Estylwen
FernStone
Framing A Moose
Knight 7
Pandora13
Shin Ghost Note
Blizz
Lildear18
Atrophy
LeonA Match for the Ages
Oh why did Aryin only have a single brain cell and why didn’t she at least try to use it? That was the thought that was pounding through Aryin’s mind as one hand remained on the wheel of her car and the other furiously holding a lit cigarette. Their eyes had a slight bloodshot look to them, and their breathing quickened at a building rate of mistakes not long since made. Mistakes like drinking too much last night, mistakes like buying a pack of cigarettes while drunk because that sounded like a good idea, mistakes like challenging a world champion fighter to a fight, and mistakes like scheduling the fight for so early in the morning. It was a boon that she had a near unlimited stamina otherwise she might feel tired at this moment. Still, this morning was a test of her desire to be the best, a test of her will to overcome any obstacle, and a test of her newfound commitment to being one of the fiercest protectors that this coven ever knew.
Aryin turned up the volume on her car's radio. She had put her music on shuffle and it had graced her thus far with banger after banger. This was getting her ready. She took a long drag of the cigarette as her other hand made the rubber off the steering wheel squeak. It wasn’t long before she had arrived at the gate to the temple and slowed the car to a crawl. She grabbed her phone and sent a text to Leon.
“Hey St. Portwell’s Own, I hope you’re ready.”Aryin smirked as she tossed the finished cigarette into an ashtray situated in her cup holder that she bought while drunk to go along with the cigarettes. Her smile only grew larger as she placed both hands on the wheel awaiting the gate, twisting and turning with anticipation.
Still so early in the morning, the gates to the Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals were still closed. Curfew for anyone living on campus was ten o'clock without notice or some kind of personal magic bypass. Leon had already left far earlier in the morning, conditioned past the natural lack of sleep thanks to the magical diet provided by his association. Circadian rhythm meant little to people able to maintain the most premium of meals within the Temple.
He was currently chugging a protein shake filled with extract of a Bananasaur: a peculiar creature Project Eden was keeping a hand on as they tried to grow the fruity flesh of here in Shimmer. His other hand was on the wheel of Edict Devola's car, which he'd not picked up yesterday…
The smart radio read off the incoming text with one of its features, but he was coming up to the gates himself.
Grabbing his phone, he started to slow down, and the application to open the gate popped open for him thanks to the vicinity feature their head IT people had come up with. He pressed a button, and the gates swung open with a warm welcoming sigh for Aryin to proceed. At the same moment, Leon pulled up behind her as she began to drive down the laneway. The facilities were another mile or so pushed off the main road, so there was plenty of time that they were simply driving in tandem one behind the other.
From the car window, Aryin would be able to see some of the stranger creatures living their lives in the magically saturated forest surrounding the Temple.
One in particular, a massive bipedal ape-like creature sauntered out upon the lane with enough distance to stop comfortably. Its twisted face, bright red and adorned by a crown of strange and unruly horns, stared down at Aryin with what could only be described as a look of intelligence.
The beast leaned in, and as its head hovered over the hood of the car, it twisted slightly to let its ear rest against the hood. The humming, warm engine below was its interest, and as it laid its head upon the hood of Aryin's car, the whole thing disappeared under the absolute size of the unit.
Leon, behind Aryin, had also stopped as the creature he called Bobo started his morning routine. He knew they wouldn't get anywhere if he didn't step in, so-
“Oy! Boboooooo… Is that my boy!?”
Aryin would be able to see Leon exiting the car behind her with a smile.
”Ooooh OOOOOH!”
The creature seemed excited, head perking up and releasing Aryin's car. It even seemed to smile, pushing back on its massive leathery hands and readjusting to face Leon head on. In turn, Leon raised his arms in a hug, and the giant otherworldly ape excitedly shuffled forward to lean its face in.
“Good Bobo! That's my big friend, you learned your lesson after the last car you tried to fight… I know, Boo…-”
Grinning, Leon's face turned to look at Aryin in the car. He waved one of his hands, inviting her out.
Aryin zipped up her black north face jacket and stepped out into cold air, following the invitation from Leon. She walked next to him and looked over to Bobo. ” His name is Bobo then I take it,” Aryin asked as she looked up to Leon with a smile. She looked towards Bobo and held out a hand, offering it to the ape to shake.
