[HH1v1] Fight Like A Girl (Stormy&Belladonna) FIN

[AyeAvast]

'Looking for trouble' was really a very poor way of describing what it was exactly that Belladonna was up to, for that particular phrase implied a mild level of light heartedness to a situation that was absolutely nothing of the sort. What she was actually doing was something closer to 'seeking out danger', but in a much more self destructive and entirely very selfish manner. After a very long time of being as patient as the witch was possibly capable of being given the quantity of situations in which she was required to test such a virtue in herself, she had since found herself nearing a point where she would either have to admit to Mort that this was becoming too much and she needed some help dealing with his problems, or she could express her frustrations in a violent manner. Since she fancied herself rather good at the whole fighting thing, the witch decided that beating the ever living snot out of someone would only hurt the person at the receiving end of her blows. And since she was doing her very best to make everything as easy as possible for her already stressed boilfriend, a third party's pain seemed just the thing to set her to rights.
Of course, being an occasionally virtuous ghoul, Belladonna did not really want to ask any of her friends to be her literal punching bag. If she was loathe to ask for their support when she was hurting, then she was all the more unwilling to hurt them. For the duration of getting dressed she considered going to the gym and just kidnapping one of the battle dummies with the full intent on totally destroying it. But that would potentially require her to speak to Red and she was also not really in favor of that option. As she laced the corset with the hood attachment she was stumped, for also finding a random person at the gym would just not do. Every stranger was a potential friend, or a possibly ally, or at least a new contact on a large web of acquaintances so that meant fighting at the actual gym was out of the question.
It actually took the entire duration of getting dressed, all the way down to latching the cute necklace Mort had gotten her for Scarentines day around her neck before the thought struck her. It was a very large strike, for even Binx who had been resting on her bed noticed the idea as it popped into her head. Not smiling, but looking wholly optimistic, Belladonna headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I am going for a chat, or to commit as close to murder as I shall ever come. I will decide once I get there.”
Too cryptic for him to really piece what she meant together, or even really attempt to stop her, the witch sashayed unquestioned from the room and down the hall.

Of course, the easiest part was deciding what to do. The hard part was actually getting to a place that's sole intent was to be found when least expected. Which meant the witch, as much as she really did try to avoid her own thoughts for as long as possible, was forced to participate in some walking meditation. Naturally she scurried on over to the school and found an abandoned hallway. Once it was quite clear no one would be wandering down to bother her, all that was left to do was let one's mind wander to all its darkest and unhappiest places. Given how many terrible things Belladonna had been keeping from thinking of, it wasn't very long at all until she was positively seething and the walls around her began to turn grey. Seeing the chance, she rushed forward with a very decided pout until she broke into a run. The tiles slowly morphed into colorless grass and what few broken lockers lined the walls became wiry trees, the school left behind in favor of a sparse forest with something waiting on the other side. A note escaped the witch when she realized she had actually made it to the Haunted House and that it looked exactly as it had all those months ago. But what made her move forward out into the open was the fact that all her woe stemmed from this one stupid place. This one blip between worlds was the foundation for her grief, even if thinking as such was rather misguided. It was still something that helped fuel her anger, an emotion she did not like to give in to, but felt it appropriate since now that she was here, she had decided that yes, she would beat up whatever Hunter she came across first. That was a splendid plan!

xOl-j-man

 

[medigel]

This was a good idea. This was a bad idea. This was an idea somewhere in between, or maybe just an idea spawned from some other neutral zone. An idea born of thought, but also an idea born of impulse, need, desire, seeking validation from something that could, by all accounts, only bring pain. The Haunted House had given her nothing but trouble, and yet there she was, nodding to the Life Tech as the portal yawned before her.

Candace's warning not to go alone haunted her, and yet she could shake the ghost off with simple reasoning: her goal was to observe only, to see if what had once tormented her still skulked about the grounds. It was her theory that it was the thing's fault Nevada was in a coma; otherwise she would have used her pendant to get out before things got that hairy. At least, that was what Stormy liked to think.

She did not like the idea Roland had come up with, that her best friend had come to the Haunted House to literally throw herself into her work. She liked her own idea less: that Nevada had went purposefully looking for further punishment.

< < Why are you going? > > Thane was not convinced of her base reasoning or, rather, was unimpressed by it.

