[ 1v1 ] The Final Countdown (Levi/West)

[Smerdle]

True to his word, West texted the ghoul a mere handful of days after they had concluded their bizarre Christmas Town baking class. His summons was easily translated into those stupid cutesy letter pictures, or at least he thought so at first, so he added a couple at the end, frowning once he was done. Seeing his message all typed out, he quickly added another pair of lines when he realized the sentiment probably wasn't the one he had originally intended.

Quote:

time to fight =<3 u

thats a fist

or a heart too i guess

As he switched off his phone, the boil smirked for what seemed like the first time since that class had ended. He had thought himself annoyingly preoccupied with graduation and what lay beyond it before, but how he had felt then was nothing in comparison to his current level of obsession.

Assuming he was ever called for his final exam and passed the thing, he was fairly confident that his parents would provide him with enough seeds to secure a place to live whether he liked it or not, but he had far more pressing questions eating at him. Would they do so if they ever found out who was also benefiting from their charity? Would Levi even consent to living with him at all?

"Enough of this s**t," he muttered, the smirk fading into his usual frown. If the tatzel refused to settle down away from her kin, he would move back to her town, no matter how much he disliked the idea. Now was not the time to dwell on all of this, not when there was a spar to be had. These were just the sorts of thoughts fighting was meant to erase. He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed out toward the gym.

The pumpkin sun was startlingly bright today, and even though the air was cool, West had to squint at the gym as it grew larger in the distance.  

[nekoluch]

She stared at the text for a few minutes, first deciphering what West was referring to, and then how in the heckle he saw a fist in that compiling of characters. Shaking her head with a smile, watering the vines with one hand, Levi texted back using the other.

Quote:

0=<30 and this is me beating you boil
or a duck giving you a bouquet maybe if you see that

… since they were leaving room for interpretations here.

The ghoul was becoming quite apt at these city folk tasks now. She could tend to the crops and converse via eyePhone messaging; how was that for balancing country and city living? The more recent classes and studies taken were for her preparation to graduate when/if chosen but, in truth, the tatzel hadn't concluded what she'd do once that had been done with. If I don't graduate, will I be a student here forever? Do I go on back home? Sending messages back to kin in the city? Do they even got signals up there? Setting the watering can aside and phone in her back pocket, Levi grabbed her boots and sat back on her tail to put them on by the doorway.
I'm goin', ya'll watch out fer them gnomes now. There had been rumors going around recently of students being taken up right out of their dorms by the miniature creatures, so the ghoul figured it wouldn't hurt to have her pets on the alert if any happened to drop by while she was out. Try n' keep it clean. Attacks on the grounds were all well and dandy Levi wouldn't pass up a challenge whether it was by surprise or not. But to ambush her in her own room? They'd have some corns to try and do that and expect to get out of there untouched. This all still coming from the ghoul who continued to leave her dorm room unlocked as if inviting such occurrences.

Levi bounded down the steps of the monster dormitory, jumping down the last five steps and whirling out the door as if she were racing West to see who got there first. He hadn't suggested he was there yet, so she could still be there before him, emphasizing that she was that much more ready for this than he was. The tatzel's path would lead her straight to the gym; a place with memories she only hoped would continue to stack up in the future. Looking around as she neared the outside doors, Levi tried to spot the living, breathing reason for most of her drive to peruse said memories being built upon. Was he just as ready to go as she was? Levi sure-as-sugar hoped so. Her innards were like tiny toads ramming against her guts inside her skin as per her level of excitement. It had been far too long since they'd revisited this spot.  

[Smerdle]

West slowed his forward momentum as the pocket of his jacket began to buzz insistently. He was not so secretly pleased that the ghoul had been so quick to respond—well, quick for her—and he intended to return the favor by being equally speedy with his reply. To say he was merely excited now that he was on the move would have been one of the most outstanding misinterpretations of his mood on record, and since he really only had about three of them, getting this one wrong would have surely been embarrassing for somebody. West looked down at his phone as he continued on, turning it left and right as he tried to share the ghoul's headspace.