”Ooooooooh!!!”
The ape, having seen Aryin from outside the car, quickly moved a massive body-sized finger to rub Aryin’s cheek gently. Leon could only laugh in turn.
”Yep! He’s the Male of the group we’ve cultivated… I guess like the bull or whatever. They seem to isolate themselves, since the girls are much bigger and more aggressive.”
Leon put his arm around Aryin, leaning down and planting a kiss.
”How’s it going, my favorite demon? Ready to take a different kind of pounding?” he laughed at his own crude joke, rubbing Aryin’s shoulder in a friendly manner.
Aryin blushed just the slightest bit at the kiss on top of her head but she quickly pushed that away. This morning focus was entirely on one thing and one thing only. Winning. ”Oh you sweet, naive, beautiful man,” Aryin paused as she looked up at Leon, ”I never lose,”Aryin paused as she stuck out her tounge, ”your favorite demon is good. How are you, big man, after that terrible fucking meeting? Are you doing okay?”
Leon’s face looked back up at Bobo, who looked down from behind tangled horns with a childlike smile. He could only laugh and wave him along.
”N’gua la’d e dna’tue!” Run along, big fella!
The tree-sized ape brought a massive leathery finger to his lips in something of a “shoosh”, then grinned an almost knowing grin before making his way across the road and into the woods.
Alone again, Leon looked down at Aryin and shook his head.
”It had to be Alizee of all people… Over the fucking Void Heart? Layla’s still recovering, last night was a long night. I haven’t actually slept.”
Looking up and back down the road that they stopped half-way on, Leon giggled to himself and nodded out into the woods in the direction Bobo had originally come from.
”Lets get the cars off to the side of the road and just walk in. We can avoid my Mom gawking at you.” he laughed, moving toward the car and getting into position to simply lift and jerk it into place.
“If you lift my car up with your muscles I promise I’ll only be looking respectfully,” Aryin paused as images of Leon’s mommy MILF crossed her mind, ”Yeah.. Why does she gawk at me like that? I don’t mind, just curious. And a little cardio never hurt,” Aryin paused with a grin. Her eyes looked down the road and smirked even more. Today was no mistake.
”Well, she’s not met many changelings. I’m pretty sure it’s entirely a fetish thing, so… If you don’t mind her objectification, I guess we can go up? But, it certainly makes me feel weird knowing that my Mom wants to jump your bones.”
There was a burst of energy that pushed the air out from around Leon. In a single motion, he locked up and flicked the car up close to five feet in the air. Enough that when he yarded back with his own momentum, the car smacked back down in place much tighter to the edge of the road.
”I don’t think that broke anything… Edict’ll let me know one way or another.” he laughed.
”Come on, I know you can do it too… Probably better than me!”
“Even if it broke something that was worth the view. Oh I think I can give it a try. I have been working on a few new spells, mostly plant magic and all. But learning that also revealed to me a different way to use my stored energy. Watch as I give it a whirl,” Aryin cracked her neck and began channeling her magic to muscles. Her durability, her toughness, was innate to her form. And while this form brought with it enhanced strength it was nowhere near the level of Leon. At least, as it stood. As she channeled her magic into her muscles a dull but visible glow began to glow outward, illuminating the bones and muscles within. She walked over to her car and squatted down by the front. She grabbed hold and began to lift upward, and as she did the glow grew in intensity. The car rose upward and Aryin did not falter, did not break a sweat, and her face showed no signs of a struggle. She took a few steps over and placed the car down, and as she did the bright light flared in intensity before sputtering out completely.
“Ta-da,” Aryin said as she raised a peace sign to her face and smirked. Aryin crooked her head “A fetish thing?,”
Leon’s face was bright red.
”She’s a well known perv… If you know magic that makes for kinky sex, she’s interested. And I won’t tell you that you can’t go for it, I only ask that you don’t do it in the bed she and my Father shared. Up to you…”
He walked forward until he was next to her completely, then waved one hand out into the woods.
”It’s a nice little walk. Be mindful of things falling from the trees; you never know what it could be in these woods.” he tried his best to redirect the conversation, but had a funny feeling Aryin wouldn’t let the subject go so easily.
