You Can’t Take Me

Kalt was always...there. Where? He sometimes wouldn’t know until she did, but he was always there, always watching, waiting. Patience. That was a virtue he had only truly grasped during their five weeks together in the cellar after he had split open her back over sixty times with the very whip he now had on his hip. He carried it everywhere, and it was truly a gift. It wore the blood of them both, mingled in the same day, but it was so much more. Whisper was his most valuable tool, especially now that he was in an unknown world.

Despite his lack of time committing actual assassinations since Northwind, aside from a few no names that no one ended up missing, Kalt’s skills were very far from dulled with time. No, if anything, he trained himself extra hard to make sure he stayed sharp in idle times. Ashe, however, had allowed herself to wear down. She was one of the best fighters Northaven had seen, but she was too comfortable, even when paranoia and caution ruled her, comfort and lack of a suitable teacher really seemed to take its toll. At least, that’s how it appeared in Kalt’s eyes.

He stood in the ruins, an area most of the Northaveners seemed to steer clear of due to whatever wariness was dampening their sense of adventure. Poor saps.

Theea was left in the house he had claimed with Dodge looking after her. He trusted the mutt enough to look after a three-year-old, and Theea seemed to take to him quite nicely, so it worked out wonderfully. The only things he had with him were Whisper and quite a few of his knives and daggers hidden on his person. The idea that he would leave without at least eleven knives on him at a time was a joke.

Kalt stood at one end of the ruins, taking the dagger from the top of his boot and looking at the side of a crumbling building. With a smirk, he began scratching four words into the stone, only taking a few minutes to do so before sprinting to the other side of the ruins where he had seen her approaching. The black wolf. So appropriate that it almost made him smile to think about.

He stopped before climbing, taking dirt into his gloved hand and smearing it across the top half of his face. He took a slow breath, wiping any loose dirt particles away, making sure he wouldn’t get anything in his eyes to slow him down. That was the last thing he needed in this little activity.

With expert skill, Kalt maneuvered onto the top of a stone wall, his hood pulled over his hair. The dirt staining his face provided something of a natural mask to shield his identity, while just looking like shadow from his hood, and the five o’clock shadow which had become a constant for him gave him even more of a disguise. She hadn’t known him that way, always keeping his face perfectly smooth. It seemed many things had changed since they last trained together.

Those crystalline eyes narrowed from atop his perch, as he watched the ebony fur come into view. Ashetta was an exquisite creature in both forms, but he put the thought from his mind. That wasn’t what they were doing here. That wasn’t what they ever would be doing again. No, this was training. He wanted her to be ready. For what? Well, for him.

Kalt drew another breath, taking another breath and grabbing one of his throwing knives. He released it into the ground directly between her front paws with a devious grin. Silver Wing never missed.

She wouldn’t run. He knew that much for sure. She was like he was in that respect. Once she would look to find where the knife had come from, Kalt would jerk his head in the direction of the other side of the ruins, then leap into a sprint. He darted across the wall he perched on, then leapt off in a perfect role onto the ground, pushing again into a sprint towards his destination.

