Reaper vs. Gage

Along a dusty old road, a long figure walked. A worn old cloak hid most of their features from view, leaving only long black nails with hearts painted on them exposed. When the wind blew, the shroud hugged their frame, revealing them to be a slender woman.

She trotted along the path until she spotted someone in the distance, a man with a large frame and with short, dirty blonde hair. She licked her lips in anticipation as she walked closer to him. He looked to be alone, and she was beginning to feel so very hungry.

The Reaper smiled to herself as she approached her next meal.

It was a gloomy ol’ day to behold. The wrestler was on his way to a more rural town to do some business but it would’ve been better to have just stayed in doors, probably. Gage held a hand out with the expectation of feeling a rain drop at any minute, tucking his sledgehammer under his arm. He never knew who he would bump into in these parts but he knew that there’d be a Midara lurking about...

Of course, he should’ve known it was only a matter of time before one reared their pretty head. And rear it they did. Gage spotted a hooded figure that seemed rather shapely walking directly towards him and prepared for something to go down. Looked a little too freaky to only be passing by. Not wanting to waste any time, the wrestler called out to the person.

“What’re you doin’ out here? It’s about to rain— I’m just passing by anyways. Don’t mind me!”

The cloaked woman actually jumped in surprise at the man's words. It wasn't often that her prey tried to start an actual conversation with her. Usually it was angry threats or panic screams.

She walked closer to the man who seemed to tower over her. The cloaked woman wasn't sure what to do. Attacking him now would just be rude. Maybe she could try being civil for once? Ah, but she was pretty sure the man in front of her was mortal, so verbal responses wouldn't go over well.

The Reaper raised a finger to the sky before pulling at her cloak and pointing at the man. Her way of asking if he himself had any protection from the rain.

Huh... No talking, eh? Fine with me so long as she isn’t comin’ at me. Don’t poke the bear, right?

Gage quickly stopped being lost in his thoughts as he watched the demure-seeming woman gestured up to the clouds roiling overhead. The wrestler looked up as well, taking a moment to contemplate what the nonverbal traveler was trying to get across.

“Not much for talking, eh? That’s alright, I’ll do enough of that for both of us— looks like the bottom’s about to fall out any minute now. Next town is still a good ways away. Don’t suppose you know of a cave or shaded tree or anything nearby?”

The wrestler was still plenty cautious with the woman before him as he plants the head of his sledgehammer into the ground and using it as support.

The cloaked woman shook her head in the negative. She mostly stuck to the roads for her hunts. She looked around as she pondered his problem. As her gaze wondered, she noticed the edges of her her hood.

The silent woman tugged on her cloak and then gestured to the man, offering to let him borrow it. The rain wouldn't really bother her anyway.

With a tilt of his head, the wrestler watched as the seemingly mute woman tugged at the shroud adorning her body. Did she have anything under there, anyways?

“Oh, don’t worry about me— plus, I’m not sure what it would cost me. Unless you insist, anyways.”

Gage wasn’t sure if he was trying to coax the woman into revealing her true intentions or was merely being truthful st this point. Perhaps it was both? In any case, the grappler was keenly watching for any sudden moves.

The Reaper nodded. It really was no problem for her. She reached to pull her cloak off before she froze; suddenly remembering the effect her body had on men.

The midara walked past him, making sure to stay behind the human as she disrobed. Her bare body was now fully unveiled in all of its modest glory; messy chestnut brown hair, deep scarlet pools for eyes, and deep black lips, all highlighted by skin so pale that it glowed in the light.

She draped her cloak over the tall human's shoulders. She then grabbed those firm shoulders of his and use them to pull herself up and give him a chaste peck on his cheek, her mouth pulling out a small sliver of his soul in the process.

Even if she was trying to be polite, that didn't stop her from feeling a bit peckish.

As the silent woman slipped past him, Gage realized that she was likely going to be somewhat indecent and was going behind him so that she could disrobe without being watched. Respectfully, he kept his eyes forward until he felt those lithe hands drape the garment over his shoulders. Then he felt... a kiss? From someone he just met? And why did he feel somewhat different...

The wrestler couldn’t help but look back at the woman, “Hey, what gives with tha—“

It was then that he laid eyes upon the alabaster, radiant skin of the woman who was demonstrating a selfless act. He felt like was a statue made of stone as he looked at her. Something was definite amiss.... or perhaps she was just that beautiful.

She gave a sheepish smile as the man became paralyzed when he laid his eyes on her. She tapped a finger against her chin as she pondered what to do next.

On the one hand, he was completely helpless now. If she wanted to, she could drain him of his soul and he could do nothing to stop her. On the other, he was rather nice to her so far.

