Delancey yawned as she ran her hands over her face, blinking as she tried to clear the sleep from her eyes. She smacked her lips a few times as she looked about the empty parade field located just outside the barracks. The sound of metal clips clanking against the distant metal flagpoles was the only sound that could be heard over the low howl of the wind. Delancey grunted a greeting as Forsythe approached, his sword hanging over his back and his shield tossed over his shoulder, both held in place with a leather belt that ran across his chest. His helmet clanked upon his belt with every other step he took, a knit cap pulled down over his head, his shaggy, pale blonde hair poking out from underneath. He waved a cheery greeting to Delancey and then saluted smartly.
"Who are you—AH!" Delancey yelped and jumped when she saw Jarvan standing next to her. "How... when..." She shook her head, holding a hand over her chest. "You scared the hell out of me, sir. When did you get here?"
Jarvan grinned. "I've been standing here for the past five minutes." Jarvan took a few moments to adjusted his armored tassets, fiddling with his belt and the metal links. "I said good morning and everything."
"Oh." Delancey said, blushing lightly as she bowed. "Apologies, sir. Good morning." Jarvan chuckled lightheartedly, satisfied with his armor as he stood up a bit straighter, his attention turning to the surprised look on Forsythe's face.
"Something the matter, Forsythe?" Jarvan asked. The corporal's brow creased slightly as he looked around, surprise sliding onto his face.
"No Sergeant Major this morning?" Forsythe asked, glancing behind Jarvan, as if the prince was hiding him somewhere. "It's as if your shadow were missing..."
"Nope." Jarvan said, grinning crookedly. "He's looking into a few things for me right now. Just some routine stuff that needed taking care of." He chuckled softly, his breath condensing before him. "It was the only way I could get away from him."
Forsythe nodded, looking over to where Delancey yawned massively. "You look like hell, Del." Forsythe said with a cheeky grin as he pulled his weapons belt over his shoulder and lowered it to the ground next to him, resting his hands atop the large, vaguely rectangular shield. An odd collection of weapons slid along the leather belt, most of which looked foreign and strange. The shield looked vicious at closer look, despite the relatively innocuous appearance. It was a standard issue Demacian shield at first glance, heavily dented and bruised by sword and ax strikes, but there was an out of place sheen along the bottom edge where it had been sharpened to a razor's edge. "Not enough sleep last night?"
"I don't know how you and Shyvana do it." Delancey moaned, looking at the bright eyed and excited looking Shyvana as she approached, trudging through the snow. She wore the heavy red armor over her standard blue uniform, a flame tattered cloak wrapped around her shoulders. She smiled at the others around her as she stopped, steam beginning to rise around her as she stood in the almost knee deep snow. "When do you find the time to sleep?"
"Whenever and wherever I can." Forsythe said with a grin. He ran his hand along the side of his face, across some blond stubble and over the large scar carved across the left side of his face. He fished this helmet from the weapons belt and picked it up, wiping a bit of ice from the shining metal surface. He slid it onto his head and seated it properly, running his fingers over the left side of the visor, where a black eye patch was barely visible under the T-shaped visor. Forsythe pulled his helmet off, the knit cap coming off with it, revealing a shock of pale, sandy blonde hair. He shook his hair out as he removed and tucked his knit cap into his belt, tugging his hair out of his eyes as he adjusted the eye patch and then pulled the helm back on. "It's nice being able to just kick back wherever, whenever I want. Probably the only real advantage to office work."
"So that's why you got busted the other day then?" Delancey smirked, raising an eyebrow as she fit Forsythe with a stern glare. The massive young soldier withered slightly under her exacting gaze, a sheepish grin on his face.
"Maybe…" Forsythe replied with a chuckle.
Jarvan exhaled sharply through his nose, grinning. "Falling asleep on the job as always, eh, Forsythe?" The prince shook his head, though his smile only grew. "It's good to know some things never change."
"What can I say?" Forsythe shrugged. "I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder for once. Any spare time I get is a good time for a nap."
"I wish I had more times for naps." Shyvana said with a small smile playing across her lips. "Just being able to stretch out under the sun and falling asleep, that's something I miss from Shurima. The sun was always so warm…"
"I've got to ask, Jarvan." Delancey said, a smile growing as she saw the prince sigh and roll his eyes, preparing for the worst. "Does she purr when you rub her belly?" Shyvana blushed as Forsythe let his head hang back and bellowed a hearty laugh. He leaned in towards Delancey.
"She usually moans, actually." Forsythe murmured just loud enough for Shyvana to overhear them. "You should have heard the last night before we returned to the city... I don't think anyone in the inn got any sleep that night."
"Forsythe… you… you…" Steam now billowed angrily from around Shyvana, the ice and snow now rapidly rising skyward in a spiral, like a steam filled winter vortex. Her face was beet red and her fists quivered in a mix of embarrassment and anger. Her eyes were a violent gold upon fields of black and as Shyvana snarled, bearing her teeth, blue scales creeping up along her cheek bones. Flames began to swirl around her, sparks and heat crackling amid the steam. Her clothes began to billow as lines of orange and gray appeared along the cloth of the uniform where it was pressed against her skin. "You are SO dead!" Shyvana snarled with a vicious grin as smoke swirled with the steam and the ashen remains for the uniform fell away. Shyvana smiled at the look of sheepish mock terror that Forsythe wore. Shyvana laughed as the flames died and Forsythe wiped his brow in a show of exaggerated relief.
"I will say, Shyvana, if nothing else, you can simply scare away any enemies that come to oppose you." Forsythe chuckled and Shyvana smiled. "It'll definitely work on any suitors that Jarvan has." Shyvana blinked several times, her brow creasing as she glared at the corporal.
"Well, both of them are game for this idea." Delancey said, giggling as she looked to Jarvan, his cheeks tinged a deeper red than the sting of the wind should have produced. "But Prince Jarvan, are you sure this is a good idea?" Delancey asked, hefting her saber. "I mean... last time you were hurt, you got shot and we are standing in the middle of a very open, very large field..." She glanced at Forsythe and he shrugged, cracking his neck.
