[center][u]Collab Between Skai and Kish[/center][/u] ------ Arianna took a step back before swinging her rapier at the conduit, gripping the hilt tighter so it wouldn't slip from her fingers. The conduit's blade clashed with her rapier and she could feel the two blades scraping against each other. He kept her sword at bay with the blade as he stepped forward, kicking his foot up and at her chest. Arianna noticed the movement and spun away, releasing her sword out from under his blade. She swung it again, but this time stepped forward, causing him to back off so he wouldn't get cut by it. "So the gazelle has some fight in her," he remarked, his voice barely labored by the physical activity. He growed slightly, switching his blade into his other hand. "I do enjoy a little resistance. It makes the kill much more worth it." The conduit's eerie grin turned into a snarl as he lunged towards her. He used his blade to push her sword aside again and spun around until he felt his elbow connect with her ribcage. Arianna grimaced, feeling the pain radiate throughout her body. She stumbled to the side, getting a safe distance away from him as she felt her ribcage. Nothing was broken. "Watch out, you might bruise the meat," she hissed, some of her fear being replaced by her natural instinct to live. The conduit only laughed, watching her. "There probably isn't enough meat on your ribs to have one bite." He stepped towards her, but was stopped as Arianna gripped her blade with both hands and swung again. "You'll starve today," she growled. Even though her side hurt, she wasn't going to give up so easily. In response to her hostility, the conduit felt his bloodlust rise. "Your death would be quicker if you gave up now, girl," he hissed. "If you fight, you will feel more pain." He stepped forward and blocked her swing with his blade, then forcefully brought his arm down on her wrists. He grinned as her reflexes made her drop the rapier. Arianna winced, gasping as she lost her only means of keeping his blade at bay. She immediately backed away, looking around for anything she could use without giving away one of her abilities. Surely this host would want to kill her more if he knew she was a host as well. She grabbed a nearby pipe from a pile of rubble and held it up, watching as the conduit turned to grin at her. He lunged at her again and grabbed the pipe as she swung it at him. With her hands disctracted with holding the pipe, he drug his blade ever so slightly against her ribcage. His ears rejoiced at the sound of skin tearing. Arianna cried out and released the pipe, backing away from the conduit. She watched him closely, her heart pounding in her chest. With a wince she gingerly felt the cut. A wave of relief washed over her. It wasn't deep, and didn't seem to be bleeding too much. Unfortunately it stung everytime she moved her arm. [i]Damnit,[/i] she cursed in her mind. [i]I can't afford any more blows like that.[/i] At this point, Kisheto had to hold himself back. It was a mixture of fear of failure, death, and disappointing his new ally - all of which would most likely occur simultaneously. He [i]was[/i] told to safe guard Iktomi, so would charging in after her be smart? But the second he saw her take the slice to the torso, he rushed forward, leaving Iktomi resting upon the sidewalk, alone and vulnerable. "YO! You good?!" he called out as he began to run towards the fight. Arianna's attention was dragged from the conduit to the sound of Kisheto's voice. She was instantly filled with worry for his life, and for Iktomi's. At the moment, she only needed her rapier, and the only way she'd get it now was either to risk running past the conduit, or using her telekinesis to get it back. "Go back to Iktomi," she said, glancing back at the conduit. "I think it's time to break out the real guns." The conduit cackled, eyeing the young man that ran towards them. "I'll deal with him and your friend after I kill you." He was about to pounce again when he felt a soft breeze blow past his ear. The next thing he knew, the girl had her rapier in her hands once more. His kage snarled in response. [i][b]"This girl is a host! Kill her!"