Heated Brawl (Safiya vs Test)

"So you teach them a trade... Is becoming a Fellblood where the tails come in." He asked, sounding a bit more nervous and suspicious. Unbeknownst to them this was beginning to set off very specific alarm bells for him.

Lorelei looked down at her own swishing tail. "Yup! And the horns. Some people get more!" She pointed at Safiya, and sure enough her hands were slightly reptilian as well. "It's kinda random. It also comes with some extra gifts, which are also random. Some are crazy strong and fast, others are really smart, some weave spells better...usually it's related to what you're already good at, or want to be good at. Fellbloods are special; not everyone can become one. Usually they're individuals that the goddess takes an interest in, or those that are willing to devote their entire lives to the goddess and what she strives for. Like me!"

"Unlike me." Safiya pitched in for the second one. "It was either be welcomed into the cult, or face punishment for...crimes..."

"It was a big list of crimes! But they figured having her work towards something positive was a better use of her than just putting her to a guillotine. So far, I appreciate it! I got one of my best friends here because of it!" Her tail left little marks in the sand as she walked. "She always gives people a choice, however. There was only that one time it was done forcefully, and, well...it's probably a lot better that way. A-Anyway...there's only like, what...20, at most of us? Not that big a number. We're usually the ones in charge of keeping things moving through the covenant in the ways that only we can. And, pass on what we know to those under them. A lot of us are just regular people with a few extra gimmicks, but some of us are crazy powerful..."

"I'll say. Laikah's a force of nature, at times. Terrifying when she trains." Safiya had caught a glimpse of that once. It was not exactly what she had expected, but the display was one she'd remember for quite a long while.

"Mhm! It all comes down to how devoted you are, and what fate has in store for you. Not even the goddess knows what you'll get out of it until then, but we're all special in our own ways. Oh, and we're all both mentally, and physically, devoted to her now. So there's that, too!" The group was coming up to their next stop, another dive that might have some information to go off of.

"Would you describe the Fellbloods as 'reforged' in the service of the goddess?" The adventure asked, his mind reaching certain, worrying conclusions.

Lorelei had to stop to think about that wording for a moment. it was the first time someone had put the process like that, before. "Hmmm...I suppose so! That's a weird way of putting it, though...we're not all 'weapons' or anything like that. We're just better at what we do! I can tell people to do things, and they'll listen. There's more to it then that, but that's generally how it works!"

"And I picked up more firepower, which has come in handy as of late." Safiya opened her palm producing a few little balls of fire she circled through the air before the burst into a small little poof above her. While Lorelei was mostly oblivious to the expression on Test's face, Safiya could recognize the emotion. This could bubble over quickly if they didn't say the right words.

"We've all got our reasons for wanting to devote ourselves fully, but it had to happen before she would ever do anything to us! And afterwards, it just makes that so much easier! Honestly, I didn't want anything to do with my former life, so I was perfectly happy throwing that away. And I couldn't be happier! Well, as long as when the work doesn't pile up. But I'm doing something that I wanted to, and quite frankly that's good enough for me!" She twirled a little on her heel, genuinely happy a bit. Still oblivious to the concern in Test's voice.

Test took a step back as Lorelei turned around. Giving himself a bit of room. He didn't have anymore question he could ask without giving himself away so he decided to be blunt. "Are you guys a cult of the Forge?" He blurted out, now very nervous, his whole body tensing up a little.

Now that got a reaction out of the two of them, but it might not be the reaction he was expecting: the only thing painted on their faces was confusion. It was also the first time she noticed his change in disposition. Lorelei looked to her partner. "You heard of this?"

"First time I've heard of it. You?" Whatever it was, it seemed to get something of a rise out of him emotionally, and that wasn't lost on her.

"Nope! I swear, if that was another nickname the Grimleal was getting, I was about to be upset. We have enough of them already!" Lorelei turned to Test, not showing any hesitation. "So what's the Forge? Blacksmiths or somethin'?"

Test inspected them closely, not that he'd be able to tell did they were lying. The tension fading from his body as he became convinced that they really didn't know what he was talking about. "Well if you don't know what it is then I see no reason to dwell on it." He said awkwardly, dodging the question.

Some part of Test probably believed that they would be satisfied with that answer. They didn't have any reason to care if they didn't have information about them, right? It seemed easy to just let it drop.

