(no subject)

[best_thief]

Lila was still running on the adrenaline of escaping and killing Ver-as-Is and his men. She’d hardly had the time to reflect, to take stock of her injuries, and if she had her impending battle may have suffered for it.

She felt more alive than ever. Especially when she entered the stadium and saw who her opponent was.

Dressed in a silver jacket, with a matching slick metal helmet, was Kamerov Loste. Kell. Had he figured out yet that it was her? She didn't think so. He would have come after her by now if he had. He would have warned her away from this madness.

Well, he would have tried.

"Tas renar," Kell said. You are late.

"I'm worth the wait," Lila replied in Arnesian, voice pitched low and male. It was a ruse that may have fooled any other, but she knew Kell would see through it. He knew her.

She saw Kell pause, she could tell without being able to see his face when recognition dawned. But it didn't matter, the judge signaled the tournament to begin. Kell hesitated, and she took advantage of his momentary lapse of inaction to attack, freezing the ground beneath him and lighting her dagger of air on fire. She lunged at him, pinned him and grinned, searching the thin slit of his helmet for those mismatched eyes.

“Hello,” she said, confirming what he'd already figured out. Letting him know she knew that Kamerov wasn’t real. She could have ended it right then and there, she could have blasted through his armor plates with her daggers, but where would the fun be in that? Besides, she’d been waiting for this. Did she stand a chance against the world’s most powerful magician?

She was about to find out.

Lila had two knives, and Kell had chosen nothing. It was a bold move, bold and foolish. They battled, matching each other blow for blow, a blur of elements and limbs, each hit sending a flash of light along their armor. Kell tried to distract her with words, tried to dissuade her from the competition she was in the middle of. She wouldn’t let him. She wasn’t the only one here who wasn’t who they claimed to be.

In a moment of sheer frustration, she sent up a wall of flame between them. The pain in her side spiked, reverberating through her entire body, but the fire erupted all the same. Kell retaliated as she’d been counting on, sending his water up to protect himself. Steam sizzled and rose into the air above them. With Kell on the defense, Lila made her move, freezing Kell’s wall of water. She only wished she could have seen Kell’s face as she used his own element against him. The ice cracked--

Before the ice could shatter, the world around Lila changed.

Comments

[thebloodtraitor]

"Bloody--"

Sirius stumbles half a step back as a great sheet of glass suddenly stands between him and an indiscriminate figure he's most certain hadn't been there less than half a second ago.

Instinct has him reaching for his wand despite his promise to Kieren that he'd be a bit more discreet following the events of the past several weeks. His shoulders hunch as he notices the wall isn't glass at all, but ice. And it's shattering, great shards of it dropping, one landing with a splintered crash just at his feet.

Not wasting a moment, Sirius mutters a quick incantation and flicks his wrist, halting another thick shard of glass in midair, mere centimeters from his skull. He repeats the action as the next falls, and the next, before finally having time enough to focus the spell on the wall itself, essentially freezing it mid-shatter, his arms outstretched and heart pounding.

[best_thief]

The first thing Lila becomes aware of is how suddenly cold the air turns. The rest floods in a rush: she's no longer in the stadium, it's snowing, her ice has been stopped by a spell. Unsurprising, considering her opponent, but where are they?

"Kers la?" she calls, looking around, knives held tightly in each hand.

For Kell to have transported himself to another world is nothing, but to have taken her with him without contact? How?

[thebloodtraitor]

It's a temporary spell, designed to offer Sirius just enough time to slip out from beneath the falling shards. And so he does, heart still racing as he immediately rounds the corner of the imposing wall of ice to confront the figure on the other side.

It's the mask Sirius notices first, difficult as it is to miss. A dark, ugly thing with twisted horns and a ghoulish face. Next, he sees the knives.

"Careful now," Sirius says, baring his wand just as the shards on the other side finally fall from Sirius's spell and crash to the cement, followed swiftly by the wall itself, a cacophony of crumbling ice.

[best_thief]

Not Kell. She mistakes the figure who steps out from behind the wall of ice for a woman at first, but realizes when he speaks that he must be a man. Pretty boy. Powerful, but not Antari.

