Shadow and Steel

Odd numbers from 1 to fifteen are Critical Fails and Evens from 86 to 100 are crits. Crits stun the victim and their opponent gets a free hit.
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Ferro had been training on his own, while others were either out on missions or doing their own thing. As of late, he had been slipping when danger is present and if it keeps up, it could spell soon for those around him. After smacking a training dummy a couple of times, his staff shifts into a spear and slices the head of the dummy clean off.
"........"
The staff shifted back to its prior form before Ferro seats himself onto the padded floor.

"And they say me and that fox are the grumpy ones." A voiced echoed through the room, as Ferro would recognize as Tix's voice "What's wrong, did the poor dummy looked bad at your girl or something?" She asked grinning while stepping out of the shadows.

"Oh, it's you, Tix," he muttered. "How are you and Tam anyways?" He wasn't sure if he could sidestep the question like that, but whatever.

"Oh? And here I thought you hated me." Tix replied with surprise, in that moment, Ix's word resonated on her head "No one hates you Tix, try to be more sociable!" always the optimist, but after her constant annoyance, Tix decided to give it a try "Can't complain... This place is quite nice to live..." Tix felt slightly embarrased while admiting that.

"As for me and Tam... I guess like always... We don't go lovey dovey like the rest of you, so we don't really know what lovers do..." Tix shrugged before looking at Ferro again "I suppose you are training? And a pretty angry one for the looks of things..."

"It's good to be honest with others, but also with yourself," he said with a smile as she seemed a touch embarrassed at her admittance. Then his smile disappeared as she inquired again about his training. "I'm just trying to make sure I'm kept at peak condition..."

"Still sore about the lake thing?" She asked grinning trying to hide her embarrasment "If you want to train..." She turned around "I could give you a hand, not to help you of course, I still owe you a beating for Daraku's castle."

His fists tightened at the memory of what had happened. He'd been taken and forced against everyone, just like Ixana. "Fine..."
He got up and grabbed his staff, pointing it at Tix with a scowl. "Do your best..."

Tix noticed the change on Ferro, specially the motion of his fists "Just don't expect me to be easy on you, like that other idiot..." Her hand went to the hilt of one of her blades, keeping a tight grip on it, taking a stance, observing Ferro's movement very carefully...

Quick Draw (Kurou no Tatsu): 70 - Success!

Her stance was perfect, waiting for her opponent to make a move "Come at me whenever you wish!"

Ferro: 30
Tix: 30 + Quick Draw

Jane was wandering around the area when she noticed Ferro assuming a battle stance against... Tix? At first, she was a little concerned, but something about the way Tix was holding herself made it clear that, whatever she was doing, she was doing with a clear head. That could only mean one thing. They were about to spar. She decided to take a seat to the side when she noticed a shimmer of light to her side.
"It seems I'm not the only spectator." Jane remarked quietly, with a slight smile. The light shimmer seemed to move, almost appearing annoyed at having been noticed.

"You know your boy is going down, right?" Tam commented, materialising from the light, wrapped in her tails. Jane held her smile, turning her attention to the fight, but gave no response. Tam scowled. "You humans are all the same."

(19)
He came at her with his staff, intent on landing his first shot, but she easily countered him and threw him back. He managed to land on his feet, but it was an unpleasant start for him.

Ferro: 28
Tix: 30

Right after countering him, Tix noticed the audience "Seems we have public, maybe you'll try harder like that." 

From the Shadows: 2 - Success! (Must roll with disadvantage, if success, Tix is revealed and the attack misses, if failure, Tix gains advantage on her next attack)

Tix's aura started to gather, black as darkness, around her, as she seemed to vanish from existance, her voice could be hear from everywhere "Are you afraid of the dark?"

Ferro: 28 + Disadvantage on next roll
Tix: 30

(63, 97) Disadvantage Failure
Ferro tried to pin down her location, but he couldn't find her no matter what he tried. He didn't bother answering her question as he continued to try and hunt her down.

Tix reappeared right behind Ferro, with a sinister grin on her face "You should watch your back better, I can see now how you LOST to that annoying water spirit." Just as she taunted him, Tix jumped backwards unleashing a explosion of darkness towards Ferro...

Shattering Darkness: 7, 96 - Crit Success! Stun Roll: 17 - Failure! (A bit useless tbh since the crit)

Blasting him away and making him hit the wall hard "You are weak, how can you protect anyone like that? I really wonder how you managed to defeat me back in the castle." She added with a fake tone of disdain.