Stormy didn't answer then and instead chose to step to the other side.

There, she sucked in a breath. It was gray and twilit, but the dead forst she found herself in gave her unexpected deja vu. It was almost like the few memories she had of Germany in winter . . . Or of her dream with the fragment of what once was, an exchange of memories and hopes in a realm all inside her head and yet somehow from beyond it.

I'm here, Stormy reminded herself. I'm right here. I'm still me.

< < And who would that be again? > >

She tensed defensively. Not right now.

< < As you say each attempt, > > Thane retorted cooly with a mental shrug. < < But I ask again: why are you truly here? > >

Before she thought how to answer, a spark of red lit up the forest. On instinct Stormy scrambled to find shelter behind one of the thicker trees, grasping at her coat to keep it tight to her body.

xAyeAvast

 

[AyeAvast]

Not even all the way out of the forest, or even really close to it, the witch began to announce her location. In the past there had always been a Hunter hanging around in the front yard, so it stood to reason that today was no exception. And since the ghoul sought to challenge herself by fighting a Hunter, it seemed the right thing to do was to be terribly noisy. All too gleeful about this, Belladonna did not bother to keep her steps light, instead flavoring a heavy stomp and jump pattern, zig-zagging through the trees. Feeling particularly vindictive now that she was here, she darted deeper into the woods, not quite far enough to lose sight of the house, but certainly not out in the open. All her noise would surely draw the attention of whatever unfortunate Human was hanging around and if she stayed even partially hidden, she would gain the advantage of first hit.
But simple stomping was not enough for the witch; She needed some just a little bit more.
Naturally, that called for singing...

In her best, loudest while still endeavoring to retain some semblance of beauty to her voice, Belladonna opened her mouth and began a song. It was one her Grandmoonie had tuaght her as a very young witchling and the young woman was honestly surprised she remembered any of the words, let alone most of them. The song itself was a jaunty thing, bright yet haunting and listed a wide array of spooky images. Normally meant as a way to teach scarelings various things about their scary world, the witch was quite certain it would be rather creepy to a Human. At least, she hoped it would be...
After a few lines, or at least as much of the words as she could remember, the witch dropped off into a laugh. She wasn't particularly happy, but the idea of beating up those big bad Hunters was rather funny.
"Come out, come out wherever you areeeee! I want to plaaaay!" She singsonged through the trees, slowing to a mere stumble between the trees. "I promise I won't bite~" Nah, she wasn't really one for biting.

Ol-j-man

 

[medigel]

The original plan had been to do some reconnaissance and leave. This was a little hard to do out in the open and not, say, inside the house itself.

Stormy felt her heart starting to thump a little too loudly when she heard stomps. She wasn't sure if it was adrenaline or irritation, eagerness or anxiety. Pendant out now? No, nothing had happened yet. Who said she couldn't interrogate this creature? She could take care of herself, she could take care of herself, stop getting so worked up--

But then she heard the thing start to sing with an awful familiar voice.

Her heart started to beat just a bit faster. Was the other one with her? Was she alone this time? Alone she could handle, because she was better, she was stronger, she could handle just one. Deep breath. In a sub-conscious motion she ran her thumb along the ring that was her weapon's totem, unable to recognize it as a tic she'd started to pick up from Gale.

"You couldn't think of something more original to say?" Stormy called out, still hiding, still hyper alert in hearing. Thane was but an inch away from being summoned. "I suppose that's not a fair assessment: none of you are original. You were all created by humans and thus, by nature, are second hand."
 

[AyeAvast]

For a few more moments the witch traipsed through the woods quite vehemently, cackling at trees and doing her best to try and flush someone else out. If someone wasn't actually at the Haunted House she was going to be disappointed enough to just go beat up on the house itself. With her fists. Or maybe just her foot because well, she did kind of need her hands for... For sewing and hugging and petting Binx and--
"Oooohhh! Yes, what an original introduction!" She teased back, turning to head toward the vague direction in which she had heard the voice. "Aren't you a clever little Human? To tease me!" And oh, didn't that voice sound oh so familiar? Perhaps a bit more bold than before, but still somewhat hesitant.
With another cackle the witch darted forward, having found a fabulous distraction in bothering these Humans when her own problems bothered her so much.

