When They Met

When They Clashed

They met in the middle of the clearing with a crack that shook the leaves. Her blades flashed in the morning light as she swiped for his jugular. Jester dodged the move easily and allowed her to pass to his side, but not before feeling the unexpected sting of metal slicing across his arm. Looking down in bewilderment, he turned to reappraise her with a raised eyebrow. "You drew blood."

She grinned. "Oh goody. So you do bleed."

Jester squared his shoulders and flexed his hands with a grin that matched hers. "I do pet. Now let's see if you do too."

He dashed to his left, assuming that his speed would cause him to blur in her vision. His right leg swung to deliver a blow to her shoulders and he was more than surprised when she raised her arms to block. Jester felt her knuckles crack as his boot made contact and sent the blades flying from her grasp. She spun back with the kick, rolling through the grass before leaping to her feet. Flicking her hands with a practiced motion, the blades flew from the grass and back into her hands.

What the fuck was that? Jester narrowed his eyes, studying her again but this time focused on what other things she might be hiding. Her hair flowed loose around her face, moving slightly with the breeze and he watched her eyes dart about his body. Her breath was even which was surprising given the acrobatics he'd just witnessed. Jester watched her shoulders flex and arms clench in their preparedness. Both hands now wielded blades that were facing back with the hilts forming a kind of brass knuckle. Her hips and legs were skewed towards him, weight distributed evenly on the balls of her feet.

Her voice interrupted his study session. "Cretin. I will only ask one more fucking time. Where is Eye?"

"I told you pet," Jester responded as his voice took on a patronizing tone. "I requested a meeting and you seemed more than willing to join me. Why do you want him back so badly anyways? Didn't you leave him in the woods?"

She gritted her teeth. "I don't need to explain MY actions with MY pet to you."

Jester rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure." No sooner had the words left his mouth before he threw his whole weight into a punch centered on her stomach. He felt her ribs crack beneath the blow and the breath leave her body in a singular exhale. Blood exploded from her mouth as he held his fist against her now caved abdomen. Jester paused, allowing her to take in the damage that he had caused. He leaned down to bring his mouth close to her ear. "See pet, I don't like when anyone else tries to run my meetings. You need to learn your place." He waited for the pleading, savoring the labored breaths she was drawing and closed his eyes in anticipation of the tears that should soon flow. What he didn't expect was to feel her muscles begin to pulse rhythmically, as if... what?

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It was hard to laugh when her ribs were knitting back together. The pain radiated through her like lightning,  flowing down her spine and into the rest of her body before dissipating at her fingertips and toes. She clasped Jester's hand gently, taking advantage of his shock. Grasping his other hand, she held them both before she looked up into his dark widened eyes. She smiled sweetly through a bloody mouth and whispered mockingly.

"Owie".

In one fluid motion she spat on his face and pulled his arms down, his face forced to come into brutal contact with her uprising knee. The impact threw Jester back and blood now poured down his face and blinded him. She followed, closed the distance, and threw all her weight into her leg and foot before driving it straight into his groin. The sudden intake of breath was like music to her ears as he quickly found out that her boots were steel toed. Jester's mouth gaped like a fish as he gasped for air while he held what was most precious to himself. She was ruthless in her violent volley and assaulted every bit of his body that she could touch. His cheek cracked against her fist and his back arched as she slashed at his spine down to the muscles. Her blades grated against bone as they went through both his shoulders. He gasped as she stomped on his ankles and she felt the bones snap under her heels. She moved faster than she ever had before because she didn't want to give him a second of an opening.