Fight with Shadows (Txgamepro x CirindeFae)

[Txgamepro]

(ooc: Hope I spelt her name right)

The sound muffled around her as her eyes search the field during the tournament. She could feel her opponents metal armor resound off the hard ground as she raises the double - edged axe over her head and swings. A satisfying crack is head as she could feel the axe cut through her opponent. The muffled sound ends as she hears cheers and raises her axe high in the air as she returns to the place called 'The Pit.

The era at the time was during the Roman Empire, a gladiatrix was her profession since it was the only thing she was trained to do. The people of this time all were all of animal based to which the gladiatrix was a rather unique one: a woman with dragon traits, minus the wings. A guard inside the city of Mediolanum, who was also the arena quartermaster/ battlemaster, walked into 'The Pit' as was called by gladiator's. He stands and shouts "Rithux!" he yells as the only female gladiator stands up "Your payment" he finishes. He tosses the small bag of ten Solidus coins as her dragon tail catches the bag. She returns to her bunk in the pit as she removes her armor to fix it and puts her axe among the other weapons she used skillfully in the field of battle.

[CirindeFae]

She sighed, her lithe form reclining comfortably in a wide open room. Living in the lap of luxury was a great thing but it did virtually nothing for her boredom. Such boredom was the cause of her sigh and the light nap she'd been taking. Slowly her bright teal eyes opened and she sent the around the large room. She'd heard the footsteps of someone entering her home. Ears twitching, she shifted to fold her arms up under her allowing her long hair to hide her bare chest and pool in front of her. At the entrance to her room, she could see a servant's shadow on the other side of the curtain and allowed for a smirk. Her servants only did that when there was a client on the other side. They never entered with them.

"Go ahead. Let 'em in." She said, not caring that she was nude upon her sofa or that her tail was twitching wilding in the open. As soon as the words left her mouth the shadow in front of her curtain of a door moved off to the side to be replaced with another broader shadow that soon intruded upon the solitude of her room. From her couch on the other side of the room she could see that her bare form had her client a little uncomfortable and it caused her to smirk and slowly rise into a properly seated position. Crossing her legs under her, she reached for her dress which had been tossed on the back of the sofa and tugged it over herself.

Once dressed her company seemed to relax some and moved to sit across from her on the sofa. "Greetings. What's the nature of this afternoon's visit?"

"I've got a matter that needs dealing with. Delicately." The words caused her to smile.

"I'm going to assume you've got the wrong person," She said. They were the key words for any of her arrangements. If the person seeking her services wasn't aware that she used them to make sure the person was indeed looking for a moonlighting assassin, those words were intended to get the unknowing person to leave. If they knew, there was a certain phrase they were to reply with.

"Begging your pardon but the sun is nigh." The phrase was exact. This client knew what she did and required her services. Lucky for them, she charged very little for her expertise.

"Too true. Very well. What can I do for you?" Her client extended a piece of paper towards her that had been pulled from the folds of their clothing. Taking the paper she examined it closely and started to frown. "What you ask won't be easy. I'm going to have to charge more than what you have been told." Her client seemed to think twice about what they were asking before heaving a sigh and asking how much more she'd charge. "Not much more. What's in your pocket should be enough." It didn't matter how much her current client carried as she was wealthy without her moonlighting, but she couldn't do a job for free so whatever they had would be all she'd ask. It really helped though that clients often came to her with stuffed pockets just to make sure they could afford her services.

She watched as her client frowned then tugged a small pouch of their clothes and set in on the sofa between them. She could easily gauge how much was in it due to her wealthy background and gave a smile and a nod. "That will be plenty. You'll receive a letter when the job is done." She added and the person sitting across from her was obviously relieved. They stood and moved to leave allowing her to return to her solitude before a servant came in.

"Lady Cassia, your meal is waiting for you."

She smiled softly, her moonlighting persona having been replaced with the docile one her family and servants were familiar with. "Thank you. I'll be out shortly." She replied and returned her attention to the paper left behind by her client. On it was a rough drawing of what she assumed was a gladiator. That wasn't what had caused her to charge more though. No, gladiators as a people were easy to deal with. It was the beast part of this particular one that had her charging more than the basic rate. A dragon was nothing to sneeze at, even for an unusual creature as herself. With a small sigh she stood up from her sofa and moved to finish her dressing then ventured out of her room to eat her lunch. She would begin her work once the sun was down.

