee along the waters edge. Cupping his hands he submersed them beneath the waters surface, enjoying the cool touch of the water against his bare skin. Lowering his head, he brought his hands sharply up towards his face, splashing the cool liquid across his features as well as most of his clothes. Rocking back to his feet he rose to stance once more, his metallic hues drifted down to the languid waters, admiring the way the moonlight glanced off of its surface.

The moon struck the shadows that concealed her face with grace and poise, showing not but the pale, thin lips that seemed to curl into a beautiful and cruel smile. Her black, borderline ebony, eyes seemed to gently scan the area around her as her feet treaded softly on the ground. Her eyes did not change, and it seemed that the cloak -which shrouded her whole body and made her unseen- held something underneath it. Two blades, one resonating with flame and power, enchantments cearly running over each and every single fiber of the metal blade, including the edge and hilt, and the other beautifully decorated with silver roses and thorns, no current power resonating upon its blade, though it could be within the night. She was a moon elf, and they were creatures of the frost. She would not be surprised if her race and time had changed the blade by the end.

Lani was not one to entirely enjoy the night, more was she one to enjoy the day, she enjoyed neither. She enjoyed the period in between, the grace period in between night and day, the dusk and dawn of the day, though few actually paid close attention to these periods. She loved the magicks that ran through the sky at those periods of time, the Goddess of Night and the God of Day bringing magic -their magic- into the world and changing, shaping, molding the magic. She smiled gently, for she had met the Goddess of the Night, Laoura, once before. Not long, but they had met for a short period of time.

The sound of a man's voice echoed through the sky as the female stopped, her eyes focusing and her pointed ears extending and twitching to hear what is happening. She scowled with grace and she carefully began to pick through the darkness, her feet stepping through the hard ground as she stepped closer to the lake's surface, looking intently at a man who seemed to be angry at one thing or another. A simple smile appeared across her own face -she was not one to smile- and within several minutes it was gone. She sighed with intense frustration as she stepped from the shadows in her normal, cold, emotionless appearance and removed the hood of her cloak, her straight, raven hair tumbling down her back as she did so.

Cry at night, and danger comes, but cry at day, and the cruelty begins. Spoken by the Prophet Eltaria. Why yell, when in such a peaceful place, Sir.

At the sound of the voice he turned to find a woman standing behind him. Cautiously his hands moved to his sides, grasping the hilts of his swords, pulling them both from their sheathes at his waist. Flipping the blades in his hands, he regripped them, bringing the points to face the woman. He would be prepared if she decided any false moves, but she seemed unarmed. It was a common mistake of his to think of them unarmed and when the back was turned, it was only a matter of a blink of an eye and it was all done.

Staring blankly at her, his metallic eyes meeting hers, “When slumber comes so does the reoccuring nightmares that plagues the soul and mind. It's a hard thing to escape and comes when you least want it. I've gone many a day without sleep because of it, there seems to be no remedy for this sickness.” Lifting his gaze from the woman, they scanned idly across the tree lines hoping that no others had stumbled their way upon him. It was embarrassing enough to have this woman see him in his time of fright, let alone another person.

Again his thoughts traced along her words, studying them before speaking, “So by danger you're speaking of yourself? Why else would you be out here and preaching to me about such things?” Falling silent, he stepped forward a few paces and back onto the grass. He meant the woman no ill, but he had to find out the answers. Even if being brash was the only way of accomplishing it. He couldn't trust many people and he was hoping she wasn't amongst them, but he couldn't just drop his guard for simple hopes.

Do not be foolish. She muttered at the appearance of the blades. She was swift enough to chop both hands off before he could even attempt to stab at her. She was far from being a threat for him, though. There was no bounty in it at the moment, and he had yet to piss her off -she had no real reason to fight him. A simple, and dignant smile appeared upon her face as she cursed in a foreign language and scanned the area herself. She did not think anyone would be here tonight. She was here all night, almost every night, and she hated that some people even feared her truths, for she was much crueler then all the other people she had known. She could have killed him and re-taken her position in the shade, but instead she sat calmly and watched the sky, her eyes cold and cruel as she settled in the grass, several feet from the man.

He spoke again, this time coming closer to her, and the blade of flame with out of its sheath, in her hand, and to his neck before a fly could even react. Of course, it was a loose threat -she had no intention of killing him if she did not had to, for she was much to lazy today to kill him without being given cash to do so. She was not one to kill withou a specific reason. She smiled slightly, drawing the other blade in a similar motion from underneath her cloak. Come closer, and you shall not have anything left to hold those blades...Sir.

