Denial and reunion. [Fayte/Atrum]

Atrum wasn't sure how he managed to find himself out this far since he had simply picked a direction and walked, only to find himself wandering about in the large forest known as the Worth Woodsea.  Worth Woodsea, a forest so vast that it is compared to the sea, a rather accurate and pleasant comparison if you asked him.  At the moment however The giant was finding it hard to appreciate the massive forest as much as he would like.  He really couldn't say that he was fine, if anything he was a few short steps away from having a mental breakdown.  He sighed looking about him taking a look at the large trees and the grasses surrounding him and figured that he at the very least needed to rest.  He had been walking non stop for a while now and it really wasn't helping his attitude, the giant took some grasses and some of the larger branches from around the area both fallen and fresh and arranged them in a small fireplace, clearing the place out a bit so the fire wouldn't spread to the rest of the forest.  He snapped his fingers producing a spark of flames and lit the grasses getting the small kindling to light and placing it underneath the wood to get a good burn going.  The giant sighed and stared as the flames started to grow and figured that some time alone might do him some good.

"In the moonlight I felt your heart, quiver like a bow strings pulse." The giant murmured to himself no where near confident to sing the song aloud even alone as he was confident that he was.  "In the moon's pale light you looked at me, nobody knows your heart..."  Atrum was trying to calm himself honestly he hadn't been operating at full capacity since he came back to the guildhouse and found that they had been attacked.  Since then he had been vengeful, angry, borderline suicidal at times, he had in the short time since the attack basically become insane.  The giant sighed biting down on his tongue lightly finding that he just didn't have the motivation to continue even simply saying the song, he barely had the energy to smile.  he reached behind him and felt for the large metal club weapon he had recently purchased, a large kanabo meant for smashing shields and armor and difficultly wielded with two hands.  Atrum found the weight reassuring a constant that did not rely on his mental state, he reached up for his stonewheat hat and tipping it forwards it's own comparable weight even more comforting than the relatively recent weapon.  Atrum felt the soft smile on his face return as he thought to himself that he wasn't done just yet.  even if he couldn't currently help himself he wasn't permanently in this situation he could get better.

He owed it to his family, they had lost so many, he wasn't their to help them.  the giant found his thoughts darkening once again as soon as he started to think he could get through this he found his own thoughts chastising him for thinking only of himself, berating him for not being able to protect his own family.  The giant growled angrily at himself and laid his head on his arms not sure what he should do.  He didn't want to move, he didn't want to even be conscious right now but sleeping was actually worse than staying awake at this point.

Fayte normally didn't bother with subtlety but she was crashing through the forest with a bit more vigor than normal. Being quick was the key, and while she could move fast, these guys were certainly persistent. Of course, it made sense... this was Worth Woodsea, practically the front lawn of the Magic Council. They called themselves Loyalists, but in the end the faction mattered little to Fayte - what mattered was that they were after her. Drawing the attention of the Magic Council base wasn't part of any Shadow Heart mission. Her partner Takakiro was proving troublesome in more ways than one, and particularly reckless for someone who claimed to be after the position of Ace. But leaving him to fend for himself wasn't an option. So here she was chasing him, with a posse chasing her...

She burst through the branches into a small clearing, the moonlight giving away her position easily. Instead of hurrying onwards, she froze. There, in at the center... with a small campfire crackling... there was no mistaking the giant. It was Atrum. It had been a long time since their last adventure together... things had changed. For one, Shadow Heart was no longer a secret organization, and had practically declared war against all guilds. Although she failed to tell Atrum her allegiance earlier... she had considered it. And now, of all places, he was here.

"Stop right there!"

Dang. She'd spent an extra few too many seconds staring in shock. Fayte turned around as two Magic Councilmen leapt into the clearing, one already unsheathing his sword. They might not be in uniform like the Crusaders, but their guild marks practically glowed in the moonlight. There was no negotiating at this point, and they'd gotten a bit too close for her to turn her back and run now. Her form shifted into the half-harpie version, winged feathers appearing on her back.

The other Councilman's eyes flickered to Atrum. They were far enough that there shouldn't be any crossfire. "Sir, we're very sorry to disturb you. Please stay put until this is over." His hands crackled with electricity, as he rose his fists to face Fayte.

"You will all put your damn weapons away and show some respect." Nines said as he walked into the clearing from the woods nearby. “Do you know who this woman is?” He asked as he walked up to the man with the lightning magic. The symbol on his white shirt dictated that he held rank over the others.

“S-shes part of Shadow Heart sir..r-right?” The man asked recognizing Nines instantly due to the man wearing his pure white gauntlet that had his rank engraved below the shoulder, it held no shape like the soldiers in front of him, but instead was a series of slash marks. 13 to be exact. The amount of years a Seeker was in the Magic Council, as they held no official ranks.

“Damn right she is. On my orders. So you know what you can do? You can take your little posse here, and just turn the hell around, and get out of my meeting with MY friends.” Nines said to the man pointing back to the Woodsea. “I am not kidding.” he glared at them and leaned within inches of the man. “Do not make me tell MY superiors that you broke our cover in the woodsea, because you were chasing someone on OUR side.” with that Nines took two steps back and walked away from the group of Council members, they were confused, undoubtedly. He didn't care, they were garbage right now and they knew it just as well as he did.

