[1v1]I Want To Tear Out All Your Tenderness(Bells&Mort) FIN!

[AyeAvast]

For all the magic in the world, it would do nobody any good if it couldn't be executed properly. Though it had taken a bit of coaxing on her half, Belladonna had decided that a good battle would help bring out her potential the most. Of course, what with the general lack of friends this posed a delicate situation. It would have been uncompromisingly easy to just wait outside the Gymnasium and, once again, grab some poor, unsuspecting student and force them into a battle. But Belladonna had a heavy wager that she wasn't going to be as lucky this go around. After all, not every boil was the gentleman Alexander was.
Lucky for the witch, she did know one particular gentle-zombie that she cared for dearly enough to convince him to battle her. (Though convince was a loose term used sparingly as it had been more of a push that Belladonna would later regret, most assuredly.) In any regard, the day had dawn fairly drizzly, so the couple, having had previous plans of lounging the day away outside, were forced inside. And that meant to battle.

"I promise: No fire. I don't even have any battle ready fire spells, anyways." Belladonna said from her perch on a bench, busy buttoning up the last of her shoes. She had donned a more subdued outfit for battle, her face bright and manner excited about this match. It would certainly be a test of her strength, for Mort had gained a year on her!
Of course, the witch was doing her best not to show her fear of being utterly pummeled by being a little too battle ready. Whoops!
With her boots all buttoned up, Belladonna hopped to her feet and tittered on over to Mort, where she planted a kiss to his cheek.
"Don't look so grim. This'll be fun!"  

[medigel]

Grim didn't begin to describe it.

Under normal circumstances he would have been just fine with the battle - a difference in years wouldn't have mattered, and after all Bells was entitled to challenge whomever she wanted. Hell, she'd already gone and fought a Hunter, so battling him shouldn't have been such a big deal. Yet there he was in the gym, his mouth a thin stitched line that had no illusions of becoming a smile anytime soon, kiss or no.

Ever since he came back from his first task, the itch at the back of his mind had become a full blown, constant feeling agitation. And for the normally placid zomboil, it threw off his groove even more because of how little control he sometimes had over it. He could feel it building in him like a time bomb and felt strongly that he ought to find a way to vent it out on his own time, lest his ghoulfriend catch the flack. But of course, there was no way to tell her why, and without reasoning she'd only needled him with more questions and concerns and puppy dog eyes that, upon imagining it, just irritated the angry feeling even more.

But Mort was, as ever, a sucker. He couldn't say no. And so it came to be that the surly zomboil would now face Belladonna in their first bout of combat since, well, ever. He wished he could have been in a better mood for this occasion. "Mrrr . . . Trying," he stated with a look of frustration, only half-heartedly taking a battle stance. Thor hummed contentedly nonetheless where his left arm would have been - Bells had insisted he not hold back.

All in all, he had a bad feeling about this.  

[AyeAvast]

The lack of even a small smile momentarily dismayed the witch, but Belladonna had agreed to this. Insisted. It had to be done, saw through to completion. Besides, the worst that could happen was that either of them got angry, threw their hands up and quit the fight early.
No, Belladonna thought as she click-clacked from the boil toward the middle of the ring. The worst is that something really terrible happens and he realizes he hates me and breaks up with me and then kills me because secretly the Horsem-- -- "Ready when you are, darling!"
Whoops, thoughts like that would get Belladonna into deep trouble. Not to mention into thinking horrible thoughts, which would become horrible actions and lead to horrible consequences.

Hecate alive, she was being a bit negative about all this.
"You can get first hit~" Belladonna called out, having put quite a bit of distance between herself and Mort. She may be cute and look naive, but she wasn't a battle newbie. She knew that lightening hurt like a b***h, so she wanted as much space to dodge those bolts as possible. With a flick of her hands, the witch shot her cards out from her pocket so that they arced like a well practiced card trick, but right before they started to fall from gravity, they instead snapped to attention in a ring around the witch. They hovered at waist height, spread out just enough to leave spaces in between.
"Well, come on then!" Belladonna shouted with a wink and a flirty wave of her hand.
If she could just pretend this wouldn't turn out bad, maybe it wouldn't. The future could be changed, right?  

[medigel]

Mort fought the sudden urge to snort at how she offered him the first hit, unable to help but think, Like you could stop me if I wanted to in the first place. And then he pushed it down and away with a shake of his head, sucking in a deep breath to calm himself. Just a battle, Mort. Just a normal spar.