However, the pout growing on the smaller figure's face was showing that wouldn't quite be as easy as he hoped.

"What do you mean, no reason to dwell on it?!?" She ran up to him, putting his face close to hers. "You can't just leave it like that! Not after how on edge you were just talking about it! Tell me, tell me!" She was bouncing on the spot, and whether she was doing it intentionally or not, her influence was making it extremely hard not to do as she asked, even for Test.

"She's not going to stop until you do. It'd probably be best to just spill it now." Safiya chuckled to herself, knowing her partner full well.

Test gritted his teeth and flight her influence. "I really shouldn't." He said, while he was not happy to be denying her like this, it could be actively dangerous to spread such information.

Lorelei pouted at him for a moment, noticing him fighting it. "You know, most people don't actually fight it like this. That's pretty tough of you! But this isn't just about my curiosity...although that helps too!" She stared him down for a moment, before spinning to show her back to him as she walked forward. "Judging from your reaction, whatever this Forge thing is, it's likely not a positive fact. And you mistook us for being related! What if others like you will see it that way as well? It's in our best interest to know what this group is like to prevent others from being more violent with their assumptions! What if this cult decides to attack us, as well? It wouldn't be the first that's tried to launch an assault on us through force! They always underestimate us...but it's good to be prepared regardless." Her tail swished back and forth as she spoke, a finger on her cheek.

"Wow...I didn't know you were thinking that far ahead." Even Safiya was surprised. "I thought you just wanted to know because you didn't like being told no."

"That...! That also might have something to do with it!" She looked a little embarrassed at having to admit that, pulling Safiya to the side to whisper to her. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't talk about that in public!"

"Well, yes, with people in the cult. He's new. He's not in that agreement." The wry grin on her face was met with a greater pout, loop holing her way through.

Lorelei let out a groan of frustration, needing a second to get her composure back. Despite the outburst, by the time she whirled back around, she looked as put together as she had just a moment ago. "Now, I could just rip that answer right out of you. As you've already felt, I can do that, and I'm holding back. Buuuuut...I prefer not to do that. Instead, I'll show you why you can trust us with that information. Come, come! You'll see!" She urged the other two onward, which was in the exact opposite direction of the next location.

"Um...aren't we going the wrong wa-"

"It's a detour! Come on, let's goooo~!"

Test followed the two. Relived that they weren't going to rip it out of him. "It's going to take more than trust. If I'm to tell you I need to know that you can handle it. This information draws exactly the of unwanted attention that you're hoping to avoid." Test explained as they walked.

"That's exactly what I was hoping for! So you need to see if we can handle it, right? I've got just the thing to show." She had a spring in her step as she led the two of them into town, the sandy city having a decent amount of traction from people coming and going, and Test would notice that as they went on, it got busier and busier. Whatever she was leading them to, clearly it was something quite a lot of people were doing.

"Hey, wait a minute...I know this place." Safiya chimed in with a moment of clarity. "This is-"

"Ah ah! No spoilers! I wanna see his face when he sees it for the first time! It's gonna blow his mind." She had a cheeky grin on her face, intent on keeping things a secret. It wasn't long until the three of them came to the source of all of the commotion. In the distance was a building that had a clean cut through the top of it to the sky, as if the top had been lopped off like one would slice a layer off of a cake. In addition, there was clearly a lot of damage on the inside of the house too, along with a few holes on the sides from some sort of scuffle. Quite a few people were working on constructing it back to the way that it was, and Test might notice that a few of them had a familiar mark on their clothing, namely the same one that Lorelei had on her shoulder. Not all of them did, but even those that didn't seemed to work very well together in reconstructing things. It looked like a mess, but everyone was doing their part in putting it back.

"Right, right, I remember this...that was that one with the faulty deal, right?"

Lorelei nods her head. "Mhm! We couldn't hold Micha back that day when they pulled out swords. Saying things like 'her queen was in danger!' and before we knew it, most of the house was gone. Our money went to fixing that, obviously, but it's good press for us regardless since we ended up catching a criminal for them, too! It's nice when things work out that way." Lorelei pivoted back in the direction of Test, who was likely taking in the scene in front of him.

"Welll~? What do you think? This was from one of our more...fanatical members. Not even close to the strongest. It worked out in the end, but...yeah. Still think we can't handle it?" The smug, toothy grin from the dragon girl was brimming with emotion just at a glance.