"He can hide behind me if he's scared." Forsythe chuckled.
"You're funny, Forsythe. Remind me next time we're getting shot at so you can take the first bolt." Jarvan said, grinning. "I think having a friendly fight is a pretty good idea. I'd like some sort of measure by which to judge my own skill since all I've been doing is training with Shyvana and attending meetings lately. Oh, and I've been looking for an excuse to shamelessly beat the life out of Delancey for constantly heckling Shyvana and I."
"Yeah, yeah." Delancey said, waving a hand dismissively as she started checking over her gear. "You can try. Good luck."
"You know, I've always wanted to try fighting Shyvana." Forsythe said, an excited grin on his face.
"And I need to thank you two for waking me up so rudely." Shyvana said, flexing her hands around her gauntlets as she grinned. "I never got to express my gratitude for that."
Jarvan slapped a fist into the palm of his hand. "That's right! I never had the chance to get back at the two of you for all the grief I caught for what you did to the infirmary wing of the Academy's Medical School."
"Come on, boss, you're still holding that against me?" Forsythe grumbled, his grin infectious.
"Beat me and I'll drop the issue." Jarvan said, raising his hand and beckoning for the sergeant and the corporal to come forth. "Unless you're too afraid, that is..."
"Oh hell no." Forsythe said, raising his sword and shield and grinning as he slapped the blade over the front of his shield. "Call it, boss."
Jarvan looked to Shyvana and grinned when she nodded. "Ready or not, time to kick ass!"
"Sir, that's not how the saying..." Delancey yelped as Shyvana charged forward, her gauntlet coming down, directly aimed at Delancey's head. She brought her sword up, catching the blow as it came down like the swing of a hammer. The force of Shyvana's blow sent her barreling backwards, her boots sliding on the snow and grass beneath her feet. She hit a bank of snow that hadn't melted, sending her crashing backwards. Delancey ended up lain out, flat on her back as Shyvana turned towards Jarvan and Forsythe.
Jarvan had charged forward to meet Forsythe to keep him from connecting with Delancey. Jarvan extended his lance, letting the explosive speed catch Forsythe by surprise. Forsythe stepped forward and to the side, raising the shield and letting the lance spark and glance past as he ran forward at Jarvan. In a single fluid motion, Forsythe slid the sword from his free hand to his shield arm, produced a tomahawk from his belt and let it fly. He spun as Jarvan ducked back out of the way of the tomahawk, using the momentary lapse in stance to force Jarvan's lance further back. He dropped the blade, catching it in his free hand and let it drop low, swinging it back as he continued to hold off the princes lance and charge. He came in low and slow with his sword held back and to the side so as to strike at the prince. Jarvan snarled in surprise, shifting his footing to heave the lance about, trying to force Forsythe aside with a jerk of his weapon. The corporal's footing was too good though and Jarvan couldn't lever him off balance. Jarvan slapped the trigger as the lance started to coil inwards, the hissing of the blades retracting. Jarvan spun about, bringing the lance around his back, aiming at Forsythe's head with the butt of the weapon. Forsythe tried to stop abruptly and started to slide, bringing his shield up to catch the armored butt of the prince's lance. The force of the blow slammed Forsythe onto his back as Jarvan bounced away, struggling to control the mass of his lance as it tried to rip away from him.
Jarvan landed on his feet after a sloppy flip, driving the blade of his lance into the ground to keep him for sliding any further. Forsythe slammed his sword into the ground to slow his own slide, and tucked his knees to his chest and extended them rapidly, his body rocking up to his feet. Forsythe stood up straighter, shaking off some ice as and jerked his sword for the ground, charging forward as Jarvan started to bring up his weapon.
"Heads up!"
Forsythe and Jarvan both turned to look as Shyvana came barreling in, her armored gauntlet striking Forsythe's blind side and sending him cartwheeling backwards as Jarvan grinned and nodded his thanks to Shyvana. She blew the prince a kiss as she slid to a stop, raising her guard as Forsythe crashed to the ground. The young soldier struggled up this time, not recovering as quickly or as gracefully as before.
"That was a dirty trick!" Forsythe spat, looking up at Shyvana as she shrugged, keeping her guard up and summoning flames around her gauntlets. The flames crept skyward, seeping upwards menacingly.
"Not really, you just need to be more aware of your surroundings." Shyvana said evenly, casting an arm back and throwing out a cloud of flames. Forsythe snarled as he dropped down behind his shield, tucking his head as the flames washed over him. He pushed himself up, raising his shield as Shyvana barreled down on him, swinging her arm, a furious expression on her face as she snarled. Her gauntlet struck Forsythe's shield, the two fang like prongs punching through the armored plating and sending Forsythe stumbling backwards against the force of the blow. Shyvana corrected her footing, her body swinging around as she cocked her arm back for another attack, the corporal grimacing as he raised his shield again. Shyvana poured flames and punches into Forsythe's shield, steady forcing the corporal back as he struggled to keep his guard up. Shyvana snarled as she raised both of her fists back, a ball of flames swirling between them. Forsythe raised his shield and gritted his teeth as the blow struck, slamming the shield into his head and tossing him backwards.
Delancey rolled out of the way as Jarvan's lance crashed down where she had been standing, an explosion of ice, water and dirt showering them both as the crack of the lance echoed about the open field. She hissed as she slid in the ice and wet grass, her sword held away from her body as she reached over her shoulder and let three knives fly. Jarvan dropped his shoulder and let one knife bounce off his armor, the other two cutting through the air above him. He growled as she retracted his lance, raising it vertical as he slammed the butt down into the ground, sending a standard arcing through the air towards Delancey. She yelped as she kicked herself backwards, the standard dropping into the dirt between her legs. She hissed in surprise, looking up at Jarvan and then instantly regretting the wasted time.