"A duck?" he muttered. The boil positioned his thumb over the onscreen keyboard, all ready to ask her that very question... until he saw the tatzel in the flesh, bopping her way toward the gym.

There was no way she was getting there first.

Riskily assuming that Levi had her phone set to vibrate, West immediately squooshed several fingers into the screen, then sent his tiny, nonsensical message with a saboteur's flourish. At the same time, he broke into a jog, then a run. He tapped out a second message, an equally brief line of gibberish meant to distract rather than communicate. He only hoped her texts were silent as well. A beep assault was much easier to ignore.  

[nekoluch]

West, had he not been distracted with sending further assaults, would have heard a call in the near distance. From the tatzel's pocket came something like a MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU only more gurgled and from an unknown creature. Whatever it was, it droned out loudly every time a text was being received.

What tha-?!

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU "

…!

At first, she jumped, startled by the sudden alarm. The tatzel wasn't expecting any calls. No, wait, that's not a call. That's a message. Levi knew that tone once it clicked in, running on autopilot while staring forward, thinking of who'd be messaging her at a time like this. Then it dawned on the ghoul; West must've been close by. By why would he-?

Levi's head turned sharply, her legs never ceasing on route, to glance around for the wrath demon. Aha! There he was, not too far off behind her, fiddling with something she had to momentarily turn and jog backwards to focus in and put two-and-two together. It became immediately apparent that these messages were a part of his plan when she saw him with his phone in hand. Well, now Levi knew she didn't need to check her messages. tch- ya'sly devil yew. Levi's feet and tail would show no mercy now. If he was going to play that way, she'd surely show him a thing or two.

The tatzel ghoul began to gun in front of West's path, actually slowing once she figured she was in a good position. When he ran towards her within tail proximity, the boil would find himself at the mercy of a white tail gunning for his shins. That would teach him to look were he was running and not at his phone a lesson Levi herself of course heeded. Without waiting for the aftermath or potential retaliation, Levi then bolted with all she had towards the gym doors again, audibly cackling as she did so.

Her right heel slid against the ground when her mark was met, dust clouding at her feet and body turning so she could see what was coming up behind her.
I guess I win already. Weeeeell lookie here. Both hands rested at her hips, a triumphant pose now being taken to assert her role as winner before the battle had even begun. Normally, gloating wasn't her thing- but in West's case, it was too fun to pass up when the opportunity arose.  

[Smerdle]

Largely running on autopilot himself, West continued speeding toward the gym, smirking down at his phone until something forced him to stop. Something large, white, and... tricksy.

As Levi's tail smacked hard against his shins, time seemed to slow. What was about to happen was inevitable and obvious, but seeing as how he was powerless to stop it, all West managed to do was unleash a truly blistering string of epithets as he went down. Before he bellyflopped into the dirt, however, the demon remembered he could fly, a fact he still tended to push to the back of his mind unless it was unavoidably relevant... which it happened to be right now. West's wings appeared in a burst of FEAR almost violent enough to force him the rest of the way to the ground, but instead they managed to catch him when he flapped, preventing a potentially pride-devastating impact. The hand that wasn't clutching his phone pushed him away from the ground and he flapped another couple of times until he was upright. He continued running, but he was already too late.

West slowed to a walk as he approached Levi, his wings still unfurled to their fullest. He wasn't usually one to give up, but in this instance, he was... giving up. The real fight had yet to begin and he couldn't afford to waste energy where he didn't have to. Anyway, he was completely above worrying about some silly little race. Much. All right, the loss stung a little, but it only spurred him to want to win the actual fight even more. Surprisingly, his smirk had remained on his lips all the way through his near fall and the barrage of filthy language that had followed, and it deepened into a smile now.