“I will keep my eyes open,” Aryin followed Leon’s command and she began to walk down, “and I don’t want to fuck your mom, Leon, least of which in a kinky way. Don’t get me wrong, she is a mommy milf that I may or may not have wanted to ravish in so many ways but I gotta trust someone enough to be open like that, you know? And I don’t trust her like that.”
Leon laughed aloud.
”Oh, God… Yeah, please. Literally, never trust her. She’s definitely not screwed together right; I mean I’m hardly all there but those are the kind of conditions she made.”
He blushed a little bit, throwing his arm around her casually.
”But, uh… You mean that? You trust me like that? Even after yesterday, with the whole Layla thing?” his voice was sincere and warm.
“Of course,” Aryin paused her speaking as she looked down at her feet, “not many can say they’ve been through what we’ve been through you know? I trusted you with my life back then. I trust you with my life today. Us frontliners have to trust each other more than most. After all,” Aryin looked up and flashed a weak smile, “a bond like that is not that easily broken,” Aryin paused as the smile faltered a little, “do I think you made the wrong call? Maybe. Maybe not. Does that affect how I view you? Not at all,” Aryin paused as she playfully shoulder checked Leon as best she could.
Leon accepted what Aryin had to say slowly as they walked on into the woodlands. He was finding more often that Sycamore members had a hard time imagining that he was so invested in his family's situation. People taking umbridge when they hadn't before. It was stressful, and he found the constraint difficult to operate under when he was receiving so much pressure from the other side.
He couldn't just be himself anymore. He either had to be what everyone else expected; his old self with all the quirks that came with that. Or, he had to be the Temple stalwart, and actively pursue his Mother's end game. But being selfish at this stage wasn't an option.
Leon let the smallest amount of Lelou's energy pool into the resonator, taking a deep breath through his nose to hold his breath. He was listening for the telltale hum coming from a listening post. Hearing nothing active, he found himself free to speak his mind.
”I'm not sure if it's because of the Void Heart situation, or if it generally has to do with my active role with the Temple… But people seem pretty cold toward me. Even people like Sully. I was surprised as Hell that you and Linqian were so… Willing. I figured she was one who really hated me.”
“Listen, Linqian has hated me more times than I can count and she’s a complex person. But she is a good one at the end of the day. She may hate you again but I promise you it’s only temporary,” Aryin smirked, “It’s hard to find someone who can actually feel something. I had to see if you were up to the challenge,” Aryin gave him a wink.
He blushed again, smirking and laughing slightly while they walked.
”Well, like I said the other night when we were… Getting started… I can’t go too far unless Lelou’s willing-”
There was a bubbling sensation, and a bit of warmth in the air.
”-ah, fuck…”
The steam began to pour off his skin in the brisk November morning air. He pulled his sweater off, tilting his head back. Aryin would easily be able to spot the ethereal specter of Lady Lelou Faim, Queen of the Imperial Pack.
The shade of an arm stretched out to brush against Aryin’s chin. Leon took a deep breath.
”Well, she certainly remembers you. Looks like she’ll be willing to lend herself out for a little fun.” he smiled, shaking his head.
”I wish I didn’t need her approval, but… Well, since we’ve had to start working together, our relationship has gotten a little better. I don’t mind living the lifestyle she enjoys.”
“I assume that’s good,” Aryin joked as she looked at Lelou Faim, “I like to leave as good an impression as a girl can,” Aryin paused as she blew a kiss Lelou’s way.
Lelou's spectral form, sitting with her legs wrapped tight around Leon's shoulder and arm, swooned with her hand on her chest as her head tilted back.
”It means as long as there's pleasure in it for her, she won't try to overpower me and take the body. She associates you with a good time.” it was a little embarrassing for Leon to admit that, but reality is strange and life is short. Too short to avoid discomfort.
“There’s always a good time when I’m around,” Aryin swapped down to Aaron, before backing up to Aryin. Her form change betrayed her giddy state.
“Plus, I am a shapeshifter. I can always learn…new forms to take.. the experience could always be fresh, new, and always, always, exciting,” she looked at Leon for most of that, but she made sure that she gave Lelou the attention she was owed.
