|| End of the __l.i.n.e

[acidgypsy]

Maji cocked her head slightly to listen, wolfing down a mouthful of eggs balanced dangerously on the flat of the blade in her hand. It seemed she had done this more than once... anything less and her jaw would've easily been split open by the keenly honed knife edge.
Lips quirked slightly in thought, she waited for an appropriate interval at the end of his sentence to swallow her mouthful of food and begin speaking herself.

"Well for one, you're too damn loud to ignore. So personally, I doubt you'll ever just quietly lie down and 'fade out' as you worded it."

She stated rather matter-of-factly, spearing a hunk of cheese on her eating utensil.

Secondly amigo, you are much more than a simple SOLDIER. Have you ever thought that maybe your 'job' was to look out for those who can't defend themselves? Your tendencies to get into trouble for the sake of someone else seems perfectly suited to that particular occupation. Plus I think you'd look absolutely hideous in overalls. No farming fo you, my lad."

A slightly longer pause stretched out as she nibbled on the cheese, the faint beginnings of her usual impish grin starting to stir and curl her lips upwards.

"And finally, since you have an oddball like me for a friend, the chance of having a 'normal' day in the span of a week is practically nil. My aura of pure awesome just draws bad guys like a magnet, you know?"

She struck a dramatic pose, chest outthrust, chin elevated, knife gripped roguishly between her teeth. But that quickly dissolved after she spotted another sausage peeking out from under a pile of rice and busied herself with digging it out.

[/size]

[rikelusdeverell]

They say that every man has a story, and a soul. Every once in a while it’s a great story…. A good Soldier on the other hand has no great stories, he/her sell their souls for great stories..

Rikelus shuffled slightly before standing up shooting her a wayward half-smile. Perhaps she was right, maybe he was too damn loud to ignore. Rikelus was born with a quality that no other person innately posssessed seemingly..He wondered often how many Soldiers stared into the night sky at the stars that seemed like small speckles far off in the distane. Their infathomability, is what made him wonder sometimes, he glanced back over at Maji throwing the thumbs up his eyes tracing across her seemingly flawless skin. His crimson red eyes burned brightly in the morning light as if they had caught a fire.

He turned sideways and ran a hand down his backside shooting her one of his sarcastic faces, bobbing his head back and forth, “You don’t think I’d fill out those overalls successfully?” He poised jokingly for a moment before lowering his hands and clapping them together softly before raising one index finger definatinly in the air and shaking it about looking in her general direction. “Ya’know I was just fixing to say something about your magnetic properties for danger, trouble, and bullets. If you keep this up, I suppose you’ll earn the nickname bullet dodger.”

His eyes seemed somewhat shielded, almost glassy in a sense when the light hit them and caused him to turn away wincing for a moment. He was glad she understood him for who he was and not what he was. She understood other things were worth fighting for and that he could still use his rank in ShinRa to promote good even though he felt used. In ShinRa he had fought for money and power his entire career, and never hesistated to help anyone. He let a slight chuckle escape his lips before he waltzed over to Maji and folded his arms across his chest before throwing out another sarcastic ploy, “You know your burning daylight Eh? With your luck we better hope we can make camp near the Reactor. There’s been strange reports of monsters in the area ramsacking and pillaging travelers and merchants. I’d like to get as close to reactor as we can, perhaps we can find some clues as to what is lurking about.”

[acidgypsy]

Maji's response was somewhat muffled around mouthful of of sausage, but the general gist was a "Fine, lets go" sort of jerk of her head as she painfully swallowed the last of her breakfast (Narrowly avoiding choking on it), belted on her knife bandolier, and bounced to her feet; the mattress springs groaning in protest at her body weight. She gave a playful sort of shudder than ran the length of her body smoothly -reminiscent of a big cat in a stretch- and shoved Rikelus aside as she walked to the door. Poised with the cold doorknob under her palm, she spoke over her shoulder to him, head turned slightly but not enough to allow eye contact.

"Wiggle your butt around like that in front of me again and I just might kick it out the window for you. That was just plain disturbing in so many ways."