“I-I don’t belive you sir!” The man stated glaring back at Fayte, who was undoubtedly just as confused as everyone except Nines. “She’s a dark guild member and she needs to be arre-”

“Arrested? Arrested and what, you dumbass? Dragged into our camp? The hell would we do if that was her god damned plan, the hell would you do if you DRAGGED HER CLOSER TO YOUR FAMILY!? We’re TRAITORS, we don't have a Prison anymore you dumb bastard.” Nines at this point was growling at the soldier in front of him. He lacked brains, Nines was finding this more and more common. “What crime did she commit? What grounds do you have to accuse her? The hell does it even matter now that we’re just as bad as her legally anyway!?” He asked.

“I-”

“Are an idiot, yes, you are.”

“.....”

“Want me to make you trust that shes on my side? FINE THEN.” Nines reached and unbuckled the gauntlet around the back of the palm of his hand, and took the entire glove off his left hand. He raised it up so the council member could see the guild tattoo that glowed almost as fierce as a purple sun. Engraved in the back of his hand was the Shadow Heart guild tattoo. “She is a spy, They caught me, I needed to get back in there. You touch her you ruin YEARS of undercover work, and I will break you if you do that” He barked seriously as he restrapped the gauntlet back on.

Their commander looked immensely frustrated. Ohhh Nines was definitely gonna hear about this later. Good thing he didn't live with the rest of these shitbags. He could only trust two or three councilmembers, the rest of them were almost crusaders.

“Dismissed, head back to camp, go back to your freaking posts. If I see you out here again, I will court martial you, as if that means anything anymore.” Nines said just waving his hand at them like they were flies. They turned and made a hasty retreat into the woods.

“all I wanted to do, was have a god damned nice relaxing reunion with my tall friend, and have a chat about this whole ‘everything exploding’ fiasco, i mean looking at him from over there. He appeared quite down.” Nines sighed waving over yonder, close to where he emerged from the woods. “As if normal shit like that ever happens to me.” he continued as he sat down next to Atrum and stared at the fire. “Welcome to my front yard Fayte, enjoy your stay. Sorry about the asshats, they have no idea whats going on anymore. They’re confused, and when people are confused they make mistakes, just look at Cornelius Von Argon.”[/color] He gave her a wave and another sigh.

“I guess I need to ask why I find you both, and one of you looking really depressed on my lawn.” Nines said his smile returning to his face after that brief moment of weakness.

The giant rose and eyebrow as the silence of the forest was broken suddenly Fayte bursting from the brush and appearing in front of him followed by what appeared to be two councilmen. At first he was angry that someone had interrupted him although Fayte's appearance ended up confusing him and the appearance of the Councilmen just left him exasperated. The giant sighed standing up and beginning a stride over to where they had arrived sliding his Weapon off his back preparing for the worst when he suddenly heard the loud call of the most suicidal man he knew.  Nines, the only of the councilmen he had gotten along with despite that one hiccup where he had briefly considered beating him unconscious.  The Giant stared as nines basically shouted at the councilmen until they gave up and left, figures the man's M.O. was basically a lot of talk and if that didn't work punching.  He wasn't surprised that he managed to get them to back off.  He put his Kanabo back upon his back and sighed as he walked up to Nines and Fayte, he wasn't sure what he would find when he ventured into this forest but it was not this.

"Nines, it is good to see you again should have figured that you would end up in the one place that it would take a literal army to search through in any efficient manner."  The giant said, chuckling before turning to Fayte.  "You know when I asked if we could meet again in a less life threatening manner I assumed we would meet in a town somewhere and have a quite evening or something, the last thing I expected was to see you running through the forest being chased by members of the council."  He said bowing his head to her in greeting removing his hat for a brief moment before raising his head back up and placing his hat back upon his head.  "Nines if I appear to be down then I must apologize, I was not expecting to be anyone's guest nor to entertain old friends."  He said responding to nines last comment, he probably did look a lot more depressed than normal his smile was barely on his face anymore, but he did not want others to worry about him.  There wasn't much point especially since he should be able to take care of himself.

The Giant took back his spot sighing, poking at the burning wood with his hand, pushing the flames meal over to let them eat at a fresher side.  He wasn't particularly sure what to do at the moment, he was in fact feeling pretty down but if he could help it he wasn't going to let his own issues bring down the others.  His smile may now be forced but he didn't think they could really tell the difference, well maybe the hyper observant Nines could but Atrum didn't care if he did.  The man would notice if a fly farted in his general direction, and the Giant did not have anything to hide.  "So, Shadow Heart?"  Atrum looking at Nines, the giant highly doubted that nines was a failed spy.  That sounded like pure bull to him, but he also wasn't aware that he had that guild tattoo, nor that it glowed like some kind of demonic evil sun.  "That Guild tattoo is rather ostentatious,It does not really suit you if you ask me."  The giant chuckled giving his friend a look, The giant had his own tattoo over his heart, it was symbolic but also practical as in order to see it you had to get his shirt off.  He hadn't notices Nines until he brought it up and it lit up like a campfire in the night.  This was definitely a strange meeting.

