She'd have to teach the boy a lesson for his hubris later.
There just wasn't a reason for him to jump head first looking to earn yet another strike. And in the end, what did that even net him? He damaged his spear, and left himself open for the monster's next attack. Seriously, it was like he didn't listen at all to what she had to say. If that's how he wanted to act, that was fine. But, when it came to her detriment, he had something else coming to him.
I am not about to lose my chance at returning to the king because of some weakling!
Recomposing herself, Pitou stood opposite to her foe, posture low as they circled around each other. It was a cat-like monster casted in shadow, though, it looked much closer to a lion. The beast looked burlier with its powerful legs and sharp claws, standing in opposition to her more graceful figure.
It had a knack for swift strikes, jumping in and out of the shadows like an assassin… Perhaps Gregory's more aggressive strategy had merit. Even if the execution was shoddy at best.
The monster poised its claws at her, the miasma of darkness spreading in a smoke screen around Pitou as all sound around her became muted. In an instant, the world became still, her alone in the dark as a chill ran up her spine. She had parried an attack from earlier, but was it striking at full force? Was she prepared for another attack?
A slow breath blew through her lips, a deafening silence taking hold of her hearing as the hairs on her back rose. Pitou's head twisted, claws extended and eyes widened. Where did it go? Was it behind her? Above? Below? Her stance softened for a fraction of a second, and it struck in that instance.
Her legs kicked off the ground, moving above the fog as the smoke parted beneath her, with nothing there to show for it. The chimera ant's mind raced, trying to rationalize what happened, when it hit her. She played right into its trap.
Fabric tore, and her breath hitched. As her body spun around, the only thing she could see was darkness enveloping her from all sides and the faint sight of the creature releasing it.
Time slowed as she moved to stop her foe, only to realize too late that- An invisible pressure pressed down on her shoulders, teeth grinding to dust. Pitou's body began its descent, her breathing turning haggard as she winced. She had underestimated her foe's capabilities, and now she paid the price.
But it wasn't her fault. No, the other monsters had made her comfortable, lowering her guard until it appeared. Feeling the small cracks along her stomach, her mouth clicked. It'd been too long since she was wounded, and by a weakling, no less. She was above them, there was no way a royal guard would have been hurt. Not a single chance. No, it was a fluke, a trap that she had fallen into. Not on purpose.
Heat rose from her chest as she breathed. Her fingers trembling as her sights turned to the animal. It was licking its fingers, he- blood still fresh on them. It was taunting her, there was no other explanation. The blood in her veins boiled, the heat spreading throughout her entire body, a scowl etching itself into her face.
To think, she would shed blood in a place like this?
A hollow chuckle left her lips as she straightened her back, the sound of her heart beat taking over every other noise. She wouldn't be able to stand up to her king if she lost a second time, especially not when her opponent was some no name monster like this.
Stepping up to the plate, Pitou walked forward, her steps rhythmic. "You're quite interesting, you know?" She said, her desire growing restless by the second. "There are very few people who are able to make me feel like this. So please, make this fun for the both of us, okay?"
Finishing her words, she lunged forward, fully knowing she'd be rushing in without sight. A gust of miasma blew her way in the same breath, blocking her view from all angles, her body coming to a stop. Slowly exhaling through her mouth, Pitou's eyes closed, her right foot lifting off the ground, as she tapped it.
One, two,thre-, she side-stepped, her left hand lashing out in a sweeping slash.
The smoke parted momentarily, a streak of darkness zipping away from the space as she felt droplets hit the ground, one after the other. Dashing out of the smoke screen, her head snapped to where it had leapt to, finding several dark spots staining the floor, along with her summoner, the hairs all over her body rising at the sight.
What… was he doing?
{-}
Regrets.
I had many regrets, and I think I just added a few more.
Staring at the bleeding animal, my breathing had all but stopped, a lump forming in my throat. It could be done, it wasn't invincible. They had a fighting chance. The signs of a smile formed on my lips, feet moving without thought, a hunger surging throughout my entire body as I reached to grab it, tear it with my bare fucking hands.