"Give me a reason to be careful," she says, keeping her voice pitched low and male.

He doesn't give her the same bone-chilling feeling of Holland, but he's clearly a powerful magician and she keeps her knives raised in front of her, flames licking along the blade of air on one, the water turned to thick, jagged ice on the other.

"What are you, and where have you taken me?"

[thebloodtraitor]

"I haven't taken you anywhere," Sirius replies, eyeing the knives yet again, the blades of which are unlike anything Sirius has ever seen -- one a fiery red and the other a small, lethally-jagged version of the crumbling wall of ice behind him. "But you're here nonetheless. This is Darrow."

The won't mean anything to this man, Sirius knows. But, as often as he's been the one to welcome people to this place, he can't say he's determined a proper way of doing so.

"I'm a wizard," he continues, his wand still poised and at the ready. "And so are you, it seems. Or at least something like one." In truth, the man's power reminds Sirius of Kell with his ability to manipulate and control water and fire. That is, if he is he one responsible for the knives in his hands instead of simply wielding them. "Do you have a name?"

[best_thief]

So pretty boy isn't responsible. Lila is finds she believes him with his normal brown eyes. She has never heard of a Darrow. She wants to know which world. It doesn't have the look of Red, but she can sense magic here, and not just from the man who stopped her ice. God, she hopes she's still in Red.

Her place in the Essen Tasch clearly isn't at stake, here. She lets the ice melt from the water dagger, flicking it away with a snap of her wrist, then reaches up and pulls the mask up and off.

She shakes her hair away from her face and gives the man a dark look. "Delilah Bard. How far is Darrow from Arnes?"

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius isn't quite expecting the man to believe him so swiftly, but he's relieved nonetheless, relaxing somewhat as the ice knife melts and is flicked away and the ghastly mask is pushed up and off, revealing a fine-boned jaw and a mess of short hair.

Not a man, Sirius realizes with a bit of a start, though it's the word, the name she says that truly catches his attention.

"Arnes?" he says, not bothering to hide his surprise. He lowers his wand only slightly, standing up a bit straighter in open interest. "Are you an Antari?"

[best_thief]

Lila laughs, sudden and sharp, and fixes him with a matching smile. "Do I look like an Antari?" she asks, looking him over as though something about his appearance will explain his slowness. His English is perfect, which means he's either noble, or royalty, or in the service of either.

This lifts a weight, though, to hear that he knows of Arnes. She's still in Red, then, just some city she isn't familiar with. Well, that isn't much of a surprise.

Now she just has to figure out how.

"I need to get back," she says, extinguishing the fire dagger. She isn't worried, she has a few actual knives hidden on her person. The element knives are clever, though she isn't certain she can replicate them without having mastered air. Still, she stows the hilts in her jacket pocket. "I was in the middle of something." She raises his helmet slightly.

[thebloodtraitor]

"Hard to say, I've only ever met the one," Sirius replies easily, brow furrowing all the further as the fire blade is extinguished and tucked away along with the hilt of the other.

Her demeanor is nothing like Kell's, nor is her clothing. Not really, at least. Then again, Sirius isn't entirely certain of Kell's taste for fashion beyond his ever-present and ever-changing coat. The woman, in her strange armor, mask, and helmet, seems far more a warrior.

Frowning, Sirius shakes his head at her declaration. "Terribly sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you won't be getting back. At least probably not anytime soon, and not by your own choosing. I've been here nearly two months myself and I'm no closer to home than when I first arrived, despite my best efforts."

Though, admittedly, he hasn't tried all that hard. Returning only to spend his next twelve years in a cell guarded by dementors is hardly appealing.

[best_thief]

"There is only one," Lila says. Unless another's been born and it's escaped public notice.

Lila runs a hand through her damp hair, and tucks her helmet underneath her arm. Her gaze turns suspicious at the news of there being no way out. This time she doesn't believe him. "What do you mean? I don't see a wall," she says, throwing her free arm wide. "Who's holding us here? And what's your name? I've given you mine."

