Chasing Scars

It had been six days since they had raced through the ruins together, and Kalt was more than thrilled with himself. He had watched her afterwards, seeing the frustration wear away eventually, turning into a light skip in her step for the days to follow. Needless to say, he took that as a direct compliment to his skills as a trainer. It was about time they did it again. Of course, he couldn't let her get used to the terrain. That would become too easy, too predictable. No, this time he was taking her to the woodlands. Earlier that day, he tacked a note to her door... Woodlands. Dusk. Don't be late, AiB. Because of some of the unexpected close encounters he had with Ashetta last time, Kalt took a few extra precautions to keep his identity hidden. First, he ditched his tunic this time. She had already taken a bite out of it last time, and he didn't feel like fixing it again. Instead, he wore the green uniform he very rarely sported. It hugged his body nicely and still provided him with a hood for anonymity, while covering any marks and scars that might lend a clue to who he was. He waited by the edge of the woodlands, tying a brown handkerchief around the bottom half of his face, having already painted the upper half black before leaving his house. He was leaning against a tree, his hood already lifted over his head and arms folded over his chest. Crystalline eyes watched the sun slowly descend, casting haunting shadows over the heavily wooded lands. Any moment now. Kalt smirked under his handkerchief, narrowing his eyes. kalt give into the night.

Ashe had been there for an hour already. Six days, the assassin tried to catch that scent again: snowy pines and salty sea mist. Every moment she could, she was moving through this unfamiliar place on four paws, tasting the air. She had gone back to the ruins and tried to track him that way, but she’d lost his trail when she reached a river. It was foolish, of course, to think someone as skilled as he seemed to be would just leave his trail for her to follow.. It didn’t stop her from snarling in frustration. Whoever the hooded man was, he evaded her effectively and thoroughly - something that kept her awake, had her slipping out of her home to bath her coat in moonlight and search the shadows with golden eyes. There was a certain bounce in her step, spurred on by the soreness in her body. When she returned home this morning and found that note tacked to her door… She was grinning wickedly when she ripped it down, eyes scanning the unfamiliar handwriting. Her new playmate was ready for her again, and this time she’d be ready for him. She scouted as much as she could of the unfamiliar terrain well before dusk, slipping silently in and out of shadows on paws that were made for the wilderness. She would get to see more of it soon, she was sure, but she remained in the outskirts until the sun started to set. Ashe shifted to climb into a nearby tree, dressed in her usual head-to-toe black, Reckoning at her back and an untold number of knives on her person. She would have worn something to blend better into the terrain, but.. She forced herself not to think about all her things that were left behind: her clothing, books, weapons, gowns, and gods her bath oils... She had to remind herself to be grateful that her whole family was there, that she hadn’t lost anyone like others had. So, it was her assassin’s gear from the Guild she wore, the only real fighting gear she owned now. Ashe swore her heart lurched when she saw the form of the man appear in the edges of the woodlands. When the fuck… She had been watching for him! Where did he come from? She’d been hoping to see a direction of origin, but.. Five hells, how did he do that? She grit her teeth in frustration from the branch she crouched on, and she made her way towards him, utterly silent in her movements. Her heart slowed as she steadied her breathing, and soon she was perched high above him, a savage sort of smirk on her lips. She’d find out who he was tonight, she told herself. He wasn’t going to run from her so easily… insane enough to jump at her lighting or not. She waited until the last light of the sun flared on the horizon. She silently pulled Reckoning from her back… Ashe flipped down from the branch. The raven-haired assassin landed at a crouch, but she didn’t even pause to greet her companion. She launched forward and whipped Reckoning forward in a sharply controlled blow for his unprotected gut with his arms crossed over his chest. Gods, she was fucking smiling. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

