The day of the thirdth. (Whilaroo and CnP)

"Hunter, you embrace your emotion too freely," like the wind that had been blowing not moments since, Serenity's voice weaved patterns in the air above the sand, "You trade rational thought for instinct, finesse for power, and calculation for randomness. Don't misunderstand me. All these things can be wonderful traits in their own time, but as a constant it makes you predictable." Each footstep was precisely laid in accordance with her desired path though she did not once turn her gaze there. The eyes, instead, remained fixed upon Echo. It was strange, she was blind and the glass eyes in the sockets that had once held living tissue made that fact all too plain, and yet she used them as though the held the same function that she had lost. Maybe, just maybe, it was not sight that drove her to use them, or even the remembrance of sight and its illusion, but instead a sort of power that she knew they held over other beings which she could exercise by wielding the twin glass orbs like the blades which could sprout from her palms.

Her descent was slow and regal, like that of the princess down the large staircase into the ballroom. Of course, the course surroundings were no dancing hall and the man waiting at the bottom of the great sand dune was certainly not eagerly awaiting the lady to take her hand to whirl her around like a delicate flower. He was, perhaps, so patiently, so silently, so darkly waiting for a different kind of dance. It was that waltz with fate that is so often conducted upon the field of battle, the kind of dance that leaves in the end only a victor and a corpse.

Finally, that delicate little foot touched the base of the incline which had led the Shiva and her partner into a deep valley, bathed in sunlight. Sand clung to her hair and garments in an adhesive way. All the glow had left her and a person simply watching might fancy that she were some sort of gypsy caught away from home by a damaged NeoClonoid who had a chip on his shoulder. It was quite ridiculous to believe that she might have caused any of the harm to such a stronger looking and far more fearsome being.

A deep breath inflated her lungs and then slowly left her in that motion so commonly used to indicate the settling of the spirit within. "Like this, Hunter, calm yourself. Only when you cool the heat will you think properly. You must think like a killer, this is war. You have reasons to fight, reasons to believe in your cause, but when you come out on the battle field you leave the emotions behind," not like a teacher giving a lesson, but like a computer rather attempting to reprogram a corrupted file did Serenity sound, "Without them comes only the coldness that is death and its followers, logic, calculation, and precision. These are your allies, not your hate, not your anger, not even your love. Those emotions will kill you as surely as a Pylonic Blade would if it pierced your skull."

As she had spoke, she advanced towards her opponent. Each step was measured appropriately, never too fast but not so slow that her progress was unable to be marked. Being about five meters away, the Shiva came to a halt and stood, her discourse ended. She crouched down into a stance mimicking that of her enemy. One hand behind her, the other before. Her pose threatened and belied aggressiveness, but she only allowed a slight shift from foot to foot to show what might have been impatience or simply balance. "Like so Echo," she called over the small distance, her voice chiming like the toll of a bell, "Be at your ready."

--Woah, long post ô_o. Don't forget that some others would like to read this...--

Echo scowled at the Shiva, blades screeching from his palms once again. Their hatred and eager for blood made Echo completely turn around, showing his ever so virtual wounds on his body, accumulated after his foolish error. He stood straight, his two blades at his sides. His teeth clenched tightly together, his right foot slipped to his side, and quickly did his arm lift in front of him, sticking the blade out horzontally in front of his face. "Do you ever shut up?!"
Echo dashed forwards, his silver hair flowing behind him, shining in the sunlight so bright of the white star. His green and black armor seemed so contradictory in his environment of ominous blue sky and broken white sand. The grains of rock flew behind his body, clinging onto the surface of his lush forest green armor in small, tight spots, forming no particular pattern on his body. His face showed the hating determination of a warrior, ready to slay every last opponent in its way, to get to the goal it thinks it needs. The fury that Echo showed would scare the most feeble-hearted, and intimidate the most experienced. The blood red blades that yelled for death shone behind Echo, making his frenetic air look even more oppressing, as he dashed towards the Shiva, blades at the ready.

ooc// Forgive me. I was under the impression that only you and I paid any mind to Arcana at this juncture. I will attempt to limit myself, but I promise nothing and act upon less...

bic// But instead of fear or even the impression that should have been delivered of wariness, it was instead weariness. In a low tone that could only be heard because of the audio enhancements that Echo undoubtedly had, the Shiva's reply was an equally simple question, "Do you ever learn?" her face bore at once that sadness and tiredness that only a veteran of war can portray adequately. It was almost painful to see.

A drop of blood fell from her arm and impacted the sand, splashing only ever so slightly and saturating a tiny portion of the desert in crimson. A small gash existed upon her right arm where it had been cut when she had fallen off of Echo and had landed with a certain amount of force on the recently hardened glass. her right arm was the one she had placed in front of her body and as Echo Hunter charged her frontal guard, she simply let it drop. it hung limp at her side, the other appendage remained behind her however, ready but hidden and from the front she appeared relatively defenseless.