Fayte adopted her usual silence as the scene played out. The same Magic Councilman she'd ambushed months back, of all places he was here. And actually pulling the two lower-ranked men away from the assault. Now Fayte knew she thought of people in a different way than others. To her, everything remained in stasis. The small feelings she had of the people in past events (assuming she remembered them), those remained until the next time they met. Years might go by, but that would make no difference. So Nines was a potential enemy, one that should be an enemy. Now out on his home turf, it would make perfect sense for him to rally his allies and bring her in. The philosophy he spoke in their last meeting had been interesting, but this was his chance to show where his intentions really were.

...But lying for her was the last thing she expected. The story was ridiculous. The other two knew it as well, but Nines overpowered them at each protest. ...Why was he making up such a ridiculous lie? What did he hope to achieve by protecting her? This was beyond some hope of dark wizards living in harmony with the law. This was stupidity. Fayte had no intention of changing her current course of action, and now Nines had just made his reputation aligned with hers. Surely he must realize that? Perhaps it was because she was a woman, he felt some need to protect her, like she didn't know what she was getting into. The lie, the pity, for whatever the reason Nines had done it; it made her bristle. During their last meeting, she thought she'd made it perfectly clear that while they could hold a conversation, she was still dangerous. The glare she gave him when Nines casually walked up and apologized, probably spoke to her amount of anger. ...Why was she angry? This would actually make her task much easier. Maybe her partner was rubbing off on her and giving some silly sense of pride. She wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

And then there was Atrum. He and Fayte's situation was already complicated. Even being friends was too close, and she'd tried to push him away. Shadow Heart was a dangerous occupation. He had respected her wish and left, but didn't believe her. Now Fayte was in a difficult situation, and debating if she should ignore him... By pretending not to care, maybe he would finally believe her last words. Then he made the offhand remark about the Shadow Heart insignia...

Fayte crossed her arms, her normally blank stare far more intense than when she and Atrum had last met. Nines might know that Fayte was a dark wizard, but neither knew that she was Shadow Heart. The half-harpy form remained, black wings still clearly visible - not making any move to attack, but clearly not lowering her guard... in more ways than one. Atrum had offended her, even if the comment had been for Nines.

"You're an idiot," she told Nines. She'd managed to reign in her glare, her voice completely flat, but the insult was still there. Now she knew Takiro was affecting her, but she didn't care. "You already know that I'm a dark wizard. But you have no idea why I'm here. I could be here to attack you, your friends, your family." She said directly. And she was here on business, on another man's business, but someone she wanted to see succeed. Their actions would definitely not be something Nines could ever approve of. It was another challenge, like before, daring him to take action.

Her gaze shifted to Atrum. No comment on what he'd just said. Silently she pulled down the side of her jeans, apparently not caring what kind of impression that might give, even though she didn't go farther than the waistline. There was a mark similar to Nines's own, the crossed hearts of Shadow Heart. "I am Shadow Heart," she confirmed. Now that they were a public guild, she didn't have to hide it like before. And Nines's ridiculous story about her being a spy, she trusted Atrum wouldn't fall for it. Fayte knew Atrum was in a legitimate guild of some kind. If there was any clear way to create a rift between them, this was it.

Nines laughed, it was the first time he actually got to laugh in a while, it was mostly his reaction to her glare. The situation the “Council” was in had been causing him a lot of stress...mostly due to paperwork. He wasn't really one to get stressed over things, but doing paperwork when you were in the middle of a war was bullshit. “You are correct, I am an Idiot.” Nines agreed with a smile and a nod, “Leave it to my sense of respect to make sure you're protected from idiots like that, they would’ve just gotten themselves hurt anyway, from the looks of it.” The Councilman looked at Atrum as he said those last words. The giants motion had not gone unnoticed by him. Atrum was willing to defend this dark guild member, that made things a little more interesting. Atrum trusted few people, only those who he felt were family to him. For him to actually almost break the law, and officially become a “Traitor” against the “Loyalists”, whatever that meant, was impressive.

Nines had a new light on Fayte, and it made him feel a little better about his methods of dispelling the fight. Then she pulled her pant line down to reveal her guild tattoo, she was shadow heart? Nines raised an eyebrow, “And?” The question wasn’t meant to be offensive, it was actually honest. He wanted to know how that applied to anything at the moment. “Doesn't change how we know you.” He commented. “Besides, if you were here to attack someone I cared about, i'm pretty sure you’d find I buried the majority of them already. Then theres Atrum, who is my only friend, and i'm pretty sure he’d go down swinging. However if you did take him down, there’d be a new found sense of respect to be had. I mean the guy is a combat genius, as well as fuck huge.” Nines paused as he raised his hand to his chin. “Everyone else I care about, are not only personally defended by myself, but also would just be taken as a casualty of war at this point, I mean you are technically one side the ‘Loyalists’”  Nines provided the air quotes himself. “are against in this war, if you can really call it that” He placed his hands back in his pockets afterwards.