Ashe’s pawsteps were the carefully placed steps of a master predator, picking her way through dirt and rubble alike with minimal hinderance. The black she-wolf was hardly a presence in the night, skirting close to shadows and ruins with only the glint of golden eyes betraying her. Her gaze flicked from shadow to shadow as she padded through the crumbling and decrepit buildings, and she was utterly astounded still at how well she could see in the gloom. All that she could smell had perhaps been the most startling thing to grow used to, but she had grown to depend on it quickly - especially on nights like this, when even her expert hearing detected no sound beyond her own breath. Still, her glance warily turned over her shoulder now and then, to that black spire. Her heart raced every time she remembered it whirling on her with its terrible screech, Ronin's bright red blood dripping from it's teeth. The large wolf’s hackles unconsciously bristled, and she had to shake the chill from her pelt. Ronin was going to be okay. She'd go back and tear the beast apart, they'd make a plan. They'd be smart, they'd kill the fucking thing, and then she'd wait for whatever else she needed to face down to protect her family. As such, Ashe kept her ears pinned forward, eyes bright, four powerful legs carrying her in a fluid and silent jog through the shadows. Only Ronin, Vervain, Devrum, Alistair, and Celosia knew about the wolf. The assassin hasn't realized how much she missed anonymity. Once upon a time, only the guild knew to connect Ashetta to the Assassin in Blue. Turning herself in, going to Northaven.. her identity hadn't been a secret anymore, and she'd stopped trying to hide it. Now all she needed was to be alone and out of sight, and she could shed her skin and slip into her fur. No one expected that the mage assassin had melded her soul with that of a wolf, and there was a degree of freedom in being both deadly and unknown again. It was why she slipped out from the ramshackle home she and Alistair had found, why she explored in the night in this body. This body.. Ashe let out a soft and near silent growl of self approval as she slipped between a crumbling building and a pillar that stood on its own. She wished she could spend more of her time this way, built with powerful strength and speed, but more than that… this was a body no one had taken from. One that would rend open flesh with her claws and splinter bones with her teeth and lap up blood with her tongue, for this body belonged to no one. It was hers and hers alone, and she had devoured the heart of the one who thought he could take from her without her giving first. It's what she told herself over and over when she woke gasping and heaving up everything in her stomach, when her head was spinning with panic: reminded herself who she was, that she wasn't afraid, and that no one would take from her again. The wolf continued on her path, and she cast another glance at the spire before she looked up at the evening sky - clear, and stars were beginning to wink to life. Her breath left her in a soft huff, and - She smelled it first. The scent was something like pine and snow and a foggy sea, but there were so many scents that twined with it on the breeze: sweat and dirt and the sharpness of iron, the sweetness of leather and something else altogether unique. Ashe froze, ears straining in the silence… She flinched into a crouch when a silver blade slipped home with a quiet thud between her paws. A snarl rippled from her chest and she snapped her head up to where it had come from. Who in the fuck was that? He jerked his head, as if beckoning her to follow, and she narrowed her eyes, lowering her head with a dark growl as she watched him move nimbly from his perch. The second she caught onto the direction he was going in.. Ashe snarled again as she lunged forward in the same movement as her jaws snapping down on the blade between her paws, ripping it from the ground and taking it with her. She race didn't immediately after after the hooded stranger that threw the knife at her. No, with one ear turned and listening to his footfalls, Ashe kept her gaze ahead as she bunched her haunches and leaped. Ashe's paws touched down on a fallen pillar, claws gripping into the stone as she raced up and onto the nearest half crumbled roof. She let out a soft growl and kept her ear trained on him, quickly finding that form dashing away. She barreled forward with that blade clamped in her jaws, heart racing wildly in her chest. ’Who the fuck are you?’ she thought as she rapidly closed the distance, four paws devouring the crumbling rooftops. Who was he, and why had he thrown a knife at her? He had motioned for her to follow, hadn't thrown another.. a trap? Why? She redoubled her efforts, and without so much as a warning, her claws dug in and she changed her direction, making nimble leaps from a roof, to a crumbling wall… And then she was landing on the ground just ahead of the hooded man on two feet. The raven haired girl whipped his blade from her teeth and threw it with deadly accuracy, aiming to his left and to pass by his head - it would cut into that shadowed hood of his if her aim was true… and the Assassin in Blue never missed. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

She took the bait. Perfect. Within seconds, they were in a close chase. He couldn’t help the smirk on his face as he was zapped back to the eleven years that they trained together. Stunts like this one were quite common. Evasion and stealth were his specialty in the Guild, and there was no one who bested him at it, though the Assassin in Blue definitely rivaled him.

No matter how silent his footing was, he wasn’t going to be able to escape a wolf’s hearing, and he very well knew that. His goal wasn’t to escape her completely, but to get her ass back in gear. She wasn’t in the shape to best him like she had years ago, but he would get her there again. Just give him a little time.

When in a chase, he never looked back. He taught her the same. He used his ears and peripheral vision to keep an idea of where his pursuers - or in this case pursuer - were, but taking his eyes away from what was coming was a dangerous and foolish thing to do. Especially on unfamiliar ground.

He skidded to a stop, as he watched her shift in the air, landing directly in front of him. In the same fluid movement, she whipped his knife back towards him. Kalt leaned to the right quickly, his hand catching the blade in the air as he had done so many times before. His gloves had reinforced material on the palms for precisely that trick. He angled his head downward, the left side of his lips pushing his cheek upwards just slightly.

Without warning, Kalt flung the knife back towards her, and it would cut through the bottom of her hair just over her right shoulder if she didn’t move to dodge it.

He didn’t wait for her reaction. Silver Wing turned on his heel, racing up a few crumbled blocks and kicking off a wall to grip the one opposite it. He pulled himself up smoothly and took off again, leaping gracefully over a large gap of the wall and continuing without hindrance.

If he was being completely honest with himself, this was a blast. He hadn’t had a formidable adversary since he and Ashetta last fought. It felt incredible to truly stretch his muscles with someone worthy, someone he created.

Kalt took hold of Whisper, snapping it against a dead tree limb as soon as he passed underneath it, hopefully causing her some kind of slip. His eyes remained ahead of him, ears sharply tuned into her nearly silent footsteps. She was good enough to sneak up on just about anyone...other than her teacher, that is.