Still blushing, Leon couldn't help but laugh as he felt Lelou's excited, almost childlike reaction. He wasn't deep enough to hear her voice, but he felt the gentle unreal tugging against him.
”Don't be such a fuckin’ tease, Aryin… I can't fight with wood.”
He was a liar, of course: He could fight under any circumstance. But as they advanced into a clearing in the woods, Leon could see some of the other denizens of this wonderland they were in.
Taymore Wolves, six legged beasts standing at thrice the height of a normal dog. Their faces peeled open vertically, barks like men struggling to breathe beneath a pile of gelatin. Their twin tails wagged, and the alpha cautiously approached Leon with full knowledge of the beast within.
They were attracted to him naturally, because of Lelou's connection to the Lupine. Really, it was her essence they were interested in, and they brushed against Leon's legs as he tried to walk. Their constant companionship remained even as they made it to the spot Leon figured they'd be good to fight in.
There seemed to be plenty of follies built around the property: This particular one was a small Roman-style amphitheater, a large round area in the center was completely open to activities, and several rows of seats wrapped upward around it to give the feeling of peace and privacy.
The many wolves waited on the outskirts of this circle, as if they were patient spectators themselves.
Leon waved his hands about smoothly.
”This is plenty of space, right?” he asked.
Aryin responded by taking off her shirt, revealing a black workout focused tank. “I think this is perfect,” Aryin said as her eyes scanned the area between them. It was missing something. Namely, it was missing a fighting ring. “Get me up to speed on the temple code of conduct,” Aryin paused as she channeled her magic into a fist. This did not glow, but she remembered her lessons from Britney from yesterday and she wanted to make this fight as memorable as possible. “Namely, can I do a little landscaping before we start?”
”Lately we’ve been a bit more lax on some conduct rules… Old guard is on the way out, y’know? We’ll deal with whatever you’ve got… Well… Just, don’t destroy what’s already here.” he laughed, starting to pull his shirt off.
Lelou’s seals loosened more and more, heat building up beneath his skin as the cells of his body gained their magical charge. Lelou’s specter became more and more visible as the fog Leon produced got thicker. Soon, only the man and the formless figure riding his shoulders and gripping into his hair could be seen.
Gusts of wind gently blew through the amphitheater, pushing the rolling clouds up and away, causing little curls to climb up off of Leon. His massive arms and chest flexed, raising upward to hold her figure. Since Lelou was mostly invisible, it looked like he was striking some kind of pose.
Aryin grinned as she slammed her first into the ground, and spread her magic in a square around the two of them. The ground shook as at the four corners of that magical square pushed upwards. Soon, four wood pillars pushed through the earth until they formed the four corners of a fighting ring. Seconds later vines shot out from the trunks and wrapped around each other, and within a few seconds the fighting ring was finished and Aryin rose from the earth and cracked her neck.
“I can fix that when we’re done,” Aryin smirked as she channeled her power into her hands, causing them to glow bright before she slammed the firsts into themselves, causing a loud clap to echo through the grounds.
“You ready, pretty boy?”
There was a gentle ringing emanating from Leon's physical form as the specter of Lelou tightened her hands through Leon's hair. She tugged, pulled at his skull, and where her fingers met his hair, black became white and his eyes glazed over into a dark grey. His ice blue irises were the only things that managed to pierce through the dark as the sclera turned black like umbran pools.
When the noise stopped, the subtle transformation was over.
”Unity: Thirty Percent.”
Leon's hand flicked outward, a burst of air like an actual punch driving itself into the unfeeling gut of Aryin. He hardly moved, yet this kind of force came out of him… It was hard to imagine how hard he actually punched Alizeé the day previous.
”Ready.”
The burst of air hit Aryin in the stomach. It carried enough power that it charged some of her reserves. It carried with it a gust strong enough to blow her hair all the way back. Aryin smirked as their muscles began to glow. “Good.” Aryin took off as fast as her legs could carry her. As she got close she jumped into the air, raised an arm back with a glowing fist, and descended her strike onto Leon.
Aryin's fist drove into Leon's skull, causing the stone beneath him to buckle as it shoved deeper into the ground. It hurt significantly more than he was prepared for, which caused Leon to reel backward for several steps. Groaning, his voice turned into a growling moan.
”Oooooh… Mmmmffff…” he whined, rubbing the top of his head.