"Not yet, y'haven't," he replied. "Didn't come here t'race." West sauntered up next to the ghoul, tucking his wings in a bit so he could actually make it into the building. "But I'll let y'go in first. How's that fer a prize?" With a dramatic flick of his wrist, he pushed the send button on his last meaningless text, brows raising as another MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU erupted from the tatzel's shorts. "What the hell was that?"  

[nekoluch]

Whoa now! That there? That'd be Popcorn durin' tha' night once every other while. The ghoul retrieved the eyePhone from her pocket and took a look at the screen despite knowing who was on the other end of her message. Makes fer a great shocker ta know it's ringin'. Nodding in approval of her ringtone choice, she slipped the phone back into her pocket.

As fer prizes, I'll give it a good hard thinkin'. Ain't gettin' off that easy. Levi's tone going from a coy high to low, leering while she side-stepped the winged boil, fingers reaching out to ruffle at his feathers literally as she passed. Making her way to the indoor gym, the tatzelwurm paused with her hand clutched onto the handle of the door suddenly. Something caught her attention and it caused her ears to twitch in response. Was that?- Her head turned to the side, addressing West in a low and exasperated voice; she'd heard this before. Do yew hear what I think I'm hearin' in thar? Are they really?-again?!

The door slowly cracked open and Levi looked inside.

Sliding across the glossy transparent floor was a gnome in bright orange spandex seemingly imitating some old fashioned form of dance that involved doing the splits and wriggling fingers in midair while holding onto a mop. Though it didn't stop with just this one gnome. Attracted to the motions of other figures zooming about within, the ghoul would assess there were many gnomes wielding various cleaning supplies and tools here with outfits that displayed the physiques of these creatures a little more than the two students likely wanted to see. There was music blaring that also sounded aged, but Levi couldn't place it. Neither was she sure she wanted to. Somehow it made the country-loving ghoul's guts slither like sickly serpents trying to evacuate from the premises.

Maybe we oughta use tha'outdoors one 'gain… Levi slowly began to creep backwards, closing the door again and hoping they hadn't been spotted.  

[Smerdle]

West followed Levi inside, the wing she touched twitching unconsciously as the boil pondered how such a seemingly docile minipet could make such a hair-raising noise. When they reached the gym door and he heard the music that pulsated from behind it his attention focused and his thoughtful expression changed to one of disapproval. Okay. It seemed Popcorn's bellow of doom was not destined to be the strangest sound he would encounter today. As the tatzel opened the door and peered inside, West stood on his toes and peeked between her ears, eyes widening at the display in front of them.

"Yeah, I..." he muttered, his voice trailing off as one of the closer gnomes turned toward the sound of his voice and began to mime pulling an invisible fishing rod out of his skintight pants and casting it toward them. Seriously. How had he even heard them over this horrible racket? Gnomes. West backed away from the gym as quickly as he could without toppling onto his a**, giving Levi plenty of room to close the door behind them.

"Outdoor field's good," he said, turning and starting on his way without sparing a glance behind him to see if Levi was following. Eventually he did turn her way, and he was much calmer when he did. "This school," he muttered, a sudden chuckle making the word breathier. "I'ma be so glad t'get outta here." Facing their destination again, he slowly let out the rest of his breath in a contented sigh. "Guess there'll be a few things I'll miss though."

The sparring field looked different in the light of day than it had in the dark, but even so, the sight of it reminded him of that night... more than a year ago now. He'd won that fight, but in the end he'd gotten so much more than just the satisfaction that came with bettering an opponent. West stopped at the edge of the field, the wing nearest Levi fanning out to lightly butt against her shoulder. "After you," he said, heading into the ring first before he'd finished speaking.  

[nekoluch]

This school had brought her a new outlook on her once simple life. Levi had said it time and time again to herself, but boil howdy would the folks back in her town be astonished by the sort of things she'd learned and encountered here. Tatzels her age certainly wouldn't get to say they'd have the same memories; the good or the bad. Sometimes she fought to recall and forget the things she'd seen in order to cope. Before Amytiville, the tatzel would've never thought there would be an obstacle bigger than she could bear anymore. On so many levels, she'd been wrong. Without it, I would'a never met so many kinda folk. Levi trotted up to West's side when he looked back at her, catching her in mid-thought. Blinking, the ghoul considered his words.
A few things you'll miss?
She thought it immediately, but hadn't the ability to say what she meant to follow.
Like me?