She was kidding of course. You could tell by the tilt of her head and the slight chuckle in her voice.

With a soft tapping of her boot heels on the wooden boards underfoot, she opened the door and disappeared down the stairwell to the tavern on the main floor. This had to be one of the best places to stay at, in her books. Nice company excellent cooking, and friendly service. They could definately expect another visit from her if she passed by this area again in the future.

Then, there, in the corner, the glitter of tarnished metal caught her eye. A jukebox... she hadn't seen one of those in absolute ages. Did it work?

A few deft strides and weaving around chairs and tables got her close enough to consider the old musicbox up close; rummaging around in her pocket for some gil to insert in the slot. With a satisfying racheting inside the machine, she flicked through the music available, picked one, and closed her eyes as the tunes floated out from the antique with admirable clarity.
Swaying slightly in place in time with the song, she recognized the lyrics nearly immediately.

"Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,
It was love from above, that could save me from hell;
She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me
There were drums in the air as she started to dance,
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands
And we sang...

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
And singing...
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night;
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night..."

Hypnotized by the melody permeating every nook and cranny of the empty bar, she cast a wary glance around to make sure she didn't have an audience before completely losing herself in the music; the gentle sway of her body transforming into a graceful freeform dance, each step flowing smoothly into another. Despite her closed eyes, she seemed to miraculously miss crashing into furniture. Sometimes by mere inches.
Her voice, tentative at first, joined in with the singer-- surprisingly, she was a fairly good vocalist. In this fashion, the duet rang out in a rich tapestry of sound that seemed to brighten the dusty room.

" Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place,
You could tell how we felt from the look on our faces,
We was spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes,
No room left to move in between you and I;
We forgot where we were and we lost track of time,
And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night,
And we sang...

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
And singing...
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night;
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night..."

[/i][/center][/size]

[rikelusdeverell]

Rikelus Deverell’s crimson red eyes floated from her down to his PHS, at the caller ID and a slight frown went across his expressions as he lifted the phone up to his ear flipping it open casually, “Deverell here..”

“The voice on the phone was quick and to the point, there’s been reports of strange noises around the pipelines in the Mt. Nibel area again. Stories are floating around about Mako mutated creatures again and you of all people should know how dangerous untreated Mako can be. Creatures can grow to gargantuan proportions, and develop very aggressive tendencies. Although this may come as a rumor and shock, they’ve been described as being very similar to the Chimera monster.”

Rikelus’s eyes cut to another spot in the bar, his glance was so swift and sharp It looked as if it were possible to lop someone’s head off with them, “But wrong cont----” The man on the other side of the phone cut him off, “Continent? I know, precisely our predicament. I highly doubt that modern day evolution was the cause of this fiasco. More than likely someone brought them here if the reports are true.”

“Roger that. Deverell over and out.” Upon shutting the PHS and letting it free fall back into his coat pocket he stopped abruptly folding his arms canting his head sideways glancing back to her. A Soldier’s most important ability is improvisation through tough situations. Whether it is a burning building, and your looking for an escape route or being surrounded by a terrorist organization planning a bombing. The way that we succeed through all our harsh endeavors is clear and concise planning of our actions. Of course with me being me, my actions were always very unprofessional.

"That came outta left field. I wonder why he didn’t tell me earlier?” He muttered to himself watching as she finished up her routine before he clapped softly commenting dryly, “Great, now that you can do Edge Musicals I think it’s safe to say I can quit my day job and stop hiding.” Upon completion of his sarcastic satire Commodore Deverell slid on a leathery glove over his hand and snaked it to the door handle cracking it open revealing an intense beam of light streaking through basking the dimly lit bar with warmth.

