~Fight or Flight~
Piper jolted awake, her body tensing from some unknown fear. Primal instinct coiled her muscles, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her ears strained to hear a noise, any noise, but there was nothing.
Just a nightmare then... Piper thought, trying to breathe deeply. She settled back into the covers, trying to get back to sleep when she heard it.
It was so soft, she might have missed it if she had been exhaling; the almost noiseless crumple of a body collapsing to the floor. The crystal mage had dropped enough Talons to recognize that sound anywhere.
In the state of shock of not knowing whether to bolt or stay, she almost didn't hear the soft footfalls of a man-shaped predator stalking closer.
Some hyper sense allowed Piper to be aware of a crystal dagger being drawn but yet to be activated. The glow from it would risk the prey becoming aware.
Piper lay frozen, torn between fight and flight. She was well versed in battle; she knew how to block and parry with her fists and feet. What bones to break, what organs to target, the difference of strength that would determine death or just pain. And despite the number of times of having strangers in her safest of places she still never knew how to react. There was always this hope that it couldn't be happening; that there wasn't a man whose only goal was to end her life, and he had gotten in oh so easily, and if he had managed that how was she supposed to stop him?
A scream tore through the night, distracting the would-be hunter.
Piper chose that moment to strike.
~ Tussle ~
Piper had been told she was a fierce and skilled opponent; her execution of Sky Fu flawless. But her opponent towered over her, and wore heavy armour. He was also quick, like a viper. His dagger now glowed with a venomous red colour, and left burning arcs at his every swipe.
One such swipe almost kissed her cheek, and her hand snatched at her assailant's wrist, trying to weaken his grip from the dagger. It quickly degraded into a tussle for power, each trying to take the dagger from the other.
Real fear trickled down Piper's spine. Her life had been threatened since she had been fourteen, but it was rare to have someone personally try to steal it away. And even rarer when she felt less than confident that she could defend it.
Her muscles trembled from exertion, before a final shove from the stranger made them give. They both toppled to the floor, and Piper gasped in pain as she hit the floor.
~ Unprepared ~
It was hard to breathe, and Piper felt something wet and warm soaking her clothes. Panic set in, and she frantically tried to wriggle out from underneath the weight. A pained groan escaped from the man on top of her, and he rolled off. The dagger was hilt deep in his chest. His face was going white, and every breath was a rattle.
Piper felt on the verge of being sick. She hated death. She hated killing. Up until that point she had managed to avoid it.
Nothing in life had truly prepared her to watch a man bleed to death. But then, life hadn't really, truly, prepared her for an assassin in the night. Or having a friend kidnapped, possibly dead. Or having to save the Atmos from a crazed girl her own age at fourteen. Life in general hadn't been kind.
Numbly, she could hear screams. Terror was ringing out, echoing, in the caverns and the passage ways.
She looked at the man who had tried to kill her. His eyes were now glazed over, staring wide, mouth agape. His blood was starting to pool around her feet, making her toes sticky.
As dispassionately as she could, she tugged the blade free, the blood on the hilt staining her palms. She swallowed a squeamish noise.
More screams and the sounds of heavy boots came closer.
It looked like the war had started early.