“There are a couple of people i’d hunt you down for killing, but good luck finding them.” He said looking at Atrum with a shrug. “Besides, I still haven't seen you break the law, this isn’t private property, pretty sure its the woods. Can't arrest you for that shit, not like I can legally arrest anyone for anything at this point. I have a reputation I need to uphold of being the craziest councilmember I can, and if ranting about how I have spies in Shadow Heart is how I do it, then so be it.”

“I wanna see them call me on that bluff.” Nines said with a grin, and looking at Atrum.

“Wouldnt suit me huh? Does it fit her?” Nines asked gesturing towards her with a head jerk. “I wouldn’t know, only way I know her is she tried to kill me, and just ended up blowing a hole in a roof, and how do you know I’m not a failed spy. I did actually try to get in one time you know.”

Atrum had grown silent since Faytes Declaration his smile still present but not quite reaching his eyes putting a unnerving edge to the standard expression he normally held upon his face.  His mind was actually running a thousand miles a minute, Faytes behavior confused the hells out of him.  Why would she tell him this in this fashion, and not simply attack him if she really was a shadow heart member?  She actually made him question his own instincts, she made his head spin with self doubt, he wasn't about to let it stay that way.  He needed to know for sure. He listened to nines go on and responded amiably to his friend, as the conversation went on he chose to respond with a mix of good humor and snarky replies to nines Tirade.

"Yes I believe we all agree that Nines is a crazy, suicidal, idiot with a surprisingly powerful will to live."  Atrum agreed with the sentiment of nines stupidity, the man was definitely insane.  Then he called Atrum a combat genius, the giant scoffed at that one genius implied that he put no effort into his skills.  "I would not call myself a genius, I just have a lot of experience, my people live combat."  He said waving a hand dismissively, as he let Nines continue his rant.  His mind more focused on Fayte's motivation, than Nines reply at the moment.  Nines adressed him again motioning to Fayte's tattoo and Fraide took another look at it an nodded.

"Yes actually It is rather tasteful in fact unlike yours which is gaudy and Burns like the blazing sun!"  He said raising his voice to emphasis that Nines had a ridiculous guild tattoo.  "Seriously, it is so ridiculously ostentatious that I have to stop myself from covering it with something to stop it from Burning my eyes"  He insisted crossing his arms, and turning his gaze to Fayte observing her now that nines was done talking.  The giant sighed an annoyed sound as he stood up and looked Fayte in the eyes.  He had his fun now he had business to take care of, nothing could proceed until he did.

"Unfortunately contrary to what Nines has said this information does change things a bit, I find myself questioning myself and your motives, so I have a single question for you and a demand."  Atrum had to hear her say it with her own voice to know for sure that his instincts were proper.  "The question is simple; 'Did you specifically take part in the attacks on the legal guilds?'  And I demand that you fight me."  Atrum said cracking his knuckles the smile once again reaching his eyes, a fire lighting in them as he insisted on the fight.  He would either clear away his doubts or validate them either way he planned on enjoying the process as much as he could before things broke down.

Fayte kept her arms crossed, wings folded, staring at Nines blankly. It made sense, in a childish sort of logic. She hadn't hurt any of Nines's friends ... not yet. He was unwilling to make the first strike. It was an idealistic approach, one she had no intention of proving or disproving. If someone got in her way, whether that was one of Nines's family members or Atrum... yes their 'friendship' had expired past that adventure with Ater... Fayte had no qualms about fighting. If someone died because of that, it wasn't her fault. If Nines wouldn't arrest her, she had no reason to attack him though. So for now, with Nines's foolish sentiment, they had no reason to cross blades.

Atrum was speaking sense, the kind she could understand... well even with his contradictory joke about Nines being a suicadal idiot with a strong will to live. The description was uncannily accurate. She met Atrum's gaze when he turned to her. She was unrepentant; proud of her guild. It did change things - at least for him. She had always known this is how it would be. When he asked for a question, she expected it to question about her motives for helping him in the past. No, the question was about Atrum's family. Are you responsible, was what he was basically asking.

"I was not present during the attack on the guilds," she told him truthfully. "However, my team was tasked with a similar mission in conjunction to the attack on the guilds. I am every bit responsible as my guild family in killing your friends." Her gaze never faltered; she offered neither regrets nor consolation. She had always known that Atrum was part of one of the legal guilds - which one, she did not know. But they were all the same to her. His reaction was the logical approach: he wanted to stop her. "Even if we fight, how will you stop me? Supposing I lost... you refuse to kill, and your companion refuses to take me into custody," she pointed out. His smile was the only thing that confused her. There was something in it, more than an empty expression that she couldn't understand... was it just arrogance, or something more? "And of course, I possess no such moral setbacks..." Not necessarily saying that she would kill him... but that it was certainly a possibility.

"Nope."

