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Tweak says, "Venus is made out of felt."

Kadaj (mothersbestson) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-09-05 20:26:00

Entry tags:

complete, day 14, kadaj, xena

Day 14 Duel
Who: Xena and Kadaj
When: Day 14 morning
What: A challenge of swords
Where: Outside between resort and river
Rating: pg
Status: Finished

Waking early and eating alone in his room, Kadaj went out to the balcony afterward. He stared through early mist in the direction of the mountains, sitting still as silence on the railing with his feet hanging down over the grounds below. While the day brightened the mist seemed to retreat far up into the sky. Whispy clouds hung high over the mountains, perhaps even over the desert beyond. He lifted his face into a lightly stirring breeze, closing his eyes while the scents of Mirage teased him. Flowers and plants from the garden -- too sickly sweet, a salt tang from the beach area, drier air from the heights -- all of it seemed fresh and new.

After a moment, he leapt from the railing. Had anyone seen this, they might have thought a piece of sculpture suddenly came to life. He landed lightly, slowing down just before touching ground. What followed was anything but slow. Kadaj ran around the dorm buildings the moment he landed. He ran until he found himself in the middle of a large expanse of grass. The resort waited on his right while to his left a river flowed.

"Show yourself, Mirage!" he yelled without warning, brandishing his double-bladed katana. "I want to meet you!" He twirled around, swinging the sword with a great roar disturbing the clean air. Following a succession of different swings and imaginary blocks, he decided to leap up high high higher until he was well above the scenery, much further up than the roof of the resort. There weren't any ruins of tall city buildings for him to see so it was all too easy spotting the golem-thing that had arrived.

Kadaj landed nimbly. He crouched down immediately and took a low slash at the golem with the pebbled face. The creature had been sent with its own sword so Kadaj exploited his practise partner. Stabbing, thrusting, dodging, he yelled again: "Is this all you sent, Pebbleface? I want to talk... to you... Planet! Not Pebbs!" At least the golem moved better than one might expect so he did get a good workout for an hour, maybe longer.

"Do you give up, Loz? Surrender, Yazoo! At my feet, Pebbs!!" he roared in imaginary combat and suddenly stopped, for a moment frozen like a statue. Kadaj was in a fighting stance, Souba raised high to strike. The golem didn't have to look in the direction of someone watching; Kadaj had already sensed the presence of a real person.

He lowered his sword without sheathing it. Kadaj whirled to observe his observer, who turned out to be another person he hadn't yet met. He bowed his head deeply to greet a woman who commanded immediate respect.

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bravely
2008-09-05 10:53 pm UTC (link)

Rolling out of bed wasn't entirely as easy as it had been during the hurricane. The roaring wind wasn't keeping her just on the verge of sleep and awake. She slept deeply without disturbance. Although that damnable nagging in the pit of her stomach never ceased, it was something she learned to live with. It was like morning sickness, although not quite as localized.

Leaving Gabrielle still sleeping, she rose and readied herself for the day. She donned the familiar leathers and bronze armor, complete with armbands, gauntlets, knee high boots and scabbard. Her chakram and whip were also attached to the hooks at her waist. She'd been getting some good workouts in the last few days, but she hadn't done anything the day before and she was feeling the need to practice.

She wanted to take advantage of the nice weather. The hurricane several days ago was still on her mind, and she didn't want to be indoors if it wasn't necessary. Exiting her room, she headed for the open fields. In the far distance she could barely make out a couple of figures. As she neared, she recognized the familiar build of a golem. The other figure was not as recognizable, though he ought to have been with the white hair.

She could see that he was young, in appearance least ways, and rather short, for a male. She stood some distance away and watched as he fought with the golem. The golem actually defended itself, though it didn't do much in the way of offense. She crossed her arms over her chest and settled in. The young man didn't seem to notice her presence for a while. But when he did, he and the golem stopped sparring to stare.

He bowed his head, and she smiled slightly, bowing in return before she dropped her arms at her sides and stepped forward. "Not bad, kid." She held out her hand to shake his. "My name is Xena."

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