"Shit." She muttered as Jarvan extended his lance and hooked one of the barbs on the standard. "This is going to hurt." She started to scramble out of the way, but Jarvan had already hit the trigger and the lance was dragging him rapidly towards the sergeant. She was on fours trying to get clear, but Jarvan was sliding forward, a knee tucked into his chest. His kick connected the Delancey's side.
"Shy! Up!"
The dragoness instantly put one foot up and in a cloud of steam she kicked off of Forsythe's shield, arcing up through the air in a back flip as Delancey's body went flying underneath her. Forsythe had just started to get to his feet when Delancey crashed into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a heap of armor and steam.
Shyvana landed and grinned as she stood up, looking at the two fallen soldiers as the struggled, groans and coughing coming from the Forsythe and Delancey. Jarvan approached her, dropping the butt of his lance down as he let a thin smile slide onto his face. He raised his vambrace and Shyvana slapped her own vambrace against it in salute as she walked around behind him, looking at Del and Forsythe as they finally started to untangle themselves from the ground.
"Nice shot." Shyvana said with a grin. Jarvan shrugged but he nodded.
"It was a pretty good kick." He chuckled softly as Delancey coughed some blood onto the ground. "You okay Del? Need me to call the Doc already?"
"It doesn't hurt in the least." Delancey snarled through gritted teeth.
"We can call it if you two are done already." Shyvana said, laughing playfully. She rested an arm upon Jarvan's shoulder, leaning against him as she watched the others struggle to their feet. "How about you Forsythe, you still want to go?"
The massive young soldier grimaced as he pulled his helmet off, blood dripping from is brow. He glanced at the helmet and then wiped the blood away, tossing the helmet away. He picked his shield up off the ground and then slapped it twice with his sword to remove the ice from the face of it. He wiped his lips on his gauntlet and then dropped into a defensive position, his guard raised.
"I need you to take care of Jarvan, I can't deal with the range of his lance." Delancey said as she winced, a hand held over her stomach. She spat blood on the ground and then brushed her hair from her face, keeping her sword held away from her body, between the prince and herself. "I have an idea."
"You okay to keep going?" Forsythe said, looking over at her. She nodded curtly, a twisted smile forming on her lips.
"Just trust me, I've got a plan." She smiled as she showed him something in a pocket and a smile broke over Forsythe's face.
"Roger that." He said, raising his sword as he started in wide circle that put Jarvan between him and Shyvana. Delancey did the same, starting around in the opposite direction.
"Looks like they're going to try and divide and conquer." Jarvan said softly, raising his lance. "Watch your back and call for help if you need it."
"I'll be waiting for your call." Shyvana said with a coy grin. Jarvan snorted as he cast her a confident grin over his shoulder and settled into a fighting stance, drawing his lance up onto his pauldron, dropping his shoulder and charging out to meet Forsythe. Shyvana spread her gauntlets as she charged out to meet Delancey, flames boiling in the air behind her and she charged through the snow.
Delancey grabbed a pair of knives threw them as she dove, rolling into Shyvana's charge. Shyvana had raised her guard to block the knives as Delancey collided with the ground, just inside her charge, but Shyvana snarled, her flames flaring up as she dropped one gauntlet into the ground, digging up mud and grass beneath the snow as she slid to a stop. Shyvana grabbed the sergeant and rolled across her own body, hauling Delancey off the ground and over her body, but Delancey managed to hook the blade of her saber under Shyvana's shoulder plate and yanked the dragoness along with her. Delancey hung onto the blade as Shyvana toppled, continuing to drag the dragoness down, but the blade snapped after a few moments, sending Shyvana and Delancey crashing to the ground.
Shyvana tried to recover mid fall, but she hit the snow leading with her hip and the impact of her legs striking legs and her head snapping towards the ground caused her to snarl in anger. She was slower getting up than she intended, the disorientation of the new armor causing her ears to ring as she looked about for the sergeant. Delancey had managed to tuck and roll when the blade snapped, casting the hilt out of her way as she fell. She hit slightly harder than she intended, but she had managed to tuck her shoulder in and roll onto her feet, stumbling only slightly as she took long strides and turned about to face Shyvana.
Crimson blood dripped down her arm, and as Shyvana pulled the bloodied piece of saber from the gap between her arm and her shoulder pauldron. Delancey blinked a few times, watching in awe as Shyvana threw the blade aside and then clenched her fist in fury, the flames burning higher.
"You okay? Need me to call a doctor?" Delancey said in a mocking tone as she produced her falcata sword from her belt, the short bladed weapon much lighter in hand. The blade was half that of her saber, and while it wasn't much lighter as far as the weight went, it was easier to maneuver due to the shorter length. The lightly hooked blade tended toward the ground, but Delancey spun the weapon in a provocative flourish, offering Shyvana a grin that quickly fizzled out.
Shyvana snarled aloud and sunk slightly in her stance, fire starting to pour from her wounded arm. The tendrils of orange flame licked her skin, drifting upwards, the air filling with the stench of burnt meat. Shyvana snarled in pain, but the vicious sound was disturbing even to Delancey. Her sword had fallen to her side in both fear and awe.
"You sealed your wounds with your own fire…" Delancey murmured as Shyvana shook off the pain and straightened up. The dragoness looked cross, but as Delancey started to ask if Shyvana was alright, the dragoness exploded forward in a flame-fueled charge.
Delancey brought her sword up in a defensive stance as Shyvana launched a fury of blows, skittering backwards through the snow, struggling to keep her footing as strike after strike bounced from her blade. Delancey growled against the hard push, dropping her blade low and beating the Dragoness's strike up and to the side. Delancey stepped into the charge, taking Shyvana by surprise as she connected her armored shoulder with Shyvana chest plate. The dragoness bounced backwards, dancing out of range of the sergeants follow up strike. She slid in the snow, dropping down to all fours and clawing at the ground with her gauntlets to slow herself. She charged again with a vicious snarl, launching a flurry of blows that Delancey easily bounced back. Left, right, left again, Delancey danced the blades about, slapping Shyvana's attack back or just out of the way. She started to block the next blow, but Shyvana planted her foot to stop her advance. Delancey cursed as she tried to turn the failed anticipation into a swing at Shyvana's waist, but the dragoness pushed herself back just far enough that the blade sliced through the cloth of her armor.