Well, it was about time. The fact that she thought she could sneak up on him was adorable. Everything Ashetta learned about stealth had been from him, of course she didn’t know that, but he didn’t teach her everything he knew. That, however, was a lesson for another day. Kalt listened to the sound of her drop from above, but didn’t look her way, aware she wasn’t dropping in for a friendly chat. He quickly whirled out of the way of Reckoning’s swing, so the blade would hit the tree. The man clenched his fist in the air suddenly, using his magic to keep the blade where it was, as he opened his other hand, signaling for her to stop. His eyes were mostly shadowed, but the gaze they held was deadly, firm, not to be trifled with. He was a far enough distance from her that she would have to move forward to reach him, which would give him the chance to escape. Surely, she wouldn’t want that, so it would be wise for her to wait. After all, this wasn’t her game. No, this was his game, his rules, his terms. She didn’t get to decide when and where they played. His open hand suddenly created the shape of a shadow puppet dog, and he shook his head slowly. She wouldn’t be loosing the wolf tonight. He wasn’t training a wolf; he was training an assassin. She couldn’t rely on the wolf only, so she wasn’t going to be permitted to use it at all this time. In fact, if she did, their game would come to a quick end. A smirk grew under the fabric around his face, as he slowly took a step backward, still not releasing her blade from the tree. His eyes glanced around quickly, charting a path of what seemed like sturdy branches. He brought his gaze back to her, finally releasing her blade from his magical grip and pointing upwards. Kalt jumped up to a low-hanging branch and easily pulled himself into a crouch, watching her carefully. He would remain where he was until she joined him in the trees, then he would take off through the branches. There was a point to this exercise... Don’t touch the ground. They would swing through vines, run over branches, and even fight in the treetops, but the goal was to remain off of the ground. Of course if one of them fell, they could climb up again, but the chances of catching up to the other would be slim to none. He couldn’t wait to see if she was actually up to the task. kalt give into the night.

Of course he side stepped from her blow. Of fucking course. She let out an indignant cry when her razor sharp blade bit deeply into the tree he'd been leaning against. A tree! That sword was an equisite instrument of death, not a fucking ax! She moved to wrench it from the bark, and she swore she sensed the magic in the same second her shoulder barked in protest - Reckoning remained soundly where it was. Ashe whipped her eyes to the man then, her teeth bared with unabashed fury. ”I just sharpened this!” she snarled before she could stop herself, and her face flooded with heat at the way his blackened cheeks moved upwards - the insufferable bastard was smirking. She growled, and for a moment she thought to just release her sword and tackle him right then and there - His upraised hand halted her, the firm look freezing her in place. Her teeth grit with her restraint, but she took the chance to try and discern any of his features.. gods dammit, she couldn’t even tell the color of his eyes (something pale, blue, green?) with his deep hood and blackened face, that scarf covering his lower half. With a scowl, she watched his hand then, and.. was that a puppet dog? Ashe scoffed when he shook his head, rolling her eyes dramatically before she gave him a sharp smirk. ”Scared of getting bit?” she purred. Even with her smirk, she kept her withering glare on him as he backed away. He didn't want to contend with the wolf? Fine. She'd been the best assassin Northwind had ever seen without the wolf, without her magic even. This wouldn't be anything new. She watched his gaze, and she followed it, observing the trees above them… it clicked then, and she grinned. It would be a good vantage point to get a lay if the land in the woodlands, and it would be a challenge she hadn't done before. Ashe was nimble and could move through treetops easily, but her assassinations were rarely on the road.. and when they were, it was usually a fat noble in a carriage. Her head snapped back down to the hooded man as soon as the pressure vanished from Reckoning. She snarled and wrenched it from the tree - gods it was going to take forever to sharpen it - and then the man was swiftly ascending to the treetops. His movements validated her suspicion: he was among the upper tier of Northwind's underworld. Either he was one of the assassins that survived the slaughter of the Guild, or he was a rival. She recognized the kind of training anywhere. She'd been thinking heavily on it this last week, and she still couldn't quite figure it out - a similarly trained fighter, he knew her in Northwind, he had known she was the wolf… Ashe didn't wait long, she glanced about and found the tree best suited for her, and she made her way up without hesitation or falter, never releasing Reckoning. The assassin hauled herself up to a branch and crouched with her hands between her feet, locking her eyes on her opponent. She flashed him a wide and wicked grin before she haughtily gnashed her teeth at him. She’d show him rusty. Ashe launched forward, as she chose her path, dashing lithely through the treetops that had shed their leaves. She was to the tree he'd been waiting for her on in a heartbeat, branches hardly moving under her feather-light weight. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