As he did so, a great deal of steam rolled out of the spot that Aryin had impacted. It gave a clearer picture of Lelou's specter: Of the tail and ears, the clawed hands still gripping into Leon's hair and dragging it upward. She was like the Jockey of a wartime beast, and both hands yarded back on Leon's mane of hair.
Both his hands moved like machines into a high guard, and he surged forward.
Feigning left, Leon let his body slump, almost hitting one knee. His left fist came from downtown, putting a tremendous amount of force into a swing he was expecting to get blocked or dodged.
It was the right fist, along with all of his good sense, that searched for a good moment to get a jab or cut on something important. If they dodged, it'd be directly into the rapidly approaching right fist hunting Aryin's face.
Aryin did not see the right fist hunting her face. Aryin raised her guard and absorbed the left strike, but her face was left to absorb the right. Aryin’s face was moved ever so slightly from the blow, more than most people could move her face. As well, the hit stung. It hurt. It actually hurt enough that Aryin stumbled backwards with a smile on her face. Leon’s speed, decisiveness, and skill was already on display from his first attack. Aryin needed to be better. She also needed to close the distance, her momentary retreat put her out of range of striking, but still in range of being hit. Aryin slowly moved back forward, guard up, before throwing a few probing jabs. Her muscles once again glowing.
Any average combatant would crumble under the power and strain caused by fighting the twin-bodied brawler. Converting impact to force was a surefire way to punch above one's weight class, and each jab that landed instantly shattered bone. It was only through the grace of Lady Lelou Faim's bottomless well of reserved energy that he was able to maintain a guard as his arms gelatinized. As they broke, they formed again within an instant, the surrounding muscle tissue actively strengthening within the body to prevent the broken bits from slipping out of place.
But he had to give them a break, or the bones were going to grow back so thick it'd be too hard to move them. Not having asked Aryin if they were expecting anything other than a boxing match, he took it upon himself to dodge low, letting one of his massive and powerful legs lash out to sweep Aryin off their feet.
This was her moment. Aryin could feel that Leon was struggling to keep up his defenses. Her durability, strength, and desire to win would give her the edge. She took another step forward as Leon dodged her strike, and suddenly the sky was in front of her vision. A moment later she crashed down to the earth with a solid thud. Her body was fine, but her leg began to scream at her. She was quickly learning that enhancing her strength with her magic reduced her durability. Aryin raised up her guard on the ground, trying to give herself a moment to breathe.
Leon was already capitalizing on the sweep. Aryin would be able to feel the heat coming off of Leon's palm as his hand wrapped around their ankle. In an instant, sky became trees, which turned into stone in their face as he ragdoll swung them into the ground. The rock floor of the atrium buckled on impact, sending stone chips high into the air.
Hoping that planting Aryin like a root into the ground would give him a few more seconds, he backed off in a single backward hop. His body slinked forward, the regrown bones coming back longer and thicker. It turned them into gorilla-like appendages, which he comfortably hunched down onto. Lower, lower, he was nearly parallel to the ground, preparing to surge forward or dodge as necessary.
Aryin was surprised. Leon had attacked her with an almost savage-like strategy, and it hurt like hell. She needed her durability back, she needed her ability to stay in the fight back, and she couldn’t risk taking another savage blow like that. Her muscles quickly stopped glowing as she rose to her feet once again. Instead, only her fists continued to glow. Aryin swapped to Aaron and channeled the magic into his hands. He started to throw jabs of his Ki Blasts, sending blast after blast. These blasts were precise. Several were leveled towards Leon himself, but a few were sent towards the ground. Each one explosive, if weak, and the ones that exploded off the ground sent a dust cloud into the air. After a few dozen blasts Aryin was back. Her guard ready, and up for any counter attack.
Feeling the welling energy before it even left their hands, Leon’s spine twisted and loosened within his body. The torso it held up slumped in an unnatural way, only pure muscular control keeping it in the same shape as it was. Rapidly generating tissue turned the midriff area into a thick, round coil of muscle, and as the blasts began to come his way, Leon pushed with all his might.
Elastic, almost rubberlike, Leon’s torso extended like a bungee cord into the space between them. At first, he stayed low to the ground, but launching off his overbuilt and empowered arms, vital areas soared up into the air in a perfect arc to crash back down onto Aaron.
