Moth to a Flame (P,NK,IO)

Altar once again felt his...well, her, after all he was only being lent the blade for this fight. Anyways, Altar felt the blade lock again, and before he could really react it was sent from his hand, landing not far from him, but far enough so that it was out of reach. Altar was left defenseless in this case.

Altar needed to think fast. If he didn't he'd only be shown up again, and that wouldn't do much for him confidence wise, let alone impress Youta. Wait...since when had that become a motive. He wanted to think this over, but had no time. He needed to act, now or never.

And so, Altar would form a Chidori, not needing handsigns, and swing it at Youta at about shoulder level. He would purposefully miss, keeping it just short of hitting the girl. His purpose with this wasn't to hit her, but to make some room and blind the girl with the lightning. After making the half-hearted swing with the chidori, Altar would jump slightly to where the sword he had been wielding lay on the ground, and pick it up, keeping his view on Youta the entire time. He may not have needed to due to the Byakugan, but still felt it was necessary.

Right after Youta knocked the sword out of Altar's hands, there was a single moment where he did not do anything, which was mighty strange. She would not know if it was over, or what. But then the next second the would swing his hand which beamed with lightning chakra. Or so she assumed, as it was something of the sort, emitting a high pitched screeching sound. Ducking below the swing, Youta's eyes would follow the nearly blinding source of light as a smile marked her face. Maybe because there was nothing preventing her from cutting his extended arm off, or maybe because the fight was not yet over. Allowed to disengage the boy would jump back to where the sword was and pick it up.

Establishing her stance again, the girl would giggle. "Very nice." complimenting the move and lunging at him again. The blade in her left hand would go for his right shoulder, while the second blade in her right hand would try to reach his knee.

Altar grew a smile when he heard Youta giggle a bit, complimening his jutsu. It was always nice to have someone throw an unexpected compliment at you. Then again, he wondered why it had been let through in the first place. It was a move that could've been easily stopped, hell, she could've cut his damn arm off. But she didn't. Maybe that was a sign of something? Altar half-heartedly wondered what it could be, when Youta made her lunge.

She seemed to be aiming two strikes at him across the body from each other, judging by the way she was moving and aiming. Sure enough, one came for his right shoulder, the other for his knee. Altar would parry one blade, the one aiming for the shoulder, knocking it aside, and step out of the way of the knee strike. Once he had sidestepped, he aimed a slash at the girl's midsection. If it landed, it would bite into her right side, not too deep.

Once done, Altar would return to his ready stance, preparing to make a strike at her.

Altar would do good work making sure neither of the attacks reached him, deflecting one with the katana and side stepping to avoid the other. However it was not like she was going to get hit either. Now that her left hand was deflected to the right side and she saw the slash coming from there, Youta would cross her ninjato's to parry the strike aimed at her mid section, locking the blade once again. As that happened she would shift her weight to her right leg, helping with the block as well as allowing her to raise her left off the ground and play it into a kick aimed pretty much at Altar's face. After all, it wasn't like a blade user could only use the blades, right?

Assuming it connected, the kick would be only strong enough to send Altar staggering back. Were such to happen, the girl would move forward, putting one of the ninjato's dull side by Altar's foot and pulling it back, relieving him of his balance completely, while the other blade was ready to defend her.

In the background, Cael began another fall. This time it was not entirely a nose dive as he gently arced his descent and landed in the plains, among the many moon flowers. The dragon had tired somewhat and would now fold his wings and rest. Being somewhat of a teen dragon, his rest would not be long before his attention was stolen by many fireflies around him, which he would begin to chase around.

Alar heard the familiar clank of locking blades. That seemed to be one of Youta's favorite defenses when it came to this. However, this time, Altar would not be stopped. He had gotten out of this every time so far, and this time would be no different. Or so he hoped, at least.

He would look to Youta to see her lifting her foot off the ground, seemingly aiming a kick straight for his face. Altar knew he needed to take this advantage, at least, to get out of this situation. And so, with Youta's leg off the ground, Altar would push his blade against the girls blades, to the girl's left, his right. As his was locked in position, this would hopefully knock her off balance, possibly even off her feet. After doing this, Altar would draw back the blade, unlocking it, and if she was still up, aim a slash o her midsection, then a stab at her left shoulder. If she had fallen over, only the stab would be attempted.

Just as she was about to send the kick, Youta would feel the push of Altar's blade. He obviously meant to make use of her unbalanced position, which would succeed as it would force the girl to abandon the kick and put her foot back on the ground. The free katana would now be taken for a swing at her center. Moving the two blades apart for a second, spinning Youta would step closer to Altar, swinging her left blade upside down parrying the katana away from her body, while her right arm would be bent to send the blade through her left underarm at the boy's chest. She would stop it before it reached him though, if it came to that. To make this more likely, she would also attempt to step on his left foot, with hers.

2681 w.

Altar saw Youta spin, moving her two blades apart from each other. However, what surprised him was that she made no clear attack at him, nor did she parry his blade immediately. This gave him some time to adjust, shifting to face the girl as she spun. His blade would come with him, continuing the slashing motion it had carried before. And then came the parry he had been expecting. But it was not AS he had expected it.