Dirty Footsteps… across creaky hardwood floors…

We walk a long arduous uncertain winding path with our wills stretched to their limits vaguely embracing old members and an invisible trail..our footsteps are mere grains of sand in time’s hourglass, they are present for a moment then fade away with Minerva’s help. The blowing of the westerly wind, erasing our very mark we left upon the land reminds us of how fleeting life is, as every new footprint is made on our journey the one behind it ceases to exist…This idea acts as a metaphor I think…

I have never thought of myself as a savior, a hero, a poet, or a philosopher, but I find idea constantly being drilled into my thick skull. The point I’m trying to get to is there’s no silvery lining necessarily in anything or everything. We have but fragile moments of time and that’s it, we are reduced to grains of sand eventually. We go through our lives much like footprints with never being able to look back upon anything we’ve done because it’s seemingly erased by an outside force. I was once uncomfortable with that; but now, I don’t care anymore.

As long as there are another set of footprints beside me where I’m going I could care less if we leave them in the mud, the snow, the ice, creaky hardwood floors or drenched forest fauna even.

[acidgypsy]

(Gotta make this short-- posting while grounded. x.x))

Maji continued to dance, her eyes open and glittering in amusement as she twirled her way out the door; her hair and coat flaring wildly out behind her. The song and dance both finished at precisely the same time as she made a mock bow and straightened up again, laughing.
Grinning that mischievous grin of hers, she gently tugged on a strand of Rikelus' azure hair, hastily clearing a space between them both in case he fancied responding in kind.

"Aw. You're just jealous I can dance and you can't, sourpuss. Not terribly surprising, considering you're such a hopleless clutz."

On the heels of her sentence, she hopskipped smartly off to one side as if anticipating a smack from his direction and whipped a sheet of canvas off her bike with much gusto; still sporting her cheshire cat smile. Two attempts to rummage around for the keys came up with useless mixed junk, but after the third time fishing around in her deep pockets, she pulled out the somewhat battered and dented keys with a short noise of triumph. Inserting the woebegone scraps of metal in the ignition, the engine caught and roared to life under her hands.

The aged leather seat creaked and moaned under her weight as she settled on the bike, whipping her shades from where they perched on her brow. No longer held back, her bangs were free to cascade in a dark torrent over her forehead; irritably tucked behind an ear as she thumbed her nose at Deverell cheekily and revved the EINHERJAR with alarming enthusiasm.

"And you ain't driving this time, buckoe. Not after leaving a man-sized dent from your last little spree, anyways."

She pulled a face and ran a tender caress down the side of the machine lovingly.

"Took me a week to get the damn dent out. Next time you break the equipment, you're going to be the one fixin' it, Deverell."

[rikelusdeverell]

[ shortness too ackkk X___x ]

Daylight had enveloped the northern hemisphere completely as the rising sun had cleared the Nibel Mountains. Seemingly as the celestial sphere rose further up into the air the more tranquil the surroundings became. Rikelus missed the veil of stars slightly because of their silvery torch like appearance. When she reached up and tugged on his haphazardly layered azure blue hair seemingly mixed signals rushed across his face. A sardonic grin washed across his expressions as he slightly frowned for a moment and then grinned even wider. For a fraction of a second, he could swear his heart stopped along with his breath, firmly in his throat. He swallowed before speaking.

“Well if I can still recollect correctly it takes two to tango Majidah.” He replied instantly to her that amicable grin appearing on his face. He rose up a single gloved index finger in defense to her shrewd comment, “Touche’ my dear Touche the hopeless still have chances albeit they may be slim to none.” His crimson red eyes seemed asphyxiated upon her visage as it she stood drowned in light. The only word to describe her within this semi peaceful setting was immaculate.

He shook his head to the side slowly raising up his hand to politely shield his chuckle. “I don’t suppose you have a winning lottery ticket somewhere in those deep pockets of yours so we can run away to Costa De Sol and quit our day jobs do you?” He joked playfully with her before he sat down behind her slowly sliding his arms around her locking them leaning forward whispering into her ear, “I DID save that woman’s life if I recall correctly..” He mused before he buried his face into the back of her neck,

Long thick locks of layered azure blue hair shifted as the shifting winds began to blow them astray and out of place. Whether he had saved her or not she’d return to that big swirling green swell of spirit energy someday. One thing was certain, every living thing dies and joins the Lifestream after death except for hideous monsters. A monster can sometimes cling on to that realm between life and death until it gets enough cells to phase back into our plane of existence instead of wink out. Right now I was hoping that I didn’t find anymore Jenova cells when we completed our journey.

