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Chapter 2

Fight Night…

{*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^} *-Izzy-*-Izzy-*-Izzy-*-Izzy-*-Izzy-* {*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^}Adirondack Preserve Five Years Earlier

A blinding light shot up into the moonless black night, soaring high above the tree line, bursting into an explosion of shimmering, crackling lights and ear splitting sounds, lighting up the surrounding forest brighter than the fourth of July, ground quaking with the sonic aftershocks of the magic blast.

"Mika, left, move!" Izzy shouted over the chaos of the battle raging, catching sight of the hulking figure dropping off a tree branch, landing just behind the younger fighter.

Mika startled, shifting down, narrowly avoiding a vicious blow from the Monsters claws. Izzy rushed forward, leaping between the creature and the newbie. She charged head on, putting her full weight and all the strength she could muster into the impact, shoulder catching it square in the abdomen. The creature let out a wheezing gasp, doubling over, stumbling to the ground.

Izzy turned, quickly pushing Mika back and away from the massive quilled beast, waving her towards a cluster of other fledgling fighters dealing with two bizzaro- but far less powerful- lizard like terrors, closer to the other seasoned soldiers. Casting one last quick glance over her shoulder ensuring the newbie was closer to safety Izzy whirled back to face the huge, hulking Rattlorcupine. The beast growled, shifting back up onto its feet, head shaking, causing the quills adorning its head to shake and shift.

And man were there a lot of quills.

They start from what would be the hairline on a person, the shorter quills from the scalp running down to the base of its head before transitioning to the larger, sharper quills adorning the creatures shoulders. Right now they hang down somewhat resembling a shawl or cape of fringe.

The demon shifted, glowing red eyes zeroing in on Izzy, giving a low, deep hiss like growl. It bristles, the now rusty, blood colored quills beginning to flicker and shift blue. The Demons head tilts, scalp quills sharpening, beginning to stand on end.

Izzy's gaze shifted over the creature, head shaking easily.

"Man…and I thought I was having a bad hair day."

The demon snarled, head shifting again, letting out a low growl. It snaps its jaws, exposing multiple rows of vicious, razor sharp teeth, eyes glinting like burning coals. It let out a sharp, gurgle-like hiss, arms flexing, causing the quills to shift, standing up ready for battle. The quills colors pulsate, shifting not just from the blood red to blue but also an alarming near electric orange and neon green.

It roared, stomping it's feet, the ground trembling under the impact before unexpectedly lunging towards Izzy. She dodged, shifting to the side, pulling her seraph blade from its sheath, darting forward, hitting the lumina morții activator on the knife's hilt, the blade glowing white hot, electric blue snapping and crackling along the edge. The demons large, hellish eyes glowed brighter, locking on the blade. It's deep blue lips pull back into a near maniacal, Cheshire cat like grin, again exposing those vicious rows of deadly, razor sharp fangs, releasing a low, deep growling hiss that seemed to reverberate clear through you.

The color of the quills on its shoulders begins pulsating faster, more erratic, shaking and shivering, producing a sound similar to a rattlesnake…only bigger. Much bigger.

It stomped in anger, quills rattling, making that terrifying hissing growl again before darting forward, swiping at her, claw tipped hands slicing the air just inches in front of Izzy's face. She dodged the blow, shifting her grip, ducking another blow, plunging the searing, crackling knife deep into the demon's side. The Rattlorcupine let out a blood curdling shriek, wound smoking and sizzling. It snarls, twisting, trying to get a hold of her, reflexes already slowed by the effects of the lumina morții. She ducked the grip, jerking forward sharply, pulling the creature off-balance, slamming it to the ground.

She shifted, wrenching the knife out, moving lightning fast, pressing her knee into the center of its back, pinning the monster to the ground, readjusting her grip on the knife, lifting it high, grip sure and practiced, aiming right between the beasts shoulder blades and the base of its neck, a killing blow. The blade plunges down, aiming right for the sweet spot.

Suddenly Izzy is hit by a blinding flash of yellow orange lights, heat and a quick burst of wind strong enough to knock her clear off the monster, sending her flying back nearly thirty feet, slamming hard into the trunk of a tree. She gasped both in surprise and pain, sliding down the trunk, breath completely escaping her, head spinning from the impact.

Crap, what the hell was that?!

She took a deep breath, stumbling, trying to pull herself back on her feet as quick as she could, grabbing her Seraph blade from the ground, readying for another magic blast attack, head whipping around, scanning for the source.

Her eyes land on a man standing about fifteen feet away. Shimmering orange and gold sparks are dancing around the Magic's still outstretched hands. He's a somewhat gangly looking thing, with thick, slightly messy black hair and wide dark eyes. He looks nearly as surprised by what just happened as Izzy.

To be honest the man appears to be about the farthest thing from threatening, but she's been at this for long enough not to be fooled by something as simple as a harmless appearance. Many of the most terrifying supernatural's sport a harmless or even pleasingly inviting guise.

That's what makes them so effective.

The magic blinks rapidly, glancing down at his hands, appearing almost confused. A slight breath of a near laugh slips out, looking over the rapidly fading shimmers before his eyes flicker up again, catching sight of Izzy. He startles, making a little 'eep' sound, color draining. He gulps, hands darting behind his back as if to hide them, eyes going even wider, slowly backing up.

"U-umm…so uh…tha-uh…that wa-" he began, stumbling over the words.

Izzy shifted the Seraph blade in her grip, activating the lumina morții, blade glowing white hot, power crackling.

"Run."

"Crap!" he exclaimed, whirling around, tearing off into the woods, scrambling and stumbling over the rough terrain.

