[1 v 1] Keep your hand signals to yourself (Levi/West)

[Smerdle]

West knew the fight was over when she struck him. He was soon bombarded by her rage, resisting it a test in and of itself, but the boil managed to do so, only letting enough of the emotion through to keep from going all hazy and near-unconscious.

"Not lyin' exactly," he grumbled, rubbing at his jaw. "Jus'..." He dropped his arms off to either side of their bodies, sighing dramatically as they flopped to the floor. "Ya got... new moves 'n signals," his hands briefly came into view again as he imitated the silent message she had delivered in the caves, "an' you've been trainin'... somewhere... obviously... but never tol' me nothin'bout it." He certainly wasn't requesting permission to approve her training partners or anything, but the boil couldn't help but be a little curious. And jealous. Fine. He was jealous.

"An' don't... claw at me, I didn' do nothin'!" He wiggled, forcing her sharp nails further into his shoulders. That probably wasn't the best idea. "Didn' do nothin' but lose spectacalurly. I was winnin' there fer a while. You saw! But when all th' trainin' y'got in... ferever... is dancin', yer bound t'fail." West stopped himself before he nodded knowingly. Maybe all of his talking was due to some delayed reaction to her poison? It might be wise to shut up now. "So. Y'win!" Sarcasm. West had it.  

[nekoluch]

Levi turned still as a statue when West made the "What did you see?" motions with his hands. What did I- ? Oh. It clicked in what he meant as the demon boil went on about her training without him. It never mattered before. West went on and on, rambling like she'd never heard him speak before. His comments about not doing anything or his dancing... well, they pissed her off a bit, but in a more comforting West-like way. Don't think all'a that was fer nothin'!

Ignoring the wrath demon's demand to not be clawed at, Levi gripped into the flesh of his biceps, clinging at she brought his shoulders up and slammed him back down. Listen! Their faces were close; Levi wanted to ensure he wasn't going to be making any gestures, close his eyes, or look away right now. When it came to mating, her kin were rather stern. It wasn't even until Levi came to Amity that her Ma told her about the matters surrounding courting and mating. The youth of her town were usually left in the dark until their time came. Families chose mates for the most part. Sometimes they got a pumpkin and sometimes they didn't. Other times, like her Ma and Pa, the tatzels chose one another and this had much higher potential for pumpkins, they realized. Perhaps this was part of why her Ma told her... clearly there were no suitable matches in her town if her experiences with Billy Joe were any indication.

Levi had chosen West and he accepted; that was it. The insinuation that she was training with someone else in secret had certain tied implications. The tatzelwurm ways made it near impossible to view the possibility of secondary mates. If there was a situation, which Levi most certainly wouldn't have known about, where an individual decided to change their mate... they might have disappeared from the town suddenly.

Ya'only gotta remember this in that thar thick boil-headed skull'a yers.

Or, perhaps, this was West's way of asking her why. Back in the eve of their realization that they both wanted to become mated, the ghoul had mustered up her courage to ask him right away why he'd agreed have her. Perhaps West was now looking for her to fulfill this need now. Levi would make sure he heard what he needed to hear.

Didn't choose ya'fer ma'mate fer nothin', Westus. I ain't no expert 're nothin' but I teach ya'tha'way I learned how. I can't show ya what I don't know 'nuff 'a. Levi realized now she hadn't breathed for awhile, pausing to take in a breath audibly. So I been trainin' with a Tricker'treater. Been just tha'one time so far. Shun was'there. She searched within him intently for a reaction to this; for a sign of if this was what he wanted to know. The ghoul kept on regardless, wanted to say and explain every detail of what she had done during her training with Noland and her sparring with Shun to practice her skills just so west would know. In the end, all that mattered was what she couldn't help but focus on. Her direct eye contact broke finally as Levi's head fell to stare down at West's chest, unfocused on anything but her thoughts formulating into words.

I... can't show ya what'I don't know...

The tension in her hands eased, claws retracting and fingertips now laying over the gaps where she'd once gouged into him. Of course the ghoul had to train and get better at sneaking. Not only was it an essential quality to her kin, but it was something she shared and enjoyed practicing with West. Levi was still just a student like him, far behind in the ways of her mentors.

She smiled then remember the last thing West said in his scarling-like fit, snorting in quiet protest.

Don't think I'm weak because I can't teach you more than this...

If ya'think I really won, yew got'a fair few things left ta'do with me yet, boil. Her head rose again so the tatzel ghoul could make eye contact again. Her smile was weak, as if her FEAR was draining out of her the more she thought about these things. Don't think yer done dancin' with'me none.