If she did return home, would West visit her? Come with her? The latter seemed problematic, though she had not the means of clarifying how. He could handle those boils back home for sure, that Levi didn't have a faltering thought over. Her family would surely be glad she'd brought home a strong, interesting and capable mate but there was something uneasy about bringing him to her home regardless. Levi was stuck in her own head again and the cranks were attempting to turn her wheels aimlessly without any connection; she focused forward.

So long as we can bring some of it with'us, ain't so big'a thinger. Levi would grin over to the wrath demon just as they arrived at their destination, implying a connection with what she'd said and this place. This space, the outdoor gym Levi currently looked over, was something she'd keep in her memories for sure. Here, she'd had one of the greatest spars of her life but, more importantly, it encompassed a personal victory. Levi overcame her own stigma of boils and their stupid ways for the most part, concluding that not only were some of them worth a damn, but one other had the means to even understand her in return. The adrenaline began to pool in her gut, remembering the scrapes and bruises from that fight and how relieved she was when it was over despite what would appear to have been her loss. She'd never admit to that day being any kind of loss.

The butt of West's wing would earn the boil a tch-! in response, followed by Levi's attempt to stare him down even if she was grinning in contrast. Oh, it was on like candy corn sauce with that nudge. West knew how to provoke the ghoul's competitive nature by the smallest of measures. Surrounded by this arena and the invitation to fight freely with all she had, well, it really wouldn't have taken much, actually. Countering West's offering, the tatzel continued to grin widely and took to following the boil instead of mirroring his stance opposite the ring as per the usual. The tatzel ghoul tip-toed behind him slyly,sliding her way from behind the wrath demon to straight in front of his face as soon as he had stopped moving. Who's after who? She couldn't wait any longer. It was going to start right now and he'd just have to be ready for her with everything he had. Levi wanted to make this a battle worthy of their previous one here.

One hand clenched onto West's right shoulder while the other drove into his midsection. Levi's cackle trickled through the air around them, confident he'd retort with something that would make her feel proud again.

HP: 50/50
Damage: 3
 

[Smerdle]

There was no doubt in the boil's mind that he would go where she did once they left this place. He was so certain that this was obvious to her that he never said it, even when it might have been nice to. Instead, he continued to worry over exactly what following her would mean once they were expected to make their own way in the world, but every time he tried to form any specific thoughts on the matter, he stopped thinking at all, which was really not something he should have been doing right the—

West took a step back as Levi's fist sank into his gut. The attack surprised him more than anything else, but he still let out a faint pained grunt and reached up to rub where she'd hit him out of reflex. The entirety of his reaction lasted a little over a second, then an unnamed, baser instinct kicked in and he went on the offensive without another thought. His smirk remained as he moved closer for a second time and reached up, touching her wrist almost tenderly as he swung his opposite fist squarely at her face.

He felt no real sense of remorse as he hit her, which was common enough in these situations that he didn't dwell on it. Other people experienced shame or concern when they punched the ones they cared for, but he only ever had once or twice in his life, and she had made it quite clear that she had no such thoughts holding her back. What he did feel was a sharp, adrenaline-fueled clarity wash over him. For a moment, their lives after Amityville seemed predestined: adventures, a house, jobs, a general sense of security that he so rarely felt these days. It was nice. He didn't mention it now either.

"Guess I'm after you this time," he said, moving out of her immediate range once more. "But quickest isn't always best. An' I got plenty more spars t'beat ya in anyway." He frowned. "Not that I'm gonna lose this one."

