The mental ping telling her she had arrived to her destination dispelled any lingering doubts about being lost, and she paused, glancing around the empty landscape once again, as if the act would suddenly make her sparring partner materialize out of thin air. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement. 

Celica threw herself back out of reflex, just in time to see cracks appear where she had been standing only moments ago, the ground reverberating with the force of a heavy impact. She pulled out one of her guns, firing straight in front of her.

The bullet collided with the seemingly empty air and jagged ice burst outwards, forming a patch of crystals twice the size of her head. The ice lingered in front of her for a moment, before slowly lifting upwards. The air in front of her seemed to distort and ripple, color darkening and shifting to a dark, polished green.

Celica looked up to the head of the giant dragon. The beast’s head, almost the size of a small car, was cocked to the side, one of its amber eyes levelled against one of its claws, inspecting the crystal that had formed there. While its attention was elsewhere, Celica inspected the creature. Its body was long and serpentine, with two long, clawed limbs, each holding in place a leathery membrane similar to a bat’s wings connecting to its sides, in a manner that reminded her of a cape. Much of the beast’s apparent size came from its wingspan. Coiled behind the creature, Celica could peek at a large tail, ending in fins similar to that of a whale’s. Horns and ridges protruded from its head in the shape of a crest, and, as it turned its long neck to regard her, Celica noticed that the monster’s upper lip seemed hardened, and curled downwards, like a raptor’s beak.

One of its claws passed over the ice, dislodging it like a piece of gum stuck to a finger, and the weapon in her hand, still pointed forward, suddenly felt woefully inadequate.

“Très bien, ma fifille,” the dragon rumbled. “For a moment I feared you wouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

An invisible Titan. That was new. Celica grimaced. She much preferred human sized opponents. Through her mind, she ran over what she knew about fighting them. Not facing them head on unless you were a Titan yourself was the only thing to come to mind. In their flat, desolate surroundings, she wondered if she even had a choice. She would have to be smart about this one.

She glanced at her feet for a moment, before a half smile set on her lips, and she looked up to the large beast. She kept her eye half-lidded, avoiding the dragon’s orbs. “Charles, I’m guessing? It’s not much of a sparring match if you wait around, hoping to stomp on someone while they’re not looking.”

“All is fair in love and war, mon trésor.” The winged serpent lowered its head slightly. “Speaking of, what would you say about a date with me?”

[i] Well, not like that, I hope,[/i] Celica thought. [i]He certainly doesn’t waste any time, does he?[/i] Choosing to play along, she smirked. “I bet you say that to every girl you don’t squish.”

“Only the pretty ones.”

“Really?” She asked, grimacing. “How clichéd can you get?”

The dragon smirked, showing rows of glinting teeth. “A lot more, but you can’t say you didn’t feed me that line.” The report of her gun echoed in the landscape, and the dragon sniffed, eyes crossing slightly to look at the small crystal sticking from the center of its snout. “Should I take that as a no?”

Celica smiled down the length of the barrel. “More of a ‘maybe if you catch me.’”

There was a predatory glint in the serpent’s eyes as one of its large claws darted forward, but Celica had been expecting that, and as she hopped out of the way, a large icicle surged out from the ground below her. The beast bellowed in pain as the spike tore a bloody hole through its hand.

Celica set off into a sprint towards the ravine in the distance. She needed to tip the scales to her favor, and flat land with no cover would not be of use to her. She couldn’t count on getting that lucky again.

She glanced over her shoulder in time to see the beast pull its wounded claw out of the spike, its narrowed gaze settling on her fleeing form. The dragon melded with the environment before her eyes, and the only indication that it had taken after her was the thump of heavy footprints against the ground.

Thinking quickly and without turning around, Celica emptied the rest of her magazine in the direction of the monster. The ice sticking against the camouflaged surface gave her a better idea of the Titan’s position. Celica swore under her breath. The wounded arm hadn’t slowed it down at all. For all the speed she had gained as a Demon, the dragon’s long strides were steadily swallowing the distance between them.

Celica returned the empty gun to its holster and pointed a palm behind her. Shards of ice formed in the air and burst out towards the beast. Most bounced harmlessly off hardened scales, and the few icicles that stuck did little to impede its charge, serving only to give her an outline of the beast. 

Dismayed, she realized she wouldn’t be able to reach the escarpment before the dragon caught up to her. She needed to change tactics.

Sliding to a stop, she turned to face the incoming charge. Maybe noticing that its invisibility was not helping it, the beast materialized, roaring a challenge. Thin streams of blood ran from the few shards that had managed to pierce its thick hide, but they were little more than paper cuts to a monster that size.

