"So if I beat you, then I... what, get to own you? What a fascinating worldview you have; is it something that's happened often?"
The Leopardkin actually paused and smirked at me as I asked that, giving a moment of respite as we just stared at one another and engaged in conversation rather than trading blows; I suppose the fact that her underlings were all dead and her peer was currently fighting against Aethisia was registering in her head, but there wasn't that much in there anyways, so...
"I've been bested a few times, yes. You know how our Tribes can be, don't you? Upon sharpening your claws for the first time you enter into a world of kill or be killed. Dominate or be dominated. It isn't uncommon for us to be dominated, and of course..."
She waved a hand down at herself, making me smirk as I nodded and dragged my eyes over her chiseled curves, the hard work she had put into creating her alluring body being something she had extreme pride in.
"I've had a few 'owners' before, yes, and I've carried many a child because of that. On one hand it is my duty as a strong - yet not strong enough - female to bring about the new generation, but on the other I despised it.
I don't like being dominated... especially not by someone I can gradually grow stronger than and usurp. All of my prior 'owners' are either dead or no longer warriors, and I plan to keep it that way."
Humming softly to myself and loosely spinning my spear around, I studied her for a few moments and asked "Were any of your 'owners' related to this mercenary group? I know you all aren't just bandits...", which made her chuckle as she just stared back at me for a second or two.
I thought I was out of luck, but apparently getting straight to the point was what worked best with her as she replied "Technically yes, the head of our band has chosen to dominate me a few times. She only needs outlets, nothing more, so after she's relieved she leaves it at that. I want to kill her though, someday."
"Uh huh. And what brings you here?"
"What's with that weak ass pickup line, hm? Think we're at a bar or something?"
"Ha~! No, 'cause if we were we'd be dancing while I bought you a couple rounds of shots~! Wouldn't give a damn what you did for a living or why you were there; all I would want from you is to know how likely I am to have you in my bed."
We shared a grin before she hefted her axe once more, dropping it on her shoulder as she said "I like you. Shame I gotta go ahead and kill you... Wouldn't have minded breaking your pelvis as I rode you until I was satisfied.", which only made my grin widen.
"All I'm hearing from you is that I just need to beat you and I get you. Sadly for you, Miss Leopard, you're really not that hard of a fight..."
Her grin faded, slowly getting replaced with a snarl of genuine anger as I questioned her strength, making this all the better for me as I watched her throw herself forwards like a Goddess damned meteor.
She wasn't weak by any stretch of the imagination, nor was she an easy opponent to thoroughly beat, but I wasn't really... that threatened by her; not when I had slowly come to realize that Astra was just a rather 'insidious' woman.
The power she had somehow granted me was just... it really wasn't fair for practically every single opponent I was going to come across, and with the rust slowly flaking off of me I was climbing my way up to cloud nine quite steadily.
~~~
Aethisia PoV
Sidestepping another dual dagger stab, I swung my spear straight at the woman's side and tried to crack her ribs, only for her to launch herself into a somersault to get away from my attack, showcasing that speed that was beginning to tick me off.
With every passing second she was getting faster, while I was barely managing to maintain my own speed that kept me from getting overwhelmed; the lightning flowing through my system was shocking my entire body whenever I exerted myself, and as such I knew I had a timer ticking away before things got really bad.
Her constantly avoiding me was getting on my nerves - quite literally at this point - so I really wanted to get this over with quickly now, but figuring out how to land another hit on her when she only wanted to do hit and runs was... difficult.
I could try and time a discharge like before, catching her in the blast and stunning her before using that moment of opportunity to incapacitate her fully, but the problem with that was her speed only seemed to continue to grow.
Wide, sweeping attacks were barely working, and then the magic I had was somewhat efficient yet also becoming more of a detriment the longer this went on... and the one time I was able to see Dama I saw the old prick flirting with the Leopardkin.
That ticked me off a little, but I didn't have the freedom to worry about her since another stab had come my way; even now I was barely able to just think before she came back for a haymaker and a stab at the neck.
Using a very exaggerated and wild swing with one dagger and going straight for the jugular with the other really did speak on just how determined this woman was, while her snarl keyed me in on just how angry she was.
Ducking the swing and moving further away from her, I retaliated with a stab at her midriff and watched as she carried herself forwards with her momentum to avoid my attack as well, leaving us in this weird dance that seemed to have no real outcome.