Her taunts were sweet and reminded him of their fights in the Guild when she sometimes just wouldn't shut the fuck up. Of course he was usually able to knock her on her ass and make her blush profusely just by pinning her to the ground. Now that she didn't know who he was, now that she wasn't sixteen anymore... Now that she was married, the odds of her getting flustered by him had dropped. Wasn't like he needed that from her anyway. He could get his fix from her in other ways. It had personally hurt him to make the magnificent blade lodge in the tree, but it was a necessary evil to get her to calm down for even three seconds. He loved that blade. Thought it one of his best works and almost kept it for himself, but messing with her mind was just too good to pass up. Another necessary evil. He waited for her on the branch until Ashetta hauled herself up to one of her own. Kalt was looking for an equal chance. This wasn't so he could just continuously show her she couldn't hold up to him. No, this was training. Any good training session teaches the trainer and trainee, so he was waiting, observing, taking in his surroundings to chart dozens of possible paths in the mental map he was creating. He remained terrifyingly still, fingers bracing himself between his legs, as he brought his eyes back to her in time to see her lurch forward. Without hesitation, he sprung to the side, immediately leaping from his branch to the next one, ensuring to land close enough to the trunk to catch himself if the wood wasn't as sturdy as he would have liked. Thankfully, the branches seemed strong. The green uniform he wore had been amazing for Northwind's green forests, but this land provided little in the area of camouflage. Grey and brown would've been better suited for the mostly bare trees. Either way, it wouldn't matter if she was able to keep up with him. He actually hoped that she would. In fact, Kalt's ego took a minor hit that she didn't recognize him. Eleven years of working closely together, but she still didn't recognize his style. Pity that, but he wouldn't get hung up on it. Plenty of time later for his dramatic reveal. kalt give into the night.

Ashe knew she wasn’t going to catch up to him right away, so there was no glimmer of frustration when he headed for the next tree. She braced herself against a trunk as she landed, and she paused. She narrowed her eyes, watching him dash from branch to branch. She surveyed the trees ahead of him, around him - it was easy to see that far where the branches held no leaves.. And then she shoved off from her branch. She didn’t follow his path directly. She listened carefully to where he went - she could hear every movement of every branch, the man was too large not to move them. She moved with nimble ease, running long larger branches, bouncing with feather light leaps from the smaller ones. She kept Reckoning in her grasp - unsheathing it would take too much time, and she trusted her impeccable balance enough to rely on one hand. She was focused, as she knew he surely was. She hadn’t been caught off guard this time, and Ashe’s blood was singing with the chase now. She needed to know who he was, who it was that knew her. She kept glancing at him as she started gaining ground on him, running parallel and matching his direction. Where was he leading them? These woods were unfamiliar, not like the lush Untamed Lands of Northaven that she had known like map of scars over her hands. She would get to know these woods, too. Were there waypines she could find herself a safe place to sleep in? Good campsites? She found herself glancing at the ground below even as she smoothly kept up with her companion. She’d make use of this session with him, and then she’d rip off that gods damned hood and finally look at that smug face of his. She kept her eyes on him for a moment, his lithe form that moved through the branches with an ease of movement that near matched her own. She knew exactly what to watch for, the types of movements he would make, and perhaps that unsettled her most of all. The deep familiarity whispered in her ear a name she worked hard to forget, and she bared her teeth in defiance of it. There was no doubt it was a guild member, or someone trained by the same people she was, but it wasn’t that one. Whoever this was had been in Northaven. Whoever this was… they knew she was the wolf, and very, very few people knew to associate her with the massive canine. That ate at her, drove her mad - no one in her family would betray that secret, not one of them, she knew. Who the fuck are you? Ashe swung around the side of a thick trunk, her feet dancing over it’s branches, and then she made a leap… away. Her breath was coming with an easy rhythm, and she stayed on the balls of her feet as she risked letting the man out of her sight. She leaped and reached up, and then she was climbing into the higher and thinner branches of the trees. Better view, or something like that. She was so small, so light, that the branches held her weight without hardly bowing. She grinned savagely and ran on the tips over toes along the boughs of a nearly bare pine - an unsettling sight - and then... There. She half snarled and dropped down just a few branches ahead of him. ”Miss me?” she crooned, and then she dashed forward, her feet carrying her across the branches like the rungs of a ladder - one, two, three, four - and then she flicked Reckoning in the direction of his throat with the unmatched grace of an elitely trained and lethal killer. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