HP: 47/50
Damage: 6  

[nekoluch]

It was a sly move on his part, she'd admit that in the time it took for West to carry out his motions. Levi was used to bracing for hard impact when it came to West's retaliations, but when he did things like that, it still brought her to a pause. Her mind had to make sense of what he was doing. Her feet and tail were at least grounded enough to keep her from falling to the ground when the punch came, but the ghoul's torso did veer slightly left in effect. Was it a sly or wicked choice then? The light touch at her wrist couldn't have been him going easy on her given what an impact she'd gotten to her jaw soon after.

No, it had to be sly-
And that was enough reason for her to spark an ounce of viciousness at his trickery. The tatzel's left hand that had clenched onto the boil's shoulder moved along with the rest of her. While she felt her grip loosen in the swing of things, Levi dragged her fingers across West's neck, scraping into his skin with the motion of her movement, brought on by his own punch.

Totally a conscious move; Levi hadn't just given in to a bit of anger. It was a fleeting moment of frustration no longer than the blink of an eye, but Levi did make a choice upon this action. If that was how he wanted to play, she too would give him moves to question. A trick for a trick was in order. Bouncing a pace backwards and keeping in a crouched posture, Levi held up the hand that scraped against the wrath demon to her lips, licking at her claws with a grin. Mmm~ tasty.

HP: 44/50
Damage: 3
 

[Smerdle]

Back before he'd had his throat ripped open and his voicebox juggled around by the crazy draugr he'd once thought of as a friend—or if not a friend exactly, then a fairly amusing acquaintance—West hadn't thought much about getting injured beyond how much fun it was. He'd had plenty of scars before he'd died and had them taken from him, scars he had been proud of for reasons he could no longer remember, and now the only one he had that held any significance was one he didn't want. He still didn't think much of getting injured, but what was left behind was infinitely more important. As Levi's claws raked over the skin at his neck, all West could think about was how much he hoped they left a mark.

He stood his ground as she moved away, eyes on her forked tongue as he briefly licked his lips. The part of his brain that was actually fairly decently trained warned that moving closer at this juncture would be a mistake, but he did so anyway. "You bet it's good. Plentya people'd pay good money fer fresh demon blood," he teased. "S'posed t'make ya stronger'r somethin'." West's hand shot out, lightly slapping at hers to get her to stop. "Now ya got an unfair advantage."

HP: 44/50
Damage: big ol' two  

[nekoluch]

The tatzel's smug demeanor shifted quickly to petrified, not because of West's actions, but his words. Levi's ears pointed straight up and her spine aligned so she was in a sitting crouch, fully in attention, eyes gone wide with what she'd potentially just done. This still going to be a fair fight then?! Indeed, she stopped the demon blood-feasting and her fingers found their way to the ground again when West slapped her hand away, but her fighting spirit faltered at the thought of there being an unfair advantage on her side now. That was not what the ghoul wanted to hear.

That hint of anger was reappearing as frustration. How/Why did this happen so early in their fight? She wanted to keep going, but if the wrath demon had just given her some sort of unintentional boost, well, it was like cheating, wasn't it? Surely West knew the ghoul wouldn't take this news well. Levi would assert that- I ain't no cheat 'ere! Dangit, boil! Ya'let me do it, too! She hissed through her teeth, trying to find a way to continue on without letting his blood afflict her. She'd fight him inside and out! Of course, it would indeed take a decent amount of time for it to cross the tatzel's mind that West himself was being a fibber on this issue. Such was the case now while the rest of her body eased into standing, slow steps towards the boil coupled with words of her potential new findings.

Yer lyin'… right?

Levi lashed out, speedily grasping for West's jaw with both hands and bringing their faces together till she got a good seal. He may have felt her forked tongue flicker sharply inside- or that might just have been the poison she was releasing into the inside of his mouth.

The foggy venom of the tatzelworm making its way into West's system; just enough to give him a good jolt, but not enough to send him down to the floor face-first. It was both a mix of the ghoul's wish to keep the fight going and a lack of time to get sufficient enough amounts into him before he came back at her in spades once he realized what she was doing. Levi's lips ripped away as soon as the deposit was made and she cackled whilst taking a jump back to a safer distance.