Only for it to disappear before I could get to it, as sirens blared in my ears, telling me to move. My body bend to the right, narrowly avoiding the blur, a downpour of sweat trailing down my back. Turning to look at what nearly killed me, it didn't take long for the sirens to return in full force, screaming- Duck or die!
A twitch ran up my thighs, bending as a black smog trailed overhead. Doubt sprung up in my thoughts as I got back up, pulling my leg out in the nick of time as it moved to cut my tendon. "I'm not prepared for this!" I yelled, rolling out of several attacks.
I wasn't, nobody was. Not Pitou, not me. How the hell was I supposed to fight it?
"Then be prepared to learn how to." A smooth voice said next to me. "Let's call it a crash course to fighting assassin types, okay, Gregory?"
Hope, faint glimmers of hope shingled before my eyes. And for a moment… it felt like that was all I needed. My head nodded, as my cheeks stretched, standing straight as we both looked towards the beast ahead of us. "Alright, let's go Pitou."
A grin flashed over her mug as she took a stance, her knees lowering and her arms crossed. "First lesson, stay on the offensive. You were right in rushing it with a flurry of blows, but your execution was faulty." In the same breath, her legs kicked off the ground in a mad dash, barging into the shadow lion's space in a single bound. "On my command, I want you to punch as hard as you can."
{-}
The boy nodded, his feet digging into the ground, while his arm pulled back, his heart slowing down. If all went well, they'd have this in the bag-. The monster slipped away from Pitou like it always did, disappearing without a trace as the hairs on her arms raised, her feet tapping on the ground for a response.
Once, twice, three times, blitzing into a blur of motion, she moved to her left, using her hand to chop where she had been, finding nothing there. Was her intuition faulty? No, perhaps a second too lat- Pitou's chest caved as something struck her head on, body frozen in place as it refused all of her commands.
Stumbling backwards, she gritted her teeth for what felt like the umpteenth time already. She needed a way to bypass the smoke entirely instead of checking where it would strike next. The butchered version of echolocation would do her no good if her opponent just adapted to it.
Her joints creaked as she stood straight, watching every facet of the beast as she regained her breath. A continuous flurry of blows? That would displace the smoke, opening up visibility for her and her summoner…. However, it would also leave her vulnerable, and ripe for a counter attack.
But perhaps she was looking at it the wrong way
Gregory had been able to find his mark earlier on, striking true four in a row, though at the cost of dealing little damage…. If she could repeat the miracle with her strength, then they would come out on top. It was only the matter of recreating it.
"Change of plans, summoner," She commanded the boy. "Grab your spear and follow my lead. Look for any opening and attack, no matter the cost. If you do as I say, then our victory is already guaranteed."
"Right-" The boy was cut off when a blur entered the corner of her eye, as pins jabbed at Pitou's spine. It tried to attack them while they were distracted, was it really trying to test her patience? A cocksure grin overcame her face unconsciously as she pushed the boy aside, looking down at the attack before raising her leg to her chest.
This thing still needed a hundred years to catch up to her. With sloppy technique like this, it was a wonder how she thought it was her match.
She brought it down with a spear, meeting the former's claw as the animal's momentum came to a screeching halt, crashing into her lithe frame. "Aww, mister pussy cat's in quite the situation now, isn't he?" Smoke covered her body in little under a second, a futile effort as she grabbed it by the cheek.
"Seems like I didn't need to wait long for an opportunity, little puss. Now be a dear and stand still, I have just the plan to turn you into the best training partner." A low growl bellowed from its throat, a cry of defiance at her taunting. But, it wouldn't change the results either way.
Her fingers pierced into the soft flesh of the cat, rending its ebony mane with a long slash as she found what she was looking for. While magic could very easily explain what produced the smoke, nature would always find a way to make things more efficient, to make a specimen the best it could possibly be for the least amount of work. And it was only logical, to find the organ producing the substance to be under its skin.
Flaying the beast alive, Pitou's claws dug into a small lump on its back, making surgical incisions around it's perimeter as it roared and protested under her ministrations. But things wouldn't just end there. Because why would it end at just the prelude?
Tearing off the mound of flesh, she brought it back up to look at her eye-to-eye, watching as it practically begged to be let go. However, that wouldn't be right, not after it spilled her blood and licked it off its grimy little fingers. No, she would have to put it through the same thing, made things fair between the two of them.
