Stay?

That had been something she hadn't considered. In fact, the whole idea was so crazy as to be laughable. Her? A knight of the Thorns? Swear to Hell? That would never happen. The stars would sooner go out than Kalaya Na agreeing to serve Whirlwind in Rags.

But … maybe.

She'd never be able to stay here. But she could, perhaps, visit?

"I … maybe … " Kalaya starts to say, before movement catches her eye.

[i]No.[/i]

"Run." she finishes.

Her fingers dig into Vee's shoulders, a reflexive action but it also serves to help her grip as she throws the other woman to the side. Her fatigue vanishes, adrenaline flaring as her sword comes free in arcing silver.

"Run!" she yells, charging forward to meet the Stag Knight along the slopes of the Wrack-waste.

The first blow is almost strong enough to stagger her, but Kalaya keeps to her feet - using the momentum to spin and launch a counterattack. She's not trying to defeat Ushua, nor even really hurt her. But all that she is turns and focuses on just buying Vee enough time to get away.

[i]I will respect the weak and defend them.[/i]

Vee is weak now - open, vulnerable. She will not let that hard-won moment shatter by betraying her trust.

[i]I shall give mercy unto those who ask for it.[/i]

Sparks fly as she parries another thrust, ducking beneath that spear and closing to grapple. A foolish move as the stronger knight easily spins her around, sending her skidding across sand and bits discarded armour.

[i]I shall not recoil before my enemy and will be the champion of the Right and Good against Injustice and Evil[/i]

It's crazy. It should be wrong - but once again, it feels [i]Right[/i]. After all, what could be more Right and Good in this world than love?

She rolls to her feet, gritting her teeth and advancing once more - keep Ushua's focus on her. Get Vee clear. That's all that matters. 

[i]"RUN!"[/i]

But Ushua just keeps coming. An implacable wall of experience, steel and malice. Facing this, Kalaya sheds her inhibitions - giving up on her goal of not hurting the other knight. She knows that her strength will ebb away the longer the fight goes. Her only chance now is to do enough to keep her opponent from being able to chase Vee.

The Stag and Lilly clash again.

Kalaya's sword [i]sings[/i]. She fights with everything she has and hidden reserves that even she didn't know existed before now. Steel bites and sends fragments of the Ushua's armour flying.

But Ushua [i]keeps coming.[/i]

[Yeah, I think we all knew this was gonna be the way it went - Rolling to [b]Fight[/b]. 4 + 6 + 4: [b]14 [/b]- Kalaya chooses to inflict a condition on Ushua, and to create an opportunity for Ven (to escape, hopefully). Using both [i]Last Stand[/i] and [i]Finally Kiss[/i] to offset [i]Frightened[/i].]

Have you ever fought someone you cannot beat? A person who outclasses you in every way?

For a moment, as she picks herself back up once again, Kalaya is countless leagues and fifteen years away. Shadows that look like boys hover around her, reaching out their nightmare arms. She strains against them, but although the heart is strong, the body is not - and her muscles bend, ever slowly, backwards.

It's always confronting to find your limits. That hill that is just that little bit too high to climb, that one weight to lift when your arms are already trembling. "Push through!", "You can do it!" they always yell. Words that are somehow expected to have physical force, enough to affect reality. As if doing that one more step is simply a matter of willpower.

Real life isn't like that. Sometimes, people just have a wall that is impossible to break through and all the heart in the world doesn't change anything.

Sometimes people just ... can't.

[Kalaya takes the condition: "Hopeless"]

She's on her knees now. A spear leveled at her. Breath heaving and sweat pouring off.

And Ushua is. Still. Coming.

She surges to her feet. Swinging wild. Her focus, her ability to think, has shrunk to primal instinct. Gone is rational thought. In its place are only the most base directives: [i]Fight. Delay. Protect.[/i]

[Using For the Cause to inflict one last condition on Ushua]

A gauntleted hand sends her sprawling to the waste again. Sword clattering. Vision fading. She rolls onto her side. Pushing through the blackness, her eyes land on her weapon. 

Her arm moves. Dragging her across the sands. One hand before another. Reaching. Fingers. 

Almost ...

There ...