[thebloodtraitor]

Ah, yes. Kell had mentioned that, there were others in his world with magical ability, Kell himself is special, a master of all the elements, including blood. It was reason, he'd explained, that the royal family had kept him as their treasured toy.

It occurs to Sirius that, if this woman is from Kell's world and if Kell is the only living Antari, then she must know him. If only by name and status.

"I'm called Sirius," he says, the curiosity within him growing by leaps and bounds. "And no, no physical wall, but a magical one. Your Antari tried himself when he arrived, much to my horror," Sirius says, remembering all too well the abundance of blood he'd shed in his attempt. "Kell," he adds, if only for the sake of clarity. "He's a friend of mine."

[best_thief]

Lila is about to comment on his name, but he continues and what he says next is far more interesting. Kell is here too. Has been, even though he'd been just across from her in the tournament.

Unsettled, she reaches for the knife at her back underneath her jacket, watching this Serious with a hawk's gaze. "You lie. I was with Kell before being brought here. That was his water I froze."

"What game are you trying to play?"

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius doesn't miss the way Delilah's hand disappears from view, sliding easily behind her back. He lifts his wand again, head cocked and lips twitching into a bare grin.

"Not a game," he tells her. "Or, if it is one, I'm as much a pawn as you. And Kell."

Glancing back only briefly, Sirius takes in the much shorter wall of water, the jagged edges glinting in the light. As cold as it is today, it's not likely to melt soon. Turning back to her, he asks, his eyes narrowing as unease slowly unfurls in his belly, "Were you fighting him, then? Your powers against his own? As powerful as I know he is, it's a wonder you believe you even stood a chance."

[best_thief]

He keeps raising that twig, and it's so nonthreatening it's laughable. He has magic, why is he using a tree branch as intimidation?

She does laugh, then, but it isn't one of humor. "Hadn't I? I was about to win, pretty boy," she says, close to a growl, eyes narrowed. The worst part is, she knows he's right. But where Kell is more powerful, she's a better fighter. She has the instincts of someone who's survived on the streets, against all odds. Kell lives in a palace. They weren't such an uneven match.

[thebloodtraitor]

"Were you?" Sirius replies, his tone somewhere between sarcasm and open wonder. After all, he doesn't know this woman, can't recall Kell ever having mentioned her himself. Perhaps it's a question of timelines much as it is between Harry himself with Harry remember people and events that Sirius has never encountered.

As difficult as it is to believe perhaps this woman really is more powerful than his friend.

Still, he doesn't drop the skepticism from his tone, one eyebrow arched. "With a wall of ice? As easily as I was able to deflect that, there's no question Kell could have done the same. Unless you'd injured him already, that is," he adds just as the idea occurs to him. He takes a step closer, careful and ready to strike, a spell already on the tip of his tongue if she so much as makes a move. "Is that the case, Delilah?"

[best_thief]

Interesting, how defensive Serious is of Kell. As far as Lila has ever experienced, Kell doesn't exactly have a large social circle. She wonders if Serious is even from Arnes, then, or if he's become acquainted with Kell only in this place. He doesn't recognize her armor, or he'd realize what she meant by win.

She can't help it. She smiles, a haughty thing.

"If I say yes, what are you going to do about it?"

[thebloodtraitor]

She smiles then, her expression catlike in a way that's grating for a man who can so easily turn into a dog.

"Depends on if it's the truth," he replies and, to prove he means business, he murmurs a quick, "Expelliarmus," with a flick of his wrist, sending her knife scattering.

[best_thief]

That wipes the smile from Lila's face. She hadn't seen it coming, and she doesn't take her knives lightly. She concentrates, whispers: Tyger, tyger... and conjures a ball of flame her her palm.

"Do that again and you can say goodbye to that lovely hair of yours," she taunts, sending the flame to the stick he keeps pointing at her, setting it on fire. At the same moment she drops her helmet and pulls the other knife from her boot.

"Why are you so worried for Kell if he's supposedly here?"

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius's wand ignites in a quick flash of fire but, luckily, like every other wand, it's enchanted to withstand such a thing. The flames lick at his fingers and, with a curse, Sirius flicks his wrist to extinguish the fire and, when he looks up again, the woman has dropped her helmet and holds yet another knife.