[acidgypsy]

One canine poked out over her lips as she smirked and glanced at him from behind the cool blue-ish green tint of her shades. A glimpse of her devilishly raised eyebrow showed with a careless pass over her bangs with two fingers, which ineffectively cleared away her hair from her vision for approximately a second before the ginger/ebony curtain fell back in the same position as before.

"Quit being a merc? You kidding? Wouldn't dream of it."

Another groan of protest from the seat springs sounded as he settled behind the rangy mercenary, leaned forwards, and rested his head against her.
Maji rolled her eyes, but made no comment other than so shift her shoulders slightly and turn her head to get a glimpse of Rikelus' hair out of the corner of one emerald eye.

In a rather wry fashion, she elbowed him in the ribs warningly before settling her hands over the cold handlebars. If it was one thing that made her skittish other than the constant threat of assassination, it was having her neck fiddled with. Not that she hated at as such, but it bothered her for some reason.

"Comfortable? Just don't fidget so much... it tickles."

An involuntary shudder ran down the length of her spine, provoked by his breath playing across the back of her neck.
Good lord. The boys back at the bounty front would kill themselves laughing to see little miss 'I'll choke you with your own intestines if you mess with me' permitting a man (and a SOLDIER no less!) to invade her personal space like this. Her cheeks burned as she growled a string of epithets in a foreign dialect under her breath.

With surprising savagery, she kicked aside the plank of wood acting as a makeshift bikestand, eased the purring machine out into the street, and peppered the surrounding buildings with a mini avalanche of dust and rocks as the rear wheel squealed and rocketed the bike forwards.

The moment the town buildings vanished from her peripheral vision, she relaxed and completely forgot about the irritating tingle starting to take root in the nape of her neck. Biking always had that sort of property... the wind had a way of melting away your worries, you know? Majidah had often said time and time again that her EINHERJAR was the only reason why she hadn't had a massive metal breakdown by now.
She half-closed her eyes behind the blue glass protecting her corneas, and savored the sun on her face, the airstream pulling at her limbs, and the rumbling beast of metal obediently racing across the face of Gaia at breakneck speeds.

Now then... if the local map pinned up outside the town hall had been correct, the Reactor should be a few klicks northeast. Hardly a stretch to worry about with an expert driver at the wheel.

[/size]

[rikelusdeverell]

Rikelus didn’t think it was possible to doze off while ridding on a motorcycle, and her ancient one none-the-less. This proved to him yet again, the impossible could happen. He refrained from nuzzling his face into her exposed neck, and was quite possibly as still as he could be with only his eyes rapidly fluttering on occasion.

-Flashback-

Left arm.
Right arm.
Left arm.
Right arm.
Not much longer left….
Left arm.
Right arm.
Back straight.
Left arm.
Right arm.
Arms shifting through liquid rapidly.
Left arm.
Right arm.
Trying not to drown….
Left arm.
Right arm.
At the moment, he felt himself slipping away..
Left arm.
Right arm.
Just concentrate on swimming…not staying alive..
Left arm.
Right arm.
Forget the pain, pain is temporary…
Left arm.
Right arm.

“Professor’s Log ERA 20xx, subject: Rikelus Deverell: Project: “D” Professor Hojo began scribbling down notes upon a furiously down on a clipboard watching Rikelus from ontop of a railway overlooking a Mako tank that was of a 80/52 dilution.

"I never have expected you'd get this far Mr. Deverell," Hojo’s voice was seemingly hissing at the man, as his gaze seemed fumed by an infernal rage, and his expressions somewhat snarky, “You’re going to die down there Mr. Deverell, and you’ll emerge nothing more than a shell of your former self. You’ll become something else, something of a worthy existence. I bet you’ve never dreamed that your carefree thoughts would’ve lead you to THIS!"