If you can call a mouse fighting a cat a real battle.

And then he shook his head again, grumbling as he brought his fists up at the ready, charging his body up so that he might keep pace. "Alright then," was all he could say. Bells had been smart to put distance between them, but unfortunately lightning travelled rather quickly. Her issued challenge earned her several trails of electricity leaping the gap between them with eager crackling sounds, as if it was a fun game to fly through the spaces between her cards and reach her.

HP: 50
Damage: 6  

[AyeAvast]

The anticlimactic reply started to illicit its own reply from the witch, but she hardly had the chance. Blue flashed in her vision and though she threw herself forward to dodge, the lightning found her straight and true. A totally unchecked cry ripped from her throat, louder, sharper and much shriller than she had anticipated. A muffled curse immediately followed as Belladonna rolled back up onto her feet and took a running start toward Mort. OK, so distance didn't work, but maybe if she was able to stay busy, play witchy keep away, she might stand a chance. Zombies were slow, witches could be fast, so though she wasn't really interested in crossing the distance she'd put between them, Belladonna still charged forward.

Unfortunately her bravado didn't win her too many points as she sent a razor sharp card Mort's way and it only nicked him. Surely it would have stung, but not nearly as much as that jackdamned lightning bolt.
"Having fun yet?" She called out as happily as she could, her run now taken to the right in a slow arc around her boilfriend.

Damage: 3
HP: 44  

[medigel]

Mort didn't so much as flinch as the card sliced his shoulder, his eyes trained on Bells instead as she began to strafe to the right; he did, however, have a very brief wince at the sound of her cry. Angry or not, that wasn't something he wanted to hear.

"Only just started," he pointed out as he turned to keep her in the center of his vision, fist curled. Was that supposed to be a taunt? Weak. He'd show her how it's done. "But can see is so rusty! Is that best can do?" Mort made a dismissive motion with his hands, energy discharging at her with the motion. "Might be good for readings, but think kitten scratch hurts more."

HP: 47
Damage: 5  

[AyeAvast]

"Oh no worries, I'm only just getting started!" Belladonna called back, but her little charge didn't work at all. She attempted one more dodge, but still got caught with the lightning. This time she managed not to cry out, but a small whimper did escape her throat. The lightning had struck only a little less than before, but it still stopped the witch in her tracks. It struck and for the duration of the zap she frozen, silhouetted in blue, but once it was gone she back to running. Maybe she'd tire herself out this way, but if she could keep him moving too, that'd be best.

Uncertain where to run to, Belladonna changed directions at the same time she threw another card. This one hit the opposite side and the witch steeled herself for another witty comment, as she really had none of her own. Not now, not with nothing to back it up with.

Damage: 3
HP: 39  

[medigel]

And again Mort took the attack and brushed it off like it was nothing, which in comparison to the things he had endured it sorta was. More annoyingly, though, was the sneaking suspicion that Bells wasn't trying hard enough or, worse, that she was just not taking this spar seriously. "Come on!" he challenged her, losing the charge in his limbs as he spread them out, a willing target. "Know you're holding back, Bells! Agreed not to hold back!"

That was it, right? Just holding back. She wasn't weak, like the insidious and unwanted negativity led him to believe. She could hold her own . . . right?

He tapped his chest, pointing to her where to target. "Best shot, right here."

HP: 44
Damage: no action taken this turn  

[AyeAvast]

"I am not!" She shouted, suddenly angrier than she wanted, or had expected. Her run was halted when she saw the charge fade, and she stumbled to a full stop a good distance from him. What was he...?
Idly her cards floated around her, sure in their spin where the witch had suddenly become wary. Belladonna's mouth opened to say something, but the look he gave her... There was something else behind it. Something she didn't like.
"I..." She began, her hand reached out tentatively and a card rushed to do her bidding, all lit up and sharp. For a moment she stared ar him, eyebrows drawn down in suspicion. Would it be right to take such a cheap shot?