This was getting surprisingly hostile for a reunion. Fayte apparently knew Atrum? Then he heard her reply to Atrums question. Nines eyes went wide for a moment as he realized the implications behind the answer of the question. She just admitted she was as much to blame as the rest of her family for the murder of the only people Atrum cared about. It was like she didn't know Atrum at all, hell it was like she didn't know anyone at all, she understood the concept of family. That was essential in a group like shadow heart. So how was it she didn't understand the fact that someone was always willing to change their morals to defend their family? Nines didn't have time to consider the actual implications of Faytes lack of human empathy. He was currently turning to leave so that he could throw a barrier over the rest of the woods. Because when Atrum’s brain finished processing what Fayte just said, everything was going to be on fire, and he didn't want to have to find a new place to live.

He was going to let these two punch each other. Let Fayte find out what happens when you actually piss Atrum off. There were a lot of things she obviously didn’t know about the crazy fire mage.

"Nope, nope, nope!"

(Nines has left?)

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" The laughter even surprised Atrum, a lack of mirth in his voice that left nothing but a unnerving hollow and cruel sound like someone acknowledging the last of their humanity had been stripped away leaving only a hungry monster in it's wake hungry for the lives of those around them. At least that was the impression Atrum got while his brain kept firing back and forth with that same phrase repeating in his head. "You make no sense." He murmured the thought aloud as he stared at Fayte in disbelief, there was no way any of this made sense, how did she not understand the simple concept of simply wanting to fight? Why would he have wanted nines to arrest her before she admitted to being responsible. "You make no sense, you make no sense, you make no sense, you make no sense, you make no sense, you make no sense, you make no sense, YOU MAKE NO SENSE!" It was at this point that any thought beyond his blind hatred for Shadow Heart had cut out, leaving a blood lust that demanded to be acknowledged, demanded to be sated.

"Who care about my so called 'morale setbacks' I just want to break something." He chuckled cracking his knuckles as flames started appearing on his body. "And if you try and kill me, then I shall simply stop holding back, so enough talk let us trade blows!" He laughed the fire was still in his eyes but now there was a dark edge to it the giant was about to go on a rampage, and nines who had conveniently fled as soon as Fayte had pressed the shiny red button on Atrum's Rage. The giant slammed his foot down into the ground and dark flames suddenly burst to life spreading from his body out around him reaching for anything they could snatch up, anything unfortunate enought to get caught in the flames was hit by a explosion and left a burning wreck. He was done talking as of now he only wanted to fight, part of him was actually a bit disappointed that Nines had ran as he would've enjoyed fighting him as well it would have been thrilling. The rest of him however was more concerned with Getting Fayte to fight him, she gave reasons as to why it would not be a good idea for him seemingly thinking that fighting her was pointless, it made no sense to the giant, not that it mattered now, her only options were to either fight or flee and Atrum didn't plan on letting her run like Nines had.

Fayte made no move to stop Nines; if he was going to let her go then they no longer had any business with each other. The business she had left was between herself and Atrum. The laugh was too loud, uncomfortably so, and completely out of place. She met his own disbelieving gaze with a blank stare of her own. She made no sense? He was the one cackling like a maniac. Her goal had been very clear: she wanted him to hate her. That was why she said what she said. Well that had been easy, too easy, now the rest of his sanity had shattered. It was bittersweet, in a way, but she knew that this was best. He was angered and he wanted to hurt the cause. Made sense.

The flames rising around Atrum's body were an indication of his intention. She was neither a coward nor a peace-maker. If someone was intent to fight her, then she would fight. The flames raced closer to her. She took a step back, before pivoting sharply on her heel. The wind wrapped around her, creating a vortex which repelled the encroaching flames. She was too far to hit Atrum, but in essence had basically created a shield. Yes, fire magic... She had seen his skills firsthand. Anything he struck with would certainly hurt. But... from past experience... Fayte knew that fire was naturally weak against wind. Lesser wizards often found themselves even able to mount a proper offense. She knew Atrum was stronger than that, but this was still going to be an uphill battle for him. That was fine. He was the one who had picked this fight to begin with.

"I never hold back," she stopped her spin gracefully. Her form began to shift, the black feathers crawling over her skin. "I advise you to do the same, or you will die whether I intend it or not." She looked up at him, no remorse. She had to be focused on what was happening now, not in the past. And he had attacked her, so she would answer the challenge...

Atrum's expression softened as he watched Fayte counter his attack using the wind to deny his flames breath, The giant had a rather pleasant expression upon his face the sharp and crazed edge before leaving it entirely though the air he gave off hadn't changed.  He strode forwards with surprising speed obviously intending on closing the gap between them in order to attack, despite the fact that Fayte was rather dangerous in close range combat.  The giant's long legs allowed him to close the gap faster than most would've been able to respond to and he made a grab for Fayte as a whole, if he got a grip on her a good solid grip then this fight was over.  It was unlikely that he would considering her speed and agility in that regard should allow her to dodge and even counter attack.

Flames were still covering his body as he made his grab, raging suddenly as he got closer as if attempting to reach his target before him.  The Giant of course towered over his opponent, his was hilariously tough in comparison to most people and his strength in general surpassed those he fought, getting caught by him in close range combat was almost always a losing move, especially with his flame magic only enhancing his hand to hand combat, which was not even mentioning his own weapon on his back a Giant metal club designed for smashing armor and shields.  Bones and defenses would be shattered if he drew it, though he did prefer to use his hands, a small personal touch that allowed him the maximum amount of control over the damage he wrought upon his enemies.  Not that his personal taste mattered much now that his brain had shut off everything except for his focus on the battle he had started.