[Txgamepro]

The crowd continues to cheer as Ingeir brings the sword around and disarms her opponent before ending his life with a swift slice. She raises her sword once more and roars in victory as she looks around the battlefield. It was the afternoon as the battlemaster had made the match for her to fight ten gladiators at once with only her armor and a longsword as an attempt to make sure she 'accidentally' passed in combat. Ingeir sighs as she holsters her sword "Such weak whelps: tigers and wolfs, hope the gods have mercy on you" she thinks as she walks to The Pit with her hips swaying. It had been a while since she could actually relax as she finds a letter on her cot stamped with battlemaster symbol. She cuts open the letter to which it reads that she has one final match before she may rest, against a snake woman. Ingeir is not surprised, they had made her fight other gladiatrixs from other cities as some of which were mammal looking, this snake woman may prove a challenge for her as she smirks before starting to sharpen her halberd.

The battlemaster was worried though, he was losing more money than ever with Ingeir winning and not having more gladiators. He decides to invite a noble to increase income for the tournament as he finds a small boy and gives him a package "Deliver this to this specific home" he says as he pays the kid ten Solidus as the kid runs to deliver a invitation to Cassia to attend the gladiator match.

[CirindeFae]

She had just finished her lunch when a boy rushed in with a letter for her. Wide teal eyes took in the shape of the boy as he bowed and thrust the letter towards her. A single ear turned back, expressing her caution of taking the folded paper, and her fingers slipped over the paper to bring it closer to her for reading. Quickly she shot him a look to see if he'd dart away or not upon her opening it then proceeded to unfold it while keeping her gaze pinned to the boy. As he didn't seemed concerned about the letter she turned her attention away from him and down to the paper in her hands and read the words. Her brow furrowed at what she was reading and her other ear turned back. To be 'invited' to a gladiatorial match was rather presumptuous of the battlemaster. If she wished to attend, she'd be there. It made her angry but that was an emotion best suited for filing away and dealing with during her late evenings. Heaving a heavy sigh, she turned her pointed ears forward and shooed off the boy without telling him whether or not she intended to do as requested. She needed to think on it.

Handing the paper to the nearest servant, she instructed its burning then moved to push a hand through her loose hair and over her ear in a calming matter. Slowly she turned from the servant and the dirt left on the floor from the boy and made her way back towards her room, the tip of her tail sweeping the ground as she moved. Should she actually attend the bloodfest? If she did it would give her an opportunity to observe her target. If she didn't well she'd save her family money and she'd get to relax longer. Both options were appealing and had their advantages so it came down to what she really wanted to do or what really needed doing. Did she need to relax and take a few extra days to figure out the perfect time to do the 'deed' or was it best to learn all she could about her target's fighting style and then just pounce? Putting it in those words the best option became clear and she huffed at herself then headed up to her room to change into proper outing attire.

Dressed appropriately, or as appropriate as she could get while keeping to tight clothing, she left her room and started to head outside. "I'm headed out," She grumbled to the servants then exited the house headed for the arena where her mark was working. She'd watch the dragon for a few hours then head home and start working up a plan to get her job done.

At the arena, she folded her arms over her chest her docile personality having given way to her assassin nature. Wrapping her fingers around the pouch of Solidus she kept in her sleeve she looked over the building in vague hopes of spotting the battlemaster so she could give him a stern talking to then throw the money he surely wanted at him. Afterwards, if he was unlucky, he just might find her blade embedded in his chest while he slept but that all depended on how he handled himself during their conversation.

[Txgamepro]

The crowd cheers as horns below out there song as the battlemaster stands in the center of the arena "Ladies and gentlemen! We have a special match for you today!" he calls out as the crowd goes silent. He turns and sees Cassia amongst the crowd as he smirks "We have a once in a lifetime opportunity for two gladiatrix's to fight for there lives!" he yells as his fangs show and the crowds cheers again. He motions to a gate on the left side of the field "From the city of Athens champion, we have the serpent of tactic and poison.... Kalax Viper!" he calls out as the gate opens. A serpent like woman walks out with a shield and sword in heavy armor as her tail sideslide across the dirt. Through the armor are a few hints of red and yellow scales as she hisses behind the helmet. The battlemaster motions to the right side of the field as the gate opens "Fighting against our own champion... Ingeir Dalah Rithux!" he calls out as the crowd cheers. Ingeir walks out with only a right shoulder pad and a left leg greave as she carries a broadsword out into the field as the sun shows her black scales and tail.