Celica let her magic pour out. A wall of sharp crystal materialized in front of her in a wave of frigid air, pointed icicles bursting out like a wall of cold lances pointed at the enemy’s charge. She poured more power into them, letting them grow and solidify. A beast that size would not be able to halt in time to avoid the wall of spikes, she knew, and she braced herself for the impact.

However, the dragon made no attempt to slow down. Instead, the tremors of footfalls were replaced by a heavy beat as it leapt to the air, extending its wings and flying over her trap. 

Celica paused, watching speechless as the monster flew over her, completely bypassing her spikes. 

[i]Cover. I need cover.[/i]

The thought brought her out of her daze, and she took off like a crossbow bolt, running towards the opening in the ground. It was not too far now. With luck, she would make it without being caught. 

The dragon had other plans for her, however, and it banked in the air, turning in a circle until it was coming from her side, outstretched maw revealing files of sharp teeth. Celica put on a burst of speed and lunged forward, leaving the serpent’s head to snap down and tear off a piece of the ground. She landed into a roll, without breaking her sprint as the dragon wheeled around for another pass, turning until he was coming straight at her. Once again, Celica dove past as its head snapped down, feeling the rush of wind as the monster flew over her.

The sight of the ravine, only moments away spurred her on, but the beast was still hot on her trail. This time, it approached from behind. Celica prepared to dodge one more time, but instead of snapping down at her, the dragon slowed down and beat down with his wings. 

The strong gust lifted her in the air, throwing her forward in an uncontrolled roll. She hit the ground hard, rolling towards the edge of the cliff. She barely had enough presence of mind to sink a clawed hand on the ground, leaving her to hang over the edge. 

With a grunt, she brought her other hand up and pulled herself over the escarpment. Her eyes widened as she saw the looming shape of the dragon approach. The beast hung in the air, motionless for a moment, before it brought its wings down and pushed against the ground. Against the weight of the beast, the floor gave, and the edge broke off, rocks falling down the cliff in a cloud of dust.

With strong beats of its wings, the dragon pushed itself aloft. Its eyes focused on the crack in the landscape, searching for signs of its opponent. It could take her some time to pull herself out of the chasm, if she did at all. “Does that count as catching her, I wonder?”

The sound of a cocking gun, and a weight settling over his head interrupted his musings. An amber eyeball rolled up to see a pale woman pointing a pistol down to it. 

“Not quite,” Celica answered, then fired.

Crystal covered the eye, and the dragon let out an outraged cry. Celica turned towards the other eye and aimed. Sensing the peril it was under, the dragon shook its head, making her next shot go wide. She swore, grabbing onto the dragon’s crest, trying to stabilize herself enough to blind her opponent.

It was then that gravity seemed to shift. Celica found herself being pulled to the side and, looking out towards the landscape below, realized that it had been replaced by the horizon. The dragon had started to fly straight up at frightening speeds. Narrowing her eyes against the wind blasting at her face, Celica levelled the gun at the dragon’s head and fired again and again, trying and failing to cover the other eye. It was then that the dragon started to spin in its ascent, and it was all Celica could do to grab on.

She looked up just in time to see the clouds fast approaching. She held her breath. Just as they broke their surface, she lost her grip and was sent flying away. Trying to stabilize herself, Celica opened her legs and arms, letting the air slow her down as her sheer momentum continued to carry her upwards. 

For a moment, the wind in her ears ceased it roar, and she looked around. She was soaked in small droplets of freezing water. The sun blasted away at her eyes, and clouds formed a holed mattress below her. In the back of her mind, she registered her ears popping. She floated in silence for a long moment, before gravity reasserted itself with its gut-wrenching pull and she began to fall again.

She twisted herself so that she was facing the white shapes and closed her eyes, feeling the clouds drench her as she passed through them. When she could see again, she was looking down at the earth, as if from a map, and her heart hastened in her chest. Forcing away the apprehension, she began scanning the horizon for her enemy.

The drum beat of wings announced the dragon’s presence, and her head whipped around to see small crystals outlining a large shape dangerously close to her. 

As the dragon’s invisible maw began to close around her, she seemed to dissolve, leaving behind a cloud of white mist that recoiled away. In a heartbeat, Celica emerged from the cloud a few paces away from her previous position. She stretched out her arms, trying to find purchase, but a flapping wing batted her away.

Shaking her head, she stabilized her fall once again, looking down to make sure the ground was still far. “I need a way to bring him down,” she muttered into the wind.

On the corner of her view, the dragon began its wide turn towards her, having become visible once again. Celica frowned at the creature, an idea starting to form in her mind. 

Gathering her focus, she aimed a palm below her, forming a slab of ice under her. Gingerly, she set her feet on it, as though it was a surfing board, holding the ice still through will, and shaped its ends into sharp edges. Satisfied, she stood over it, hair flowing wildly in the wind as she drew her pistols, taking the time to reload them before taking aim and firing at the Titan.