"This wouldn't just be a matter of physical might." Test noted, not fully paying attention to what he was saying as he inspected the extensive damage. "A strength of will would also be required. From the two of you, as well as anyone else you share it with. I'd need to see some evidence of that as well." The adventurer explained. Cults of the Hours posed threats to body, mind, and soul. Being able to level a building would protect you from others, but wouldn't protect you from yourself.

Lorelei pouted at his response. She was expecting him to be way more surprised at the scene! But he didn't look that surprised at all...and this still wasn't enough?!? What in the world was the day with this Forge or whatever?!? If there was that many caveats to it, then there's no way they didn't need to know this information...especially if others might mistake them for being part of it! Worse comes to worst, they could always mount an offensive against it if it's got a reputation...but if he wasn't going to spill it on this alone, then they were in the dark about this thing that might be a threat.

And then, an idea crossed Lorelei's head.

"Say...if you have that information...then you'd need to have that "strength of will" or whatever, too, right? So, we'd need a baseline of how far that 'will' stretches, to even see what we're dealing with..." She scratched her chin, as she whipped around to Safiya. "Safi! You were a midara once, right?!?"

"Uh...yeah?" She wasn't really sure where her friend was going with this.

"Perfect!" And then she whipped back around to Test, pointing at him with a finger. "Then do Midara things against him! Test his will! If he loses against you, then I'm pretty sure we'll be fine, and we'll have passed his level of will. And then, we'll get him to tell us everything we'd need to know for the safety of the covenan-"

"Woah, woah, slow down, Lorelei. You're getting worked up again." She shook her head at her excited companion, knowing full well once she got started on something it'd be near impossible to get her to stop. "You haven't even heard his opinion on this. Or mine."

"So what's your opinion on it?!?" She was practically bouncing on her heels at the question, looking very hard to sway from the path she was on mentally.

"I'd...I'll admit, it's at least somewhat sound. But, I'd need a bit to prepare...was not in the midara mindset yet today. And, we'd have to get his permission for it. See if it'd even work for what he was thinking of." Safiya was fluffing out her hair, checking her person incase he actually agreed to this crazy plan of hers.

"Oh! Right!" Lorelei whipped back around at Test at high speed, the excitement visible in her eyes and posture. "What do you think?!? Would that work?!? If I could get this information safely, the goddess would be so happy!"

Test considered it. This would also be a good way to see them in action, see if they really did use nefarious means to get what they want. "Fine. I agree." He said, hoping he wasn't getting in over his head. "Where would we do this?" He asked.

Lorelei tapped her chin in thought, before pointing down another street. "Oh! Over there! It's old and abandoned, so no one's gonna go down that way. Cmon!" She was already off before Safiya could get a word in edgewise.

"Honestly! For the one in charge today, sometimes she can decide things so impulsively..." She turned to look at Test. "Sorry you're at the whims of my boss today, too. No hard feelings, no matter which way it goes. But if I win, you won't have to worry about that anyway." That probably came out more ominous than she had hoped, but it was what she had left it on as she followed after Lorelei. Sure enough, the street was abandoned, with houses that were no longer lived in. Out of the way of any prying eyes, or troublemakers.

"This is perfect!" She turned around to see the two of them. "Are you ready yet, Safi?!?"

"Cool your jets, I'm getting there..." She was stretching out her body, getting into position. Of note was her two wings that she stretched out, a wingspan about 2/3rds as he was tall, that made a satisfying pop as she did. "Ahhh, that's so much better..."

Test drew his sparring staff and took up a defensive stance. "Ready whenever you are." He said, still a little wary but hoping for the best. Win or lose, he'll have learned more about them, and potentially have some leverage against them if they were up to no good.

Safiya had just gotten herself together, fluffing her hair out and licking her lips. She was in the midara mindset now, and anyone could tell from how she carried herself, compared to earlier. Before, she was mostly casual, distracted, and calm. Now, there was something about her that oozed sex appeal, automatically drawing attention to various parts of her body and with a look in her eye that had changed from tired, to interested.

"Alright. Now I'm ready." Her wings extended outward and her palms burned a pink fire as her chest puffed out. Right now, she was looking like a real midara again.