The battlemaster smirks "You know the rules, first one dead loses" he says as Kalax and Ingeir grip there weapons tightly. The horns sound as the gladiator's start to clash as in the first few seconds Ingeir manages to knock off Kalax's helmet as she uses her broadsword hilt to stagger Kalax back a bit before studying her for weaknesses.

[CirindeFae]

Cassia was extremely irritated to at the arena making it difficult to rid herself of her assassin's persona. Grumbling quietly, or hissing as it surely sounded like to anyone nearby, she forced herself to get comfortable in her offered location where the fight would still be visible. She sat there, her ears folded back expressing her irritation, and listened as the battlemaster announced who would be fighting. It was hard to less interested but some how she managed despite the fact that her most recent target was taking part. Heaving a sigh, she rested her chin in her hand and stared blankly out at the arena. Despite that, she was watching this dragon woman intently attempting to learn everything she could.

[[Poor post is poor. Apologies. Not much I can do with what I was given.]]

[Txgamepro]

The battlemaster sneaks out and into civilian clothing as he takes a seat near Cassia without knowning "Alright you bloody serpent make sure she doesn't win" he mumbles under his breath as he watches the fight. Kalax shakes her head as she charges dodging a swipe from Ingeir's broadsword as she manages to knick the dragon's arm before rolling away from a downward slash. Ingeir steadies herself, her opponent was faster than expected in heavy armor as she raises her sword before swiping her tail to bring Kalax down, but to her surprise the serpent manages to dodge the tail but not the sword as it knocks her helmet off and into the stands. Kalax shakes her head as she hisses at Ingeir before charging once more. Ingeir steadies herself as she suddenly feels wozzy "What's this? Posion?" she thinks as she dodges the daggers, but not before almost hitting the ground. The serpent finds the opportunity to strike, yet gets deflected by the sword as Ingeir trips and disarms Kalax. The dragon places her foot on the serpents neck and with sword to head waits as she hears mix shouts of "Kill!" and "Spare!" from the crowd as the battlemaster growls "If that serpent doesn't get back up soon and end her it's back to the slave pens for her" he says again under his breathe.

Ingeir sighs as she stabs the ground next to Kalax's head and lifts her up before grabbing her sword and walking back to the other side of the arena "If you are to die, then do so in honorable combat" Ingeir yells as she grips her sword. She looks into the crowd seeing the battlemaster and Cassia as she licks her dragon lips and growls with her tail sweeping the ground.

[It's alright, I'm not much good myself Fae]

[CirindeFae]

Cassia despite already being disinterested in the fight lost even more interested in it. Just as the fight came to an end, she stood and straightened her attire. "What a waste of my time." She commented as she started towards the exit. "I doubt I'll be coming back." She added, aware of who the male was who'd appeared near her during the fight. Dissatisfied at the waste of her parents money, she moved to disappear quickly. Even if she wasn't pleased, she needed to take a trip down to where the dragon woman was being kept. She'd witnessed the force with which the snake had struck so now she needed to know just how thick the dragon's scales were which meant she needed to see the full extent of the damage.

Slipping into the gladiatorial chambers was easy, especially since she was capable of slipping through spaces must too small for most creatures and climbing up to others that couldn't support a heavier beast. Eventually she found a trace of the dragonwoman. Stealthily she stalked the higher ground, following her to see if she showed any signs of injuries or perhaps some sort of mental instability.

[Txgamepro]

Ingeir walks past the gladiators as they step out of the way, as per champion part. She enters the area made only for gladiatrix's as she sees the serpent woman get stripped of armor and weapons before being hauled off by wealthy looking merchants, possibly slavers since that's the most likely outcome for gladiatrix's losing. Ingeir sharpens her sword as she sits on her small bed as she hangs her armor to fix up for tomorrow's match which will lead to her freedom as per the deal of the battlemaster. She sighs as her mind starts to wander back to slave days. A few minutes later her eyes open wide as she shakes her head "No more, I will be free even if I have to kill that son of a bitch" she says softly with a growl as she looks up and sees the sun has become afternoon.

After fixing up her armor and weapons she feels a presence as she stands in the training circle. She looks around and doesn't see anyone as she holds her sword at her side. She looks up, but still doesn't see anyone. She shakes her head as she enters her room and starts to sharpen her sword while keeping her back against a wall for protection.