Ferro: 26 + Stunned
Tix: 30

He was launched hard into the wall and would have snapped his nose had it, too, not been padded as well. The pain of impact on its own was enough to paralyze him as is, but then she started to taunt him, rub salt in the wound that he had already been beating himself up over.

"What's wrong?" She started "Do you lack the determination to improve? To surpass your weaknesses? You are pathetic Ferro!" She yelled, her words were sharp like her blade, but their meaning and objective wasn't to hurt Ferro, but something completely different.

(Turn Pass)

Ferro growled and picked himself back up as she continued taunting him. "What's with the lip? I thought you were here to fight!" He rushed in and swung his staff at her head and holding nothing back...
(70)
And a loud smack knocked her back as he slammed his metal staff into the side of her head. "You were saying...?"

Ferro: 26
Tix: 25

Enduring the pain, Tix looked back at the monk "Is that all? Some tickles?" As she keeps talking, blades of darkness starts to appear behind her "I said, that you are WEAK, pathetic and can't protect ANYONE!" With that last word, the blades started to rain towards him...

Clutches of Despair: 24, 54, 60, 42, 50, 2, 56, 16, 70, 33.

A rain of blades started to slash Ferro over and over and over again, dealing severe damage to him until Tix decided to stop "Were you saying?" She said with a cruel smile.

Ferro: 17 + Shadow Flame (9 turns)
Tix: 25

Ferro felted his sight darken as he felt the pain of many a bladed strike, but he was just able to hang on, the darkness overtaking everything else but Tix. As he stood up again to continue, his staff changed back into a spear and shined with magic.
(62) Enchant: Reinforcement (?)

"Oh? You learned new tricks? Funny, so did I." She prepares her attack and charges against Ferro...

Spirit Hunt: 12 - Success!

Slashing the monk with her blade several times, he could feel the cuts from before, amplifying the damage.

Ferro: 14 + Shadow Flame (8 turns) + Marked
Tix: 25

He ignored the pain he'd received and simply charged in, launching his spear at her twice, attempting to deal back what he'd been given...
(91, 87)
But both missed their mark, intensifying his glare and making things worse.

"Focus, Ferro. Breathe. Think before you strike." Jane called out, her tone calm.

"Hey, you aren't supposed to help him!" Tam objected.

"I'm not helping him. I'm supporting him." Jane corrected, her volume dropping again, and the slight smile returning. "Surely you wish to do the same for Tix, right?"

"Why would I want to do that?!" Responded Tam, glancing at the fight. Jane said nothing, and turned back to the fight. Tam let out a slight groan of annoyance, before yelling. "KICK HIS ASS, TIX!"

Tix looked at where Tam and Jane were sitting, a brief smile on her face "S-Shut up, you furrybrain! Besides this isn't about kicking his ass but about helping him!" She blushed slightly "I mean... Of course I'll kick his ass!" She added before looking back at Ferro, sheathing her blade...

Quick Draw: 70

Waiting for Ferro's move, maybe with Jane's cheer, he will start to fight back, after all is what all those idiot lovebirds always do.

Sent from Topic'it App

Whether she could tell or not, Ferro couldn't hear her, or even Tix's blatant statement either. All he could see right now is his opponent.
(21)
One thrust of his palm aimed at Tix and he was flung around again in another quick counter just like before.

Ferro: 12 + Shadow Flame + Marked
Tix: 25

"ENOUGH!" Tix yelled as she countered Ferro with her Muramasa "You are so fucking blinded by rage right now that is pathetic, if you are going to use your rage as fuel, you need to control it correctly!" As she yelled, obviously annoyed, Tix sunk her blade on the floor as she started to rush towards Ferro...

Quick Draw (Murasama continuation): 45 - Failure!

But Ferro was quick enough this time to avoid the flaming rising cut "You don't know how to use your rage, you let it blind you, how do you want to improve if you lose the plot so easily!? You stupid idiot!" She taunted.

Ferro: 12 + Shadow Flame (6 turns)
Tix: 25

(84)
He rushed in and clothelined her with his outstretched arm, knocking her straight on her ass. "As if you have any right to lecture me on that!"

Ferro: 12 + Shadow Flame
Tix: 22