"Oooohhhhh, oh don't you sound familiar? My, my which little unfortunate soul are you?" Belladonna hummed to herself, bounding through the forest. "And, my little sad excuse for a living creature, have you not heard of the creation being better than the creator?"
With a tiny noise of excitement she grabbed a tree and swung around it only to find nothing. How disappointing! Oh well, that only meant she could try again and again until she found the Hunter that she was sure she knew.  

[medigel]

"Not always. Haven't you ever read a bad book? Watched a terrible movie?"

Her tone remained light, but her hands were starting to sweat and twitch. The girl--thing was getting closer. A little too close. But if she summoned Thane now, she'd stick out like a sore thumb almost immediately; once again, the weapon's size would work against her.

Keep it cool.

But Stormy couldn't help but feel a twinge of something dark within her at the cackle. It made her want to return the favor.

"I'm no poor unfortunate soul," she half sang, cupping her mouth to direct the sound of her voice off to the side. "I'm just here to get a little information, that's all. I think you're the one who's unfortunate and lost here."
 

[AyeAvast]

"Darkling, I have absolutely no idea what a bad book or bad movie has to do with this particular conversation." Of course she missed the bigger implication of what the Hunter meant, but that was a relatively moot point because well, honestly... Belladonna didn't at all care. What she did care about was trying to find this jackdamn hunter. Where, oh where could she possibly be?!
The return song made the witch actually go a little quiet because that song sounded marvelous and she didn't know it. But what she did know was that the sing-song noise was coming from a few trees over and she wanted to pounce.
"Information? What sorts of information? Because I am quite certain I have met you before and that if that is the case then I think we have lots of information to share." OK, that was a lie. Really she was just getting annoyed now.

"Lost? Perhaps, but not really. Just over there is the Haunted House." The witch hopped around a tree and was disappointed to find...... No one.
"And I am not unfortunate, thank you very much. I am fabulous. Have you seen me?" Sure being over dramatic and confident was key with Hunters. Actually, mostly the witch was just getting pouty.
"You've had your say, not come out and face me or else I'll be forced to tease you over your cowardice."  

[medigel]

Stormy was getting her own frustration, because what good was a conversational partner if they didn't indulge you every once in a while? Never mind that it was from Halloween and probably wanted to carve out her insides, talking was a free action . . . Although she wasn't getting anywhere with it. So much for being witty.

It had to be now or never. Otherwise she'd be the one cornered.

So Stormy took a deep breath, braced herself, and swiftly pulled away from the tree in the direction of the girl-thing's voice. The greatsword was summoned in an instant, quite a few feet of steel to put distance between them. Nevertheless, she felt an awful pool of dread curl in her stomach: indeed this was the one who had been happy to treat her like a toy.

In a way, it was worse than the damage that horsewoman had done with her weapon.

Different, she reminded herself.

"Fine. Seems I won Hide and Seek, though," Stormy said casually. "Fun game, huh? Nothing cowardly about being able to hide until the moment's right."
 

[AyeAvast]

The bit of anger and resentment from before that had driven her to the Haunted House had smoldered within her to a slow burn now, something moving closer to flat out annoyance that this Human was being so very awful about making her trip such a hassle. This was supposed to be a straightforward adventure, just a simple go in, beat a thing, get back out. The fact that it was not going absolutely according to plan was not only a red flag the witch blatantly ignored, but also one that just served to further her anger.
"You don't win if you give up first." Belladonna tried to say in a very harsh voice, but that was about all she got before she turned with a very un-scary gasp to face a giant sword. The giant sword was at first rather frightening because the feel of Hunter weaponry was a feeling she would probably never forget.
But the worry of such a large weapon was quickly placed aside when the ghoul realized who exactly it was that was holding said very large weapon.
"Oh. Its you." Since she had been so very adamant in goal upon arrival at the Haunted House, now that the target Belladonna had found herself with was one she had already met, she felt no shame in showing exactly how she felt about all that.

And by that, she meant crossing her arms quite overly haughtily, pouting with a c**k of her hip.
"Isn't there someone else around here? Don't you Hunters come in pairs or something? No offense little thing, but well... Last time we met... It was..." Not a fair fight. "Well. I am glad to see you not looking so... Unaffected, I suppose." Yeah... That was it...  