[meep...it sucks...I know....But...Meh...too tired...]

Feeling the heat of the blade against his throat, he held no reaction. His metallic hues snapped down to meet hers, staring into them coldly, before a malicious grin crossed his features, “Spare me...Oh please, I'm so afraid.” His tone was mocking, as the words left his lips. He held no place in his heart for scum like this woman, he hated how people openly threatened to get what they wished, sanctity. Why couldn't they just follow through with their intentions and be done with it instead of playing around foolishly.

Slowly he drew his left blade up to the sword at his neck, just placing the blade against hers and applying enough pressure to remove it from its position. Keeping his blade locked against hers, his right one moved swiftly up to towards her mid-drift, pausing the tip of the blade mere inches from her, “You even think twice about anything, I will make sure to remove your liver personally before I even decide to give up my life. Because if it's a fight you want, you're picking it with the wrong person and if you wish to find out, then by all means, proceed with what you intend to do to me.” Narrowing his eyes, he stared into her eyes, never moving and never blinking, as he spoke in a dry tone, “However, you have no intentions in fighting me do you? I mean if you had...You would have surely finished the job, before it even began wouldn't you?”

Laughing lightly, he simply shook his head as he took a few steps back, creating a neutral space between them. Sliding his right foot backwards, his weight shifting back upon that leg, as his left remained in front of him. Slowly he drew his left blade up to a vertical position in front of him, and his right to a horizontal position, it's tip pointing towards her. All emotion seemed to leave his face, as he again locked his gaze with hers, “Well, since you've started this mess, why don't we try to bring it to an ending. I'm not the one to fight a woman, no less one that seems to be quite skilled at her art. Honestly, I haven't seen many move as fast as that, so it leads me to one conclusion, that you're either assassin or bandit. Whichever it makes no difference,because anyway you shake it I'm the under dog and I'm going to love every minute of this win or lose. Though what you don't know is that I have a trick up my sleeve....Ooops I guess I gave away my secret.” A soft grin crossed his slender lips as he continued to toy with this woman as she had done to him, but she was messing with something that was far more important than she realized and that was his life. What she didn't realize though, he would go to ANY lengths to secure it even if it meant doing things that he wouldn't normally do, but as they say all is fair in love and war. And this was definitely war.

He was a fool for making the move in the first place. Her eyes flashed a dangerous hue as she coldly glared, the water like orbs flecked with beautiful gold contrasting against his flesh. The man was far from a fool for making the move, she soon decided as she continued her scowling glare- he was an idiot. Her words moved in a muttered word, which ended in a cruel and malicious laugh as he believed he could fight her. She wanted to slit his throat then and there. He was one of the dumbest people she had ever faced, for she was bright enough to know when to pick her battle. This man was a strange one, and at that, an extremely cocky one.

A battle I did not ask for sir, But if a Battle is what thou wishes for, then a battle thou shall receives. Do not mind me, I will just be the one taking your life today.

Of course, she would never speak the words that itched her tongue to be spoken. He was not the only one to have a trick up his sleeve, and at this statement she wished to give another of her laughs. Swiftly, she drew her enchanted blade of frost up in a single swift motion, slicing the air coldly as she crossed the blade with that of the scimitar of flame, mist slowly rising from their surfaces as she swiftly brought them in an ‘X’ like motion above her head, crossing them gently as she stared at the man with a smile.

Swiftly, much faster then this heavy man would be able to manage –or so she assumed, she moved the blades down, folding them around his neck and attempting to create a scissor-like motion as she sliced forward with this malicious smile on her thin pale lips. She swiftly abandoned these blades, dropping the scimitar of flame into the ground at her feet as she swiftly drew a small, circular disk from a circular sheath composed of black leather that was on her back, appearing as though she drew this smooth silver chakram from her sleeve, throwing it in a swift and fluid-like motion, the chakram of the New Moon flowing gently through the air.

Your not the only one with a trick up their sleeve She muttered as she drew the flaming scimitar from the ground and flipped it in her hand. This would be fun.

[Short and it sucks...Sorry]

((OOC: Ick, not one of my better posts, but I haven't fought since...6-7 months ago? Lol, so I'm a tad rusty and little blah, but I'll jazz it up as we get the ball rolling, no worries.))