Shyvana lashed out with a massive right haymaker, but Delancey indulged herself in a grin as she mimicked Shyvana's move and slid just far enough backwards to dodge the move. Delancey spun her blade and caught the back of Shyvana's right gauntlet, jerking her forward. Sparks showered the snow as her blade skittered along the metal gauntlet as Delancey brought the blade up and around to strike at Shyvana's shoulder again. Shyvana brought her arm up to block it, catching the blade wide and sending Delancey backwards, trying to recover. Shyvana lashed out again, but her strike missed, sending her tumbling forward onto her face. She caught herself in her fall, using the new momentum to turn the fall into a downwards strike at Delancey's armored feet. The sergeant danced backwards, but as soon as Shyvana's gauntlet struck down she had dragged herself forward to strike in a similar motion. Shyvana launched herself forward, aiming for Delancey's center mass, but the sergeant laughed aloud as she leaped over Shyvana rolling her back across the dragoness's and landing behind her. Delancey bounced off her hands in a front flip, landing gracefully with another taunting grin.
Shyvana rolled and spun, ending up on all fours again, clawing at the ground as she slid to a stop, slapping another pair of throwing knives aside, loosed by the sergeant. Shyvana growled, her breathing heavy with exertion and anger now.
"Slippery little bitch." Shyvana muttered under her breath, shaking some of the ice and muddy grass from her gauntlets. "Hold still so I can maul you."
"What, and make it easy for you?" Delancey said, grinning as she made a show of admiring the blade of her falcata. Delancey paused and then scolded herself, shaking her head. "Damn it, I missed a good one. I should have remarked about how slippery you get when Jarvan is-Woohoo!" Delancey rolled away as a ball of flames boiled ice and snow where she had just been standing, pushing herself up to her feet and rolling away from Shyvana as the dragoness lunged, leading with a flame cloaked gauntlet. Shyvana landed on her knees, skidding in the snow a few feet, turning towards Delancey and preparing to lunge again. Delancey threw three daggers, but Shyvana barked a laughed when they all missed.
"You need to work on you aim!" Shyvana snarled, barring fangs as she launched herself towards where Delancey stood shrugging and grinning.
Shyvana felt something snag her armor and send her face planting into the snow with a surprised yelp.
"That was certainly a cute sound." Delancey chuckled as she admired her sword again. Shyvana growled as she looked over her shoulder at where a large dagger had pierced the pierced hercloak and sunk deep in the ground, pinning it in place. "Who needs to work on their aim?" Delancey smiled victoriously as Shyvana growled. Shyvana launched herself forward, the sound of ripping fabric echoing through the air. Delancey fell backwards as Shyvana went arcing over her, a ball of snarling flames and claws. The fabric shredded and the knifes when twirling away, Delancey impressed with Shyvana's shear power and tenacity. Shyvana landed and spun, though she did not immediately launch into an attack again. Delancey frowned, raising her sword in a defensive stance. Shyvana took two massive strides and launched herself forward, tucking her legs up to her chest and her arms to her sides, closing her eyes for a brief moment while she hung at the top of her arc.
"What are you..." Delancey's eyes grew wide and she raised her falcata up in one hand and produced her combat knife with the other. "This looks like it's going to hurt..."
Giant wings of flame burst from Shyvana's back, the plumes of flames driving her forward as if she had been fired by bow and arrow directly at Delancey. The sergeant yowled in surprise but kept her guard up as Shyvana came. They clashed in an explosion of fire as Delancey crossed her blades and caught Shyvana's gauntlet, twisting her blade about as Shyvana snarled and tried to force more flames from the massive wings. Delancey spread her feet and kept her stance, though with the ice under foot she skidded backward through the snow. She felt her stance falter as her rear boot struck a chunk of uprooted mud and ice. Delancey pushed up, catching Shyvana by surprise, dropping her blades to the ground. Shyvana pulled her weapon back for a brief moment as she looked at Delancey, the sergeant grinning and she rolled backwards, grabbing Shyvana's chest piece and hauling her up and over, planting a boot in her gut and tossing her way. Delancey grabbed her blades as they hit the ground, scooping them up as she rolled up to her feet.
Shyvana tumbled through the air, using the wilting wings of flame to spin her about so she could land heavily on all fours. The ground shook underneath her as she dragged herself to her feet. Shyvana looked down at her stomach where a muddy footprint had been planted on her stomach. She glared at Delancey for a moment, but the sergeant simply shrugged. "You really should stand still." Shyvana growled. "I just want to punch you, dear friend."
"And that's exactly why I'm not going to let you!" Delaney said, dodging a frustration driven charge from the Dragoness.
"I'm going to pummel you into the ground when I catch you!" Shyvana snarled in frustration, running after Delancey as the sergeant danced around back and forth, dodging sword strikes, parrying some and continuing to taunt the dragoness, drawing screams of frustration and anger.
...
"Sounds like they're having fun." Jarvan murmured, watching as Shyvana sprinted past on a sea of flames as Delancey skipped about, laughing hysterically. "Is this what it's normally like for you two?"
"Sometimes." Forsythe said, panting as he grinned as a roar of frustration echoing across the training grounds. "Usually involves less clothes and more dodging though. You should try it. Makes for great sex."
"God damn it, Forsythe." Jarvan said, shaking his head in frustration, hanging his head. "You really need to spend less time with Delancey. Or at least find something other to talk about than Shyvana and I's love life." Forsythe grinned as he raised a bolo over his head, swinging it about and throwing it at Jarvan as he charged. Jarvan gritted his teeth, hopping back and slashing the bolo from the air. "Shit!" The bolo had wrapped itself around his lance, the heavily weighted stones wrapped at the end of his lance, swinging it backwards towards the ground. Jarvan looked up just in time to raise an arm as Forsythe's shield collided with his side, causing the prince to heave as he felt several ribs crack. Forsythe crashed into him as he stumbled backwards, grabbing his shield before it fell away, and kicking backwards as Jarvan crashed to the ground.
