[SP-F6] <<Calming the Soul>> Enduring Reflections

[Teion 0]

"So?!" She called to the figure while her axe cut through the air and across his form. "Nothing? No wise words about being 'true to myself', or 'letting go of my past mistakes'? None of that?" She questioned as she came across with another wide swing. The stranger winced behind his mask, letting out a small grunt of discomfort as his health bar slightly dropped. "Ehh, I'm not so great with that kind of stuff." He replied with a breathy chuckle, drawing back his blade while slipping out of the way of another strike from the violette. Reacting quickly, his sword pulled in front of him just in time to catch the last of Teion's assault. Sparks flew as their sharpened steel clashed, and the woman's teeth grit while a small growl rolled from the back of her throat. She pushed forward, the balls of her feet digging into the sands beneath her as she fought to keep herself from being overpowered in their struggle.

[Teion 0]

"Then, enlighten me." She started with half of a forced smirk, taunting the man. "What are you good at? You can't honestly just be here to give me a sparring match." She half-joked. A sudden release in tension had each of them stumbling backward slightly, and a short distance was placed between them again. "Hey now, don't get sidetracked." He chuckled again, shifting his weight and renewing his grip on the hilt of his weapon. "You think too much sometimes, Teion." Despite the new hint of gentleness in his voice, it was almost like he was teasing her. "And you worry a hell of a lot." She could hear the smirk that he must have been wearing behind his mask, and frowned with a slightly narrowed brow. "Yeah?" She challenged, taking on a more defensive stance while she paused from her earlier assault. "And what exactly am I worrying and thinking too much about, huh?"

[Teion 0]

Her frown persisted as she tried to poke and prod conversation from the hooded man across from her. He laughed again. "You mean, besides everything?" More teasing caused the woman to scowl with slight frustration. His head shook, and he continued before she had a chance to retort. "Well, 'the future' is a huge one. You've probably heard a bit of the already, huh?" Teion sighed with clear annoyance. "Yeah, just a bit." She snapped. "Why is worrying about the future--my future--such a big deal? Isn't that normal? Wanting things to work out a certain way, and making decisions based on that, doesn't everyone do that?" She tried to reason, irritated from all of the criticism she had been given thus far. The man shrugged, "You're not entirely wrong. But the way you do it. You shut everything else out. You let guilt, and worry, and uncertainty, and fear all eat away at you, and it's slow and it's painful, isn't it?"

[Teion 0]

"Like, if you weren't so afraid of falling in love again, I bet you'd have a good time on an actual date with that Ryo guy, huh?" His chuckle was met by another of the violette's growls. "Why is everyone here so fixated on him?!" She shouted with a tight grip on the handle of her axe. Half a second after the words left her, the world around them began to twist and shift again. Teion jumped in surprise while the blistering heat of the desert sun vanished, and the shifting sand beneath her feet was replaced with cold stone and concrete. The area dimmed, and the presence of walls all around them gave her a claustrophobic feeling, sending a heavy unease to weigh down on her already tired chest. What little light streamed in from high, barred windows glinted and reflected off of various surfaces around the room that she couldn't quite make out. "Think fast!"

[Teion 0]

Before Teion had the time to gain her bearings in this new, eerie environment, the man across from her was pushing forward against the dark floor, lunging toward her with blade in hand. Her eyes went wide, instincts moving as quickly as they could manage to bring the polearm of her battle axe in front of her chest. It blocked the polished edge of his sword just in time, but the force of the blow sent her stumbling backwards. She turned, and was just about to throw a hand out to the side to catch herself against the grey brick wall that stood behind her. Rather than making contact with grainy, rough surface of stone, however, she winced with a mixture of sudden surprise and intense discomfort when the serrated edge of a massive blade sank into the flesh of her palm. With her foot now flat on the ground to support her weight, Teion quickly pulled away with a sharp inhale through her teeth.

[Teion 0]

The wall before her was covered from floor to ceiling with all manner of dangerous objects and other such hazards: panes of shattered glass, fragmented blades from various types of weaponry, splintered wood and broken, rust-covered pipes jutted out from not just the wall behind her, but every surface of the suffocating room, save for the floor and ceiling below and above them. Not only were they left in a small, poorly-lit room, but too much movement would leave them slashed up or impaled in a matter of seconds. Teion surveyed the jagged wound on her hand for only a brief second before turning her attention back to the masked stranger and watching him carefully. He had relaxed again, the dulled edge of his blade resting against his shoulder while he took a couple of slow crossed steps. "'Here'?" He echoed while Teion gave a couple of quick shakes of her injured hand and returning it to hold her weapon in front of her body. 