Izzy darted after the magic, quickly closing the distance. He ducked and dodged, trying to throw his pursuer off but it was no use, Izzy's like a bloodhound. They raced through the woods, coming upon a small, shallow near dry stream. The Magic stumbled, clawing his way up the small embankment on the other side of the waterway.

Suddenly the man lurches forward, crying out, foot catching on a tree root, ankle twisting. He turns to face her, scrambling backwards along the muddy bank, startling as his back comes into contact with the edge of the embankment, head shaking, dark eyes wide and fearful.

"P-please don't." He all but whimpers, hands raising in front of him pleadingly.

Izzy feels a pang of something resembling compassion before promptly pushing it down, recalling the magic attack. He threw her thirty feet, nearly knocking her out. He may look harmless but he's a magic- Izzy may not know what kind but it doesn't matter. He's a magic, a supernatural…a monster.

God only knows what all he's capable of.

She shifts the blade, squeezing the pressure pad on the hilt, hitting twice, locking it on. The blade glows brighter, electricity crackling about it, casting a sharp light over the magic. The light catches, his eyes reflecting it back like a cats, blinking. From one moment to the next the dark eyes shift from deep brown to a brilliant, flickering gold, pupils elongating, a little glimpse of a molted, spotted, pattern shifting over his skin.

Izzy's breath catches.

W-what? Th- a were…b-but…but h-no…

How was a Were wielding Magic?

That was not possible.

It wasn't supposed to be possible.

But those are were-eyes, they're unmistakable. And that was Magic she saw back in the fight, that she felt…she knows it…also unmistakable. So how is that possible? As if a magic wasn't dangerous enough, now they had freaking were-magics?

How is that even a thing?!

How do you deal with something that dangerous?

Same way you'd deal with any terrifyingly dangerous monster or demon she supposes.

Get it before it gets you.

She shifted, rolling the blade, grip adjusting before darting forward, lightening quick. The Magic squeaked, hands going up, the shimmering sunset sparkly light flickering about his fingers. Izzy braced for the impact of the magic attack, dodging to the left before ricocheting right back on course barreling head on towards the caster, hand raising, plunging the blade downwards, all focus on the target.

That was a mistake…

A rookie mistake.

She never even saw a flash of the leopard before she's struck. It hits her full force, sharp claws digging into her shoulders, ripping her backwards away from the magic. She screams, the claws burning like fire. She tries to turn, to strike, landing a glancing blow in the creature's left flank. It roars but it doesn't sound like a pain sound, it sounds like a scream of anger, of pure, unadulterated rage.

The sound cuts straight through Izzy, sending a shiver down her spine. She struggles, trying to land another blow but she can't get the right angle. The creature growls, Jaws opening wide. She feels the long, deadly canines slicing into the flesh of his upper arm, shaking viciously.

Oh…no…

A were-bite…oh god no…

She screams again, the pain unlike anything she's ever felt- it's like a fire burning through her, igniting every cell. It's not just a bite…it's a death sentence. It's a were-bite. Those are deadly…

Alwaysdeadly.

Oh god…s-she's not coming back from this.

The leopard's teeth dig in even deeper, feeling like they're going to cut clean through her arm. She loses her grip on the knife, the blade clattering to the ground. Suddenly she's wrenched back, flung through the air like a rag doll, slamming hard into one of the boulders surrounding the stream.

Izzy gasps for air, head spinning, eyesight swimming, doubling and fading. She feels suddenly both blazingly hot and icy cold, pulse roaring in her ears.

A terrifying, screaming roar echoes, pounding into her skull. The lithe, graceful cat slinks around, coming to rest between the man on the ground and Izzy. The leopard hunches down, ready to strike, standing directly over her still glowing Seraph blade. Those glimmering golden feline eyes glint like fire. The beast snarls, baring razor sharp fangs. She can see blood dripping from them…her blood. She tries with all her might to hold onto conscious but she can tell it's a losing battle.

Oh god…her head's swimming already…swimming from blood loss…

Swimming from the toxin…

The leopard roars again, those vicious eyes flashing dangerously, bloodied fangs glinting in the stark light of the blade, casting the leopard in a near ethereal light. Everything else seems to fade away, slipping into the growing darkness swimming around the edges of her vision.

She shifts, struggling against the encroaching darkness, trying in vain to push herself up, not wanting to meet her demise cowering on her back in the mud. She takes as deep of breath as she possibly can, mustering every last ounce of strength she still possess, propping herself up against the boulder, looking the circling beast dead in the eye. It roars again, stalking closer as her vision fades, the darkness finally overwhelming her, feeling herself fade into nothingness.

Her last conscious thought is which was more humane- being ripped apart by the leopard or dying from the searing toxin she can already feel coursing through her veins.

She doesn't know which is worse…

But in a morbidly glib, head spinning final thought she's rather glad she at least won't be conscious to find out.

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***End OfChapterNotes***

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lumina morții: The Light Of Death (cheery I know lol)

Rattlorcupine- Rattlesnake + Porcupine

Okay I actually really like how this went- I think this is gonna be a really exciting, really unique story- and verse. Hope the action/fight scene was good for you guys and kind of makes up for the long wait.

I actually really like how it turned out. I wanted this chapter to be fairly short because it was solely going to be the fight and those work best when they're fast paced. I know Izzy's a bit colder here than usual but…well…in this world that's probably the case for near everyone…

Well…except Simon…

I know it cuts off rather abruptly but it's a logical ending. And I know the magical were is a bit out of left field but I know what I'm doing- promise.

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