He caught the knife. He caught the knife. Ashe blinked and shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and narrowed her eyes… what the.. was he..? Ashe nearly cried out in outrage - he was smirking at her. Ire flared in her chest and her lip curled in a snarl, and all at once she realized that this was no Northavener she'd ever known. Ashe had many friends she sparred with, but she had yet to find anyone like she'd had in the Guild. Brutal and fast and trained by the elite.. she'd been lacking any harsh and consistent challenge since she toppled that empire. But whoever this was, he was a formidable foe. Catching one of her throws. And smirking about it. ’Prick,’ she thought. She caught the movement of his arm seconds before he let the blade fly. Ashe fluidly tilted her back, and the blade shot by her, so near that she felt the air parting for it. She didn't dare catch the razor sharp knife, not with her bare hands. She cursed when she realized it gave him exactly the chance he needed, and the hooded man was dashing away again. Ashe charged after him without hesitation, shifting half way into her lunge. Paws rejoined the earth with a half growled bark, claws dug in, and she was racing forward. She only caught up in time to watch him nimbly launch himself up and up and up, then he was on the other side of a wall. A growl rumbled from her chest, and the wolf didn't quite follow his path. She chose a more.. direct route. She picked up her speed, and just as she reached the wall, she gave a mighty leap. She cleared the wall, and she thudded down and was already running with a satisfied huff. If she'd been in her original skin.. she wasn't ashamed to say she'd be grinning. As she was, her ears were perked forward, golden eyes gleaming with crackling heat. She thought to call upon her lightning, to really stop him in his tracks. Blue and gold sparks snapped and hissed in her wake every time her paws touched down, but she sent none of it after her opponent. Not yet… she wasn't ready for this to be over. Then there was the crack of a whip. Ashe swore she felt her entire back split open in lines of deeply aching fire. She flinched and let out a deafening and snarling bark that echoed into the silence of the ruins. Her hind end swung forward as claws dug into the overgrown cobblestone, skidding and scrambling to slow her, to instinctively keep her away from the sound of that whip. The wolf's ears were ringing then, tongue lolling from her drawn and parted jaws as she bounced a few steps forward. Golden eyes were opened wide, and coherent thought was hard to latch onto. The wolf was pulling her tongue back and baring her teeth as she wildly looked about, animalistic fear and aggression blazing in her eyes. No one had wielded a whip against her since she had been broken that day at least two years ago. The image of her taking that whip between her teeth and ripping in two flashed in her head, and she launched forward again. Stupid, stupid rookie mistake. The sound of the whip tripped her up, and she lost sight of the dangerous stranger. ’Idiot girl.’ She wasn't letting him get away. She got his scent, and she was on the hunt for the knife-throwing whip-wielder that had dared smirk at her. Her, the Assassin in Blue! Ashe snarled and slowed her pace to quiet her pawsteps as that scent of pine and sea mist grew stronger. She strained her ears forward and listened beyond her racing heart as she bounded down the crumbling streets, and cursed inwardly at not knowing her way around - she needed to do some heavier exploration. Right now, however… Ashe zeroed in on him. She could just barely could see his frame ahead of her now, and that scent that was so heavily intertwined with everything else was powerful enough to taste it on her tongue. The wolf quickly banked off onto a side street, picking up her speed to circle around, flank him first and then cut him off. She paced herself, keeping herself utterly silent, never losing his scent, never taking her ears from him, her eyes gleaming from the dark with every break in crumbling walls and buildings… and then she shot out from the dark, a silent shadow streaking out from the darkness between two fallen pillars and into the silver light of the moon. The wolf lunged with open jaws for his back, and her teeth would close around the fabric of his tunic if he didn't react in time. She’d keep moving and yank harshly with a snarl, aiming to throw him off balance, and she hoped to skitter out of his reach if it worked. ’Who the fuck are you?’ she thought in frustration. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

He had managed to lose her mostly, though he wasn’t completely sure what had done it. Kalt didn’t expect the whip trick to stop her as much as it had, but he made a mental note of it for the next time they were taking part in such a chase.

Kalt paced his breathing: in through the nose, out through the mouth, keeping himself from cramping and tiring easily. He kept his wits about him, carefully creating a map of the visible area in his mind for future use and pre-planning. It wasn’t difficult to do with his perfect memory, but it was a necessity that unfortunately took part of his attention away from the chase at hand.

His split focus made him less aware of the approach made by the black wolf, as she streaked through the moonlight. Kalt snarled back at her, attempting to spin out of the way of her jaws, but not quite making it in time. She clamped onto his tunic and whipped his center of gravity off significantly.

Kalt quickly tumbled backward in a smooth roll, losing a piece of tunic to her bite, bracing himself on his toes and fingers. He looked up at Ashetta from beneath his hood, teeth bared in a highly wolf-like manner, as though he was attempting to speak her language or something of that nature.

With her, he had always been much more free, feral in relation to the uptight way he had to hold himself with everyone else. It was freeing to relax again, to fight and run and bare his teeth at someone under the veil of anonymity of his hood and the darkness. Freeing... He was free. She was free. Their Master was no more. But they still had to deal with each other. She might not have known that yet, but she would soon. For now, they could run, jump, fight under the light of the moon without the need to conform to any kind of societal rules. Free.

He growled lowly, suddenly darting forward, ducking into the area between the pillars from where she had emerged. Kalt climbed up the side of one of the pillars, leaping to the other one. The pillar started cracking, crumbling from beneath him, and he cursed himself for not seeing the fragility of the structure before putting all of his weight onto it. He braced himself on the pillar as it tilted over, pushing off of it and clinging to the side of a building. He slipped slightly because of the lack of grip on his gloves, but managed to regain his grasp, pulling himself up onto the roof.

