Vines and Viciousness
FR OCT Round 2
@flight-rising-oct
my Chalice VS @nezclaw‘s Mike
And in a blink, Chalice was somewhere else once again. Gentle, dim light filtered down, obscured greatly by a thick green canopy. The trees around Chalice were tall and thick, old as ages and covered in teeming life of all kind. Large, thick vines tangled together, forming jagged but clear walls.
Chalice felt ease flow into him, ease that felt normal, and yet tinged with certain life and energy. This was the trademark of nature’s power. His previously sleek pelt began fluffing up again, his sense of smell keened, his hearing began picking up even the slight movements of leaves, his claws extended. Chalice was felt with the need to run wild, and enjoy the forest-
“Let the game begin!”
Chalice shuddered, having listened through the Shadeling’s spiel. There was no time to enjoy the woods. There was another fight, another dragon to face.
The Skydancer glanced at the maze entrance before him, like prey staring into the maw of a predator, and began to walk forward. His temporary magic had him sensing the vines, and their intent on keeping him away. Everything here was turned against him, per the Shadeling’s magic. Chalice wanted to shrink down and sit in a corner, but he couldn’t. Who knew what his captor would do if Chalice ruined his fun? Chalice briefly recalled his previous opponent’s desperation- he wondered what had become of Sparrow? Did she really lose her precious… belonging… forever? Chalice’s gut pained with guilt, and he shook his head. There was no time to think about that right now. He had to focus. He had to find his way through the maze.
Chalice closed his eyes as he continued to move. The vines, he could lead himself with the vines! ...Or so Chalice hoped. It was better than blindly guessing, anyway.
Time stretched on as Chalice paced through the maze, his eyes closed to the world, relying on sensing the energy of the forest around him to lead him. It began to feel like Chalice would never reach the center.
And then, something was different. Chalice’s fur stood on end, and his eyes snapped open. Chalice was standing at a fork. Something was nearby- something, or someone? Chalice couldn’t tell, but he could feel sinister energy seeping into him. Something mischievous and dark. Chalice wasn’t sure, but something about it made him doubt it was his opponent dragon. “Watch out for my little ‘friends’,” his captor’s words echoed in his mind.
He looked down one path, and then the other. From one, he could feel the vines’ energy getting stronger- but also that of the darkness. The other, the energy weakened. Chalice groaned. He did not want to see what these friends are. But it looked like he didn’t have a choice, lest the chance he get magnanimously lost.
Chalice began to slowly pad down the worrying path, stepping softly. The further he went, the lower he creeped. The dark energy was pressing his mind, and Chalice gritted his teeth. This was the energy of the Shade- Chalice could feel the agonizing dark magic sweep into him, and he had to fight the migraine it began to set on.
And then, another feeling began to mix in. Frustration, anger, fear and desperation. Chalice gave a low growl. He was feeling some temper setting in. In addition, he could feel himself slightly calm, and a light feeling of confidence. Earth magic. This began to fight with the darkness, and Chalice had to take a moment for the opposing forces to settle.
Not a moment after the magic began flowing into him, he heard the sounds of movement. Quick, random shuffles and the rustling of leaves, the tearing of claws into ground, the rumble of moving earth- it was unmistakingly a battle. His blood began to pump as he got closer, his heart beat quickening.
He reached an edge of the wall he was following. It seemed the noises were originating just beyond the edge. Chalice took a peek around the corner.
A green Wildclaw with gray wings and brown outfit was facing off a quick, agile shadow. It was somewhat shaped like a dragon, but shimmered like the reflection on a lake, uncertain and indistinguishable. A Shadeling.
The Shadeling was faster than the Wildclaw- odd, for Wildclaws were usually fast and lithe. It would bound from vine wall to vine wall to the ground, then leap at the Wildclaw, claws and teeth outstretched. Sometimes the Wildclaw managed to bat the Shadeling away, sometimes the Shadeling managed to score a gash on the Wildclaw. Now and then the Wildclaw would make an odd movement- a shift, or a stomp- and the ground would rumble slightly. The ground would crack open right before the Shadeling’s path, and trip it up, giving the Wildclaw an opportunity to strike- only for the Shadeling to whip away again.
It was almost a stalemate, neither was making much progress as far as Chalice could tell. But as Chalice watched for a few moments longer, he knew the Wildclaw may lose. The Shadeling was scoring the Wildclaw’s hide, and any longer, and the Wildclaw would start taking wounds that would bleed him to death.
Chalice shivered. He could win… But the Wildclaw…
He didn’t take much time to think about it.