[medigel]

What little thrill she got from hearing that gasp faded the more the student spoke, replaced instead with an odd sort of feeling: Stormy felt the agitation slowly rising within her, and yet her face remained rather neutral: blasé almost. Her hands were tight on the greatsword's handle, however, and the red-head's posturing (and posture) prickled her just a little bit more.

Let's play another game: who would crack first?

"Just me," she echoed. "Only needs to be me now. Although you might remember last time was a little unfair, I think. Two on one? Although I'm not sure your kind really has a sense of honor to begin with," Stormy added as an afterthought, oddly calm, rather conversational. She was better than her emotions. She wouldn't snap like she had with Lifen.

< < It speaks too much. Tear it apart with our new might. > >

"All I want to know is if you know someone: a girl--ghoul, I guess--half her face is bone and she has dark hair, lots of stitches, one good eye--gray, I remember, almost like cataracts but with more light in them. Likes possessing things." People. Her. Her best friend probably as well. "I just want to know her name if you have it, that's all," Stormy went on, gazing at the witch over the blade. "And then I'll let you go on your way to Grandmother's House."

But a part of her hoped she'd continue this little game of politically vicious politeness. Stormy wanted to test herself.

AyeAvast

 

[AyeAvast]

"Last time I did not actually fight you, as I will not again today. I did slap you, but you were being most rude." Struck by how absolutely unfair this all was becoming, the witch sighed and dropped her arms into a move conversational pose. "Say what you want, Little Bit, but you won't ruffle my petticoat today." Belladonna winked at the girl and wagged a finger at her, moving a bit closer now.
All the motivation that had previously drove her so quickly to the Haunted House now vanished at the sight of this girl. Even if now the girl had wised up to the fact that yes, a two against one fight had been unfair, all the witch had ever heard was how strong the Hunters were. They could decimate a whole Island, they were dangerous, they were to be feared, blah blah blah. All of those big, frightening ideals were supposed to be experienced when one looked at this mousy thing with a sword she probably couldn't hold upright for very long? Belladonna was not convinced. And given how adamant she had been before, she was loathe to reconcile the two opposite emotions into one action. Which meant she had thusly decided not to fight, even if it had been her intended goal. There was no danger from this young Hunter, therefore no reason to even bother.
"If I were you, I would put your big pointy stick away before your hurt yourself... I was planning on fighting today, but if you're going to be my opponent I'd rather just skip the whole thing."

With a sigh and an exasperated flap of her hands, the witch walked that much closer, giving her an openly bored look. It was very hard to keep said look when the girl began asking after someone in particular. The first few descriptors weren't all that helpful, for lots of ghouls had dark hair and stitches. Half a face of bone wasn't helpful, but ah... One good, gray eye with a penchant for possession. Oh yes, that was very helpful.
"And what, pray tell my Little Wolf Cub in the Woods, would my knowing this ghoul have any bearing on you?" She asked, having to come up with a variety of nicknames not only because she couldn't quite all the way remember the girl's name, but also because it was fun to tease her. So Belladonna wasn't going to fight someone who obviously was such a pushover it wouldn't be worth getting worked up for. That did not at all mean she couldn't reap the benefits of bothering her.
"And what if I did know her? Would you relentlessly interrogate me? Did she kick your a** too? I do not think it a very hard task, so I could understand your anger... But would you be all the more angry if I told you I did not know her?"

Another flap of her hands at the girl.
"Now, now. Tell me your name again? I believe it began with an S? Maybe? I might be getting it wrong..." Because even if she was planning on teasing this poor creature, she at least wanted to get the name right...

Ol-j-man

 

[medigel]

The greatsword moved as she did, trying to make her keep her distance as Stormy backed up in turn. It was a game, yes, but in games there were moments of taking and moments to back off. Push and pull, yin and yang, offense and defense.

Or taking offense.

It was wrong, she realized. It was wrong because she was being presented with questions, irritating teases interlaced or not, and yet she had no impulse to answer, to confuse or indulge or so much as laugh. They were sealed away behind a gate of white and gold. It was curious to be so separated from her emotions that when that thing added fuel to the hunter's fire, all she could do was watch from within--almost like watching from a different place entirely. Almost a dream in a foggy forest by an abandoned house, in a place somewhere in between reality and incredulity--but there was no moment of lucidity like her dreams often were. Nothing but gray fog and a chill seeping into her already slowly numbing fingers.