As she finished spinning, Youta swung one blade under and upwards of his own, knocking his blade aside. She then aimed another under her already raised arm and stood on his foot with her own, and before he could really recognize what was happening, there was a blade just short of his chest, directly in front of where his heart lay. And what a time for said heart to start beating.

He stood in his place, frozen. Altar didn't notice so much as he took it in, all at once. Here he was, engaged in a beautiful dance, filled with the sounds of clashing steel and their own two voices. Even the crickets had quieted down, seemingly watching on in awe at the show they were giving. In the plains, there was no noise, no movement, only the two of them and the stars above. And Altar started to take it in. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed before, but he noticed now. She was beautiful, in every way, and her own. And now, with the way the moonlight lay on her face illuminating her features, he came to realize that he was falling.

And that realization brought Altar back to reality. He grinned at the girl, dropping his arms to his side, his right hand still holding the blade. Taking in their positioning, the girl's foot on his had brought their bodies a bit closer than normal. Not close enough to really be awkward or noticeable, but closer than needed.

"Well, you got me, Youta. It would seem i'm not going to be able to best you at swordplay. Oh, and by the way..." Altar would say, now leaning in closer to whisper to the girl. "The first rule of dancing is never step on your partner's feet."

With his movement impaired by the girl stepping on his foot, it would seem that this time Altar did not have a way out. As his slash was defended against, the sneak attack under her left arm would go through and Youta would be forced to stop it as she saw he was unable to avoid it, the blade halting just moments before his heart. For a moment they would just stand there, Youta's eyes inspecting the boy's face. And she would wonder what it was in him that interested her. Clearly he had more hidden potential that he let on, or maybe it was that mysterious clan to which her master also belonged. Or maybe there was some other reason for her sympathy? For a minute, maybe less, or maybe more, the whole world seemed to halt. There would be only them, in the plains of night coated in stars, standing in a field of moon flowers. Locked in a sword fight. It seemed quite romantic.

But the fight was now over. And Youta would be pulled back to reality as Altar started moving his arms down, admitting his loss and complimenting her swordplay, in a way. But then he would lean closer, whispering about a rule of dancing being not to step on your partner's feet. For a moment there, Youta had an urge to just run the ninjato through his heart. It would have been easier to control herself if she was not so confused with her feelings. But in the end she managed to get a grip on herself. Taking down her blades, she would sheath them before placing her left hand on Altar's shoulder as if to caress, sliding down his arm before taking the katana back. "I'll keep that in mind." A grin marked her face. With that she would turn and put her master's blade in its sheathe. "Thanks for the dance!" And with that she would flicker away. It was more than she bargained for for one day, thoughts needed to be run, feelings put in place. The shadowy blue silhouette would follow her to the village, only landing on the ground as she reached the gates. Cael would give her a worried look as she stopped, her face quite red. The dragon though had eyesight capable of catching that even at night. For a moment it would look at her, then snort and make its way home, followed by the girl in second.

3052 w.
[Exit,
+15 stats for me and Cael
477 w. Finished learning Singing Blade
2575 w. towards learning Death by a thousand cuts technique]

approved

Altar knew that their encounter was over now, and while not having accomplished the original goal, Altar felt that he had accomplished something. He was sure of what he felt now, but he didn't know just what Youta felt. Not yet, anyways, and he didn't feel now would be a good time to ask. The next problem Altar had to tackle was deciding what to do what his feelings. He thought he had a decision, when Youta put her hand on his shoulder, running it down his arm before grabbing the blade from his hand, sheathing it. She said she'd remember the tip, then thanked him for the dance.

"No problem. We should do it again some time, maybe without the weapons, though." Altar replied, giving a wave as Youta as she flickered off. After she was gone, Altar would sit down, exasperated, halfway between exhilarated and out of breath. He wasn't sure exactly what to feel anymore. He decided that home would be a better place to think things over than out in the wide open plains. And so, home he went.

Altar would walk through the door, and see Tenebris laying across the floor. Looking to him, the dragon asked where he had gone. Altar told him.

"You've fallen for the girl, then." Tenebris said, eyeing Altar now suspiciously.

"I suppose I have. Why do you care, though?"  Altar would say back to the dragon, genuinely curious.

"I am bound to you. As much as I may not show it, I do care for you, Altar. And I am advising you now, be wary. You are young and naieve. You will fall and love for who you may, but just be sure of what you are doing before you do it. And ensure that the girl feels for you what you feel for her." Tenebris said, his slight accent coming through as he went through his explanation, imparting wisdom Altar already knew. Still, it was incredibly nice of the dragon to say. Giving Tenebris a nod and a smile, Altar walked up to his room, wanting nothing more than to think through the events of the night, and figure the situation that he found himself in.

~Exit, TWC: 4228~
~+21 Stats~
~+2000 words towards Dark Convergence, now attained~
~+2228 words towards Suidanha~