"Hah! Had to get her in the mood." Lorelei turned to face Test. "Alright, you've probably gone through these before, so I'm not gonna bore you with the details. Just keep swinging at each other until one of you falls over, and if you win we just sorta go away peacefully. If she wins, you spill the beans about all this-"

"And I get to mess with his mind a little." Safiya was already getting excited at the prospect.

"Not too much! This is on good terms, after all! Just is a little bit is probably fine, though." Lorelei took a seat on the side, ready to get things started. "Aaaaaaaand go!"

Test: 30
Safiya: 30

Test gulped. He really hoped he hadn't gotten in over his head. His eyes darted to her chest for a moment as he tried not to let his sudden excitement at the prospect of her messing with his mind show. The adventurer reaffirmed his footing and prepared to defend himself.

River Stance

Safiya, despite her lax nature, and everything that came with it, was a master manipulator. She was quick to notice small changes in an opponent's demeanor, and quicker to notice why. He had a fondness for various aspects, that was for sure. The sudden change in his perspiration, his gaze moving down to her chest...oh, yes, there was exploitable holes in this one. She had to see how far she could push this on value alone.

With incredible confidence, she strutted towards Test without a care in the world, keeping her gaze on him and putting extra emphasis in each step, causing a little bounce. "Well now, it seems your gaze has caught something it likes..." She held her arms out as she approached, looking to see how far she could go. "If you'd like, you can leap right into my arms now and just let go of those thoughts of you-"

However, Safiya had definitely reached her limit as his staff slapped her across the face, stunning her for a moment. "Looks like you got too cocky, Safi~!" However, she had gotten all the information she had needed. Tested the limits of this one, as it were.

"Alright..." Slowly she pulled herself back together, not that much worse for wear. "I'll stop humoring you now."

(River Stance: 54)
(Flaming Kiss: 77)

Test: 30
Safiya: 28

"Sorry about the rough hit. But I can't go easy on her." He said, half an apology, half a reaffirmation of his purpose here. He felt a little bad about immediately going for the face. But he needed her to take him seriously if he was to tease out her true nature. That is if she was hiding anything at all.

For now he just focused on fighting well. It was definitely a bad sign that she seemed to immediately spot weaknesses in him. But it was no reason to give up. For now he continued his emphasis on keeping her at bay, to try and force out any additional tricks she might be hiding.

Repel

Safiya rubbed the side of her cheek, a little bruised by that quick hit but nothing that would show up. His reflexes were sharp, she had to give him that. But, she could tell he was somewhat nervous, keeping her away from him. And nervousness lead to sloppiness, if given enough time and waiting for the opportune moment.

He swung his staff through the air, hoping to keep her at bay. Safiya saw her opportunity, however, as she quickly grabbed the tip of the staff midflight, holding it tightly. With her free hand, she reached behind Test's head before he could react and pulled him into her body, his face pressed between her chest. As she ripped the staff from his hand in his moment of surprise, she brought her other arm around him to press him even further into the expanse. Her tail and wings closed in around him as well, holding him close. The bare skin against his face was surprisingly warm, like the heat from a lit fireplace.

"You seemed to have an eye for my chest, didn't you? Well, how about I use it to my advantage now..."

(Repel: 23)
(Warm Embrace: 32)

Test: 27 (Bound)
Safiya: 28

Test's costly mistake found him trapped in a warm and surprisingly comforting embrace. If he's been thinking clearly he might have conclude that it was better for him if she targeted his fixation with her chest rather then his excitement at the concept of her messing with his mind. But right now he wasn't thinking clearly, his mind torn between a desire to stay and a desire to escape. His better sense won out and he tried to push her away with all the strength he could muster.

Burst Forth

Test displayed a surprising amount of force as he ripped himself out of her embrace, going through her arms, tail, and wings that held him there. The force was enough to get her to stumble backwards, landing on her butt despite the best efforts she had to try and right herself before that happened, wings flapping helplessly right before.

"Hah! He's giving you the run, ey Safi?" Lorelei seemed to at least be enjoying herself from the display.

"Oh, can it!"

(Burst Forth: Auto)

Test: 27
Safiya: 28

Test took advantage of his foe's state to throw three quick jabs at her. She was clearly a powerful foe, and he couldn't afford go easy on her. Even if it felt dishonorable to his a downed foe.

Triple Strike