This thing wouldn't give her the answers she wanted, and Stormy highly doubted keeping at a standstill would result in anything better. She did not want a fight when it did--consequently, when it felt she was no longer a threat was the exact moment she felt like striking back just to prove her wrong.

It wasn't fighting. It was just making a point.

It wasn't the bewildered, frightened girl Belladonna would see staring her down the blade, but one removed from the situation. The greatsword was thrusted forward at her without warning, and for a moments she might even catch how the purple runes flashed like lightning, the weapon itself like the black clouds that birthed it.

"If you don't know her, we don't have business," Stormy said simply, her tone reaching an almost flatline--inversely proportioned to her rising anger. "Take your poison elsewhere, witch."

AyeAvast

 

[AyeAvast]

Following her like a sharp dowsing rod, the witch kept her pink eyes on the sword that seemed magnetically tuned to her form, almost ignoring the girl for a few moments. That thing was massive, but how had such a little creature been saddled with it? How did the Hunters even get their weapons? Did the weapons choose? Certainly not, that would mean preferential treatment to Halloween, even in a small way, and the Hunters were too barbaric for even that.
"Does your pointy stick talk to you too?" The witch asked, eyes flickering up to actually look at the Hunter. Her smile had mostly faded into a look of pondering, even her motions slowed a little as she softly gestured to the sword. "Or do only the very special Hunters get that?" The anger was easy to see bubbling up within the young girl, for she had summoned her weapon and kept Belladonna at the end of it, a clear sign of unease and overcompensation. A true fighter would relax outwardly but keep their mind tense, whereas this girl was all over the place. Feeling smug in that regard, the witch folded her hands behind her back and smiled again.

That might had been the least appropriate motion to take for the Hunter darted forward, honestly taking Belladonna off guard enough that she reacted much slower than she liked. Thankfully the sword only glanced off the Fear shield of her shoulder, still pushing her back a few steps.
Surprise momentarily colored the witch's face, but she only turned it back into a wicked grin and tutted.
"Fear shield, my little wolf cub. Bite all you want, but you won't knock me down." The last part was sing songed as the witch stepped into a quick skip forward so that she could loop around the Hunter.
"And good Hecate, I absolutely adore the way you say 'witch'. You make it sound so wicked!" Belladonna cackled at that, clapping her hands together as an additional show of her glee.
As much as the attack was surely meant as a way to startle her, to frighten her and make her take the situation seriously, it really only entertained the witch all the more. This little girl was all wound up and angry, so of course she was all the more fun to poke and prod. If the Hunter could be made absolutely seething, all the better!

"No business? But oh sweet thing, don't you have something to sell me? What about how noble you are, what about your cause to rid the world of all the big, bad spooky things?" Belladonna asked in a nasty voice, finding herself indulging in her most catty feelings. Those hadn't surfaced in so long that it actually felt good to be mean. After all, this wasn't someone whose opinion mattered. This was totally free of guilt.
"And I never said I did not know her. I merely inquired as to why it was important that I may or may not know the ghoul to which you inquired after."

Ol-j-man

 

[medigel]

“All over the place” was a good way to describe Stormy right now. Not even striking the thing gave her pleasure, even as Thane rumbled softly at the taste of Fear, because it still looked so smug. Of course she knew about shields—as if she hadn’t fought these things before, let alone know Hunters had them too. And yet despite her continually placid expression, the grip on her weapon tightened. How much did this thing know anyway? Why was it so angry at her?

Mei and Thackery had been so kind . . . What had hunters done to this one?

She ended her lapse in thought before she got sucked in, letting the sharp chill of mist clinging to her coat and skin bring her back to reality—as well as the flash of red bouncing around her.

“A wicked witch, huh?” Stormy turned her head to keep watching it. “Funny. I feel bad attacking you too—it’s almost like fighting a human. No weapons, no backup, just empty words to hide how lost you are.” She’d read up on the Haunted House: she knew it was in a neutral zone and had heard from other hunters how often students and horsemen had strayed in—more often than purposefully looking for it at any rate.