Kalt pulled his gloves off then, taking a moment to catch his breath as he stuffed his gloves into his pocket, eyes searching for her reaction to his dash. He gritted his teeth, surveying the area to determine the best path to get him to his destination.

He brought his gaze back to Ashe, flipping his middle finger to her before running to the other side of the building and jumping over to the one right beside it, not waiting to see her reaction.

She successfully tugged him down, and she rapidly leaped out of his path with a piece of his clothing clamped in her teeth. She snarled savagely, victoriously as he caught himself, and she crouched low. Her blood was absolutely singing, and when he snarled back at her.. oh hells. Ashe snapped her teeth at him with the thrill that passed through her, and she barely kept control of herself as she lunged forward - but she'd hesitated with him baring his teeth at her. She didn't think about the familiarity of it - she'd tucked that away to think about later. For now… the hooded man was getting away. The wolf pulled up short in her pursuit as a pillar was being toppled over by her opponent’s escape. She might have thought it on purpose if it weren't for the frustration in his movements, but that didn't change that she was in danger of being crushed. She let out a barking snarl as she leaped out of the way of the pillar, a surge of rage flaring in her at the time it bought him. She leaped over a crumbled piece of the ruins, and her gaze found him again as he nearly slipped. She couldn't explain it, the way her heart lurched at the sight of that, but once more she didn't allow herself to think on it. He was already clambering onto the roof, removing his gloves, and.. Ashe growled and let out a bark of outrage after him at the middle he'd thrown her way. ’Insufferable fucking prick!’ she thought. ’I'll fucking bite that gods damned finger off.’ Ashe launched herself forward, paws devouring the ground as she kept pace with him from the ground. His scent was hers now, and she kept one ear swiveled toward him as she bounded alongside him, below him. If he thought he was going to throw knives at her, smirk at her, crack a whip at her, flip her off and still get away.. she snarled and redoubled her efforts, picking up her pace to race ahead of him. She might not know her way around quite yet, but an eidetic memory is what made her best messenger in Northaven, and had certainly helped in making her the best assassin in Northwind. She'd be damned if she was going to let some random asshole dethrone her. She raced decently ahead of him once more (five hells, four legs was a gift from the gods), and she took a sharp turn into a crumbled and ruined building of overgrown stone. She made a leap for the wall and shifted half way, and she kicked off that wall with original feet and twisted in the air, and her hands grabbed onto a section of the roof that had caved in and dipped down into the building. Her heart was racing as she pulled herself up in a rapid movement, never missing a beat. As she got her feet under her and whirled to face the man who she had aimed to cut off once more (if the prick would just stop running and actually fight her..), she unsheathed Reckoning from where it was strapped to her back with a clear ring into the night. And Ashe… Ashe was grinning wickedly with a delighted gleam in her eye as she spun and swung a blow for her opponent's left side. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

Kalt kept his gaze forward, passion flaring in his crystalline eyes. This was the most alive he had felt in years, more than anything he had felt in Northaven, but he had honestly forgotten what it meant to feel truly alive. His heart was racing, smirk unwavering, legs never slowing.

Gods, he fucking missed this.

He came to a short stop, lowering himself to keep his balance perfect, as he watched her lift herself onto the roof with him without any hesitation. Perhaps she wasn’t quite as out of practice as he had initially thought. Just needed someone to bring it out of her. Good.

The glimmer of the blade she unsheathed... his blade... widened his smirk. Call it a slight sentiment, but he always got excited when he saw one of his blades in action. Just because she didn’t know she was using his blade didn’t mean it was any less his masterful craftsmanship. To see it being wielded, by Ashetta no less, was absolutely a treat for him.

The positively wicked grin she displayed on her lips was teasing enough, and he paused, waiting for her to make the first move. She was in the way of his destination, and she had now drawn a blade on him. Kalt wasn’t about to strike first. He didn’t have any true offensive weapons on him at the moment, but t didn’t matter. His purpose wasn’t to fight her. He didn’t want to fight her then. There would be a time for combat training, surely. Now was not that time. Now was the time for stealth, evasion. Now was the time for a chase.

She struck towards his side, and Kalt spun out of the way, flicking a knife out of his wrist and colliding with her blade with a sharp clash.

He hadn’t counted on being so close to her, otherwise he would’ve done more to disguise himself. For now, he kept his head lowered, letting the shadows of the night work to his advantage. As soon as her blade was away from him, Kalt sprung to the side, smoothly flipping over a large hole in the roof. His footing wasn’t quite as sure as he had liked, but he stuck the landing perfectly, so it wouldn’t have appeared as anything against his abilities.

Kalt glanced at her, his smirk once again present, teasing her, challenging her, beckoning her to follow him, daring her to catch him. After all, she hadn’t yet succeeded.