He could already feel Rikelus’s odious aura setting in, as his hard crimson red gaze warned of dire punishment, although from his position, he could only dish out indifference and utter fatigue. "You are wrong, Professor. You can kill me if you want, but I won’t or I’ll drown myself…" Rikelus’s eyes faded from sheer hate, and seemingly lost all amicability as they delved into the realm of sorrow and he added, “..It never mattered to me. Ever since I lost her..it doesn’t matter."

"Honestly, Mr.Deverell," The professor snarled outloud, sending more venom than a king Cobra in his direction, in the form of words. "I always thought you were a sentimental idiot, even back then. I cannot understand why everyone admired you so much. A hero in SOLDIER, more prone to petty emotion than reason! You’ll do exactly as I say, you’re my property Mr. Deverell and don’t you EVER forget it."

Unfortunately, the Professor was neither amused nor pleased infact Rikelus could almost swear that he broke his pen fidgeting back and forth. For a long moment, Hojo stood there arrogantly posed while pondering this problem, never once lifting his glower off Rikelus. Irritation crumpled his features like a ruined drawing being waded up into a tight knot. He began yelling at Rikelus and reminding him of his place. The onslaught of bitterness went on for several minutes before Rikelus let go.

Rikelus stopped swimming and began to sank…it seemed like he was down there for hours even though it was mere minutes submerged in the warm liquid. His skin felt as if it had caught a fire, and he thought it may’ve been a dream. His skin became covered in strange runes from head to toe, and the liquid began to boil to the point where it cracked the glass and exploded upwards sending hazardous materials not only showering on top of the professor but within forty feet of the present location.

Rikelus Deverell was encircled in that odious sea green aura, with his feet floating a couple of inches off the ground. His azure hair was free flowing as if violent winds threatened to blow it away from the scalp. Hojo had surfaced the monster within after one day, 5 hours, 38 minutes, and twenty five seconds of sheer physical, and emotional torture. No one dare say a word to the Devil that stood before them, for the sheer eeriness of Rikelus Deverell emanated throughout the entire facility. Alone stood the white phantom infront of him seemingly trying to steal the show, in aching suspense.

Whatever verdict he had in mind, Rikelus Deverell wouldn’t take it, he lifted a hand outstretched and the runes began to light up before flames sprung out from the tips of his fingers erupting in what seemed to be a hellfire as his slow methodical footsteps drummed the beat of Death. All cameras, and all eyes followed. A dreaded feeling spiraled up through the air, as the hot flames ate through the grate sending it falling down, along with Hojo who began scrambling for a glass container door. Anticipating Rikelus’s next move, he slid across the floor dodging another blast, and sliding the entire length of the way to the container before raising up and grabbing a gun off the table firing off four rounds before the door closed and sealed.

The Four rounds of hot lead ripped through Rikelus and he continued walking as a poisonous laugh emitted from his snide features. Crimson red eyes glared intensely at the man and runes light up around his neck and he outstretched another hand shutting his eyes for a moment before lowering it watching as destruction wrecked the laboratory. An invisible shockwave ripped through the lab sending tables, chemicals and various instruments flying at the glass container horribly cracking it until it shattered.

Left arm.
Right arm.
At the moment, he felt buried, and lost in the darkness…
Left arm.
Right arm.
His hands wrapped around the Professor’s neck choking the life he never deserved from his carcass…
Left arm.
Right arm.
Halfway through..he blacked out…

Hojo’s breathing was rapid, and he tore Mr. Deverell’s hands from around his neck scoffing loudly, as the voice recorder was still in the container. He spoke in between short and long wheezes, coughing slightly, “Subject’s body appears to become covered in strange runes during transformation. Subject’s runes act as if they’re interconnected to thoughts, feelings, emotions, or attacks. Subject is a biological weapon, no..subject is something more complex, something far worse than any monster. This man..no this thing is the devil..i feel it…deep down under the human façade..there’s something that my instruments cannot measure..”