"Don't tell me that's all you've got!" Forsythe shouted as he slowly circled the prince. "You've been pushing me about and simple mention of Shyvana throws you off your game. You're distracted, Jarvan."
"Fuck off." Jarvan muttered as he ripped his lance free of the bolo. He slammed his lance onto the ground, sending a standard arcing through the air towards Forsythe. He slapped the trigger of his lance aiming for the standard to close the gap with Forsythe, but he snarled when another bolo wrapped around the tip of his lance and the standard. Jarvan froze, trying to tug the lance free, but it was firmly wrapped around his lance, binding it to the standard.
"And you're predictable!" Forsythe shouted as he sprinted forward, jumping up onto the flat edge of Jarvan's lance as he ran along the blade. "You disappoint me!" Forsythe shoulder tackled Jarvan as the prince tried to rip the lance free again, sending him crashing to the ground. Forsythe rolled to his feet, producing a tomahawk and letting it fly, the metal headed weapon spinning rapidly as Jarvan side stepped it, the weapon coming dangerously close. He snarled as he watched the weapon arc past before he looked back to Forsythe. Forsythe had rapidly closed, sprinting forward and crashing into Jarvan with his shield first. Jarvan staggered backwards, the force of the blow causing his head to ring. Forsythe pushed forward, bringing his sword over and down in a rapid strike that Jarvan barely managed to swipe out of the air with his vambrace.
Forsythe spun, swiping at Jarvan with his shield again, the prince stumbling backwards as he missed the metal by bare inches. Forsythe snorted and raised his weapon up, letting it spin in his hand to hold it upside down by the grip, driving it down towards Jarvan's stomach.
"Jarvan!"
"What!?" Forsythe looked up at the last second as Shyvana cannonballed into him, sending him crashing along the ground. Masses of snow and ice were sent flying skyward as he was sent sprawling to the ground nearly a hundred feet away.
"Jarvan!" Shyvana shouted as she smacked a pair of knives from the air, as Delancey tried to turn the evasion off and attack. "Get your lance!" Jarvan blinked the last of the shock off and stumbled forward, grabbing his lance and starting to rip the ropes of the bolo up with a knife he had pulled from his boot.
"Don't ignore me!" Delancey shouted as Shyvana ducked backwards, dodging another strike from Delancey's sword and knife.
"You finally decided to fight?" Shyvana grinned as she planted her foot, stuck out her arm and swung, clothes lining the sergeant and sending her crashing to the ground. Delancey gasped in pain as her back struck the ground hard. She immediately rolled away though as Shyvana slammed a fist into the ground, sending a shower of ice and mud across the field. Shyvana withdrew, snarling as she rolled away, a tomahawk striking the dirt where she had just been standing.
"Now, Del!" Forsythe shouted as he charged forward, holding his sword over his head. Shyvana snarled, looking to where Delancey had produced a set of glittering knives, reaching her arm back and letting them fly. Shyvana hissed as she waved her arm, throwing up a cloak of flames that the blades crashed into and dropped to the ground the force of the rapidly rising heat the wall of steam. Shyvana turned to face Delancey, expecting the closer attack to come first, but Delancey grinned, making a cheeky face as Shyvana started to prepare an attack. She danced backwards, clear of any attack that Shyvana could put out. "Gotcha!" Forsythe bellowed as he let the bolo fly.
It was a trap! Shyvana felt the heavy stone bolo wrap around her legs and bind them, wrapping tight and start to topple the dragoness. Delancey charged now as Forsythe as well rushed forth, his sword held out to strike. Delancey raised her weapons to strike as Shyvana cursed her over-zealousness.
Power surged through Shyvana's veins as she let flames and energy pour through her body, channeling all of the strength she could. A whirlwind of flames and steam exploded around her as she roared aloud. Her head hung back as she howled in rage, sending out a massive wave of flame and heat that incinerated the ropes of the bolo. Forsythe was bowled over as he tried to brace against the shockwave, and Delancey was picked up out of the air and tossed backwards like a ragdoll.
"What power..." Forsythe said with a crooked grin as he grabbed Delancey's hand and hauled her to the ground next to him. He had anchored his sword firmly in the ground, his shield braced against his blade to prevent him from moving. He hauled her down and into the small bit of refuge offered by the shield. "This is starting to get out of hand."
"I think I can put an end to this." Delancey said, looking about for her sword and knife, but not being able to find either. "Damn." She spat, fishing her last two blades off of her belt. "I'm down to my last few throwing knives and I don't know how much longer I can last." She grumbled, her hand hovering over her side. She touched it and winced.
"I'll buy you as much time as I can." Forsythe said with a grin, producing a rock from nowhere. Delancey blinked a few times, but grinned and shook her head.
"You and your fucking rock." She muttered as she settled her hands around her last two knives. The finger guards were wickedly spiked and Forsythe raised an eyebrow.
"Says the woman who carried not one, but two knives like that." Forsythe chuckled. "Ready?"
"Bite me." Delancey snapped, but nodded. Forsythe blinked, though the cheeky grin he wore made it look like it was meant to be a wink.
"Later, babe. Go!" He exploded upwards and slapped Shyvana's attack aside with his shield and thrusted his sword forward, catching Shyvana by surprise. She snarled and punched across her body as she ducked the attack, striking Forsythe's blade hand with so much force the sickening crack of a breaking bone could be heard. Forsythe hissed but sunk back, grabbing his rock and hurling it at Shyvana as he ducked away. Shyvana caught it and shattered it with her hand, letting the dust and rubble fall away.
"Well that was anti-climactic..." Forsythe said softly as Shyvana reared her fist back and struck Forsythe in the chest, bowling him over.