Don’t look back. Same as always, he didn’t look behind him to see where she was. Though that probably wasn’t the best idea, considering Ashetta was small enough to move silently through the trees. If she hadn’t decided to reveal herself, there would have been a very good chance that she could have taken his life from above. Kalt made a mental note of the sturdiness of the higher branches. They might not be able to support his weight for long, but surely they would be strong enough for brief holds. Kalt came to a quick stop as Ashe dropped a few branches ahead of him, and he braved himself with the trunk of the tree to keep his momentum from sending him toppling to the ground. His eyes narrowed at her question. ‘Miss me?’ Bitch. She lunged forward with her blade towards his neck, and he leaned back smoothly. Blades shot out of his bracers with the flicks of his wrists, and the sound of clashing steel rang out when he slid his blade against hers. She still managed to nick his handkerchief, tugging it briefly before giving it a slight tear. Such a shame her blade was somehow dulled... If only it had been a little sharper... He balanced himself quickly and hopped to the branch she was standing on, whipping his arm downwards to slash at her hand. It was more of an act to show her he wasn’t afraid to fight back. If she wanted a fight, he’d give her a fight, but she had to earn it. Kalt jumped up and slammed down on the branch they were standing on, making it snap. He leaped to the nearest branch and took off in a direction, not looking to see if she managed to hang onto anything. It was Ashe... Of course she fucking thought of something. kalt give into the night.

Ashe snarled audibly when her blade snagged on his scarf, her heart breaking its even pace in anticipation, but he slipped away - scarf intact. The girl could have screamed with the fire that roared in her chest at that. ’He’s dead. He’s fucking dead.’ She flipped the blade to change its direction, angling it down for a slash across his chest. She didn’t get the chance to land the blow, having to adjust her feet to make up for his drop down to her branch. The assassin huffed and didn’t hesitate, moving to dart forward and bite her blade into his inner thigh, but then he jumped, slamming back down on the branch and - CRACK! Ashe yelped as the branch gave way beneath them, and it was instinct that saved her from crashing to the forest floor below. Her hand shot out and grabbed onto the nearest branch as she fell, and her shoulder barked in protest at the sharp tug of her weight upon it. The young assassin snarled swung herself forward until her feet found the branch ahead and below, balancing herself there as she rapidly searched for where to go next. The fucker was dashing away, and she snarled viciously. She’d almost had him! Her breath was coming quickly, and her shoulder ached, but she cast her gaze rapidly about them to find the best course of action. The leafless trees at least allowed for decent visibility. Gods, she wasn’t going to get a feel for this place at all like this - not when she had a chase to focus on. Baring her teeth with a flash of hunger in her eyes, Ashe launched after her opponent. She focused on keeping her breath even, on placing her feet on the right spots on branches. She was smiling faintly at the rush of the fall still pulsing through every inch of her, and she made a leap for a particularly large tree. The man was pulling ahead, but he wasn’t going to for long. Ashe let her eyes track him for a moment as she braced herself on the trunk, then clamped Reckoning in her teeth with a wicked gleam. It took her only a few quick moments to move further up the tree. Up, up, up, still keeping a careful eye on her companion’s movements through the trees. The tree swayed with her, but Ashe’s balance was as sure as her grip, and her breath clouded in front of her as she hung off of the very top of a barren tree. Her eyes were sharp as she looked out over the treetops, smiling as her breath clouded in front of her. Her eyes searched for only a few moments, searching the layout of the forest bathed in the rising moon from her spectacular vantage point and... there. Ashe grinned as she saw the trees moving. She watched for a moment longer.. and then she moved. She had Reckoning back in her hand, and Ashe rocked her weight back.. forward.. back.. forward again, and as she leaned far, far forward, she took a deep breath. 'Idiot girl.' She released the tip of the tree and launched forward with a powerful push off the branch she had braced herself on. The tree whipped back from her, and then she was free falling. Ashe's stomach lurched and her breath caught and her heart fluttered... and then she grabbed onto the very top of another one of the trees. She pulled in a sharp gasp as she nearly kept going, nearly lost her grip, but the tree went with her. It bowed forward, and she had to force herself to remember to swing herself back again. She'd lost control of her breathing and heart rate, but gods it was an effort not to outright laugh with the exhilaration. Ashe's momentum carried her forward again, and she followed the same process. She gained ground on him impossibly fast, but by the time she hit the tree just behind where she saw him moving branches with his weight... her luck ran out. The tree snapped as she pitched forward with a loud crack into the night. "Shit!" she barked, and she sucked in a sharp breath as she fell down and down and down. She barely managed to void striking branches by instead, grabbing ahold of them. Instinct guided her faster than she could process, and then all of a sudden, Ashe landed on both feet and one hand on the branch directly in front of a hooded man dressed in green. She shoved herself to her feet, and her limbs were threatening to shake with adrenaline. 'Idiot girl, you control the adrenaline, not the other way around.' She still flashed him a grin, and there was a certain kind of wildness that sparked in her eyes as she breathlessly leveled her sword at him. "Mind your head," she chirped, and it was the massive top of the tree she'd snapped that was suddenly crashing through the branches, and straight for that smug bastard. She had little doubt he'd avoid it, and she braced herself for an attack. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.