He had Heard Fayte respond to his declaration earlier but he couldn't respond even if he was fully aware of it, the calm of battle had taken him and now there was nothing but the combat that had begun.  There was nothing to talk about that couldn't be said with their fist anyways, working his mouth was simply a waste of energy that he could be using for everything else.  This was the moment he was in now and he could only sit back and enjoy the ride.

Fayte had met battle-crazed opponents before, those who lusted only for the thrill of battle. They were a rare breed but not completely impossible to find. She had always known Atrum possessed part of this personality, but facing against it was quite another matter. He came at her without a plan, the path so direct that although he wasn't particularly fast, it was still somewhat shocking. Before she could think of how to hinder him, Atrum had already closed the gap. While she normally preferred close range combat, she had a feeling this was not a fight where she wanted to try and match Atrum's power. She managed to dodge his grab, his hands closing on thin air, but the abrupt burst of flames singed her side.

Logically she knew the best option would be to create some opening and regain distance. But somehow it was like Atrum was challenging her in more ways than one. Close range was supposed to be her speciality too, not just his. She still couldn't understand his reasoning behind this fight either. But if they were going to fight, then they were going to fight and she couldn't back down now. Her wings glowed with magical energy, with a great gust they flapped. The same move she had used to help him - the one responsible for much public property damage, Slipstream. The arc of wind was focused on Atrum. To touch him in close range combat, she needed those flames to extinguish. If it worked she had no qualms about continuing this fight close range...

Atrum wasn't expecting to get hit like that he had expected her to dodge and make a slash at him with her claws, instead she had hit him with that slipstream of her's he had seen it used before and knew it packed a punch it hurt to get hit by. He smiled and allowed small flames to grow on his fingers as he suddenly swooped low spreading the flames in the foliage among the battle field before taking a step forwards and raising his left hand and pointing it in Fayte's Direction. The signature sound of crackling lightning resounded out as the sudden boom of Atrum's Thunderous Flame spell launched out in her direction, when his flames moved that fast She couldn't just blow her wind on it and steal the fuel source from them. He intended to spread flames about while he fought and keep her distracted by his attacks while the flames grew if he did it right she wouldn't notice until the fires had grown too large for her to simply suffocate as she had been doing.

Fayte was smart and strong and not to be underestimated he doubted that he could just distract her and she wouldn't notice a raging fire in the back ground he had to be a bit more clever if he wanted to gain the edge here, or he could always just stay in her face and keep her from being able to both fight him off and smother the flames at the same time. Well the simpler methods are often the most effective, time to fight, he rushed forwards after his spell intending to close the distance once again He intended to keep her off balance keep her retreating, he intended to win this fight and afterwards he was going to find the shadow lord and mount his head on the magic council's front door, but first he had to defeat Fayte easier said than done however he was confident that he would win.

Fayte moved to avoid the first strike, it was too easy almost like Atrum was missing her on purpose… the flames began to lick over the foliage, quickly creating less room for her to move behind. She grit her teeth, quickly realizing what Atrum’s strategy would be. If he couldn’t match her in speed, the best way was for him to limit her mobility. She had already lost a sparring match to Kotone because the dragonslayer had limited their battle field. Speed meant little if there was no room to maneuver.

Why was she fighting him to begin with? It would have been so much more logical to run away. She was going to need her strength for later. Yet… she couldn’t stand the thought of retreating in this battle, not against Atrum. Thunder crackled and from the heavens, she remembered seeing this once before but was too late to react. The flames burst from the heavens and focused on her form, her breath momentarily taken away before she could form a brief cry. A single step backward, but she did not fall.

Perhaps it was the Harpy, the monster whose soul she shared, that spurred her on. A blind desire for vengeance and survival, whatever remaining thoughts of a human left her. With a flurry of black feathers she descended on Atrum, the fire and all the rest seeming quite unimportant. Her claws had no strategy or fear, just a furious desire to overwhelm him with pure speed and skill.

Fayte descended upon him like the harpy who's form she shared and he hesitated for a second allowing her to claws to reach him before he could get up his defenses, he had not expected her to rush in like that. He had expected a more tactical response rather than the almost beast like fury she fell upon him with, Atrum made a roaring sound as her claws sunk into his flesh causing him to retaliate by throwing reason to the wind and simply swinging at Fayte not even attempting to blow her claws unless they came near his vital areas growling angrily as she continued to slice into him.

Still he found that he did not aim for her vitals either, it was a small detail easily lost in the chaos that was their brawl and it was filed away in the back of his mind as he kept slinging his fists in her direction. It was hard to see her and keep a good target on her as her wings flapped back and forth in his field of vision it was distracting but not really enough to keep him from attacking back. Yet his anger had abated now all he could feel was the thrill of the fight, he was so excited by this fight the ferocity of the Siren and he responded in kind.