"Behind you, Shy!" Jarvan said and he charged forward, leaping forward, his lance raised over his head. Shyvana looked back as Delancey charged her and rolled forward as the sergeant landed where Shyvana had just been standing.
"Fuck!" Delancey snarled as Jarvan arced through the air, his lance raised over his head for a massive blow.
"Del!" Forsythe knocked Delancey aside and raised his shield up, dropping to one knee and closing his eyes, holding the shield with both hands, gritting his teeth for Jarvan's attack.
The ground shook as shards of stone cut up through the stone, forming a massive arena that trapped Forsythe, Shyvana, Delancey and Jarvan within. Forsythe sank into the ground under the force of the blow, but he held for a brief moment before the sheer force of Jarvan's attack toppled his stance. Steam and ice fell from the sky as Jarvan picked himself up, looking down at the ground before him. He braced his foot against Forsythe's shield, ripping his lance from the shattered defensive implement.
Blood dripped from the end of his lance.
"Forsythe!" Delancey screamed, she started to run to him, but Shyvana slid between them, her fist raised. She struck through the air, the flaming blow, cutting through the air as Delancey ducked the blow and then leaped, grabbing Shyvana's torso and twisting about over her shoulder.
Delancey slid down Shyvana's back, her knife bouncing off of Shyvana's armor as she started to spin about. Delancey kicked off as Shyvana snarled, her hair flaring up as tendrils of flame leaped up off of the Dragoness's body. Delancey tried to slash at the Dragoness's back again, but the armored braid smacked it out of the way. She started to spin away, but she was buffeted up by a wave of heat and flames as Shyvana snapped about, lashing out with a foot. She kicked wildly, catching Delancey in the side and spinning the sergeant about.
Delancey crumpled onto the ground in a small heap, falling still. Shyvana blinked several times, banishing the golden slits of eyes as she waited for Delancey to get up off the ground.
"Oh crap..." Shyvana muttered, taking a step forward.
A sharp crack ripped her attention away from Delancey as she looked to where Jarvan was staggering backwards, a dazed look on his face.
"What!?" She started to look for Forsythe, but only the bloody remnants of the shield and a red stain upon the ground could be seen in the snow. She looked to Jarvan, but before she could open her mouth to ask what happened, Forsythe crashed into her, shoulder checking her and sending her crashing backwards into the wall of Jarvan's arena. Shyvana struck the wall, one of the horns of her helm striking the stone hard. Shyvana slumped down along the ground, her back against the stone. Forsythe stood up straight and looked at her with regret for a moment. His right arm hung at his side, blood dripping from a vicious gap in his bicep that had cut through steel, mail and muscle. Forsythe grunted as he shifted his arm and reached into his satchel and produced a circular round bottle with a bit of cloth and a bit of string hanging from the corked mouth and another short, fat round stick.
"What the hell?" Jarvan snarled shaking his head as he wave acrid gray smoke from his face, his eyes watering as blood dribbled from his right ear.
"Hey Jarvan!" Forsythe shouted, grabbing the string with his teeth and ripping it free. Sparks flew and tendrils of smoke rose from his hands as the cloth ignited. He touched the tip of the short stick to the flames and grinned as the prince looked to him in surprise. "Catch!" Forsythe tossed the crystalline bottle towards where Jarvan stood next to Shyvana, looking down at the stunned dragoness.
"Shit!" Jarvan grabbed Shyvana, hugged her to his chest and closed his eyes, summoning all of his strength. A glowing golden orb exploded around them both, the flames crashing down around the bubble. A sharp crack could be heard from outside the bubble, the faint rippling shimmer of the orb surrounding them bouncing and flexing as a shock wave buffeted the flames for a brief moment. Jarvan breathed a strained sigh of relief as Shyvana blinked her eyes open and looked up at Jarvan.
"What happened?" She mumbled, looking around at the swirling mass of gold and orange that surrounded them. A wispy blue orb drifted down and played over Shyvana's wound for a brief moment before it floated away, joining the other orbs, drifting around Jarvan like a protective web. She looked up at the flames with a moment of terror in her eyes. "Did I do this? Are Forsythe and Delancey okay!?" Her words were panicked and hurried but Jarvan calmed her with a raised hand and a grin.
"Easy, love, they're both fine." He looked up at the flames, blinking a few times and turning his head about, looking almost woozy. "This is Forsythe's doing. He hit us with a firebomb of his own making. I didn't know if it would hurt you so I…"
"Fire doesn't hurt me." Shyvana said crossly. "You, on the other hand, have a relatively poor track record when it comes to flames." She stroked his back gently and Jarvan, nodding his head. "You have the scars to show for it and everything."
"Yeah, yeah…" Jarvan murmured. "I didn't want to risk it, regardless." He turned and looked up at the wall of flames that had started to burn itself off. Shyvana noticed the trickle of blood that ran down from his ear.
"Jarvan, you're hurt…" She ran her hand through the streak and it was warm and sticky.
"What?" Jarvan turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised. "What did you say?"
"Your ear." Shyvana touched his ear gingerly.
"Oh, that." Jarvan said cringing a bit as he thought about it. "He set some sort of firecracker off in my face and I think it burst my eardrum. All I get out of the left side is ringing right now."
"Can you keep fighting?" Shyvana said, looking at him as he helped her up onto her feet. The bubble shimmered and shifted, fluctuating slightly as it expanded to let the two of them stand. Jarvan faltered slightly, gripping at his chest. "Jarvan?"
"I'm good to go." Jarvan said, nodding. "It's just been getting harder and harder to keep the Lightshield up for any amount of time, especially around the two of us."
"Then drop it, you big hearted moron." Shyvana muttered, looking at the prince, color in her cheeks. "I'm supposed to be protecting you, not vice versa."
"Let's call it a team effort." Jarvan said, stroking her cheek gently. "And I couldn't have asked for a better partner." Jarvan chuckled as Shyvana blushed again. "Especially one as cute as you."