Than yer just gonna have'ta take me'down harder, eh? Ya no-good…! It was a weak retort, but at least she was smiling again.


HP: 42/50
Damage: Tainted Fang Y3: Success
Target suffers 4 damage for 1 round.
 

[Smerdle]

He almost felt guilty. Had he been fighting anyone else he wouldn't have experienced anything more than a swell of satisfaction at her confusion. It was frustrating to realize that he had some uncontrolled urge, no matter how small, to treat her differently than most, so he pushed against the temptation to do so. West remained still while he watched Levi puzzle out his lie, only moving to briefly brush his fingers over the wounds at his neck as the blood went sticky then dried completely. He smirked when she finally called his bluff.

"Yeah, ghoul, I'm lyin'. My blood's not anythin' special far as I kn—"

There was something to be said for the element of surprise, especially when it involved mouths and tongues. West's arms froze at his sides as Levi pressed her lips to his, and he didn't notice he was being poisoned until she pulled away and he felt its effects.

"What didja..." he began, but he knew the answer to that, so he let his question fade as a wave of mild numbness washed over him. Normally, he reacted to her venom by quickly sliding toward unconsciousness. Much like his desire to fight his impulse to go easy on her, West desperately wanted to fight this. He let out an exasperated, "Jackdammit," then lunged for her. His movements were clumsy and he knew that if he tried to hit her properly, chances were good that he would miss. "Yer not gonna..." West said, trailing off when he realized something. He folded a wing. Right. They were still here. They might help.

West took an almost comically deep breath, feeling his head clear a bit as he let it out again, then jumped into the air, smacking Levi hard with a wing as he flapped.

"Come an' get me," he said from well above her, his equally weak taunt lost in the combination of coughing and laughing that followed.

HP: 40/50
Damage: 6  

[nekoluch]

Kekekeke! Every attempt to catch her just made the ghoul chuckle in her usual way. A turn here, a twist there and the boil would swing and miss. This was how Levi usually liked to play train with West when it came to using her venom in battles. Instead of releasing everything possible onto one enemy, sometimes it was better to save some and use it later. Therefore, being able to stun rather than knock out her opponent was a key skill to learn through her airborne poisoning. It would be less likely that she'd run out of her venom supply this way. The tatzel's delight would be short-lived, however, when a wing would come to knock her over, causing the ghoul to fall back onto her tail with ample thrust. When the shock of the attack wore off, Levi stares upward towards the voice that called to her and she let out a small hiss through smiling clenched teeth. Yew want me?

It would make sense for Levi to stay grounded when West took to the air but, of course, the ghoul wouldn't be so quick-thinking. Now was a time to get back into West's close quarters and get him back. Disadvantage in midair combat with a winged demon birdboil? Nah. The tatzel did what tatzelwurms did best and took the opportunity of her current position to spring up and onto her foe, slinking onto his back as she had before many times in their battles. Here I'am! Levi clenched her arms around the boil's already clawed neck, squeezing lightly just to get a response.


HP: 36/50
Damage: lol 1 take it
 

[Smerdle]

His laughter abruptly ceased when he felt Levi land against his back and dipped dangerously in response. While it was true he had gotten a great deal more adept at flying with added weight since he had first arrived at Amityville, he hadn't quite reached tatzel mass yet. West flapped harder for a moment, at least until he realized there was no point in doing so. He could retaliate just fine simply by...

West grabbed her legs and kicked his, the force of his movement aligning their bodies horizontally with the floor. He then dissipated his wings and let them fall, face first to stop her from effectively using her tail. The feathered nuisances appeared again closer to the ground, just in time to spin them so she landed first, his weight hopefully knocking the wind out of her.

He tried to roll away, his returning chuckles hindering his escape.

HP: 39/50
Damage: 7