But the strike had been a mistake: a loss of points in the game for acting rashly. She needed to get them back, make it more careless before the volcanic mix of emotion inside her came to a head. Why was this thing riling her up so much? Keep it together.

“You’re right, we do fight things like that,” Stormy went on to say, ignoring Thane’s hiss to get on with it and cut it in two. “Terrible, awful things that no-one should, all for the sake of people who’ll never know it. But you know what?” A corner of her mouth quirked. “I don’t see anything big, bad, or spooky here. Is the weather nice up there on your high horse, witch? Because comparatively, you’re like one of those dolls I used to have as a kid: just a little plaything.

“There’s far worse out there than little cackling girls in oversized dresses. And not all of them happened when I was a hunter.”

The Sahara white hot and gleaming with bones, splattered with her blood while someone’s scream pierced her ear and sweat grew cold—

—cold as the gray mists that engulfed her, a swirling vortex on a battlefield fighting for one glittering little crown, her first steps as a hunter turning into stumbles and falls as a living cage of bone roared over her—

—the sound of brick and mortar tearing apart as a primal force broke away all bindings, stone steps crumbling beneath her frantic body, a scream stolen from her as the door, feet away, disintegrated into splinters that followed her down, down, down—

—into arms that did not comfort but possessed, chained rather than supported, a mockery of a lover’s embrace, feeling his smiling leer as he leaned forward into her ear, hair caressing her cheek, and whisper, “Well now, ---, what did you get into this time?”

A past anger filled what cracks had not been visited by her inner growing pressure, a knee-jerk reaction to what she thought had been long gone and buried.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said in an unnaturally cold voice, eyes narrowing. “Because you aren’t anything but a child, aren’t you: bouncing around, babbling off little nicknames, laughing and singing like nothing’s wrong. You might be made of Fear, but you don’t know the meaning of it.”
 

[AyeAvast]

"Lost? Oh, do you think me lost?" Belladonna stopped at that, more for show than for actual emotion. A carefully constricted look of worry came across her face and she even went so far as to wring her hands in front of her. "Goodness me! I am lost in the woods in front of the big, frightening Haunted House. And oh eek! A Hunter!" Having far too much fun being a b***h, the witch shivered visibly before she cackled again. "Hecate, you're just as much fun as you were the last time!" She winked at the Hunter before she dropped the stance to sigh, flitting a hand through the air. Maybe once the witch would have been kind to this girl, but she had encountered her before to little success so there seemed no reason to extend the emotion once more. The first time the girl had immediately ordered the witch around, called her awful things and then gave little to no information. And now the girl came out with her big sword, being nasty and puffing herself up? Tsk, tsk, Little Wolf Cub in the Woods.
"No weapons? Is that what you Hunters are all worried about? What an odd hang up, that everything you fight must have a weapon. Granted, I do have a weapon but you do realize that some people can fight with their own power? Maybe it is a Human thing... You're so small and powerless on your own..." What an odd thought! Interesting enough to honestly consider, but ah, there were more pressing matters to attend to!

Instead the witch cackled again, waving a hand at the girl.
"A plaything? Is that what you see me as? How absolutely quaint! I'll have you know I am much more than just a ghoul in an oversized dress. I am a Queen, thank you very much." So maybe only Prom Queen in this world, but in another time... In another place...
"Oh! Oh yes that is a clever thing, excellent job Bellsie! Ah, Miss Hunter with a S! Did you participate oh.. A few months ago in a kingdom? I know mine had a few Hunters and I am oh so curious to know if you were lucky enough to share the experience. I rather believe not, you seem to have unfortunate luck... What with all that bushy hair and tacky coat." That coat was so not fetch.
Still, Belladonna was beginning to grow bored of this, especially since the girl was not playing fair at all. She was playing brave and that was far less enjoyable.

"Not afraid? Well, that is good to know." The witch replied in a condescending voice, reaching forward in a quick dart to pat the girl on the shoulder. It wasn't a hit, just an honest to goodness bit of patronization. "I have to admit, that while your speech is most convincing, you give yourself away in your actions too easy, Little Cub. You look absolutely terrified." To make this point all the more, the witch grinned at her as kindly as you please, batting her eyelashes as though nothing were the matter.