The giant fought back as hard as he could his muscles straining as he worked his body to fight his opponent, defeating her was the only thing on his mind. If he had his senses he might have been able to talk about how he was enjoying this fight despite the pain he was going through. The fires behind him grew as he proceeded to ignored them the giant grinned as he fought Fayte with all he had this is going to be a great fight.

The two were entangled, claws and feathers against Atrum’s strikes. Fayte’s attacks were fast but without focus, swiping and drawing blood whenever they landed, yet perhaps subconsciously she had yet to move for a fatal strike. Atrum had gone berserk; everything she did was simply shrugged off. While Fayte’s form had temporarily allowed her mind to alter, it was not a change she was used to. Some part of her recognized that this fight was wrong, there was something wrong with her, there was some reason why she couldn’t fight like normal.

It was maybe only a few seconds of hesitation but it was a pivotal moment. Fayte was throwing out maybe three times the hits that Atrum could manage in the same amount of time. Yet one punch went through, Atrum’s fist ignoring the blood as her claws scraped against his arm, slamming into her face. The power beneath it was monstrous, it was the first time her form was completely lifted from the impact of a fist. She flew back gracelessly, the back of her head hitting the grass some feet away. The ensuing moment of silence was deafening. The moment she was separated from the fight, her own berserker energy left her.

Stubbornly still she sat up, her full harpy form melting unto the half form of a human. If she had been hit with that as a normal human, she was pretty sure she would have fainted. One hand nursed her jaw, the other she used for support to rise completely to her feet. It hurt, a lot, but that wasn’t really the main problem. She sniffed. With the rush of energy now gone, she wasn’t quite sure what she was feeling, but it was certainly something new. She knew she was angry, because she hated Atrum so much right now. And yet maybe she didn’t, because she didn’t want Atrum to die, and she certainly didn’t want to be the one to kill him. She hated him because he wasn’t feeling what she wanted him to feel, this was too complicated and she really just wish he’d make up his mind to hate her instead of respect, they were both proud of their families and so that was why the other was completely unforgivable and there wasn’t anything they could do to fix that or meet halfway, why couldn’t they both just leave and pretend that they’d never met before and all of it would be solved, for now it was like running or fighting really wouldn’t be ideal and she wanted to win but she didn’t want him to lose either, her jaw was hurting a lot but most of all she really hated that the cursed smoke was making her eyes water. She sniffed.

Now in partial takeover form, Fayte moved mechanically, taking up a prepared stance for when Atrum charged again. It was starting to get hot, the inferno still blazing behind them, starting to form a semi-circle around their arena.

Atrum Stood over Fayte as she got to her feet and dropped back into a battle stance, it was obvious that she intended to counter when he charged her again.  However his charge never came Atrum felt that he had the upper hand, but more than anything right now he needed answers.  He strode forwards the flames covering his body shrinking and fading slightly as he moved forwards, his expression soft but determined his pleasant smile still ever present upon his face.  The flames danced around him as he stared down the shadow heart member he knew as the woman who had helped him rescue his brother.  Fayte Scarlet she made absolutely no sense to the giant and he intended to rectify it.

"You are so confusing,"  He started unbuttoning his shirt, it was ruined anyways she had clawed it to pieces and it and his vest or at least the pieces still hanging to his were soaked in his blood.  He tore it off finding that he rather have his arms in front of him than take it off like a normal person, he spared a glance at the bandages he normally wore underneath his clothes for extra padding and sighed as they as well were ruined and he tore them off as well leaving his torso exposed his golden Fairy Tail guild tattoo fully exposed.  "You seem to insist that you are no different than the other members of Shadow heart, that you are responsible for the death of my 'friends'..."  Atrum shook his head, obviously not happy with how this second meeting had gone.  "I did not lose friends that day I lost family, young ones most unable to even fight back.  Still, knowing that at the very least I was in a legal guild you chose to stay and explain yourself rather than take the opportunity launch a surprise attack or even take the smarter choice and run.  Instead you stayed, you fought, as if you had something to prove."  He cracked his neck and continued on his rant.

"Why do you strike me as a decent gods damned person, and yet insist you are about a moustache strokingly evil as one can get?  You were more than willing to get yourself killed because you didn't want to hurt the fanged beast that were forced against their will to fight, you helped me save my brother with no compensation offered or given other than appreciation and even went out of your way to make sure both of us got medical attention despite the fact that according to you we are enemies."  Atrum stopped talking for a second to catch his breath before continuing, unable to stop the flow of words now that he had let them loose.  "What is even your guild's goal other than slaughtering defenseless children for arbitrarily 'righteous' reasons?  What crime other than being in a guild hall at the time did my family make to deserve death?  I never cared about the dark guilds before Shadow heart declared war on us.  Who cares if there is an illegal organization catching what the legal ones drop the ball on?  But no, your shadow lord decided that my family needed to die.  That our mere existence was so inconvenient to his vision that he had to openly declare war on us.  FINE!  HE WILL HAVE HIS WAR, I AM ATRUM FUREA OF THE NORTHERN WAR CLAN AND MEMBER OF FAIRY TAIL, AND I SHALL ANSWER THE SHADOWLORDS LUST FOR WAR!"  He shouted angrily, it was clear that Atrum wanted nothing more than to watch those who had hurt his family burn, screaming in agony while he took the shadowlords head and mounted it to the front of Shadow Hearts Guild hall.  It was clear that given half the chance he would do so, and not a single part of it would bother him.  He came form a country were being a killer was par for the course and taking vengeance was expected.  Fiore was so peaceful that he had not had an occasion to show off his culture but now.  He had more than enough reason to do so.

