[center][h3][color=DDA0DD]Sasuke Stormwind[/color][/h3][/center]

[hr]

Just... [i]fuck![/i] 

Sasuke was having a bad day as it was. He'd survived some messed up crap in his life up until this point, but that one took the cake. The Lintha from his childhood, the Stormcrows' attack on the Imperial Ruins, and even his life as an infamous arms dealer didn't stack up to this moment. He had gotten out of the city right on time for whatever-that-was to go off right behind him. If it wasn't for that horse (may she rest in peace), Sasuke would be just as dead as half the shit that had attacked him on his way out. Said horse wasn't even half a mile behind him, but he knew that horse or no horse, he had to get the hell out of there.

He arrived at a large tree near the river. Taking advantage of the shade, he decided to stop running for his life for a few precious minutes and take a break. He took stock of his situation. He counted up his tools and arms, and everything was still there. He went through his several pockets and pouches he kept underneath the set of clothes that hid his armor. His scrip was still there -- all three quian, including small bills. It was too bad he didn't get around to buying that extra throwing knife. It would have fetched twice its asking price on the collector's market. [i]Now's not the time to think about that, though.[/i]

Sasuke knew exactly how much rations he had with him. He lacked a bow now, so he knew hunting was going to get rough real fast, especially in this highly populated region. (Well, highly populated until this morning, at any rate.) He had his rope and his tomahawk, but those only had a short reach. The best he could do was keep following the river and get to Lord's Crossing to restock on rations, warn the town, and get the hell out. [i]Because that's where any general worth his salt will attack next, and there's no way to defend against shit like that.[/i] It was the stuff of fairy tales and nightmares, and he wanted no more part of it. He had enough of nightmares between his captivity under the Lintha and the Scarlet War that followed.

No sooner than he reached the river, he ran into another person. A survivor? [i]Oh... fuck.[/i] Survivors don't wear full plate armor unfit for running for your life in, never mind stroll around as if they own the place. Not unless they're the ones burning down the very city that's right the hell next to them. There was no avoiding this one; Sasuke could feel that in his bones. He had his back to the river, and the figure was closing in. For the third time in his life, escape was impossible; he'd have to somehow fight and survive this battle as well. He was already one for one, and he was hoping to put a mark in his favor on the scoreboard.

He immediately readied his sword. Forget the tomahawk. It wouldn't do shit to her at this range, and both it and his knife would just bounce off that armor, which was better than any he'd seen in years, if he knew anything about armor. And forget punching her. The best he knew he could do with his knuckles was aim for the face and hope he had one hell of a lucky left hook. And the owner of said high-quality armor? Haunting beauty, strange mark on her forehead... he'd heard stories about those sort of people. For the first time since he could remember, he prayed he was wrong. This definitely wasn't a friendly face.

[color=DDA0DD][b]"Who goes?"[/b][/color] Sasuke called out in hopes that his counterpart wasn't an enemy. He planted his feet on the ground anyway and pointed his blade at the ground, as ready for the worst as he could be.

There was no answer, and the figure got to within a stone's throw away from him. Eventually, she got closer and noticed Sasuke standing firm, sword drawn and pointed downward, in an obvious sign that he wasn't yet willing to commit mindlessly to a fight. It was then that his worst fears were realized: she was one of those "Anathema" from the stories, and there was no doubt she was an enemy. [color=lightgreen][b]"You sure you want to do that?"[/b][/color] The woman kept her words short, and at least did her opponent the courtesy of waiting for a reply.

[color=DDA0DD][b]"I would rather not be captured, thank you very much. I've gone through that routine once already. I'm not sure if you could relate, but it was a supremely painful experience for me the last time, and I'd rather not have to do it again."[/b][/color] Sasuke continued to stand his ground with his blade pointed down. He knew full well that he was going to lose this fight and most likely die a painful death. Still, it was better than getting captured, tortured for information, and dying even more painfully by execution instead. Truly a nasty way to go, but at least he'd rather choose his pain. [color=DDA0DD][b]"I hate to be rude, but it's probably better for both of us if we just get this over with."[/b][/color]

She shrugged, and drew her own sword: a large, black monstrosity that looked like it'd knock a horse's head off in one swing. [color=lightgreen][b]"Have it your way."[/b][/color] Almost before Sasuke knew it, the fight was on. Her blows felt like she was swinging a whole damn mountain at him every time... and was that thing [i][b]moaning!?[/b][/i] Although the exchange of blows was brief, it was fierce. It was all he could do to parry her attacks, never mind find an opening of any sort. It was the first time he had used his katana in such a high-stakes fight, and he was surprised the thing still held up against his monstrous foe's onslaught. It was plain to see that she was strong as hell, and she had clearly studied how to use her power. In short, Sasuke either had to give it all he had or die trying.