And so it began, the two were locked in the intricate weave of life and death, both eager on doing the other in. Just like so many other battles, it began like a game of chess, each taking strides to feel out the other and then draw in the finishing blows; however, the woman seemed far too quick to bring this game to screaching halt.

Calculatively his eyes watched her ascent towards him, the blades boldly brandished in her hands before she came in a rush towards him. As she drew her blades down upon him in hopes of striking his neck, his only reaction was to move back from the attack, now finding himself upon the beach once again. His movement was now limited to forward and sideways, there was no more backing away for he now stood at the waters edge. Just as he stopped moving, he caught the movement of her arms for a brief second and tried his best to move off to the left, but with little success as he felt the blade graze across his right bicep.

Gritting his teeth, he felt the blood trickle down his arm from the now newly exposed wound. It wasn't a deep gash, but it was well enough where it would hinder a lot of his movements, but that all depended on how stubborn he was. A slight grin perched itself upon his lips as he glanced around for a moment. He knew she wasted a weapon in her arsenal, it was one trick up her sleeve that was now out of the bag and lost to the deep blue behind him. There was no way possible that the thing could have clearly made it all the other way to the other side, but yet it wouldn't suprise him if it had.

Keeping his position on the beach, he waited and waited for her next attack, allowing her to do all of his work for him. Surely she would come for him now that she saw the first opening of the battle and the first hopes of sealing it with a victory. Though, that was where she would be wrong, he had his own thing in store for her. Sliding back into his stance again, he nodded his head to her, “Whenever you're ready.”

Throw the weapon away? Ha! She was far from being that big of a fool. She flicked her wrist gently, a smile playing across her lips as she threw her hand up, the cool, circular silver disk floating back into her hands as she swiftly crouched in an elegant motion, the flaming scimitar once more spiked into the ground. She was far from being an amateur in battle, and she therefore knew what her precise movements were bringing on. This man should have known that a female with her skill and grace in battle would know the proper technique for throwing one of her throwing weapons in her arsenal so it would return to her after its unique attack. Her hand flew in a swift and fluid-like motion as it slipped back into the black leather sheath on her back. She was –once again- not a novice with her weapons.

She smiled the thin malicious smile as she threw away the cloak with a single flick of her wrist, pulling on one of the two sticks holding her hair together so the black tendrils of beauty cascaded down her back in straight locks of a raven’s feather. Her pale flesh shined slightly with the beauty of the night, and she seemed to be laughing inwardly at this man. He would know battle tonight. He would know damnation, and he would understand why she was so confident in her abilities. She was not a novice; she was advanced with her arsenal, training for hours upon hours with each weapon to perfect its skills. Of course, each had their own flaw, but she was fine with that, and understood her skills well enough to know her limits.

Her thin, slender, pale fingers wrapped around the leather hilt, a single smile upon the female’s face as she swiftly pulled the blade into her hand with a single twitch of her muscles, a laugh escaping her lips. This laugh seemed to echo along the lake’s edge, disturbing the water with quite some intent as the female seemed to wish to scream in passion. She loved battle, and of course she was not entirely sure if she would kill this man –was there any need to kill him? She would not need another corpse on her hands, especially if she intended to sleep here; of course for now she would calm herself and just not worry about anything other then this battle. She would decide on his death when he was graveling at her feet.

Oh, I believe it is your move, Dearest.

The grin remained, knowing that he picked the correct battle. This would be a battle to test his metal and everything his body had to offer, which suited him just fine. He was interested to see where his training had gotten him, to see to what extent he could push himself even through pain and suffering. He had no doubts about her abilities and actually figured as much from an assassin. There was no turning back, it would be decided here and now who would walk away and who would not.

Loosening his stance, his arms becoming lax at his sides as he simply stood, waiting. Inhaling deeply, his frame rocked backwards, arching his back before snapping it forward as he broke off into a swift rush towards her. His speed was not that of a human's but that of a demon's, swift and decisive. As he neared the woman, a red glow flashed across his eyes as he sharply drew his right arm upwards, bringing the blade swiftly in front of face in a diagnal fashion. As he followed through with the anticipated strike, barely missing her, his right knee lifted sharply and to the mid-drift of the woman as he thrusted forward.

He was no fool when it broke down to a fight, so if the woman thought she was going to be able to coast through it with no problems, she was sadly mistaken.