-End Flashback-

Rikelus awoke to Maji spewing curse words at him in that foreign dialect again as he lifted his head from her shoulder and arms from her waist glancing at the rocky terrain that stood in front of them at that steep uphill climb. It was as if Minerva had reached up from the centre of gaia and used her index finger to create chaotic spirals and lopsided land covered in moss-fungus. Rikelus’s breathing was hard, and his heartbeat was up from the bad memory which he felt like were only mere dreams that came fleeting and too few. “Looks like were walking..” Rikelus slightly groaned dismounting from the motorcycle walking forward kicking a patch of rocky infertile soil.

He lifted his arms outstretched towards the sky yawning causing the back of his jacket to raise up slightly and reveal three bullet wound scars across the lower section. A grin slid across his face and he turned somewhat jovial to her as if he were a kid in a candy shop. “The scenery could be better, it’s not exactly flat land, or lush rolling planes with tributaries. Instead we get stuck with death-trap trail, and only a couple hours of light.” He frowned folding his arms across his chest, his grin turning upside down slightly upset at the scenery for a moment before his expressions went back to hardened and limestone as he awaited her to dismount.

[acidgypsy]

((Icky shortness. x.x))

Her back and shoulders ached from sitting in place for so long-- she wouldn't admit it, but Maji had taken every precaution to steer extra-careful around the rocks scattered here and there over the landscape. Not to save the bike any trouble, you understand. But for Deverell's sake. For all her faults, Maji could be nice when she wanted to, hence allowing herself to be used as a pillow for the majority of the trip.

In the easy motions of long practice, she eased the bike under a outcropping of slate, covered it with a dun-colored blanket that had been stored in the saddlebags, and tied the blanket edges down before turning slowly in place and memorizing any distinguishing marks. Sometimes her cleverness had been perhaps a little too effective in the past... Alharad had actually forgotten where her bike had been stashed for over a week once before she literally stumbled over it and almost broke her nose in the bargain.

The merc's shoulders twitched slightly in a wince as she gingerly ran her thumb over her nosetip.

"Bah. I could easily make it to the end of the trail well before the daylight dies out. But you on the other hand, are far too slow... and too heavy. I'm not getting stuck with carrying you."

Her hand fell from her face as she pivoted smartly to anlyze the trail ahead; one fist on her hip while she toyed with a skinning knife in the other.

"Er... not to be the harbinger of bad news and all tht crap, but as cliched as this might sound... I don't like the looks of that trail one bit. Too closed in. Not enough cover. Probably ideal for an ambush, if I'm not mistaken."

She shrugged, reached up, and ruffled Rikelus' hair from it's usual flawless sprawl over his face into a messy 'do worthy of a sheepdog. What was great was his lack of response. She could do practically anything within limits, and get away with it.
Ah...if that wasn't satisfying, then she didn't know for the life of her what was.

A series of hollow 'crack's rang out as she popped her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, stretching out her stiff muscles. A quick twist of her torso this way and that saw to re-aligning her vertebae back in their proper places.
Her instincts were practically screaming at the idea of going into such a narrow space with barely enough room to turn around, let alone dodge an incoming projectile. But with sheer rock faces on both sides, it seemed they didn't have much choice.

[/size]

[rikelusdeverell]

The winds whipped across the Nibel mountains just as they had always done, stinging the vulnerable skin of Rikelus Deverell. He unfolded the leathery cuffs of his sleeves and popped his collar not daring to traverse the winds. Many have braved the weather conditions at Mt. Nibel and not survived because of their boldness. “The reactor houses extensive ShinRa secrets, and this is the very sight that the HUGE materia was created at before it was shipped off to Rocket Town via the Gelnika.” Rikelus made casual conversation to her looking towards the grey clouds that hovered loftily above them blurring the outlines of the mountains before fading away.

The odd thing is that the chaotic spires seemed to draw in all the dark clouds and keep them. No-one had ventured outside to brave the harsh weather in quite some time. Their path was ardrous and it was a steep climb in an uphill battle until they reached the start of the pipeline that pumped the planet’s life blood to the Mako Reactor.