[/i][/b] A small chuckle escaped the conduit's lips. "You are foolish for revealing your abilities, girl," he said with a cold tone, "You have just doomed the kage within you, for my kage is hungry for spirit." Arianna gripped the rapier tightly, standing defensively with her rapier ready to strike. Without another word, she lunged towards him at the same time he pounced. The pain from her side rippled throughout her as they both clashed. The conduit's blade tried to block her rapier, but Arianna's rapier grinded down the blade until the tip cut the side of his neck. The cannibal hissed from the pain and cried out as he took a step back and kicked out. His foot collided with her knee and Arianna buckled, stumbling. She linked her mind with his blade and ripped it from his hands, throwing it onto the ground away from them, but her body wasn't fast enough to get away from him as he grabbed her wrist and twisted it. As hard as she tried to hold onto her rapier, the pain in her wrist was too much. Her face contorted in pain as her rapier fell to the ground with a loud clang. She reached out, trying to pull it back to her, but the conduit grabbed her other wrist and shoved her against a nearby building. The man grinned darkly, believing that he had caught his prey. Arianna twisted and thrashed, looking for anything she could use against him. A loose balcony overhead caught her attention. She stopped thrashing and focused on the balcony, giving it a hard push with her mind. The brick balcony broke apart and collapsed, falling onto both of them and burying them in a cloud of smoke and brick. Out of the cloud of smoke movement could be heard as bricks rustled and fell aside. Arianna arose from the pile, coughing slightly from the musky dust that filled the air. She held her side as she stumbled away from the brick pile. "Ugh," she groaned softly, rubbing her head with her free arm. She turned to watch the brick pile, unsure if she had neutralized the threat or not. The conduit's hand , top of the head, and foot stuck out of the pile of bricks, unmoving. Kisheto had been looking on with a frown locked upon his face. His eyes had followed the two throughout the match, as every movement of their muscles only served to heighten his anxiety. He knew that the slightest twitch could result in this girl's death - the girl, who at the moment, was the only one keeping him from descending into the realm of loneliness that he had been in before. Were she to die, he'd not only be lost, but responsible for the life of a man he did not know. The second the balcony collapsed, he blinked and shook his head free of the near-trance-like state he was in. His anxiety died down, but adrenaline kicked in as he bounced to his feet and began running forward once more, concerned about the results of the hasty attack. However, as Arianna climbed out of the rubble, he skidded to a stop and let his head fall back with a sigh. "Wow. You actually didn't need my help. I mean, call me fucked up, but for a moment, I was hoping he'd get the upper hand so I could come in and, y'know, be cool and shit," he chuckled and looked back at Iktomi, who he had succeeded in guarding from nothing really. At least he didn't fail on that note. Arianna turned to look at him, weary from fighting the conduit. She chuckled softly at his remarks, which turned into a round of coughing. "At least you didn't breathe in a years worth of dust and debri." Kisheto laughed and patted her on the back gently before returning and lifting up the man who continued to lay unconcious. "After what I just saw, I think you'll be fine, heh. You good to go? I've still gotcha back, yo. Actually, I'm just really eager to get to this place you're taking me, too." Arianna picked up the small backpack and winced. She pulled out the water bottle and sipped from it, then shouldered the bag. The cut stung as she moved, but she ignored it. "Yeah, let's go," she said, drinking more of the water. She held out the bottle and wiped excess water from her lips. "Here, have a drink. You probably need it, too." She said as she began to walk towards the address again. Kisheto smiled and nodded, "Appreciate it," he said as he took the bottle and took a few small sips. Arianna smiled faintly and brushed her hair back from her face, wincing as she took a deep breath. Just as she was thinking about pouring some water on the cut to prevent infection, she heard the click of a gun. A low, female voice was heard from a nearby shadow. "Who goes there?" Arianna blinked, holding up her hands. She recognized the voice. "Hali?" She asked quietly, squinting as she peered into the darkness. A soft sigh was heard, then the gun clicked again as Hali disarmed it and put it away. "Arianna? What happened? Who is this?" Hali asked as she moved towards them. "This is Kisheto. He helped me bring Iktomi here. He needs help," Arianna managed to explain before Hali nodded in understanding. She gestured for them to follow her. "The new base isn't too far. Hurry. The fight caused a lot of noise." Without any more words, Hali began to move towards the base. Arianna glanced at Iktomi's unconscious body on Kisheto, then hurried and followed Hali to the base.