He quickly jumped through the hole in the roof into the building, landing with a soft thud and racing to the decrepit staircase. Swinging around the bend, he slid down the railing, jumping off and running to a hole in the wall instead of the door, hopefully making for a quick escape to continue his race on the ground.

If Ashe hadn't been excited before, the sharp clang of steel on steel did it for her. While she grit her teeth and curled her lip as he danced out of her reach, she felt something rocket up her spine and reverberate in her bones at the ring of metal as the man’s blade slid along hers in his escape just as she tried to get a look at his face.. he slipped away Again. Why wouldn't he fight her? A trap. There was no way this smug asshole wasn't leading her into a trap, but by the forgotten gods, she was going to figure this the fuck out. Not right at that moment, however, as the man was gone again, flipping himself over that gap in the roof. Ashe whirled to face him with a strange mix of fury and excitement - but why wouldn't he fight her? She watched him land, and then there was that hells damned smirk teased her, and heat burst in her chest at the sight of it. It was a familiar sort of fury, and let out a growling laugh at herself. It had been a long time, years, since she had played with someone like this for the sheer enjoyment of it. And she was enjoying the hell out of this. ’Fine,’ she thought in silent answer to his challenge. She sheathed Reckoning on her back in the same moment that the man dropped down into the building she'd just emerged from. Ashe was grinning as she raced forward, hot on his heels. She leaped down into that hole, and she shifted midway down. Just as he touched down, four paws hit the ledge of the falling roof and shoved off of it, launching herself straight for the stairwell just as he slid down the railing. The wolf snarled as her claws scraped against stone as they hit the wall by the stairs, and she twisted and landed on all fours. She didn't even pause - she bolted down those crumbling stairs, leaping over a gap in the stone. Her paws rejoined the earth just as he dashed through a hole in the wall. Ashe raced after him and her heart was beating in time with her galloping paws. Gods she missed this. She bared her teeth, not far behind him with his scent filling her senses. She wasn't sure if it was the hunt that had her so fixated on his scent, or if it was how intoxicating the smell itself was. Sea mist and pine and snow and iron and leather, all complimented with the warm and musky scent of whoever the fuck he was. She stretched her legs further, willed them to work harder and close the distance. There was a barely contained growl in her throat, one he'd be able to hear for how close she was. She let out a snarling bark as she neared, and Ashe snapped her powerful jaws at his heels. With or without closing her teeth on him, he had to at least avoid those teeth right? She aimed another bite for his calf, and she would have been happy to chomp into skin. Maybe she was avoiding actually injuring him until she knew what his game was… but his smell was enticing, and five hells.. Ashe wouldn't argue against drawing blood, to sate the wolf's curiosity on whether or not he tasted as good as he smelled. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

His jump into the building hadn’t shaken her from his tail. Ashetta leaped in after him, the sound of her claws on the stone telling him that she had shifted into her wolf form.

Come on, Ashe, he thought to himself. He wanted her to stay in her original form, but not speaking to her made it slightly difficult to convey that preference. Next time, he supposed. Besides, it wasn’t like he wasn’t having an absolute blast as it was. Just to face her as two humans was a little more thrilling, as it brought them back to their real training back in the Guild. Granted, their life there wasn’t exactly what people would refer to as paradise, but it was what created the best fucking assassins Northwind ever knew.

There was a distinct growl that he heard behind him followed by a bark, indicating how close she was. Kalt could have felt her breath on him as her jaws clamped shut just behind his ankles. He wasn’t going to outrun a wolf. That was obvious. His eyes searched for a split second, but the nearest advantage point wasn’t close enough.

As she went to snap at his calf, Kalt suddenly whirled around to the ground, substituting his calf for his bracer in her bite. He kept his face angled downward and swept his leg to trip her at least enough to get her to release his arm.

Once he was free, Kalt jumped to his feet, kicking into a sprint. He hoped the little trip he had given her was enough to slow her down, as he raced towards the nearest pillar, pulling Whisper out and scaling the stone with ease.

At the top, he paused for breath, eyeing her carefully. Silver Wing glanced at a rusted pole high above the ground, too high for him to reach. He brought his arm back, snapping Whisper to get a sure enough hold around the pole to let him swing onto the nearby wall.

The pole snapped, just as he landed on the wall, and Kalt crouched on the wall, gathering his balance before he was able to continue on. He reattached Whisper to his side, then stood and began running along the wall with perfect form. For the first time, he broke his rule and glanced back over his shoulder to see how close she was to catching up to him.

They were almost at the other side of the ruins, which meant their time together would be coming to an end, but there was nothing that he had experienced in what felt like forever that was quite as much fun as he was having at that moment.