As he passed onto the familiar mountain path, Rikelus let his eyes roll around before they finally settled ahead taking in a glance at the dark rocks that marked the treacherous walkway, if ever there was such a thing as a walkway... It had not changed since he had last seen it, and neither had the reactor from the looks of it in the dismal distance. Then all of a sudden thunder clapped, and rain started to pour down. He glanced over to his right noticing what looked to be a natural cavern, with black ashy suite scared down the side of the rocks as if fires had been made here before… “We must take shelter, if we stay in these conditions for too long, we won’t have to worry about Deep Ground.” Just thinking about freezing to death, and getting hypothermia caused an unsettling feeling in his gut. Nothing within the past couple of minutes really did anything to alter that feeling either…

The bottom of his boots made gentle thumping noises on the rocks as he slowly made his way up the winding path, using his hand to keep his balance as he navigated his way from the rising gale to the shelter. Upon reaching the shelter, he glanced back with Maji towards the rain which poured down un-mercilessly obscuring their vision. IT was a dangerous path in the most perfect of conditions, so with Mother Nature working against him, he didn’t want to take his chances. His crimson red eyes lifted from the worn out flint that laid beside pieces of wood to Maji’s expressions and that familiar smirk appeared on his face. “I take it, you don’t do well with large amounts of water?” He mused raising a single index finger to twirl around a stray, thick, soaking wet bang of hers.

[acidgypsy]

Maji shook rainwater from herself with a fluid shake of her body from shoulders to ankles, shedding her drenched trenchcoat in a pile at her feet. Kicking away the soaked clothing further back into the cave, she studied the downpour outside with a gloomy disposition.

"Bummer. And I was getting all excited about a scrap, too..."

Her sentence trailed off into awkward silence as she nearly went cross-eyed following his fingertip entwining with her bangs. Luckily the cold water still clinging to Majidah's face kept the heat flush from rising to the surface of her cheeks. Rather distractedly, she answered his query as best she could considering her situation; sinking into a cross-legged position where she discarded her hat, sungalsses, gloves, and knfe bandolier in a neat pile beside her coat.

"Er...what? Oh. Water? Nope. Hate the stuff. Can't swim worth garbage."

She raised a hand and batted away the teasing fingertips toying with her hair before leaning over and mussing up Rikelus' own azure locks with a grin.

"Hey, I know what. You wanna spar while we wait for the storm to quit the waterworks? No weapons of course. Just hand-to-hand and all that jazz. Anything goes, within certain limits."

Resting her angular cheek on her palms, she stifled a laugh and reached out again, clearing away the crystalline strands thickly blocking his vision with a few passes of her lean fingers. Strange, now that she noticed it... ruby eyes. Normally just the bad guys or nightmare beasties had red eyes, but it seemed he was the counterexample to that theory.
Her own jade occuli closed halfway as the merc tilted her head slightly back and to the side, blinking away the occasional rivulet of water that trickled down her face from the crown of her head.

[/size]

[rikelusdeverell]

Drip, Drop, Drip Drop---I could almost hear the dripping of rain from her hair as it pelted onto the rocks near my feet. Water soaked through every inch of our clothing and made long snaky tendrils out of our hair. It’s funny how your hair when wet conspires against your body to tickle you unmercifully with quick wet slaps with every movement you make. We laughed in the face of danger and defied death’s silvery, sharp, scythe. Staring up at the sky from this vantage point it made mixtures of grey, black and hues of green. Depending on who you talk’d to they’d think you were crazy to think that the sun was hiding beneath it all.

A grins lid across my face as she spoke of tussling around on the rocks, she’d want to wouldn’t she? I pointed at a bit of kindle left in the area and turned my hand to where the palm was open. A green circle encompassed the palm of it, as tiny flames branched out onto the kindle and began to heat a much bigger log. “I think pneumonia might get you before I do.” I sly fully commented blowing on the fire making it spread across the dried up wood. It almost had a shimmer to it as if you could reach out and grasp it twisting it around in different contortions. The flow of heat on your skin and the hint of warmth was a real treat in this weather.