The Wildclaw trapped the Shadeling once again, and Chalice took that moment to strike. He sprung out from around the corner. Chalice reached out mentally to the vines surrounding him, urging them that the Shadeling was as much of an intruder as he. He was successful, and the vines shot out from the wall and snagged the shivering pretension of a dragon, rendering it immobile. In the second after, the Wildclaw took the opportunity to finally land a strike, leaping at the trapped shadow and scoring it with his Wildclaw talons. The shadow let out a screech, before tearing apart into nothingness.
Chalice and the Wildclaw were left staring at each other, the Wildclaw breathless, and Chalice winded by the sudden disappearance of the Shadeling’s energy.
“...Thanks,” the Wildclaw broke the silence, with an accent Chalice never heard before.
Chalice merely stared back, not feeling any want to respond- was that his own feelings, or the Wildclaw’s?
The Wildclaw seemed mildly perturbed by the silence, and was again the first to break it. “Th’ name’s Mike,” he introduced himself, nodding his head. “I uh. Recon you’re my opponent this time ‘round?”
Chalice nodded. “Yea. M’ name’s Chalice.” Chalice raised his eyebrows at his own voice. He mimicked the Wildclaw’s accent perfectly.
The Wildclaw seemed surprised and confused. “Y’re- uh. Not from- Texas- by any chance, ‘r you?”
Chalice shook his head in the negative. He’d never even heard of such a place- was it some far off star, or galaxy? The Wildclaw looked disappointed. “Well uh- ne’rmind that then.”
The two looked at one another, unsure. Eventually, the Wildclaw sighed and closed his eyes. “I ‘unno what that blighter took from you, but uh- I have to get Mickey back.” He stared at Chalice, determined but wary. “Y’ must understand this…”
Chalice sheepishly looked at the ground, then back up. He did understand- there was no way around it. “I do.”
“I’m real sorry,” the Wildclaw murmured as he squatted into a position ready to pounce.
“I am too,” Chalice replied, mirroring the Wildclaw.
In a flash, the two leaped at one another. Both scrabbled in the air, hoping their claws would reach their mark. The Wildclaw was successful- Chalice less so. The two landed on the ground not a second after, the Wildclaw left with stinging but minor scratches, Chalice with a gaping slash on one foreleg. Instead of blood, black haze seeped from the wound. Either way, Chalice limped, but he barely felt the pain. Adrenaline was kicking in again, and the fight was still going on.
Both now attempted magic. The Wildclaw tapped the ground with his foot and the earth shook, a gaping crack sprawled under Chalice. Chalice was quick to avoid it, before using the vines’ aggression once again to strike at the green dragon. The Wildclaw managed to leap out of the way of one, two, all of the vines that struck, but now the vines formed a barrier between the two.
The Wildclaw took a moment to process. Chalice took that moment to act. With the barrier between the two, Chalice stomped his foot, exactly like the Wildclaw had previously, and cracked open the ground beneath the Wildclaw. This took him by surprise, and his foot fell into the shallow crack. With even more time on his hands now, Chalice took the chance- to run. He turned around and bolted in the other direction, quickly rounding the corner he was initially hiding behind. Chalice heard a sharp swear, and then a shout. “Come back here!” But he wouldn’t give the Wildclaw the satisfaction. He ran down the path he’d come from before, and just before he reached the end, he jumped into a void pocket.
He waited.
Soon enough, the Wildclaw came barreling down the path himself, teeth gritted. He had a face of grim determination and desperation. He neared the place where Chalice was hiding, and stopped. Chalice’s scent must’ve dropped there. The Wildclaw looked around in confusion. They couldn’t fly over the maze, so there was no way the Skydancer could’ve done that. Then how did his scent just disappear. The Wildclaw began to move forward. His best bet would be to take it slow- his opponent had to appear sometime, neither could proceed without defeating the other. And when he appears-
The Wildclaw’s back was now to Chalice’s hiding spot. The perfect chance. Chalice lept out, relieved to be out of nothing again. Summoning the power of the vines once more, he propelled them towards the unsuspecting Wildclaw. They slammed into the dragon, wrapping him tightly.
“You-” The Wildclaw squeaked in surprise, struggling all he could against the vines. His sharp Wildclaw talons managed to tear some apart, but the vines quickly overwhelmed him by wrapping around and holding his limbs. The Wildclaw was trapped.
“Don’t do this,” he begged. “You don’t know what I have to lose!” He was completely at Chalice’s whim- desperation called for him to use begging if he had to.
