WM [33] It Tasted… Good

WM [33] It Tasted... Good

There was an explosion of movements as Tanisha redirected her own swinging bardiche. Sabec thought he was being sneaky by sobering himself up over the course of their conversation. Tanisha knew what he was doing and decided to play along. The gnoll man was worse for wear and she wanted what she was going to do to him to hurt. She wanted him to be sober, alcohol would numb the pain.

The table beneath Sabec was a shabby thing so when it broke it was no surprise to her. She took Sabec’s momentary confusion to flip him over her towards the door. She simultaneously disarmed him of the bardiche. He rolled but came to a stop before tumbling outside. Tanisha wasted no time in showing him the underside of her boot to his face which sent him out the door. She didn’t channel the maya through the kick not wanting to kill him so easily. She wanted him to suffer; she needed him to suffer.

She didn’t immediately follow him, instead she looked around the cabin. Her eyes landed on a saber large enough to be a great sword in her hands on the bottom bunk of a bed near the fireplace. The blade was sheathed but the quality of the piece indicated that it was an expensive, likely his main weapon. She grabbed it and walked to the open door.

Outside Sabec was still on the ground growling like a dog. Tanisha fought a smirk when she saw he was locked onto Bjorn before his gaze shifted back to her. Seeing his face just pissed her off even more. She had convinced Bjorn and Joha to not intervene and to let her put this mad hyena down. She tossed the sword to him as if it were garbage into a landfill.

Tanisha had only malice in her voice when she spoke. “This is it, Sabec. You can die on your feet or on your knees.”

She readied herself when Sabec grabbed his sword and rose to his feet. He was tall, close to eight feet and although he was a merchant he was also a warrior. Tanisha knew he could kill mages; he had killed a druid and captured another during the attack on Tyr’s home town. He had also used Flash Step and she already got a good look at his status with her Identify. This was not going to be an easy fight but she didn’t want it to be. She wanted to hurt him badly before he died.

Identify

Name: Sabec Moonseeker

Species: Gnoll

Level: 82

Vocation: Fire Sword Master

Highest Stat: Dexterity: 137

There was a brief moment of calm before Sabec charged forward, his speed enhanced by his chakra which burned like fire. Chakra takes on the nature of the style used to harness it. The Isi used a style that called upon the nature of ice. It froze enemies in place and shattered defenses with creeping frost. Sabec’s flame burned hot and wild, a stark contrast to the cold. It reminded her of the gnoll she fought with when they came for Bjorn. Her name was Fuei and she also wielded fire, though Fuei's twin sickles lacked the finesse of Sabec’s saber.

She handed the bardiche to the newly formed Hard Air Construct hands and recollected the steam back into her water. Clearing the line of sight to Sabec who was badly burned from the steam eruption. Tanisha tightened her stance into the third form AgniKavach now that she was barehanded. The gnoll pride refused to let him back down. He lunged at her with a snarl, swinging the saber in a wild arc.

Tanisha didn’t flinch. With a graceful sidestep, she avoided his strike and grabbed his wrist, twisting it until he dropped the weapon with a pained yelp. His other hand swung around claws extended in an attempt to grab her throat. Tanisha moved one of the water orbs in front of Sabec’s face where it flashed with a bright light only he could see. She easily dodged the blind strikes and directed the air construct holding the bardiche to spin and cut off Sabec’s front leg.

The water orbs shot out his shoulders leaving clean holes through the bone and tendons. She shoved him backward, sending him sprawling onto the ground again. Sabec lay there, panting heavily and in pain as blood stained the ground. Tanisha loomed over him, her golden eyes burning with cold fury.

Sabec lunged forward attempting to bring his jaws close enough to at least bite the girl in retaliation. It didn’t work as Tanisha grabbed his mouth and forced it closed. He couldn’t lift his arms, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t run. She tackled him to the ground, pinning him beneath her weight.

As she held him down, Tanisha felt the familiar thirst rising within her. She fought it, her mind screaming against the urge, but the scent of blood. There was so much around, so much of his blood waiting for her to consume it. She tried to snap herself out of it but couldn’t as her teeth began to chatter, and despite her resistance, she couldn’t hold back.

Tanisha realized then that there was something wrong with her mind. Being a cernunnos meant more than having power. It meant she had a price for that power. A vampiric urge and primal hunger that she had been desperately denying this entire time. Tanisha could feel Bjorn running towards her to stop her from what she was about to do. She wanted to let him but her body moved on its own as she opened her mouth, her breath inches from Sabec's neck.

With a growl, Tanisha sank her fangs into his neck. The taste of his blood filled her mouth, and she drank deeply, her body shuddering with the pleasure and power that came with it. Sabec’s struggles grew weaker until he finally went limp, the life draining out of him with every pull of her lips.

“Tanisha stop!” Joha yelled.

Tanisha knew she should stop, but the bloodlust had taken over. She couldn’t pull away, her mind lost in the intoxicating rush. She felt something in her core shift, the final key to her new species unlocked. It wasn’t until Sabec’s heart gave one last feeble beat that she finally released him, her mouth smeared with his blood. Joha appeared at her side and yanked Tanisha off of the body. He threw him away from her but it was too late. She had already tasted his blood and it tasted... good.