While there most certainly were notes of leather in his scent, she had not been hoping to taste nothing but leather. Her jaws snapped down over the strong bracer, and it was at the last second she checked herself, pulled the power of her bite so no bones would snap. Still, she latched on hard and tried to take the opportunity to trap him, to pull him down long enough to get ahold of him. She snarled viciously and looked up with golden eyes, tried to get a peek under that stupid hood.. but she let herself get distracted by the briefest flash of blue, had almost seen at least something telling, and she didn't see his leg coming for her. Ashe let out a sharp yelp of surprise, releasing the man's arm as she was suddenly sent tumbling onwards with her forward momentum - tail over ears. She thudded down onto the ground shoulder first with a grunt, landing on her side hard enough to knock the air from her. Ashe growled and lurched to get her paws back under her, and she charged after him as he scaled that pillar.. and he paused, looking down at her. The chase wasn't done - couldn't be. The wolf leaned up and braced her right her forepaw on the pillar, ears forward as she tilted her head up at him. She couldn't scale the stone in her furs, but she could see him better, hear him, smell him. Her eyes were inquisitive, as if they hadn't just been chasing each other across the ruins of this unknown hell-hole for violent delights. Her tail even swished just once behind her, and she let out a small a frustrated bark. He wasn't just gonna let a wolf chase him up a pillar, was he? She'd be sorely disappointed if her bite on his arm had shaken him. Surely it had only been hard enough to bruise… really bruise. Then she spotted the shape of a whip, and her hackles bristled. Ashe pushed off of the pillar and shifted as she did, stepping back on two legs to glare warily up at her elusive companion. She ignored the way her legs started to tremble, the way her back prickled, and she hated herself for the power that stupid fucking weapon had over her. She'd never had to face a whip until now, no one ever used one in Northaven, nor had one ever been raised to since that day she was taken from the pit and dragged into a very different sort of hell. She stepped back, her head tilted up to watch the man, and she snarled at herself just barely for the way she flinched, fists clenching when that whip snapped upwards around a pole. Even in her wariness, she’d be lying if she said she wasn't impressed with the way he used it to swing to the next rooftop, metal snapping just as he secured his landing. ’We're not done yet asshole,’ she thought, and she surged forward. Ashe grit her teeth and made a running leap at the wall the man had landed on. Her fingertips gripped the edge as the toes of her boots held the wall itself, and she hissed at the strain in her hands. Still, she hauled herself up and crouched upon the crumbling wall. She snapped her electric eyes at her prey just as he looked over his shoulder at her, and she hated how shadowed his face was.. but that smirk was painfully familiar. Impossibly so, of course, but she still found herself twitching her nose at his look before she blew him a snarky kiss with a smirk. Then she was dashing after him on that wall, her heart racing as she moved as nimbly as a feline. Her smile had returned with that whip wrapped neatly at the man's hip, but she kept a careful eye on the hands that could reach for it. She kept up with him, but kept a careful distance between them in light of that fucking thing, and she never lost sight of him. She echoed his every step with her heart racing, and she began keeping a look out for alternate routes. If she could cut him off again, hedge him against some ruins or ever flat out tackle him, she could figure out just who he was and what he wanted with her… But that would end the chase, wouldn't it? He made ot clear he had no intention of actually fighting her - a frustrating disappointment, especially when she thought of that stupid smirk. ’Tease.’ Ashe’s rosebud lips feathered into a feral smirk, and she palmed one of the throwing knives always strapped her thigh - a cool matte black in color in contrast to the gleaming, silvery steel he had thrown for her. She let the blade fly, her aim true, and she'd slice clean through the shoulder of his tunic, maybe knick his shoulder. A warning that she was close, and a promise that she intended to get closer. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

There was no hiding the satisfaction he got when she blew him that snarky little kiss in response to his smirk. He hated her and loved her and it pissed him off more than anything. But this wasn’t about what did or didn’t remain of their feelings for each other. No, this was business. This was him training her to reclaim her title of Northwind’s most elite. Just because they weren’t in Northwind anymore didn’t mean that their pasts didn’t matter. They became who they are there and in Northaven. And Northaven had severely dulled Ashe’s edge to Kalt’s dismay.

Lucky for them both, sharpening knives was his hobby. Sharpening her again would be even easier.

Their nearly silent footsteps were almost in unison, hers creating just the slightest echo to his own against the stone wall. He enjoyed the practically nonexistent sound, but it was mostly in his foremost assessment for the sake of judging her distance in comparison to his. She wasn’t too far behind, but there was a decent distance, and Kalt found himself wondering why Ashetta wasn’t working to close the distance even a bit.

Well, he soon found out.

There was a sharp thunk against his shoulder, and he winced as the feeling of a throwing knife lodged itself in his tunic and partially into his skin. He was grateful it hadn’t gone deeper or he’d have had to pay it more attention.

Kalt didn’t even slow his sprint, pain being an old friend of his. He kept moving as though there wasn’t a knife in the back of his shoulder, as he used his magic to remove the knife and drop it to the wall with a clang. That sound rang out in the silence of the night as one of the louder noises in their entire encounter.

Part of him wanted to speak to her, taunt her, but he knew it wasn’t time. She would recognize his voice, and it wasn’t quite time for that yet. She wasn’t ready; neither was he, though he might have tried to deny it.