"Shut up before I clock you." Shyvana muttered, glancing away. "Bodyguards aren't supposed to be cute."
"Yeah, yeah." Jarvan said as he dropped the shield. "Let's finish this and go get lunch. I've got a plan."
"Yes!" Shyvana said, nodding happily as she fell in beside him.
Forsythe looked to Delancey and lowered her to the ground. He let her get her feet under her before releasing her. "Can you stand?"
"Yeah." Delancey muttered, her hand hesitating over her side. "Hurts like hell, though."
"Agreed." Forsythe grunted. He looked to the arena where a golden bubble wreathed in flames sat burning. "It won't be much longer. We need to finish this soon. She's not going to wear out."
"I know." Delancey said, her chest heaving. She winced as she got to her feet, holding a hand to her side. "But what the hell can we do? I don't want to lose to those two."
"I've got an idea." Forsythe said, grunting as he pulled a small satchel from his belt and checking that it was still intact.
"You could kill them both with that..." Delancey said, her eyes wide.
"If this takes them down, then so be it." Forsythe said, grinning. "I lowered the payload, at most it should just knock them out."
"You're fucking mad!" Delancey spluttered. The grin that spread over Forsythe's face was wild.
"I fought a dragon close to the size of the damned barracks building over there with a half dragon, a prince, a ranger and a one legged lieutenant with a bow." He chuckled coldly as he pulled the rip cord on the small bag and tossed it to Delancey, her eyes going wide. "You didn't know that already? I thought that was half my charm." He shrugged and pulled his sword from the dirt and charged forward. "Better get moving, you don't have long!"
"You're fucking crazy!" Delancey called after him as she shook her head. She looked down at the satchel charge and grimaced at the hissing sound. She stared at it for a few moments before her stomach fell out of the bottom of her torso. "You already armed it!?"
"Like I said!" Forsythe shouted. "Get your ass moving!"
"Fuck you!" Delancey shouted as she sprinted forward, trying to catch up as he charged towards Shyvana and Jarvan.
The arena shattered to the ground as Forsythe charged in, dropping his shoulder as he swept in amid the shower of stone and rumble as it crashed around him. He swiped it aside, waving his sword wildly as he charged in. He battered Jarvan's lance aside, bouncing his sword around. He ducked and spun as Jarvan slashed his lance over his head, completing the spin as he launched himself upwards at Jarvan. "We've won!" Forsythe shouted victoriously as his blade came up to strike at Jarvan. A moment of horror showed on his face, but as Forsythe grinned victoriously, Jarvan's eyes glimmered in a vicious, victorious smile.
What!?
A moment of blinding pain came from his temple, stars exploding in his vision as he struck the ground and rolled, bouncing across the hard ground as he came to a grinning stop.
Forsythe groped for his sword for several moments, his hand finally finding the comfort of the hilt. His fingers clasped around the leather wrappings, and he started to drag it closer, upwards.
If I can just get to my feet...
The word slowly started to fade from black, a distant, painfully dark shadowy looming closer. An armored boot stomped down of his blade, ripping it from his grasp.
"You're through." Shyvana rumbled with a dark frown. "I've had enough of your games." She rolled Forsythe onto his back with her foot. Delancey was draped over her shoulder, clearly knocked out. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were shut, a thin trickle of blood dripping from her lip. Shyvana noticed his gaze. "She's fine. She might be a bit sore, but she'll live."
"Damn." Forsythe said, letting his head drop back to the ground as he slumped onto his back. He chuckled softly, looking skyward. "How did you deal with the satchel charge?"
"Satchel charge?" Shyvana and Jarvan said at the exact same time, looking at each other.
"Down!" Jarvan closed his eyes and kneeled, grabbing Shyvana and hauling her down as a massive golden bubble erupted around them all. Jarvan clutched at his chest as a massive ball of fire engulfed the area, shrouding them all.
...
The smoke and steam passed quickly.
The bubble dropped away and Shyvana and Delancey dropped away rolling onto their backs and looking skyward.
Jarvan clutched at his chest, sucking in deep, greedy breaths as looked back to ensure all of his friends were alive. Shyvana offered him a grin, Forsythe nodded weakly and Delancey's chest rose and fell peacefully.
"You're fucking mad, Forsythe." Shyvana grunted as her chest heaved.
"Fuck off, you probably broke four of my damn ribs with that last attack." The corporal grunted in frustration for a moment, but then he chuckled softly, his laughter growing louder. "The fuck are we doing?"
"Well, I believe I just kicked your ass, Forsythe." Shyvana said, smiling.
"Shut up, both of you." Jarvan murmured. "You're making my head hurt."
"I'll give you something to take your mind off the pain." Shyvana said in a voice that was somewhere between a invitation to something deviant and a threat for physical harm.
"I swear to god, if you two start making out..." Forsythe muttered softly.
"I was going to punch him." Shyvana growled. "But thanks for the idea." She rolled over and laid over Jarvan, draping her hands around his neck and kissing him deeply.
"Oh, for fucks sake..." Forsythe rolled his eyes. After several long moments, Jarvan's heavy panting could be heard again as Shyvana rolled back, flopping out atop the snow. Her skin had faded to its normal, pale hue and her hair, a lustrous red, was splayed out around her like a pool of liquid rubies.
"It's cold out here..." She murmured aloud.
"We should probably head back." Jarvan said, grunting. "I hurt like hell and this has been plenty of training for today. How're your wounds, Forse?"
"They sting and hurt like hell, but I'll live." He grimaced as he tried to roll over and get to his feet. "Fuck that hurts... Remind me not to fight you again. You two play dirty."
"You tried to blow me up!" Jarvan snapped back in astonishment.
"So I underestimated the blast radius a little bit." Forsythe shrugged, wincing again. "My bad."
"Well, I thought it was a good way to end things with a bang." Shyvana said, grinning. Delancey groaned as she shivered on the ground.