Ya’know If you could see the beauty in the Nibel mountains one could truly enjoy the solidarity of them. Every weather feature and rock seemingly had a purpose. For the most part the features of this region seemed to bog life down or keep it in. Not letting anything make it’s way up to the stars at night. “I wouldn’t want to bruise up that nice complexion you’ve worked so hard to get. That’d be just a shame. But--”

He noticed she lifted a hand playfully as if to push him, and Rikelus took hold of it sliding his body across the flat smooth rock towards her vantage point tossing a leg around her pulling her towards him while trying to immobilize both of her arms in an advanced full nelson technique where the person’s arms are wrapped around their mouth in an X fashion. Rikelus canted his head down onto her neck, feeling her shiver and shake as he spoke chuckling softly, “I have to warn you I’m quite skilled in close quarters combat.”

[acidgypsy]

Maji's answer was somewhat muffled, but the general point got across. And that point was she was very displeased with her current position.

Feeling a bit cocky, are we?

She thought wryly, wrists jerking in his grasp as she tested the restrictions of movement so suddenly imposed on her. He definately knew what he was doing... at least wrestling-wise. But she had no intention of necessarily posing an easy target. Maji wouldn't be pinned down like a simpering twit of a girl without one dickens of a fight in the works. He might have more experience, but she hadn't gotten this far in the bounty biz by being predictable, now did she?

Experimentally twisting her body, she got a boot under herself and heaved forwards with all her strength; getting a frim grip on the collar of Rikelus' shirt/vest thingy. Having thus gained leverage, Maji not only suceeded in escaping the full nelson, but flipped Mr. Macho Man over her head and onto his gut in front of her with a dull 'whump' as his chest hit the floor. Unfortunately she felt both her shoulders twinge as her muscles overextended, but it was well worth it.

She grinned and quickly straddled his back, pinning him to the cave floor with a knee between his shoulderblades.

"Still so sure of that, cherie?"

She asked, bending forwards to brush the side of his neck with her cheek.

"'Cause from the looks of it, you aren't doing so well. Howzabout upping the stakes a bit, yes? Might give you a little more reason to start taking me seriously."

Her voice lowered to a smug purr as she leaned back and tossed her head, probing a tooth with her pinkie finger as if nothing at all about sitting on her partner seemed strange. That's what you get for underestimating someone who grew up in the barrio, after all.

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[rikelusdeverell]

“If you think so Eh?” A wry chuckle escaped from his lips, as he outstretched his leg before twisting it back and delivering a kick to the bend in her knee that was pinning him down. It took two good blows to her before her knee gave and she fell forward on the flat of his back. Rikelus twisted his body sideways and for a moment his lips traced across the side of her face as he extended his arms, threading one of them under hers and the left one underneath leaving it in a sideways latching onto his hands at a ninety degree angle to prevent her from failing around again.

“I think you’re bluffing, Maj, I don’t think you’ve got one more good move in you Eh? I know you don’t have the strength to break out three times. I can feel your heart beating nearly out of your sternum.” He spoke coyly to her that snide grin appearing on his expressions. Rikelus Deverell always the tactician.

[ick shortness, i'll be back around 3 am @__@]

[acidgypsy]

(3 AM? Whoa. A bit early, ain't it? x3)

Good thing the tilt of her head and the living curtain of her hair prevented him from seeing the furious blush on her face... Majidah's heart was literally jackhammering a tattoo on the inside of her ribcage like an angry animal. But not to be outdone, she shot back a retort.

"Yes, yes, I know the whole 'nah-nah-nah-nah-nah' routine. But you know what?"

Her voice regained a hearty helping of smugness as she twisted awkwardly to bring her face a bit closer to his, her eyes sparking with amusement. Further efforts of craning her neck nestled her face in the side of his neck, black and ginger bangs tickling his earlobe as she continued her sentence; her breath fanning across his skin.

"...I think you're enjoying this, you pervert you."

Touche.

If her hands were loose, she'd be rubbing them together with impish glee right about now. Sure, she might be physcially pinned down, but you know what? Maji could still make verbal jibes. And right now poor Rikelus had just been put in a tough spot to agree or deny anything.
A grin graced her lips as she pulled back again and fixed him with her typical arrogant 'in your face' expression.

Ah. Mindgames. Great for embarassing the opposite sex.

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