Just as the last time they had chased each other, the time in the ruins, Kalt didn’t look back. He snapped the branch, then hauled some serious ass away from there. There was no need to look over his shoulder to know that she was fine. The Assassin in Blue. If she was cast to the ground because of a sudden branch snap, he would’ve wanted to stop the chase then and there with disappointment! His eyes scanned the layout of the forest, committing each and every twist and turn of the branches to his impeccable memory. He decided he would walk – or run or whatever – the forest floor on his way back home to absorb that part of the land. If he learned anything from practically living on the rooftops, it was that things looked different from above than they did from below. Just because he memorized the treetops didn’t mean he memorized the ground. He would, though. It didn’t seem like they were going anywhere anytime soon. Behind him, he heard unnatural rustling of branches, and he assumed Ashe was catching up to him. Kalt cast a fast glance over his shoulder to see she wasn’t behind him. Then… The man almost cursed as he looked upwards and saw her falling above him. He calculated her landing arc instantly and darted forward, eyes wide in brief shock. There was a moment where he fought a laugh, remembering when he did something similar in the Guild. Granted, when he did it, it was a smooth movement that pissed Vaego off because when he tried to do it, he ended up tripping at the extremely ungraceful landing. He stopped quickly for the second time in their short chase as she landed right in front of him. Again. His eyes narrowed at her with slight frustration that she would probably enjoy. Stop doing that, he thought momentarily. There was cracking above them, and Kalt looked up, seeing the top of a tree falling towards them. He leaped forward, jumping out of the way before he was hit. She had readied herself for an attack. So be it. He had some time to kill. Maybe he could throw her on her ass once or twice before getting away again. His blades flicked out of his bracers, and he lunged for her arm, keeping his footing steadily planned in his mind. He wouldn’t entertain a full fight, but it felt fucking amazing to have a worthy opponent again. Ashetta kalt give into the night.

Ashe grinned savagely at the hooded man as he darted for her arm. Finally. He let loose a breath of air and shifted her arm back smoothly for his attack to miss, rapidly swooping her arm over his own strike and flipping Reckoning downwards - for his own arm. She didn’t wait to see if it landed, instead following through the strike and dipping low towards him with fast, fluid movement. Not a step was out of place, her breath growing even as she dashed into his reach. It was a strike she swept down at his middle as she moved to twist around him. It wasn’t to harm him - not yet. Move, the sweeping slash to his ribs said, but she certainly wouldn't complain if she felt skin on metal. It might slow him down enough to get a fucking look at him. Ashe would have to move up quite closely to him to get around him on that branch, placing one foot between his as she moved with speed and precision to the other side. So close, in fact, she nearly caught sight of those eyes of his beneath his hood. Close enough to see the tear she made in his scarf with her now dull sword. The shewolf reached up and braced a hand on the branch just above the pair, and she let out a breath of a laugh he’d be able to feel as pulled herself a step back from her opponent, flicking her blade out to slash at his shoulder. In the same moment of the hopefully distracting blow, Ashe danced forward on light feet and swung her leg around to bring it down to the back of his knee and try to knock him off balance. Kalt ashetta it's live or die my way.