Kalt jumped off the wall onto a low balcony, swinging his legs over the rail and pulling himself smoothly onto the roof of the building. He paused for just a moment, checking to see that she was following, then picked up his sprint again.

The end of the ruins was in sight, the building he had scratched his message into only a few turns away, but part of him didn’t want the chase to end. He was thoroughly enjoying himself, and he didn’t want to give it up, even though keeping a constant sprint the entire time was becoming a bit more difficult by now. He’d run for longer before though, so he wasn’t about to slow. Besides, he couldn’t make the chase too easy for Ashe.

As Ashe passed by her knife that had clattered to the wall, she scooped it up with a flicker of satisfaction at the red shining on it. After the way their chase was going, she’d had little doubt that her knife would do her any real good in this chase… but it felt damn good. She wondered if he was smirking now. She certainly was, she extended her stride and tucked the knife back into its place on her thigh - she wasn’t going to throw it again. She understood now what it was they were doing, and he wasn’t going to stop and fight her. The hit had been a warning, and a nudge to let him know just who he was dealing with. She wasn’t sure who he was, but fuck him if he thought she was just some back street urchin to toy with. She was deadly, as deadly as he seemed to be. Ashe didn’t even miss a beat when the stranger suddenly changed direction, launching off of the wall and straight for a neighboring balcony. Her eyes glinted when he paused, and she grinned with a sharp and sweet smile before she leaped after him, only moments behind. She vaulted over the railing the same as he had, and she smoothly grabbed onto the roof and hauled herself up - he was already dashing away of course. Her arms groaned with the effort, and she was started to feel winded with their extended sprint through the ruins, but the raven-haired girl stubbornly pushed on. Reaching her limits and leaping past them… call it a learned habit. And of course… old habits and all that. If she was getting tired, surely he was feeling some kind of discomfort too. Well, discomfort that extended beyond the knife wound and the bite. Unfortunately for her, he didn’t show it if he felt any sort of winded. ’Bastard,’ she spat inwardly, and she glanced about her, ahead of him. Where was he headed? They were reaching the outskirts of the ruins now, and there was a hot spike of frustration in her. No way, she wasn’t done yet - he hadn’t even stopped to fight her yet! Ashe launched herself from the edge of one roof, and she flipped down onto the next - lower down, and she hadn’t been prepared for or seen the massive fucking hole in the center of the building. She’s eyes widened, and she didn’t even have time to swear as she tucked and somersaulted into a landing - straight for the hole in the tall building. Shit. Ashe thudded her feet down as she righted herself in a flash, but her foot still dipped down into that hole as she skidded to a desperate stop. Her teeth grit as she just barely managed to avoid falling down into a dark hole, but she didn’t remain motionless for long. Her head snapped up and locked on the fleeing form of the elusive man, and she cursed herself colorfully. ’Stupid, idiot girl,’ she was snarling at herself as she scrambled to her feet and lunged after him again at a breakneck pace, having already lost precious time and distance. She pretended for all the world that her face wasn’t burning with humiliation at the mistake she’d just made. If he smiled just the slightest bit… Ashe changed her direction just slightly, following a clearer path so that she didn’t have leap over so much rubble. ’Breathe, breathe, breath,’ she told herself at a steady rhythm, maintaining careful and controlled breathing as she started closing the distance between them once more - she trained harshly, obsessively, but she knew how deeply her health had declined. She was getting better now, eating better, but there was a long way to go before she would be at her prime once more. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to fucking win this game though. Ashe wanted to tackle him to the ground and rip that stupid hood off, but he was still to far, and he was damn slippery. Three times now she had been in close quarters with him, and all three times he slipped away before she could get a real look at him. She had registered facial hair and that gods damned smirk that was so infuriatingly, impossibly, familiar. She thought carefully as she ran, because wherever this was going, she wasn’t done yet. It had been too long since she’d had someone that she struggled to keep with. Training with Koel was always an experience, but nothing matched this. Nothing could, this was far too close to the training she was accustomed to. The training she had missed. She had new advantages she didn’t have back then, however. The wolf was one, and of course… Ashe’s mind took a sharp dive inwards - down, down, down - she grabbed ahold of her power and yanked it upwards. Lightning immediately crackled to life from within her, snarling and sparking from her chest and racing down her arms. Immediately she was rejuvenated, and she bit her lip as she dashed after the hooded man… and she threw her lightning forward. Straight for him. It didn’t strike him. The brilliant blue electricity spread across the stone of the ruins and raced around the fleeing man in an arc, until it raced ahead of him with all the speed of lightning and spread upwards, creating something like a fence. Ashe grinned savagely - she was no fair fighter, and she’d learned that from the very best. She took any and every advantage she could exploit, even when she’d been told not to in training. It was a fact that frequently infuriated her superiors. In fact… she nearly cringed when she remembered the blinding pain in her right hand. When she had refused to handicap herself in training and use only her left hand, she’d been forced to break her right. Her frequent defiances never ended well, but she’d be damned if she was going to abandon a single one of her strengths on purpose. So, she hedged in that fence, hoping to direct him towards her as she moved towards him, or at least hinder whatever direction he was heading. ’You’re not leaving,’ she thought stubbornly. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

Kalt heard the difference in the footing and the unfortunate thud of her not calculating the movements that were correct for their little chase. He skidded to a stop, finding her as she looked up to find him. Crouching slightly, he slowly wagged his finger at her disapprovingly. Observation and calculation were important in this exercise, and she had just failed in that.