[Teion 0]

The stranger rolled his shoulder, and his curved blade glinted with the pillars of light that streamed through tall windows. "And where exactly do you think 'here' is?" He questioned, shifting his weight. The eyebrow he cocked behind his disguise was practically audible in his tone of voice, and after a long couple of seconds in silence he threw his free hand in the air, gesturing to the space around them and taking a relaxed step backwards. He was urging her to survey their surroundings alongside him, and Teion's distrusting eyes remained locked onto the thin slits of his fox-molded mask while her chin drifted to the side. When she was as sure as she was going to manage to be that she could take her sights off of him, she tore cobalt eyes away and flickered them around the intimidating room. It was like something out a horror movie.

[Teion 0]

The more unsightly pieces of jagged metal and broken glass she ran her gaze over, the more uneasy she became. What was this place, she wondered. Not just this scary little room, but all of it--the empty desert, and the field of flowers she had entered into just minutes ago. And if she continued to broaden the spectrum to include the mosaic room that housed each of these doors, her head might just start to spin. "Think you can take us back to that hill with the stars? That was pretty nice, I liked that." His voice breaking the silence snapped her back to attention, but did little to clear up any of the confusion that clouded her mind. Gears continued to turn, and soon her brows narrowed again with a suspicious gaze in his direction. "Wait... Me--You think I'm controlling this?" She asked with clear incredulity in her voice.

[Teion 0]

"Do you think I am?" He shot back, prodding at the already-agitated woman's temper. "Who else?" He continued with a small shrug, going on to finally offer her some sort of explanation. His right leg extended straight to move himself forward with long, slow strides that rocked his torso back and forth after each step. His free hand stretched out to his side, open palm sliding through the air before falling back to his side. "This whoooole place is all inside your head, after all." The hand lifted again, the tip of an index finger tapping against his temple behind the rim of his mask. "This part just happens to be the most, unstable." He paused a second to retrieve the right word. [/b]"Your future. 'What's going to happen to me?' or 'Where will I end up?' This area can't hold its form because your head's too busy trying, and failing, to shape it."[/b]

[Teion 0]

His hand dropped to level with the shoulder that picked up into a shrug. "But, you're stubborn, so you keep trying. It's a miracle this place hasn't fallen apart by now." He mumbled with a slight begrudging tone. He had begun to circle around her in the cramped space, Teion turning herself in place to keep her body always facing him. Eventually returning to his original position and stopping to stand across from her, the stranger shrugged the weapon from his shoulder and used a single fluid motion to bring his arm around and swing the tip of the blade in her direction. Teion reacted just in time to block the attack, using the flat of her axe as an improvised shield. Despite her attempt to brace herself against the strike, her balance was still threatened and her left foot shifted a few inches to the side to catch herself.

[Teion 0]

"Okay, so..." She spoke uncertainly and through grit teeth, her eyes following the glint of his steel as it pulled back and moved for another swipe. She was on the defensive again, struggling to understand. And soon, struggling to keep up with the masked man's attacks. Teion winced beneath the consecutive blows, fighting to keep herself steady and at a generous distance from the hazardous walls surrounding her. "So... What?!" She shouted with frustration, jaw clenching tighter as she failed to come to a satisfactory conclusion under the pressure. The fire was back again, and her defensive blocks soon turned to aggressive clashes of steel that caused sparks to leap through the air. "What?! What am I supposed to 'get' from this?" She demanded with a low growl. Her arms strained against the weight of her battle axe, while her opponent moved almost twice as quickly with smooth motions leading up to every strike.

[Teion 0]

The violette's avatar was already covered with a generous coating of gashes and cuts glowing bright red. "What kind of stupid. Cliche. Cringey. Epiphany--" Each word was pronounced with the effort she put behind every swing, and she cut herself off when she felt the sudden, sharp tingling of whatever pointed objects stood behind her making contact with her avatar. The sharpened edges poked and dug into the virtual skin of her back, driving in one inch, then two, causing the woman to grimace with intense, growing discomfort. Her teeth grit again, even harder now. "How--How am I supposed to learn anything while you're being so damn annoying?!" The shards of glass and iron that ran her through gouged deeper still with the pressure she placed on herself to push off against the objects. Freeing herself from the simulated pain, Teion jerked the back of her polearm forward to plant the handle's end firmly into the stranger's abdomen.

[Teion 0]

He doubled over from the force, and she followed up by lifting her right knee into the air. The flat bottom of her brown boot found the man's shoulder and she kicked forward, sending him stumbling back to the opposite wall. The grunt that escaped him made it clear that he had met the same unpleasantries that clung to the walls just the same as she had, and Teion once again seized the opportunity presented to her. Dropping Requiem's head back towards the ground, the curved blade arced above the ground and lifted through the air at a crooked angle. Golden steel dug into the man's body as Teion heaved the weight of her axe upwards, creating a large diagonal gash along his form. As the blade cleared his body and rose into the air her hands shifted their grip and twisted at the handle to spin the sharpened edge around.