"Looks like she's coming to." Forsythe grunted, he tossed a bit of snow at the sergeant's face. "Get up, lazy." She grunted again and rolled over, swiping a hand through the air as if she was a small child wanting to go back to sleep. "I think she's got the right idea right about now." Forsythe muttered, shaking his head. "It's too damn early to be this tired."
"Aw, and I was having so much fun." Shyvana pouted. She met the incredulous stares from Forsythe and Jarvan with a grin. "Though if any of you wanted, I could easily keep going..." Jarvan looked over his shoulder at her in disbelief, the dragoness offering him a cheeky grin. The prince shook his head, breaking into a lopsided grin.
Forsythe looked to the prince with pity in his eyes. "How you plan to keep up with that, I don't know." He nodded his head in reverence. Forsythe snorted, a grin spreading over his face. "Shit, Shy, if you keep this up, I don't think Xin is going to have a chance." Forsythe grumbled as he pulled himself to his feet with a hearty grunt and a long exhalation. He glared at the prince for a few moments and then shook his head. "What have you been feeding her? I've never seen this much improvement this quickly."
"A steady diet of beatings, instruction and as much food as she can eat." Jarvan said chuckling.
"And that's not all!" Delancey announced, surprisingly sprightly as she started to get up. She whimpered in surprise as she rolled over and coughed deeply.
"I thought you were knocked out..." Forsythe grunted in disbelief, pushing himself up from his knees.
"I felt the need to tease Shyvana." Delancey tried to laugh, but there was a moment pain on her face as she grunted and dropped down towards the ground. "Plus you hit like a girl, Shy."
"Remind me not to hold back next time." Shyvana grunted as she rolled to her feet.
"I'll make sure that you get something hard as well." Delancey chuckled, grinning. "Hey Jarvan, I think Shyvana needs some attention." Jarvan glared at Delancey. He opened his mouth to say something in his defense, but the sergeant's youthful energy seemed unending, despite the pain on her face. She grinned happily as Jarvan hung his head and sighed, Shyvana ducked her head as she blushed.
"Give them a break, Del, they did just beat the tar out of us." Forsythe said with a grin. She sighed and shrugged, still grinning mischievously as she started to pick up some of her knives. She balanced a knife on the fingertip of her leather glove, grinning as she spun about, keeping it perfectly vertical.
"Del, if you could fight half as well as you could make jokes, you wouldn't be out of the job." Shyvana said, sticking her nose out and putting on a confident smile. Delancey jerked to an awkward halt, her mouth hanging open as she looked to the dragoness. Shyvana blushed slightly as she looked from Jarvan to Forsythe and back to Delancey. She tucked her hands behind her back and looked to the ground. "Did I say something wrong?"
Jarvan ran a hand up his face and through his sweat soaked hair, a smile breaking out over his face. "Delancey, I do believe you have just be owned." He looked to Shyvana and grinned massively. "It was just a bit unexpected, coming from you, love."
"Yeah, I do believe that Shyvana won that one." Forsythe said, chuckling softly as he looked to the flabbergasted sergeant. He bent over and fished the partially melted remains of his shield and looked at it with disappointment. "Damnit , and I really liked this shield, too." He shook his head and shrugged as he slid it up onto his arm. "It's good to see that you've started to open up a bit more, Shyvana. I remember not even a few months ago you would hardly talk to anyone but the prince."
Shyvana blushed again, but nodded, smiling. "I was surprised how well I was accepted here." Shyvana said as she picked up her gauntlets. "Most humans I've met fear or despise me... it's been nice, even with as much hate as I still get." Forsythe's face hardened for a few moments but he quickly shook it off when Jarvan gave him an angry glare that Shyvana didn't catch. Forsythe hid the pity on his face as he coughed into his hand and looked away. "You okay, Forsythe?" Shyvana asked as he wiped his mouth.
"Yeah." Forsythe muttered, shrugging as he picked up his sword and sheathed it. "The chill is just getting to me, and I think I need a doctor. We should probably head back. Ready, Del?"
"I know someone we can get to treat our wounds without too many questions." Jarvan said as he shouldered his lance, holding ahand over his side.
"But, but, but..." Delancey spluttered, shaking the surprise off as she picked up the knife. "What about..."
"Just admit you lost and let's go." Forsythe said, grabbing a knife of hers as he handed it back to her. "Let's just get back inside and ice these bruises down."
"But what about..." Delancey stammered.
"Come on, you too, Del." Forsythe said, putting an arm around her waist and pushing her along. The sergeant blushed as she looked down at his arm, but didn't push it away. "You should probably get those bruises taken care of before it starts to swell too much. It wouldn't be presentable for the ball at the end of the week."
"But I wasn't invited the ball..." Delancey said, wincing as she gently touched her side, looking down her tunic and grimacing. A nasty looking purple bruise was starting to form where Shyvana had kicked her.
"You're still my bodyguard for now." Jarvan said with a chuckle. "Which means you're going to be serving as part of my honor guard."
"What!?" Delancey said, deadpan, shock on her face.
"You're not the only one with surprises." Jarvan said with a grin as they laughed at her silly expression. Delancey looked sheepish, but the sound was infectious. They all laughed aloud, the sweet sound of Forsythe, Delancey and Shyvana all laughing with him. It felt good to laugh so heartily, so heartily that Jarvan coughed into his hand, smiling as he looked back at his friends, and the smile of his dragoness.
Shyvana looked at him and they locked eyes for a brief moment. Her brilliant magenta eyes glimmered happily as she beamed at him. She slid her hand into his and gave it a squeeze.
How beautiful those eyes are. I'll give anything to keep that smile upon her face.
"Oi, I may be nothing but a lowly clerk, but you lovebirds better carry your own damn weapons back." Forsythe growled, posting his fists upon his hips. "This crap isn't going to carry itself."
"I got it." Shyvana said grinning as she stood up on her tip toes and kissed Jarvan on the nose before bounding away to pick up some of the destroyed metal weapons they had all torn through. Jarvan coughed into his hand again, his hand coming away damp. Jarvan looked down at his palm.
Blood?