Ra'ishi vs Whisper

[Tiko]

Combatants: Ra'ishi vs Whisper
Combat System: SC's T1
Match Type: 1 vs 1/Closed
Match Status: Started
Winner: -Pending-​

The Arena: For nearly half a mile the twisted scar of barren earth stretched, torn asunder by some colossal force. Among the twisting eddies and tracks of sand scoured to stone, new life was taking root. The forest, undeterred by catastrophe, reclaimed much of the blast zone reducing its original size to a mere half of what it once was. Still erect despite time and wear stood the ancient observatory, its magic now defunct as the forest reclaimed it. The tilted edifice rose over fifty feet into the air, the top sections having fallen to the ground below.

Forest: In all directions surrounding the Blast Zone.
The Encroachment: The section of especially sparse forest growing anew in the blast zone. On the norther edge it runs all the way up to within a few yards of Observatory.
The Blast Zone: Barren destroyed earth running in trenches and spires in a thin oblong shape for nearly half a mile.
The Observatory: A tall crumbling tower, the top third of which has collapsed to the east - remaining mostly intact despite its fall.

 

[Lobos]

Light footfalls amidst the trees, a slinking shadow slipping between the moss covered trunks. Deftly evading the sunbeams that pierced the leafy canopy here and there, it made its way on an unerring path for the edges of a crater, amber eyes gleaming as it paced itself. Intent unknown, for despite only brief glimpses of its form, one could perceive that this was obviously no man. Too dark, its gait too...

...inhuman.

Instinct and perception blended into one enhanced reality before his eyes, Ra'ishi's easy lope simply shifting his perception. Blinking his upper eyes, the Kirek took the opportunity to glimpse briefly the terrain ahead from a new perspective. Crimson lower eyes flicked open, casting a gaze around a forest suddenly turned to shades of heat, before he returned to normal sight. Inhuman senses noted well the minor hush of the fauna around him as he passed, finally coming to a halt at the lip of the crater he'd heard rumors of.

Islands of trees dotted the slope like islands, standing firm in the face of the broken earth, the cracked mouths of trenches, upthrust pillars and boulders marking the sight as treacherous footing. Rai could make out the remnants of a ruined tower in the distance, curious.

For the moment, the Kirek merely held his place, however. Occasionally his lower eyes opened as he studied the lay of the land before him, idly leaning over the precipice with one hand gripping a tree, his talons curled in the hard wood.

 

[Tiko]

Meanwhile overhead a second figure made its presence within this barren stretch of land. Perched atop the crumbled remnants of the observatory was a lithe woman of relatively small stature. The glare of the noonday sun was uncomfortable upon her pale skin, and her locks of silvery hair glinted brilliantly enough to give her position away to any who thought to simply look up, but she remained motionless in her vigil.

'A routine training match.'

That's what she had been told anyways, but the young empath knew better than that. There was something different about this venture, something... dangerous.

She had taken to the crumbled observatory tower to get the lay of the land and to survey her surroundings, an effort which had been rewarded well. It wasn't with her eyes that she observed though, for even a casual observer was quick to note that the girl was blind with a set of pristine white bandages bound about her eyes to cover the ragged scar tissue that lay beneath. Mapping out the region was instead performed through an intricate telekinetic web that served to formulate images and impressions within her minds-eye at each brush of her psionic wavelengths - much akin to sonar, albeit swifter. She could see the rustle of leaves in the wind, the sway of the grass, the insects that crawled the earth. She could see the carrion birds that circled overhead, the cracks in the stone wall, the blanket of dust beneath her feet. What she could not see was her opponent.

Perhaps there was no one here after all, perhaps this had all been a mistake. Instinct told her otherwise though, and after a long time of deliberation Whisper rose to her feet and leaped from the observatory. A rush of wind tugged at the wispy scraps of cloth that clothed her form as she plummeted towards the earth below in a moment of free-fall before she slowed her momentum only moments before she struck earth. She dropped into a crouch as she landed, her canvas boots offering little sound upon impact as she cautiously searched her surroundings for any sign of life or movement that her descent may have provoked.