Levi's tail released West's legs then, fingers and bottom lifting off of him as she stepped offside. He was finally released from her pin.  

[Smerdle]

As predicted, the boil had been turning away from her, averting his eyes before she slammed his head hard against the floor. West winced. He was certainly looking at her now. His lips parted in a snarl, but the expression smoothed once she began to explain.

Training with a Trick-or-Treater? Like... a mentor? With Shun there too? Oh.

"Oh." The word was hardly representative of how he felt about his own stupidity. He could clearly see that his fears were unfounded by the way she responded. She hadn't done anything that should have made him mad, and yet here he was. His attention might have also caught on the word mate, but in the overwhelming flurry of other thoughts, his brain quickly let it go, unconsciously storing the term and its implications away to think about later. Surely she just meant boilfriend. Like some quaint tatzel thing. No, what West remained preoccupied with was her expression as she admitted there were some things she didn't know. Some things she couldn't teach him. Much like her successfully poisoning him during their brawl, West had never heard Levi so clearly own up to personal weakness before. To be honest, her refusal to do so had frustrated him no end, at least until now. He realized her self assurance was something he liked quite a bit. He really didn't want to make her doubt her abilities like this again.

West smiled a wavering smile in response to hers. "Don't, um... I think I overreacted," he said muzzily. He didn't want to say flat out that he had been wrong, but after today he was definitely going to try to think his accusations through before flinging them around. Try. He wasn't sure that would be enough. "I was angry at nothin'. An'... y'dun hafta show me anythin' y'can't. Fightin' witcha teaches me plenny, even when y'dont try." Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. Honestly, he was too worn out to care. "Dancin', though." His smile went goofy for a moment. "I think I'll like it better when we're alone." Definitely talking too much. He bit his lip and tried not to shudder as she rose and the blood rushed back into his legs.

The speed with which he had challenged her rather than spoken his mind did raise a troubling question. "Y'know..." West sat up, gathering his legs closer to his chest before slowly climbing to his feet. "I get mad. A lot. Always am." He looked away, rubbing his knuckles across the underside of his nose. "I'm prob'ly gonna get mad at ya again." A lot. Just a friendly warning.  

[nekoluch]

Oh, Levi caught the "you don't try" bit there. She was about ready to wrangle him back onto the shield floor and make him take it back until dancing was mentioned. West's expression coupled with his saying they'd be alone brought a wide grin back to her face. Dancing in the comfort of her personal space back home was one of the greatest things Levi had growing up. Dancing where the watchful eyes of her peers wouldn't sway her judgements or where her Ma and Pa could teach her new steps... that was a piece of home she actually missed here.

Dancing alone with West? This was definitely something she wanted to do now. Dancin' just yew n' me? Any ol'time yer ready fer me, boil. It had been a fun time when they'd practiced their footwork in the woods before... things got fuzzy.

West spoke of his anger then. It took her a moment to process it: why was West always so angry? Oh, right. Ya'know, I'ferget sometimes yer'a wrath demon. I mean- yea, yer angrier than'a pencil in'a sharpener, but... yer just vein' yew. Ain't no other way ta'be no wrath demon, eh?

Crossing her arms neatly, the tatzel continued on, taking a step closer. I don't mind ya doin' what yer kin do, West so long as ya'll know how'ta pay up fer it. If he was going to decide one day to just cut up all her dresses, well~

So- that was it then? Ya'eat yet? Her tail swayed back and forth behind her, showing she was rather eager right now to know his mind on the subject of food.

Just like that, the battle had allowed them to discuss matters usually talked about outside of a gym setting. Levi had spoken her mind as did he, and now all the tatzel wanted to do was have a bite with him if he was feeling peckish. Just another problem solved by casual fighting.  

[Smerdle]

Forget he was a wrath demon? West didn't know quite what to think about that. Granted, there were several different ways to... be a wrath demon as she put it, at least in his experience, but the boil didn't think he was cut out to turn into one of the calm, calculating sorts this late in the game.

He felt a surprising wave of relief when she said she didn't mind his anger. West had a feeling she didn't really know what she was agreeing to put up with, but if today was any indication, they would probably make it through. He briefly wondered why these sorts of insights and discussions were so much easier to have after a physical altercation, but the well of self awareness that had allowed him to ponder such things in the first place was quickly drying up. His brain was suddenly distracted... by food.

"I could eat," he said, catching the waving of her tail out of the corner of his eye. West felt mildly conflicted. He was glad the dastardly appendage seemed no worse for wear, but he also couldn't help but make a mental note to hit it harder next time. "Lead th'way."