Moon raised his staff on instinct, twisting his body sideways at the last possible moment to redirect the incoming attack.
~SHRRK~
The blade still caught him.
Blood sprayed into the air as a deep gash opened across his right cheek, running from just below his eye down to the line of his cheekbone. The heat of the cut bloomed across his face.
Moon landed several meters away, his footwork carrying him back into a defensive stance, his staff already up. His hand brushed against the wound briefly, coming away red.
'If I hadn't deflected with the staff at the last second, this wouldn't have been a gash.'
'I could have lost an eye.' Moon thought, slowly growing more wary of the figure behind the attack.
He raised his gaze to the person standing in the clearing where the attack had come from.
The man was tall and lean. He wore baggy dark trousers and a loose white t-shirt that hung off his shoulders unevenly.