With a flick of her hand, the card raced toward the boil, but just before it hit, Belladonna snapped her fingers and the card only grazed him the tiniest bit.
"THAT--" She declared, her feet firmly planted apart and a fire blazing in her eyes, "--Was holding back!"
There was no mention of her best shot, for she hadn't taken it. Worry had driven her from it and instead Belladonna leveled him with a fierce gaze she hoped he wouldn't take to heart.
"You're the one holding back! You didn't even attack! Don't make this another fake-out battle like the one with Gene!" She shouted across the way, throwing an accusatory point at him then dropping her hands in frustration. What was she doing? Why was she reacting so angrily? Why was he acting so high and mighty and very un-Mort? What in the nine circles of hells was going on?!
There was something odd about all this, and she didn't like it one bit.

Damage: 1
HP: 39

Ol-j-man

Brb, sobbing forever at how much the dice hate me.
ALSO. Headcannoning it that the spar b/w Mort, Bells and Gene ended with Mort or Gene backing down, cause Belladonna doesn't understand why friends can't have a friendly fight. XD

 

[medigel]

His shirt was barely scratched, and for some reason the first thing he wanted to do was howl with laughter at how pitiful it was.

And then Bells brought up a particularly tender subject, and all laughter died in his throat.

Fake-out.../Fake-out battle/ with...?

For a moment Mort sputtered and just stared at her incredulously, caught off guard by the remark. And then his face contorted with rage. "Don't talk like you know," he hissed, glowering as electricity arced about his right arm. "Don't you /dare/ talk. You weren't even supposed to /be/ there - " He cut himself off with another growl and, with speed only anger and battle together could form, the zomboil launched himself, a punch arcing right for her card barrier.

HP: 43
Damage: 8

AyeAvast

90% sure it'd be Mort forfeiting, since he wouldn't wan to keep battling them both for differing reasons. Also troll dice noooo D:

 

[AyeAvast]

The reaction she got, wasn't what she expected. For a moment he was confused, as though Mort had forgotten about that particular excursion, but his brain clicked after a while and the reaction to that was even more unexpected.
"Know what?!" Belladonna shouted at his hiss. He was getting angry? He was getting mad? Oh, hell's bells, Belladonna was pissed!
A friendly spar had turned from friendly banter to all out shouting in a flash, and while Belladonna indulged a bit of her anger, something kept repeating about how wrong everything was. Mort didn't get angry like this, did he? Or was this something Belladonna just hadn't seen before?
"Not supposed to be there? Well please do excuse me for not knowing that! As I was invited, I rather figure--"

Whatever other remark the witch had was cut off by his attack. Her cards weren't meant as a barrier, so the moment Mort got close enough to actually land a hit, the circle widened as though willing to let him through. Belladonna thought she could dodge it, she was certain she'd have enough time, but she'd only gotten one foot down before the lightning hit. Luckily she had managed to move enough that the zombie only punched her arm, but still. There was the sudden shock of him actually placing a harmful hand on her, then the literal shock of his electricity.
By this point, Belladonna didn't care if she screamed. So she did. Loudly and with a great deal of pain. Yet she also tried to hold her own, to do so damage, but it wasn't a good idea as she tried to pull away from the attack she tripped on a heel and on the way down she sent a card to Mort.
It only hurt half as much as she did, but from her vantage point on the ground, Belladonna figured she couldn't loose much else.

With an angry toss of her hair and a tightening of clenched fists against the floor, Belladonna took a breath through clenched teeth and looked up at Mort.
"Tell me darling, what else do I not know?"

Damage: 4
HP: 31

Ol-j-man

Oh glob, all these feels waaaaahhhh

 

[medigel]

Some part of him had to admit she had guts for not running away. The rest of him called her stupid for it.

The witch's arm was grasped with viselike fingers as he pulled her to him, part of his sharpened teeth showing through his scowl. "You were invited," he derided, ignorant of her scream, "because she knew would not fight as well against you. Wanted to see pain in eyes when forced to fight two instead've one. Wanted revenge on me for what I did."

And in the end, that was what everything boiled down to didn't it: revenge. Even now Mort could feel himself drawn to it, drawn to the need to retaliate against anything and everything. His eyes narrowed as he brought his face closer to hers, resentment beginning to show behind the anger, and hissed, "Wanted revenge because you couldn't keep mouth shut about us until I made it right with her." And with that he forced her away and released her arm. In a way, this too was also getting revenge.

Well hey, it was better than some more lightning?