The dragon let out a mocking bellow as small pellets impacted against its side, decorating it with jutting crystals, and wheeled around for another pass. 

Celica kept firing until her gun clicked empty, then returned the guns to their holsters. As the dragon approached, she bent her knees, bracing herself.

When the Titan reached her, she was ready. As the dragon opened its mouth, she twisted, bringing up the sharpened slab of ice vertically, and kicked it towards the dragon before disappearing into a cloud of mist. The dragon’s mouth closed with a resounding clack, and the large crystal pierced through its snout. A muted cry, almost whining, echoed through the air as Celica reappeared at the dragon’s side. 

Knowing this to be her best chance she reached out towards the beast. Her gauntlets gripped one of the sharp crystals sticking to the dragon’s side, but the strong wrench pulled the ice free, and she was sent careening down the dragon’s side. She scratched at the serpent’s polished scales, but try as she might, she could not find purchase. Desperate, she formed a dagger in one hand, and brought it down with all her strength. 

The blade stuck itself on the Titan’s shoulder, and Celica let out a pained cry, muscles tearing with effort as she suddenly ground to a stop. With her other hand, she made another dagger, and stuck it further in the beast’s arm. With her grip secure, she dove into her reserves of magic, and did something that came very naturally to her.

Suddenly, as the beast flew, ice began forming on its side, quickly growing to encase part of its body and wing. A reverberating groan tore from the creature’s chest as it began a lumbering fall, one wing sending it on a spin as it flapped in a futile attempt to keep it afloat. With a terrible crash, the earth rose to meet them, the beast’s momentum carrying it towards the opening in the earth. It went down with aplomb, dust and debris following its fall.

The ravine was deep and wide, light lazily drifting in through the cloud of dust, painting an orange line along the stone walls. A thin river, little more than a trickle of what had shaped this scar in the earth flowed down, undisturbed by the strangers in its midst.

White mist gathered in one spot, and gave way to Celica. She stumbled out, tentatively setting foot on stable ground. She grimaced at the taste of vomit.

Celica let out a breath and looked over to the crash. Dust obscured her vision, but she could see the ice she had formed and the rocks that had fallen from the escarpment. She frowned. She could not see the dragon its—

A boulder suddenly burst from the haze, and she barely had enough time to step out of the way. However, just as the rock went past her, something hit her in the side, and she was smashed against the ravine’s wall. Celica gasped, forcing down the bile. She could feel a sharp pain in her chest, and wondered if something had cracked.

The dragon’s head floated into view, visible even before he dropped the illusion by the ice protruding from its snout and lower jaw like bloodstained horns. A slitted eye locked on her.

Celica looked down to the claw pinning her against the wall, feeling warm blood staining her skin. But it wasn’t her blood. She smirked as she realized this was the hand she had wounded when the fight had started.

“Okay, you caught me,” she wheezed, before looking up to the amber eye. “But you can’t hold me.” 

The temperature around her suddenly dropped, and the blood and air around the dragon’s claw froze, sticking to the wall. Celica dissolved into a cloud of mist and reappeared a few meters away from the dragon.

She lifted a hand and icicles began growing from the ground, snaking their way towards the trapped Titan, growing larger as they travelled. The dragon tried to lift its neck, but growled in pain as it found resistance. Celica had her other hand balled into a fist, holding the crystal spearing through its mouth in place, and she pulled it closer.

The beast groaned as his head was slowly pulled down, and the icicles in the ground grew until one tapped its neck.

“Had enough?” Celica asked, voice strained. With the amount of force she was exerting, she was amazed that the slab of ice hadn’t torn itself out of the dragon’s snout. Had it been willing to tolerate the pain, it might have been able to free itself. Perhaps the beak would not give so easily.

After a moment of silence, the dragon tilted its head ever so slightly, the smallest assent. 

Breathing a pained sigh, she let the icicles crumble, as well as the ice restraining the dragon’s claws, and released her hold on the slab of ice. Seeing the dragon draw back and lean its head on the side of the ravine, and feeling the pain in her chest, she had to wonder if they had been a little overzealous.

[i]Celica Dancer, Area South #2[/i], she mentally called, sitting down and trying to keep her breathing shallow. [i]Fight is done. Could use some medical assistance.[/i] 

Looking down, she let out a small groan. A large smear of dark red covered the front of her clothes, where the dragon had pinned her. Another thing to add to the laundry pile. At least the garment had remained in one piece this time. Not for the first time, she wished the humanoid Shifters were issued clothing meant to withstand the abuse.

The dragon turning its blood-soaked snout to give her a deadpan stare elicited an embarrassed smile.