Idly, the Reaper sucked on the portion of his essence she stole as she thought about her options. The midara decided to simply move out of his sight, restoring his ability to move.

For now.

Feeling his stiffness slowly fade from his limbs, he wasn’t sure if this was magic or just... plain attraction. Gage didn’t quite want to lay eyes on her again for fear of having the same feeling take him again. With a reserved cough, he spoke up again:

“L-let’s get goin’, yeah?”

He couldn’t help but feel as if something was tickling him, making his body jolt with little bits of static as the woman sucked on her supposed candy. Gage was about at his end of playing it cool, this was all too odd to merely be coincidence... As he began to walk, he took a quick glance over his shoulder,

“You’re not human, are ya? Sorry but I’m not sure what game you’re tryna play but I would appreciate you say somethin’ or at least quit tugging me around. I’m just tryna get in to town without any hitches—“

The woman tilted her head in confusion. She never pulled on him, did she? And now he was asking questions after he already had her cloak. He understood staring at her right now would paralyze him, so he would avoid looking at her if she tried to communicate like normal.

She let out a tired sigh. Fine, if he wanted her to talk, then she'll talk.

"No, I'm not human." her voice was low and husky, and the air seemed to chill at her words. "As for what game I'm trying to play... It's..." she fumbled with her words, unsure of how to explain herself. "It's... When I approached you... I was going to attack you. But when you noticed me, you did not threaten me or try to flee. Instead, you just talked to me. It felt rude to just use you to sate my hunger after that."

By the time the Reaper finisher her explanation all the grass on the roadside around the duo had begun to wilt

Now we’re getting somewhere.

With an attentive ear turned to the no-longer silent Midara and listened intently to her words. Her words felt... dire. Like they were cutting into his life force with each syllable. Gage took some notice of the grass becoming withered and wasn’t sure if he was willing to attribute the occurrence to the woman just yet.

“Thank you for fessing up. That tells me just about everything I needed to know. I guess I appreciate your mercy.” Gage wanted to scoff at that sentiment.

Gage continued to walk forward and cast off the shroud back to the woman as the rain drops occasionally fell in heavier droplets.

“I think you’ll need that more than me, no offense. Anyways... how long until you decide to chomp me and slake the thirst? I’m sure it’s a surprise but figured I’d ask.”

Gage was fully on guard now and more than ready to take the woman down but so long as she was being tame, he hoped he wouldn’t have to.

"I don't know." the Reaper admitted as she caught her cloak and slipped it back on. "This whole... not going after someone immediately thing is new to me."

She stopped talking to swallow the essence in her mouth, savoring the feeling of the man's life force sliding down her throat.

"I've gone longer without meals, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to leave if you wish." She admitted as she quickened her pace to walk besides him. "But part of me just seems to itch at the thought of letting prey go. Of just abandoning a hunt without even trying."

The cloaked woman looked at the man in concern. She wasn't normally this talkative, especially around mortals. She wondered how well he was holding up.

Is this what it’s like when a cheetah talks to an antelope? Because if so, it was not sitting well with the wrestler. What was he to do with this walking, gothic cannibal? Cannibal may not have been the right word but it was the only one that seemed to come close.

“Well, I wish I could say I could relate but my food usually doesn’t have a conversation with me before I eat it.”

Gage’s breathing became a little bit labored for reasons who could not quite understand. It all of a sudden just felt like someone had put a vice on his chest and was tightening it ever so slowly. This woman was not right, that much he could discern. Gage’s pace slowed a little bit as a result before he spoke back,

“Decision’s yours. I’m not sure if your food has ever spiked your fuckin head into the ground but that’s how this is gonna go if you decide to take a bite.”

The reaper licked her lips as she saw that her voice was starting to take its toll on the man. "I don't normally bite my prey. I prefer to just kiss them." She admitted as she walked past him.

The cloaked woman stopped in front of the man and turned to face him. "At this rate, I don't think I can hold myself back much longer." Either because of how vulnerable further conversation would make him, or the desire to see if he could make good on his threats.

What is happening...? It feels like I’m hungover—

For a brief moment, Gage felt his equilibrium shift a bit and the world tilted for but a second. The wrestler kept his balance and continued on until the woman stopped in front of him, issuing her challenge. That was that, then.

“Yeah? Me neither.”

Gage wasn’t one to lash out without cause but the woman before him was doing something to him. Something nefarious. So the time for pleasantries had come to an end. Now it was time for action. Lunging forward, Gage aimed to hook his sledge around the back of the mysterious enemy before him to catch her in a modified sort of bear hug.