"That smile you had when we parted.... I saw somethings good in that smile, geh heh a light in the dark if you will.  That smile told me that you were a decent person, and on some level I think I refuse to believe that you are responsible for the attack.  If you did have a hand in it then to the person who helped me rescue my brother and saved me from bleeding out...I apologize I would rather not have to harm you, but the lives of those young ones were taken I will make those responsible wish I would kill them."  He said clearly done talking again the words finally stopping, he wasn't talking to argue with fayte or even to explain to her it was a venting of his emotions a declaration of intent.  Though he may not kill Fayte this fight if he discovered that she indeed had a hand in the death of his family members he would fulfill his promise even if he didn't want to.  Atrum kept his promises, he would carve a legacy spanning generations of war and violence and combat into Shadow heart's collective soul and he would do so with a smile on his face.

Fayte wiped her eyes, the control to her life in a very precarious arrangement. She was ready to move at the moment of Atrum's attack, but no attack came. Instead he ripped off his own shirt, walking towards her. No charge or rush of magic, simply walking closer and closer. Her eyes inevitably fell on the symbol of Fairy Tail. Like her, he was proud of his guild. And that was what would set them at odds, would inevitably force them apart. She was confusing? Atrum was the one who had started this pointless fight, had insisted that they fight. Sparring and pride was something she could understand, but fighting without cause was one she could not. Each time she'd guessed his motives, he had simply laughed at her. Every move she made was calculated and within her best interest. Pride was also something she was understanding more and more, it carried far more weight than it had for her in the past.

"Shadow Heart is the heart of Fiore's people, labeled as extremists mindlessly following the Shadow Lord. It was more than just the Shadow Lord who decreed war upon your guild. It was the people of Fiore. You still think of this matter as very black-and-white. It is not so simple," she stared at him. A lot of times things were more simple than what people made them out to be. But this war against Fiore, it was more complicated than that. "I fully recognize that I am not 'righteous'. But that does not mean I see others as such, either. I cannot speak for the world, I can only see for myself. But Shadow Heart is my family is well, and so I welcome the responsibility of their actions, and why I choose to bear your animosity."

Her fists tightened. Though her legs were shaky from the last hits, she had found her resolve again. The individual before her did not matter, Fayte did not matter, it was the whole that did. "I'm not inclined to make you believe anything about me. So pick what you will - and know that I will oppose you and your kin as long as my own family follows this path." If she was required to fight more, she would do so until Atrum was satisfied... or until one of them was dead.

"I may not be as smart as others but I am not easy to fool, and I am far more observant than you might realize. There are many signs that you are not wanted, the glare that people believe is subtle and not noticed, the curt way others talk to you, the way they expect you to do your job and leave. No, I know when I am wanted gone, or dead, and the people of Fiore have not reached the state of blind hate to call for the murder of those of us who put our lives on the line for them all the time." He said as he stared down Fayte, he had fought in more wars than these people would experience in a lifetime, he knew how people acted during them, he was familiar with the behavior of a people who were willing to go to war against those who oppressed them and the people of Fiore had exhibited no animosity towards Atrum or his guild since he came here.

"You claim that the people of Fiore have declared war on us and that shadow Heart is simply acting out the publics will..." Atrum spat on the ground and his eyes narrowed as his glare intensified the smile still present on his face. "If your guild must fool itself in order to feel better about what it is doing fine but do not feed obvious lies to a man who knows better and expect him to believe it." The giant trailed off his glare softening while his smile turned into a fanged grin. "However I can respect your decision to accept responsibility for your family, that is commendable. I shall honor your pride, and your drive to continue this fight despite your shaky condition." He said reaching forwards and slamming his palm into her chin lifting Fayte of the ground and tossing her into the air. "Allow me to show you what it means to declare war on the family of one who thrives on it!"

The Giant was a practitioner of war, a man who had unapologetically killed others in the names of causes he did not follow nor even cared about. He was far from a sinless man, the way he lived up until now was bloody and violent and he didn't care it was the only way he knew how to live and so he lived it. Fayte had said something about seeing the world in black and white, that was laughable he was not a pure hearted hero who always did right. He was simply a man who refused to allow this attack on his family to go unpunished. He didn't buy the whole "Heart of Fiore's people" angle either. The heart of the people did not need to be hidden in the shadows, the people would freely shelter them, the heart did not have to make bold claims like this and send messages written in their enemies blood. No this group was nothing but another one the many looking for more control and power over others. The giant might not have cared about their existence hells if Fayte had told him she was a shadow heart member when they first met he would've only laughed at how insignificant that particular detail was. Now however he only knew that the Shadow lord was his enemy and that those that followed him were in his way.

(I'm moving this thread to the new forum at http://fairytailrevolution.jcink.net/index.php?act=ST&f=46&t=127)