Without missing a beat, he was back in a sprint, though he felt his lungs start to burn at the extended run. The ruins were larger than he had first thought, especially when treated as such an obstacle course like they were doing.

He heard the crackling of lightning and grinned but didn’t look back. He knew her magic, knew it better than even she did in the beginning. He had been the one to urge it to the surface after all.

The lightning snapped ahead of him, rather than at him, and he came to a quick stop as the lightning created a fence directly in his path. His head whipped to either side, a feral snarl escaping from gritted teeth, as he glanced over his shoulder at her form approaching.

Not a fight, Ashe, he thought.

She clearly didn’t want him dead, otherwise she would have shot her lightning directly at him. No, this was a power play, and Kalt didn’t lose those. Ever.

He flashed her that wonderful smirk he knew that she loved so much, and then focused his energy on levitating large stones from around him. Kalt had faced destruction mages before, ones who really quite liked fighting with lightning, and though @Ashetta’s power was obviously much stronger and more concentrated, the concept was still the same. He might have to be a bit quicker than usual, however.

The stones created something of a makeshift roof over his body, and he sprinted full speed towards her energetic fence. The stones absorbed the electric shock and were unfortunately softer than he had anticipated, exploding and hurling shattered pieces in all directions, but he tumbled forward, narrowly avoiding the intense shock that would have been delivered by the lightning and the possible assault by flying rocks.

He didn’t turn back to see her reaction. It didn’t matter, wouldn’t change anything. All it would do is give him more satisfaction and more arrogance than this run needed. No, he was focused.

Kalt leaped off the side of the building, kicking off the opposite wall to slow his fall until he reached the ground, once again taking off in a sprint. He vaulted over a fallen pillar, not allowing himself to be tripped up by something he was so easily accustomed to.

Besides, he had to keep himself sharp in case the Assassin in Blue decided to throw any more surprises at him!

Ashe's lip feathered into her own feral smile that resembled a snarl at the sight of that fucking smirk. She was going to knock that stupid smirk right off of his stupid face - just as soon as she got a good look at that face. Ashe slowed her pace as she approached, and she unsheathed Reckoning once more with a glint in her eye at the smooth and silent slide of it from its sheath at her back. She near shivered with the delight of it, closing in on her quarry. She had him now, her fencing of lightning closing in on him, creating a blue halo around his dark form. She twisted her sword in her arm and dropped down onto the roof she trapped him on and - Magic. The guy was a mage, of course he was. Ashe paused her advance as stone moved at his command - alteration? - and she warily crouched, tracking him and prepared for him to send the projectiles… but then he ran in the other direction. Towards the fence of lightning. Ashe blinked and raised one brow at him with a scoff. He assumed she wasn't willing to hurt him, and she was calling his damned bluff. Maybe he thought she was the one bluffing, but he was dead wrong. She would eagerly smack him down until she figured out who he was, then determine whether or not to keep him down. For now, however, she jogged after him, with the intent to keep him stuck between her and her magic. As it turned out, neither one of them were bluffing. This psycho charged forward with that ridiculous shield of rubble and stone. He leaped through her lightning. He leaped. Through. Her lightning. She yelped as stone and sparks alike exploded when it hit the electricity, and she dove forward and hit the deck to avoid getting a bunch of gods damned holes in her body from the strapnal of the man's shield. The second she knew she could, however, she surged forward and back on her feet in time to see him take off running. Ashe didn't hesitate, and she condensed the massive fence into a pillar that shot violently after him. The snarling magic struck with a deafening crack! and brilliant flash… it was the edge of the building he just leaped down from that exploded into rubble, and her elusive companion was easily racing away on the ground. ”Fuck!” Her barked curse echoed into the night as something white hot flared in her chest, and she was in pursuit once again. She sent another bolt after him, but but it only exploded on the pillar he'd just thrown himself over. She was only a few moments behind him, and she sheathed Reckoning once more as she lunged over the top of that same pillar. ”Stupid, insane fucking prick!” she snapped after him, and she sent another bolt for him, snapping it for his arm, his leg, whatever target she could find easiest. She was going to fry him, and then she was going to punch that smirk off his face and bite off that fucking finger. Ashe snarled and extended her stride, breathing against the trembling ache in her legs and the fire burning in her chest with every breath. She was starting to draw near, but she had lost a lot of distance when he pulled that absurd stunt of his. Still, she cleared every obstacle, echoed his every step with electric eyes locked on him. Ashe had to snap inwardly at herself, remind herself not to smile about this insufferable bastard. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.