Meters away, the legs almost seemed to have a mind of their own, sprinting in a strafe for a moment only to kick off into a dropkick from a completely different angle than where the torso was coming from. It was as if Leon had completely severed his spine from his lower body, and the two consciousnesses within the frame were able to independently operate each section. The power of True Unity between an Adjoined and their Apparition…
Aryin's mouth dropped at the horror before her. She did not know where to block, did she block the torso and leave herself open to the back legs? Or did she do the reverse? Which open would be the best one in a fight like this? Aryin panicked. Neither option sounded good, each choice would come with consequences. If she was going to take this hit, she would at least make sure that Leon felt it as well. She took a step into the attack as she raised her fist back. It had none of her magically enhanced strength, instead she planted both feet on the ground to become the immovable object that she so perfected, and as Leon drew closer she let loose a punch towards his midsection. She was going to use the force of Leon’s attack against him. At least, that’s what she hoped. Her eyes danced from torso to legs and back.
Leon’s entire existence rippled against the quite literally immovable surface he was trying to attack. The blow delved into the soft, thinly stretched midsection caused the back legs to shift position, flying out around Aryin’s flank. She had only successfully defended against the assault in that she took no great damage from its delivery…
But as Leon’s stretchy, ever-regenerating form carried momentum, rapidly wrapping around Aryin’s form like a serpent until the legs managed to gain traction again.
Practically attached to them, Leon planted his feet into the ground quite literally in order to hold Aryin as tight as possible. The Torso, chest and arms specifically, began to rain blows down onto Aryin’s head and upper body.
Aryin struggled to fight back. The snake-like constriction that Leon forced on her bound her arms away from each other and gave her no room to build up strength. While the blows were no longer as painful, she could feel her stored energy hitting its limits and thus, her ability to move was diminished greatly. Aryin looked up to the monstrous face of Leon and gave a small, innocent smile. Her eyes started to twinkle at him. Maybe cuteness would be the key to her continuing the fight. After a few more blows, Aryin knew that it would not. Aryin tried to pull herself free for a few moments, arms pushing and pulling, legs trying to kick herself free all the while she kept the innocent look on her face. She hoped that Leon remembered her safe word.
“Meatloaf.”
Leon, of course, remembered. That didn’t mean Lelou did, nor did she really care. The fists stopped coming all at once, leaving only the squeezing serpentine pressure of a band of muscles crushing her in between them. His voice strained, very clearly struggling in itself as he tried to tell her how to stop it all.
”Y-you… S-submit! T-to h-h-her! I c-a-an’t…-”
Ominously, his clawed hand was climbing upward and tightening into a cone shape with the claws pointed forward: A razor sharp piercing blow, should Lelou find her opponent unwilling to properly submit to her savagery. With so much energy around them, Lelou’s ethereal form had a chance to dance just beyond Leon’s body, her graceful voice a faint whisper in the dark.
”Say. I. Lose.” she growled into Aryin’s ear.
Aryin let out a weak chuckle as she watched Lelou’s form dance around Leon. While she was durable, she was losing the ability to breathe. The constriction was completely preventing her from expanding her chest. Like a person stuck in quicksand each breath she took was weaker and shallower than the last, and Aryin knew that this fight was completely finished. Despite this, this new sensation was welcomed. Aryin’s smile only grew as it got tighter. Her eyes completely fixated on the ethereal form commanding her to submit. Very few people could make her feel pain, make her feel weak, make her breathless. Leon, and Lelou, continued to surprise her. Aryin’s eyes began to twinkle once again. She blew a kiss Lelou’s way before she submitted completely, body falling limp in their grip, with the requested “I lose” escaping her lips.
An ethereal moan climaxed in Aryin’s ear, girlish squealing fading off as the phantom playfully spun away. Its arms seemed to grab at Leon’s shoulders, ripping the body out of place to let it all recoil into a neat package. Steam began to pour out of Leon from every place it could as the body consumed itself, eventually leaving him as he had always been: Raven haired, freakishly tall, and now… Nude. Of course the transformation had shredded his clothing, but Lelou’s phantom managed to gather a great deal of steam at his waist. He looked a little embarrassed as he walked toward Aryin.