HP: 39
Damage: 3

-AyeAvast

DD: CASTIEL CREYS

 

[AyeAvast]

Pink eyes widened when his hand reached down to grab her and Belladonna didn't even bother to keep the little yelp from escaping. Already he had become numb to her cries, so she might as well shout as much as she wanted. Fat lot of good it had done her so far.
"I don't think reven--" But she couldn't finish, he was suddenly closer and those razor sharp teeth looked too close.
When had he done that? Had they always been so sharp and menacing?
Instead Belladonna looked up at him, her face drawn and determined, angry but defiant, her eyes locked with his. It was a bad idea, for it gave him the perfect vantage point to see just how deeply his comment upset her. Though she was able to keep herself from crying, or even letting herself totally crumple into despair, there was a certain shock she couldn't hide. Her mouth opened to retort, to say something, anything... But he had pushed her away and there was nothing the witch could think of.
Had he willing chosen her with such conflicted feelings about Gene? And if he felt so upset over it, why had he kept with Belladonna?
And why should he blame her? How was she to know of his interest in another ghoul?

With a scream of rage, Belladonna righted herself before she fell and clenched her fingers so that they were open, but angry.
"Don't you dare put the blame on me!" She shouted as she rose her hands above her head, a number of cards swooping up and out of the circle, poised and ready to strike. "I've done nothing wrong!" The cards shivered in the air as the witch took a steadying breath, angry at so many things it was hard to pinpoint. "I'll show you holding back."
Another angry scream ripped from Belladonna as she threw her hands forwards, the cards charging ahead to rip and tear.

No, this was far worse than lightning.

Damage: 11
HP: 28

Ol-j-man

I AM AT WORK AND AM LIKE CASTIEL CRYING ALL OVER THE PLACEEEEEE

 

[medigel]

For someone who had asked for an actual fight, her vicious attack only served to further his rage. He brought up his arms to defend his body from the worst of the attack as he stumbled back, cards cutting into flesh and scuffing past metal, and when they lowered he was baring his teeth.

Stop, he told himself, the rational part not completely forgotten in the heat of battle. Stop it!

But her denial only made his temper spike, and the desire to see the screechy ghoul struck down overwhelmed him. Snarling, Mort began to concentrate his FEAR in his hands, the faint outline of several lightning bolts beginning to etch themselves into existence in each palm.

The voice grew stronger. Would you look at yourself?

The bolts looked solidified and flickered with power. They hummed as he raised one hand, ready to throw.

This isn't you! This isn't about revenge, and even if it was it wouldn't be on her!

The conflict played across his face as he stood poised to strike, still as a statue. And then abruptly he let out a snarl of exasperation and threw half of the manifested bolts to the side and half at the midway point between them; all discharged harmlessly into the ground. Without a word Mort took his stance, fingers twitching as he eyed Belladonna for her next move.

HP: 30 (9 dmg dear~)
FEAR Used: Y3 swift strikes
Damage: heerrrrrrppppp

AyeAvast

 

[AyeAvast]

To say that Belladonna had reached a point of not caring would have been a lie, but to the witch, there was a huge disparity between giving a good fight and caring. Had she no longer cared, she might have produced her FEAR into tangible form, so she felt as though she was saved from that.
The same could not be said for Mort. With a sick feeling in her stomach, Belladonna watched him form lightening, with a suddenly breaking heart she watched him summon his own FEAR. Oh, well... Maybe he didn't care anymore.

But the witch refused to back down. Instead of shrink back, she rose her head and stared him down. He was going to strike her down? Fine. But he'd have to do it looking into her eyes.
Yet just as he was prepared to throw the bolt, something else happened. Belladonna watched as he was torn between himself, and the witch couldn't help but soften a little. When he discharged the first bolt away from her, she thought he was taking pity on her. When the second on hit the ground a few feet away, she knew something else was going on.
Before she could stop herself, Belladonna rushed forward, not to attack, but to ascertain he was alright. Yet his continued fighter's stance stopped her. With a halting gasp she stopped not too far away, drawing back on herself and suddenly realizing this might not be the best idea.
"What's going on?" She finally asked, her voice soft and very much hurt.

Feeling like she needed to do something, the witch grabbed a random card and threw it into the air. A beautiful yellow moon bloomed above her, but quickly grew dark and ultimately, did nothing. Belladonna heaved a sigh, angry at herself for being so weak.
She was going to lose this fight and maybe Mort, if she wasn't careful.

Damage: 0
HP: Still 28, derp

Ol-j-man