[color=lightgreen][b]"You've got some sweet moves. You use that sword well, but have a taste of this!"[/b][/color] As Sasuke was finally about to land a decent blow... she was gone. The very next instant, she was right behind him, getting ready to cleave him in two from behind. With no time to react, he employed his favorite trick for backstabbers: He twisted his wrist, brought the sword over his back, and braced the blunt edge on his back to block the attack.

Sasuke's stunt worked like a charm, but that strike of hers still hurt like a bitch. He felt the force of the impact right through the breastplate, and it jarred him completely. He had no chance of blocking the kick she'd launched [i]at the same time[/i]. As impossible as it seemed, this one hit from the front. As much as Sasuke would have liked to punch her leg away, it moved way too fast, and hit him square in the chest. If it weren't for the armor, he knew he's be dead meat right then and there. Instead... he got knocked out by the whiplash caused by the impact.

When he came to a couple minutes later, he was sitting up against the very tree he was resting under nearby before their fight. He noticed that his sword was barely out of his reach, right where he'd dropped it when he got knocked out, but hers? Well, it was pointed right at his throat. [i]Well, this can't get any better.[/i] It was clear that he lost, and the woman wasted no time in getting things over with. [color=lightgreen][b]"Oh, you're awake? That was a quick nap. I like you, so I'll give you a choice. I'll let you go, but I need just a little blood from you as the price of your freedom. Deal?"[/b][/color]

Sasuke was still dazed from that last bash to his chest. His armor thankfully didn't take much of a beating, so it was plain to see she (thankfully) wasn't out to kill him outright. Then, there was this bizarre offer to top this strangeness off. Either way, he couldn't move much at all after that mess, especially with the raging headache. At least he won his enemy's respect enough to be offered his freedom, even if for a modest price. [color=DDA0DD][b]"Deal. Just do what you've gotta do. Before you do, what's your name?"[/b][/color]

[color=lightgreen][b]"Cackling Harlot's Retribution. Yours?"[/b][/color] She was already taking off her gauntlets, presumably to grab a knife or something. At this point, Sasuke hardly cared. As for her name, he was surprised to hear a title of sorts instead... it was odd to say the least, but Sasuke knew that somehow, it [i]fit[/i] her completely just as much as any normal name possibly could.

[color=DDA0DD][b]"Sasuke Stormwind. Thanks for an excellent fight."[/b][/color] Before he could say anything else, she was already up close, holding him securely so that he wouldn't try anything stupid... and biting his neck. He wasn't used to women at all, so that was easily the strangest thing that happened in this strange day. He had gone through fighting dead shit, getting out of the Ruins, seeing that massive beast crawl from the sea off in the distance, and a big ass shadow cover the whole city... and now he was getting a hicky from a person straight out of the storybooks right after they'd just tried to kill each other. It was over before he knew it: a strange ass end to one strange ass day.

[color=lightgreen][b]"Thanks for the business!"[/b][/color] With that, she didn't waste time in walking off and leaving Sasuke to continue leaning against the tree. It was plain she didn't really give a crap about him anymore, and Sasuke was okay with that. At least he could rest until the sun went down, knowing he'd get to live and fight another day.

[hr]

Sasuke had already lost track of how much time he was sitting under that tree, but he knew it was time to move as fast as his legs could carry him. He had retrieved his sword as soon as he could and returned it to its sheath. If it could help him stand up to someone like that, it was definitely worth keeping at all costs. It was a sword truly worthy of a name, but he still couldn't come up with a good one for the life of him. Putting the matter off, he continued to press onwards and make up for the time lost getting his ass kicked back there.

He immediately continued following the river's course and set off to the west. Around halfway down, he followed a branching stream so that he could stick close to water as he headed deeper inland. He had walked for some three hours when he saw lights off in the distance: most likely, a campfire. He knew from personal experience that bandits didn't randomly light campfires this close to the road, which he was certain wasn't too far from their position. Steeling himself, he moved slowly to investigate, when he heard a voice off in the distance called out:

[COLOR=FF8C00][B]"Oi, you! Come out! We're all armed, and we're not afraid to kill you if you try anything funny!"[/B][/COLOR]

[i]Clearly not a bandit. Way too nervous to be any sort of fighting man, either. He must be an actual survivor.[/i] Sasuke gave it a moment to think, and decided to take a chance with this stranger. True to his habit of not trusting others, though, he made sure he could whip out his sword at moment's notice. They [b]were[/b] supposedly armed, after all. Whatever that meant.

[color=DDA0DD][b]"I'm not here to rob you. I'm Sasuke Stormwind. Are you a survivor from the Ruins as well?"[/b][/color]