The pang of guilt was there again. Chalice furrowed his brows. Guilt was fighting the desperation flowing from the Wildclaw. He had to win, he had to, he had to!
“I- I have ta win this!” The Wildclaw cried out. “I-”
Chalice couldn’t take this anymore.
“Shut up!” He shouted, pleading the vines to stop this.
The vines converged around the Wildclaw’s neck. His shouts quickly turned into gargling. The Wildclaw’s wild thrashing slowed, until it stilled. Not a peep was coming from him anymore.
Chalice looked up. The Wildclaw was limp. The vines let him go, at Chalice’s bidding, placing him on the ground. Chalice walked up to the dragon, pushing him with his nose. There was a pulse- he was still alive, just unconscious. Chalice breathed a sigh of relief. It was over.
Or so he thought.
Chalice turned around, casting one last, forlorn glance at the dragon he was leaving behind, before beginning to walk back to where he felt the vines lead him. He will get his bag back… And Sparrow’s and the Wildclaw’s items too. Even if he had to tear them from the Shade himself. Chalice snarled. He will tear that Shadeling apart. To bare bits and pieces, for making them suffer like this, for hurting his friends.
Wait. What friends?
Where was this aggression coming from?
Chalice stood, quizzically angry, before turning around fearfully. It couldn’t be- But it was.
The Wildclaw was standing again, but something about him was different. His gaze, his eyes- they were wild, filled with pure rage. The Wildclaw charged forward, claws outstretched and snarling. Based on the emotions Chalice himself were feeling, Chalice was in for a world of pain if he didn’t do something. Chalice hopped into the void pocket, just barely dodging the claws.
In the pocket, Chalice panicked. What was going on? How was this happening? Did he not win? He watched the Wildclaw stomp around, his instincts keeping him there, knowing his enemy- or his prey- would appear soon. Was knocking him out not enough? Chalice did not want to kill him. He couldn’t do that. But if knocking him out wasn’t enough, what could he do?
A minute passed. Then another.
The Wildclaw was still pacing expectantly, his face in a permanent scowl. Chalice was starting to strongly miss existence. He could feel himself blending with the void, losing thought, losing consciousness. If he did not get out soon, Chalice feared he would lose it.
The Skydancer lept out, calling to the vines again- but before even the vines could react, the Wildclaw was upon Chalice, tearing into the Skydancer. Chalice just barely managed to throw the Wildclaw away from himself, leaving the Skydancer with many more large wounds. The Wildclaw barely touched the ground before launching himself upon Chalice again- but this time he was interrupted by the vines. They snatched him from the air, attempting to capture and strangle him again- but this time, he fought much more fiercely, tearing plant apart with tooth and nail. More and more vines sprouted from the walls in an attempt to capture the Wildclaw as he tore through them like a knife through butter.
Chalice was watching the spectacle unfold, limping from the wounds. He could barely feel the pain, but the wounds were deep enough to affect his mobility. He mulled over what he could do, fighting against the Wildclaw’s intruding emotions and need to simply attack viciously. Then, he had an idea.
Just as the Wildclaw managed to tear himself out of the mess of vines and charge at Chalice once again, Chalice stomped on the ground. The ground gave way to a large crack, and the Wildclaw, charging at full speeds, hadn’t the time to react, and fell right in. Chalice tapped the ground again, and the ground rumbled. The Wildclaw screeched, as the walls of the crack squeezed against him, trapping him in place, before stopping. He thrashed his head wildly, biting at the air. He growled as Chalice straightened out. Chalice willed the vines to cease their attack, and they slithered back into place, torn apart.
Chalice stared at the Wildclaw’s thrashing head. Trapped like this, it wouldn’t matter if the Wildclaw was conscious or not. Despite seeing him use that very same earth power earlier, he was not using it to get out now. Something changed when he went unconscious. Either way, he was trapped in place for now. Chalice won.
He passed by the angry, trapped Wildclaw as he made his way towards his destination once again. The Wildclaw snapped at his feet while he passed, and Chalice growled beastily in return.
He left the Wildclaw growling madly, and breathed a sigh of relief as he began to feel the anger leave him. Chalice was exhausted. His wounds were impeding his movement, and it sapped his energy as they healed, very slowly.
His surroundings began to quiet, into the silent, watchful forest maze it was in the beginning. Once more, Chalice closed his eyes.
It wasn’t long before Chalice entered a different area. His eyes snapped open as he felt something change. Fearing another Shadeling or the Wildclaw again, he looked around wildly. Neither was to be found. Instead he was staring at a square clearing, edged by the vine walls. At the center stood a small, marble podium. And on it- his napsack.