Pressing the organ up to her mouth, she gave it a sly peck, eliciting quite the violent reaction, before swallowing it whole, savoring it's flavor… Only to spit it out not two seconds later. "Ewww~, it tastes like a hairball. You really need to clean more lil' puss, make yourself tasty. If you live anyways, nyahaha!" She chuckled at her own joke, though, only for a second before cringing at what she had said.
Clearing her throat, the smoke screen around her began to settle, Gregory's obstructed visage appearing through the fog. "Ready when you are." Pitou told him, the corners of her lips rising into a smile.
Nervously, the boy held his spear close to his chest, his posture shaky as he stared at her for what felt like an eternity, taking things one step at a time. "Do you… Do you think I can do it?" He repeated himself, seemingly unsure of the answer. "I mean, I could barely put a scratch earlier, what difference does it make now?"
"Easy," She perked up, wagging her finger in front of him. "Just aim for the weak spots. Eyes, the inside of its mouth, even its rear will do." He blushed at her words, but stayed determined, his posture unwavering. "In the end, if it works, then it works, nya."
{-}
I could do this, it didn't even have its shadows anymore. I could do this, I wasn't a little bitch.
Things were different this time, I had a chance. Besides, if anything went wrong, Pitou would just save me…. So then, why couldn't I move? I felt more alive than I ever did before, my heart working overtime to get as much blood throughout my entire body. And yet, I wasn't able to do anything.
A lump appeared in my throat, as my eyes closed. Everything was fine, I could only go up from here.
Gripping tightly around the spear's shaft, I took a slow step forward, gulping down a wad of saliva as the beast snarled in the chimera ant's grasp. Nodding towards my summon, she returned the gesture with one of her own, raising a hand as she counted down.
Three; my arms felt jittery, eyes sporadically shifting from one tree to another. Two; I couldn't hear anything other than my heartbeat, palpitating loudly in my ears, legs shifting to lower my stance. One; my eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, teeth biting on my lower lip as I took the step I needed forward.
My body leaned back, arms pulling back as Pitou disappeared from sight, leaving the flayed animal to make a mad dash towards me. Its teeth were barred towards me, showing just how sharp they were up close.
For a brief moment, time stilled, stuck at the beast's open maw as it neared me, right before my eyes. Memories, a past long behind me flashed in my mind. Of times out of my reach. Of a life that seemed so foreign, despite it having been mine a little over a week ago. A single stray tear left my eye, as my hands moved on their own.
Shouting with all that I had, I drove the weapon into the lion's mouth. My arms straining under its mighty weight as I drove the but of the shaft into the ground, letting go of it once it had done its job.
As though it were the titanic, the animal's body slowly impaled itself, until the wood could no longer bear the weight, snapping in two under the pressure. Splinters rained down on all sides as the beast fell on its face, further driving the stake into its head.
Beads of sweat trailed down my face as I dryly heaved, my lung searing with a pain no cardio could replicate. A part of me wanted to say it was over, but deep down, I knew it wouldn't be. Not until I saw the damn thing buried six feet under.
A limp accompanied me as I got ever-closer to it, a hand grazing its open flesh, black blood coating my palm and the back of my hand. It would be dead soon, and I would take pleasure in every second of it. "Pitou?" I called out for my summon, the chimera ant appearing to my left in the next moment. "Dispose of the body, but leave the bones behind, I want you to craft my next spear with them." Her eyes sparkled with a brilliance never before seen, like a child on Christmas day.
"As you command, my dear summoner." She bowed, a smirk creeping up my face at her words. Hmm, perhaps I quite liked the sound of that.
Maybe things weren't going so badly after all.
A/N: Fixed the chapter, it's no longer shit… or it's less shit now. Writing it was smoother, and I was able to do it within the day, so you know it was like expensive toilet paper. Anyway, if you have any feedback, things you liked, disliked, or something you just want to say, I'll be open to any of it since it helps with the quality of my work. If you want to suggest anything, I'm also open to taking any of your suggestions, just say them, and I'll consider each of them for the story.
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