[Teion 0]

Working against its momentum, but now alongside gravity, Teion tore the axe head back through the air, clipping the side of his head as she did so. The corner of the tri-colored blade hooked into the rim of his white mask, prying the item from his face while he was forced to turn slightly with the strength of the blow. The accessory fell to the floor where it promptly shattered into pieces the same as any other destroyed object in this world. A dark-gloved hand flew to the man's cheek, resting upon the injured skin as well as serving to obscure her vision of the man behind the mask for a few seconds longer. Teion's chest and shoulders rose and fell in a rhythm of heavy breaths as the top of her weapon met the cold stone floor at her side. She loosened her grip, left hand leaving the handle entirely to place itself upon the center of her chest.

[Teion 0]

"Some bullshit about forging my own future, or poetic garbage like that?! Just how the hell do you expect me to--" Her words abruptly ended in a short gasp of air, and her eyes widened as they landed on a familiar pair of magenta eyes beneath an equally familiar purple fringe. Requiem's opposite end landed against cold stone with a small 'clang' while Teion's heart felt as though it had stopped beating for a split second. "See, now you're getting it!" Ryo's encouraging tone was clearly forced through grit teeth, and his hand slowly fell from his face. "Gah, that, seriously stings." He continued in a mutter, wincing as he pulled his body free from the loose pieces of metal that drove into his back. Just after he had freed himself, the world around them began to shift for the third time. Ryo's attention immediately shot to their surroundings, while Teion simply stared ahead, entranced, or perhaps lost in the shock of the exchange.

[Teion 0]

Seconds passed, and several different images seemed to try to force themselves into the background and foreground alike. Nothing held its shape for more than a fleeting moment--new walls erected around them only to crumble, and bright skies shone overhead that fell pitch black immediately after. As the seemingly endless space continued to morph, tear, and otherwise fall apart around them, Ryo's expression quickly shifted itself, from wary to concerned to panicked. The man's eyes darted back to the player across from him before he took quick strides to close the gap between them. His katana had already fallen to the floor, and his hands grasped onto Teion's arms, giving the woman a light shake to demand her attention. "Teion! Yo, snap out of it, you're gonna rip this place apart! Teion! Thea!" The combination of his jostling, and the sound of her real name called out by Ryo's voice, seemed to bring her back to reality.

[Teion 0]

The violette blinked a couple of times until cobalt eyes locked onto his with a newfound clarity. Just as quickly, the space went blank. Empty, just like the area with the bright mosaic floor that housed each of the doors from earlier. Ryo let out a small sigh of relief before he offered her a tiny smirk. "Truce? For now, at least." He suggested, and Teion swallowed as the words registered in her head. She still didn't quite understand what had just happened, but she gave a small nod as an almost automatic reaction. His smile grew a bit softer, and his grip on her arms a bit more gentle. "Close your eyes." He instructed simply, waiting a moment for her to do so. His hands carefully glided down the length of her arms, passing over the brown gloves she wore as they traveled to her wrists. "Just, dont think for a second. Relax."

[Teion 0]

He tried to keep the woman calm, taking a deep breath of his own and exhaling steadily past his lips. A few seconds passed in silence before he spoke up again to fill it. "Now. What is it that you want? Go on, be selfish. Don't worry about the details, stop stressing over the 'how'. Just, think about what you want the future--your future--to look like." His fingers moved slowly, almost shyly, as they curled around the edges of her gloved hands. He held onto them, using his gentle grip to reassure the woman across from him and keep her grounded. Teion’s eyes remained closed, and a silence fell over them for several long moments before vague shapes began to fill the space once again. More calmly this time, landscapes came into view and gradually became substantial. A soft, cool breeze was the first thing that she felt brushing against her cheeks.

[Teion 0]

A breath in through her nose contained a new crispness, and carried a nostalgic scent. The soothing, low roar of rolling waves reached her ears in a rhythm, cycling a couple of times until Ryo’s careful voice broke past the ambiance. “Sunset at the beach, huh?” He chuckled lightly, giving her hands a tiny squeeze. The slight pressure, paired with his words, prompted Teion to blink her eyes open, and she took a second or two for them to readjust to the lighting. Vibrant orange and pink hues painted the clear skies above them, and her gaze traveled across it to reach the bright, burning sphere that hung far off in the distance over the ocean horizon. Teion’s shoulders dropped an inch, the tension draining from her muscles as she watched the waves roll across the sand, the sea foam bubbling and dissolving as the saltwater would recede again and again. 

[Teion 0]

“Better?” After having followed her gaze and lingering for several long moments, Ryo broke the silence again with a sideways glance in her direction. She blinked to attention, meeting his eyes while a warmth crept over her cheeks. She nodded in silent affirmation, and was then met with a soft smile from the man across from her. His kind hold on her hands loosened, and they soon fell away as he turned to face the sparkling ocean water that stretched out before them. Swallowing down her embarrassment, Teion turned the same and spent a short while simply staring out over the scenery. “And, I see you didn’t get rid of me.” The man beside her began to tease with another light chuckle. The stiffness was quick to return in her shoulders, and Teion’s cheeks flushed again. “Y-yeah? So what?” She shot back in a low grumble, eliciting a more enthused laugh from the Ryo’s image.