[Mighty Grapple]

(Mighty Grapple -roll 2- Crit Success!)

The Reaper had let her guard down. With how the man had been staggering, she wasn't expecting him to suddenly rush her. The cloaked midara soon found herself being pressed against the fighters well muscled chest as he squeezed the air out of her.

(Reaper can not act because of the crit!)

Gage: 21 Willpower
Reaper: 28 Stamina + Bind

With the Midara pinned to his body and now losing air fast, the grappler felt good about the start of this battle. Like so many others, he was gonna make sure that the will to fight was drained from his opponent. Wrenching his sledge’s handle around the torso of the woman, Gage took the time to offer an out to his opponent.

“Listen... you can quit now and I’ll be merciful but it’s not a good start for ya’!”

With no intent on ceasing his hold, Gage continue to press his hold on the cloaked assailant.

[Continue Mighty Grapple]

(Love is Blind -roll 48- Success!)

And now he was taunting her like he already won, despite the disadvantage he was at. It was almost cute, in a way.

The Reaper managed to reach up with her slender arms and grabbed the wrestler's head. She pulled it close and pressed her soft lips against his right eye. When the kiss broke, not only had she pulled out a bit of his soul, but his eye had been sealed shut by a black imprint of her lips.

Gage: 18 Willpower + Soul Siphoned 1 + Disadvantage (3)
Reaper: 25 Stamina + Bind

In the moment, Gage felt like he still held the upper hand with the hooded opponent crushed in his grip but in a moment, he felt the tables turn with a vengeance. In the moment of close proximity to his opponent, he realized that the pain he was inflicting wasn’t quite enough to keep the woman from reaching out to him and kissing him on his eye.

His eye?

After the woman parted, he felt something slip away from him and his eye simply... refused to open. Like it had been forcibly shut by her influence. But now was no time to panic. Rather, it was time to go in for the kill.

With a grunt, Gage slipped his arm upwards to hook around the Midara’s neck. He could only hope his depth perception was keen enough so that he could get ready to hit his opponent with his signature Punishplex.

[Punishplex]

(Punishplex -roll 60, 34- Success!)
(Struggle -roll 10- Crit Success!)
(Flash of Light -roll 85- Crit Fail!)

Reaper coughed lightly as the large man gripped her neck and lifted her into the air. As he went to throw her; however, her cloak had become slick from the rainwater and slipped out of his hands. Instead of slamming into the ground, she was sent skipping down the road and accidentally bit down on the soul in her mouth on impact.

She got back to her feet, and found her arms had become tangled in her cloak.

Gage: 17 Willpower + Soul Siphoned 1 + Disadvantage (2)
Reaper: 25 Stamina + Stunned

Gage felt the Midara’s feet leave the ground as he lifted her into the air and prepared to deliver a devistating Punishplex. However, the slickness also caused his grip to slip and the assailant ended up slipping through his hands and going off into the distance.

This development definitely took the grappler aback, but he couldn’t help but notice that the Midara was no caught up in her own cloak. In this moment, Gage knew he could take this moment to compose himself and decided to do so by posing and poking fun at the woman.

“Ya look like you’re a little caught up there! I would’ve thought you wouldn’t get tangled in your own rags. You ought to at least try to make a meal of me!”

[Bragging Boast]

(Bragging Boast -roll 77- Fail!)

The Reaper grumbled to her self as she untangled herself from her cloak. While the man's taunting was annoying, his wet tank top that hugged his form and made his posing show off his pecs more than made up for it.

Gage: 17 Willpower + Soul Siphoned 1 + Disadvantage (1)
Reaper: 25 Stamina

Huh, color me shocked she didn’t take the bait. Well, time to go back to the tried and true method—

Watching the woman rise back to her feet, Gage knew now was another great opportunity to knock her right back down. Without missing a beat, the wrestler’s sneakers pounded against the now rain covered pavement as he made a mad dash for his opponent.

Upon reaching the woman, he put an arm out so he could aim to knock her head off with a Clothesline Guillotine. If all went according to plan, he would put her right down into the earth and press his advantage further.

[Clothesline Guillotine]

(Clothesline Guillotine -roll 72,51- Fail!)

The man charged at the midara, but he swung wide. With only one working eye, his aim was off.

(Death's Embrace -roll 5- Crit Fail!)

The cloaked woman tried to capitalize on the mistake, but her bare foot stepped in a puddle. She found herself slipping on the wet surface and landed on the ground flat on her back. She laid there, letting the rain splash her face; she chewed on the man's stolen essence, as the seal placed on his eye faded away.

Gage: 16 Willpower + Soul Siphoned 1
Reaper: 25 Stamina + Downed