”Jesus… You okay dude?!” he asked, his voice concerned.
Aryin collapsed onto her back as a series of painful gasps filled the air. She breathed fast, and hard, and she held a hand on her chest. Her eyes were fixated on the sky, and she could not move them as she felt her heartbeat at a million miles per minute. It felt like it might jump out of her chest at any given moment. Sure enough, as more and more air entered her lungs her heart slowed to a more manageable speed. She smiled as she felt life return to her body once more. Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Eventually Adonis himself appeared in the corner of her vision. She shifted her eyes down and saw Leon was naked, her eyebrows raised ever so at the sight. She pulled her knees up, resting her feet underneath them. She held up her right hand with a single thumb up to indicate that she was fine.
“That was,” Aryin gasped again and the air was once again filled with the sound of her choking, it was still a little too soon for her to talk, “incredible.”
Leon wasn’t exactly surprised to hear Aryin react like that.
”God, you’re such a masochist… Pretty sexy honestly, y’know it takes a lot to make a ghost cum.”
He could only laugh as he offered a hand to Aryin to help them get up.
”You nearly fuckin’ brained me at the start; I knew I had to turn it the fuck up from then. Sorry if it was a little overboard, but you… Well, you liked it. Let’s be honest.” he grinned, teeth still sharp as hell in his mouth.
Aryin joined in the laughter as she took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled up. It was still painful to breathe, but she was almost breathing as normal as she could right now. Aryin, once on her feet, ran a finger across Leon’s chest. Her eyes followed where her finger moved. She eventually slowly raised them all the way up to match Leon’s. “What can I say, you are one of the toughest people I know. I knew I had to start strong if I had any chance. It turned out though that you,” Aryin paused as her whole hand moved across his chest. This time she spoke to Leon and his lady, “it turns out that you finish was even stronger.”
Aryin paused as she pulled her hand away. The word masochist lingered in her mind. “I like strength, and feeling new things. You delivered.”
Leon couldn’t help but maintain the grin. His hand swept down to grab Aryin’s and he stepped away slightly.
”Come on… Let’s go get sweatier.” he winked. ”But first… We should probably move the cars. Besides, if we get back up to the property, we’ll have comfortable beds to lay in after.”
Tucking her close, he started to walk.
”I’m glad I can make you feel new things. Did you learn new things too?” he casually asked.
“Lead the way. I need a bit more action, and a comfortable bed after.” Aryin smiled brightly as she followed close. While she did have a full day moving after this, she could be a bit selfish in the morning. She’d earned as much, and Leon earned it doubly so. Aryin’s mind lingered on the final question. She learned a lot. Her boxing training had allowed her to fight the mundane fight more efficiently, but a lot of the rules of said fight went out the window when fighting the magical. “Start strong, push the advantage early, and don’t rely on defense if the opponent outclasses it,” Aryin answered as she looked straight ahead, “don’t be afraid to be the aggressor, I’m strong. I’m fast. I’m not as durable when I’m strong, and I need to be decisive when I’m pushed back. Show strength, even in defeat.”
Leon rubbed Aryin’s shoulder playfully as they walked along, proud of them for such insight.
”I think that’s a great assessment. But I will say, as someone who knows you, I was a bit afraid of your defense… It’s pretty intimidating knowing that no matter what you’re gonna do, the other person’s just not going to flinch. Maybe we can develop your style into something more robust. Like… Like Judo! If you timed it right, you almost certainly could’ve taken the initial impact and redirected me in time to avoid the legs…”
He thought about what that must’ve looked like to them.
”That was probably a trip, huh? Legs and torso not working together like you think?” he giggled.
“Bro.” Aryin couldn’t continue the conversation for a moment. “That form legit scared me. I did not know you could do that, and I saw that coming right at me and I panicked, I’ve seen a lot of apparition and monsters but that was the first time I saw anything like that.”. Aryin laughed as she pushed her body into Leon, holding the physical contact for a minute. “If it gives me nightmares I’ll be sure to ask to spend the night. You know, for safety and comfort.”
Aryin paused as she moved away from Leon, extended her hand to still be held even with the distance. “And I think some mixed martial arts will be in my immediate future. With a teacher like you I’ll be a force to reckon with in no time.”
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