League's Above (Sapphire & Aven)

Of all the activities that could encompass a sunny, Wednesday afternoon, Aven never would have imagined running full tilt from a stark naked Wizard to be one of them. He'd been minding his own business, even actively suppressing his magical aura in order not to bother the city folk of Magnolia. Headed toward his favorite Cafe for a leisurely lunch, to cool off from recent events, his plans were suddenly broken to pieces by a commotion up ahead. Murmurs in the crowd grew louder and more frantic, as a figure broke through, pointing triumphantly at him, like a lion boasting over it's latest kill: "FIGHT ME!"

Aven was, in fact, stunned for a good ten seconds, trying to process the barest fraction of what was going on. Who was this woman? Why did she want to fight? Had he done something to anger her in the past? His sense returned slowly, as his eyes flitted around the scene, noticing several issues with this state of affairs. The first, and possibly most limiting, was that they were in public, something that would be a non-issue if not for the second problem: the woman was completely stark naked, save a few shreds of black energy that wafted around her most sensitive areas. The third issue, of course was a bit more personal.

An Alveron never backs down from a challenge.

...Is what he would've liked to say, except it wasn't just his honor and pride on the line, seeing as the woman was bearing her entire honor and both of her 'prides' in full few of the entire city square. It was indecent, and his sensibilities as a Noble held equal precedent in this kind of situation. Therefore, he had only one recourse: he'd accept her challenge, and in the process of the fight...

... He'd put clothes on her.

She seemed the rash type, judging by essentially everything he'd seen thus far, so he took the goading approach. Thank the heavens for his recent encounter with Lilith: if this had been his first time seeing a woman naked, he might actually have fainted! He'd be sure to thank her, the next time they met up; maybe, with another date? "Fine, but you'll have to catch me, first." With a quick spin, he bolted into a nearby alleyway, in the direction of Magnolia's outer wall. Aven's Dark Energy wasn't the kind of power to be used around destructible buildings, and he hadn't a clue what the naked woman's abilities were; from a brief sensory sweep, however, he didn't sense any extraordinary magical presences nearby. Either the woman was hiding her strength, which was very possible, or she was extremely confident.

Aven came to a halt in a large clearing, nestled near the foothills a good distance away from the outer wall. As far as he knew, there weren't any houses or buildings near the location, the East Forest in full bloom on the outskirts of the grassy circle. He was satisfied with the location, but still far less so with his situation. Pivoting in place, he performed a slow turn to face his sudden adversary. She'd started to speak, and even if the woman was naked, it was only polite to look another in the eyes as they spoke. Instead of words, however, he was met with a massive fist, black energy imbuing her strike as she connected with his cheek. The energy tingled a bit, but Aven didn't budge at the blow, calmly pushing her wrist to separate her fist from his face. In it's place, a gentle smile could be seen, not a single trace of impact or injury. "If it's a wager you want, I'll play your game.  However, I'll be setting the stakes: if you win, I'll join you as your 'underling', as you call it. On the other hand, if I win..." Aven's body erupted with power, energy like a dark wind rustling the grass below them, and a black gossamer dress wove itself into existence in his hand: it sported neck-to-heel coverage, a turtleneck completely destroy any chance of cleavage being shown. "...You'll have to wear this whenever you're in Magnolia. You have one minute, starting now."

Dark energy abounded around Aven, his body releasing small waves that washed rhythmically over the sea of green. He'd no intention of losing, and he was hardly one to underestimate his opponents: on the off-chance that she was stronger than her magical signature let on, he'd have his defenses prepared to deal with what magic she'd throw his way.

In theory.

It was a battle of the takeover magics, it seemed, as his adversary leapt into the air, and spiraled down, crashing onto his outstretched arm. Now that he'd gone into his Ascendant Form, his body was steadily gathering dark energy, becoming denser and stronger; in fact, as they clashed, black particles erupted into a shroud around his left arm, which he'd used to block, and he forced the nameless woman back. The ground below him was not so fortunate, the sod splitting apart at the force of the blow.

She took a moment to speak, and he responded with a small bow, sweeping his inundated arm across his chest. "Aven Alveron, it's a pleasure, Miss Firrion." After straightening, he noticed a bit of the energy had disappeared from her body that had been there before, revealing ever more of her vulnerable parts. His eyes recoiled upward, to spot a detail he'd been too distracted to see before: a guild mark. Sabertooth's, to be precise, meaning that Sapphire was an officially sanctioned Wizard. That raised several questions about her lack of attire, but he set them aside, for the time being. "My 'game' is simply one of decency; it doesn't befit a proper citizen, let alone a Wizard of Sabertooth, to present themselves naked in public. Also,
as you recall, it was you who challenged me, not the other way around." Any time spent talking only benefited him, as he felt his Dark Energy surging up to another infusion. Only three more, he mused.

Sapphire's retort was primal, if not what he should have expected; anyone with the gall to traipse around a crowded city almost fully nude was bound to have a warped sense of common sense. As she tore away at his body, to no avail, Aven shook his head. "Decency serves many purposes, Miss Firrion, including an acknowledgement of the sensibilities of others. It's disrespectful to others to ignore the customs and traditions that society upholds, not to mention against the law; just by doing so, you place others in an uncomfortable position, an offense which cannot be taken lightly." He doubted his words meant much to the woman, but he said them, nonetheless. If nothing else, it was an adequate distraction for him to take a closer analytical look at the magic she was using.

Aven winced, as Sapphire stabbed her own chest, a brutal display. There were many magics that required the laceration or maiming of one's own body to function, far too many to be able to tell which she was using, in particular. Black blood, on the other hand, held a few more answers, pointing to an abnormal physiology at the root of her power. His first priority, with what little information he had, would be to ensure he didn't come into direct contact with that black blood: several blood magics that he'd studied needed only contact with a target's skin in order to inflict horrendous damage, so his Dark Matter shell would need to hold strong if he wished to avoid those possibilities.

There was a madness he began to notice in her movements, as she shot four streaks of energy toward him. He opted to stand for the attacks, their impact only slight against the hardness of his skin: he did, however, feel a small wave of irritability rush over him, not unlike the fervor of battle, before being quashed by his aura. A kind of mind control? No, that wasn't quite right; the feeling had been more akin to amplification of his own desires. Aven swung his right arm out wide, the black particles bursting forth and surrounding the limb in a dervish. "I think you've had free reign long enough, Miss Firrion; let's see how agile you can be!" From the atmosphere around Aven, black particles congealed to form three lightless spheres, each a foot across, which sped toward Sapphire, seeking to strike her limbs.