She stood thus, with her head drooping and her right arm hanging, a small trickle of blood flowing ever earthward. A sigh escaped from her lips as though she had held it back and she waited there, like the convicted awaiting the executioner. No move did she make, not even to take breath into her lungs. It would seem that Serenity would this day perhaps earn her name again, but for a very different reason.

Echo, with one powerful push of his leg on the sand, was able to propel himself at a high enough speed to falter any kind of reaction. Sand spewed out at where his foot had shoved, the sand slowly sparkling as it shone against the sun, disappearing in the wind. Echo, for a split second, smirked as he saw the wound.

By having prepared an already planned faint attack, Echo used the propulsive force that he had gained once he had pushed off the ground, to turn over on himself, performing a somersault in the air. His silver hair shot behind him, turning into a tight, flattened ball of gray and green. Once completely upside-down and in front of Serenity, Echo's blood blades bulleted back inside their sheaths, disappearing in a faint glim. He pushed hard on the earth below him, delivering a jointed kick at Serenity's head, his hand keeping itself flattened on the sand, right where the drops of the Shiva's blood had been spilled.

Serenity took the blow full on. She was knocked backwards, her head whipping backwards in a way that was sickening to see. The force of the blow was so powerful that she nearly performed an unintentional back flip. The sand was scattered hither and thither as she was herself thrown into the small particles, headfirst. The delicate, little body rag dolled in a repulsive manner for a short time. The end of the scene revealed the body of the Shiva, completely still, laid out upon the sand. The many, tattoo-like, markings upon the modified clonoids body began to fade from view as her power requirements suddenly became less.

Either she was feigning unconsciousness, or she really had been rendered senseless. No move did she make. The great Shiva looked now like nothing more than a young girl in the wrong place. The sun beat down upon the back of her head as she lay face down in the hot desert sand. She was completely prone.

Of a sudden, the wind sprang to life again in the form of a small breeze. her black locks were disturbed so that they swayed like reeds by a river at night. Grains of the deserts essence began to creep up across her body, intent on hiding her from her attacker's view.

Echo slowly got up, pushing off his hand to do so. When he took it off, the blood mark had disappeared -in the sand, on the hand, Echo didn't notice- . As Echo stood up, he shivered intentionally to shake off all the sand that had been covering his body. He growled at the wind when he noticed that the wind started picking up more sand. His wounds -that he had either dealt himself by accident or had really been the oeuvre of the Shiva- seemed to not bother him any more. He gazed a long time upon Serenity's body, sneering with a maniacal expression.

He took one step forwards, a red triangular blade shooting out of the palm of his right hand, which he outstretched to his side. The tip of the blade turned the sand into glass along the way, screeching highly. He loomed over the Shiva's body, snickering quietly to himself. He crouched down, grabbing Serenity's head with his non-armed hand, turning it to him. After looking at her face in a dream-like manner, Echo shook his head, quietly laughing. "I know you can here me now, Serenity," he began quietly, lowering his head. His silver hair sparkled in the sunlight as it slid on his forehead and shoulders, falling like a shining waterfall. "answer me. Should I stick this blade through your throat," Echo continued, waving the blade at his side, "or should I leave you here to die in the incoming sandstorm? The sandstorm would be slower and more painful, but I can't bear to have in mind that I did not kill the only Clonoid who stands on the foot of power beside me."

Serenity hung in his grasp, corpse-like and without resistance. As he lifted her up, sand cascaded from her body, affected by gravity and the sudden incline. The Shiva's limbs dragged, leaving small runnels in the their wake. Yet, the signs that she had shifted, or been shifted, were quickly erased by the wind and sands. A slight groan escaped her throat as she was twisted about to face Echo. Suddenly, as she rested, held up by an enemy, the eyes of the Shiva flashed open, glowing scarlet.

A shadow was cast upon both figures as a silhouette appeared atop the dune which they had descended quite recently. The shade appeared to be cloaked, faceless, and the only distinguishing feature was a blade which extended forth from the darkness. It's length reflected the light of the sun above instead of producing its own.

"Audacious!" a voice called down from the shadowy person's perch, "To claim for yourself such ability... How many times is it that Echo Hunter fought upon the field of battle? I can recall only three occasions to mind..." It was a taunting call, a male's voice that echoed across the space between them.The cloak flapped with a ferocity in the wind. "So, Hunter, I challenge you. That is if you are thoroughly done beating down a little girl, or are you too afraid to fight with a man who holds a blade of metal instead of one of your precious Pylonic weapons?" the words were thrown with disgust, anger, maybe even hatred, and perhaps a little fear, hurled to the wind with the force of all these emotions.