 

[Lobos]

Ra'ishi's attention was caught by the most minute of movements, yet the directed focus of his four eyes revealed the fact that he was not, as he thought, alone. A figure dropping from the tower, gone from sight around the shrouded base. Cocking his wolf-like head, the Kirek pushed off his perch and started down the slope, navigating the shattered ground with no small amount of dexterity.

Several minutes later, and the tower loomed overhead, the faintest rasps of talons against stone as he ascended. Nostrils flared as he scented the air, ears turning now and then as he strained for a sound. A new talent was revealed, his searching eyes splitting directions to cover more range, piecing a scene together which perceived by visible light, ultraviolet light, and thermal sight. The Kirek was a collection of odd abilities in a form naturally evolved, but to what extent these adaptations wound together was unknown. His kin no longer existed, except as bones.

Looping a hand over the rise, Ra'ishi pulled himself onto level ground, fairly certain that he had arrived where he had seen the figure fall. Scanning about him, some instinct drove the spinelike hairs that covered his flesh into bristling, his beastial body becoming all the more intimidating than he already was.

For no longer half seen and shrouded, Rai cut an unusual appearance. He most closely resembled a humanoid cross between a wolf, a panther, and some sort of reptile, his apish arms slightly canted forward. His posture seemed to lean forward, yet his balance was centered, countered by the slowly flicking tail that trailed behind him. This was a being that had evolved as a predator.

And the manner of his searching gaze was that of a hunter searching for prey.

 

[Tiko]

Still nothing.

Whisper rose back to her feet and with a deft hand she drew open the drawstring of the pouch affixed at her hip. From within the worn leather she drew forth three crystals, one black, one red, and one of an opaque clear coloration. All were attuned to the psionic and would serve to bolster actions that fell within their respective spectrum. The black held protective properties, while the clear one would amplify her clairvoyancy, and the red would bolster offensive capabilities. Holding her palm out, the three crystals rose into the air and began to circle the psionic at a leisurely pace.

For now she focused her efforts into the black crystal which began to shimmer and pulse from the energies she started to channel into it. The crystals were all capable of storing energy until it was unleashed with a powerful snap - provided the action was of a matching nature to tap into the crystals natural property to create a syncing of natural and psionic forces. The capability to store the energy for attacks to be unleashed later, or in consecutive combinations, made the young psionic a formidable foe.

That is if she could locate her target. Her instincts had her on edge and her senses were keenly tuned to her surroundings, but everything fed back to her the same conclusion. She was alone out here.

 

[Lobos]

Ears flattening back for a moment, the Kirek stared at the strange sight in puzzlement.

A small woman stood before him, around her three mismatched crystals floating and orbiting. A blindfold wrapped around her head, yet it was another detail he payed more attention to. Minute refractions, glares on the levels of ultraviolet and heat. There was energy in motion around her form, the gems nexuses. Some sort of psionic or mage, a node within Ra'ishi's brain marking her as. And in his experience, that meant she was utterly blind to the fact he was but twenty feet from her.

Stooping, the alien decided to test his theory, picking a stone up from the ground. Hefting it, he flung it, targeting a point five feet to her left. Then hopped sideways to her right, landing and springing twice lightly. Scarcely a sound he made, padded feet striking the rocky ground with his talons raised, his eyes watching to see how she would react to the flying rock.

For the moment, this woman was a curiosity. However, the bristling hairs of his body did not abate, and this made the Kirek wary. Rai's instincts tended to be accurate, more often then not.

 

[Tiko]

Whisper picked the rock out the moment it rose, and her head turned sharply to one side as her senses reached out. The sound of scraping against earth drew her ear, as did the shift of weight as he tossed the object to her left. The influx of psionic energies spiked momentarily as she tracked the object's path, but the seemingly harmless nature of it kept her stationary.

She froze again, her face shielded by a few stray locks of hair. Her instincts had served her well, she wasn't alone. She could feel it now, the tremors in the earth, the vibrations that spoke of another. It had fallen still once more, but she had a good idea that it was somewhere to her right.

The pulsation of the black crystal ceased as the red one took its place, humming faintly as it absorbed the influx of energy she began to feed to it.

"From darkness I rose, and in darkness I dwell," she spoke. "I do not fear that which I cannot see."