"Expelliarmus," he casts once again, irritation now getting the better of him as he advances on her. "Any enemy of Kell's is an enemy of mine," he says. "I'll take care of you before you ever see him."

[best_thief]

Lila curses, as no matter how tightly she holds her knife, whatever blasted air spell he's using sends it flying from her hand like a cheap toy. She flicks the remaining fire she's conjured at Serious' clothing, just enough to startle and singe, and calls a large shard of ice to her. She uses the moment of distraction to lunge at him, knocking him back and pinning him to the ground, the jagged piece of ice pressed to his neck in lieu of a knife.

This boy keeping her from Kell was a laughable thing, but she wasn't smiling.

"I'm no enemy of Kell's. This is Essen Tasch armor."

[thebloodtraitor]

She recovers quickly from the loss of her blade, sending another ball of flame his way. It catches on his jacket before he can ward it off, singing the fabric, though not setting him alight.

"Bloody hell," he grumbles, smoothing a hand along the velvet with an irritated hand before finding himself flat on his back, the woman astride him pressing a blade of ice to his neck. His breath is quick and blood thrumming as his eyes lock on hers. They're both the same color, he notices. Or nearly so. Neither one is the pitch black of Kell's singular eye.

"That word means nothing to me, sweetheart," he says with a loose grin as he flicks his wrist. Instantly, the ice knife at his throat melts, causing no more damage than a rush of cold water against his neck, seeping into his shirt and jacket. "If you're no enemy, why were you fighting him?"

[best_thief]

"Call me sweetheart again," Lila challenges, pressing her knee threateningly close to Serious' groin. She doesn't miss the way he does his magic with that stick, and wonders if it's how he funnels his power. It's nothing she's seen, but magic, in a worldly manner, is still fairly new to her. Maybe this is how it's done where he's from, the way the Faroans and Vesks have different beliefs in how to use magic.

"Ask him yourself," she says sweetly, and in a swift move she grabs the stick from his hand and dances away, giving it a curious look.

"Is this the source of your power?"

[thebloodtraitor]

She moves swiftly, presses a threatening knee between his thighs and, instinctively, Sirius's muscles draw tense and his breath catches in anticipation of a terrible blow, though his grin hardly falters.

That is until she leaps off him in one swift movement, grabbing his wand in the process.

Sirius is on his feet in an instant, glowering as he says, "Not the source, no. Accio wand." He holds his hand out, palm up, catching the fine wood easily as it soars toward him. "Only a means of control. My magic is not like yours or Kell's," he continues, shoulders still hunched, regarding the woman with a growing curiosity. "You control the elements, do you not? Including blood? Do you slice yourself to ribbons as he does?"

[best_thief]

His magic is like a magnet, yanking the stick from her hand just as he'd knocked her knives away. She looks put out, having wanted to see if she could have used the stick's power.

"You know nothing," she tells him, leaning down to pick her knives up while keeping her eyes still trained on his. He's more or less confirmed that he isn't from Kell's world, and she can't imagine he's from hers. He doesn't look faded in the way of White, so where, then? Black? Impossible.

No, nothing seems impossible anymore.

"Only Antari use blood. I am something else entirely," she says with a sharp smile.

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius keeps his wand fixed on her as she leans over to gather her knives, one eyebrow arching at the sharp tilt of her smile.

"Yes, I'm certain you are," he says, though he can't help but wonder how Kell could possibly have been letting her win whatever fight this woman claims they had been fighting. Sirius has seen what Kell is capable of and even this Delilah is admitting her powers are no match.

He flicks his wand at her, though it's only a gesture, not a spell as he says, "If you're not Kell's enemy, then what are you? He's never mentioned a Delilah in the time I've known him."

[best_thief]

"Ask him," Lila says once more, sheathing one knife so she can pick up her helmet. She keeps the other in hand, though she's done playing with him.

She takes a closer look at their surroundings, at the snow and the strange buildings in the distance. She made it in Kell's world without knowing the language, she can make it this one.

Part of her wants to find Kell, find out how he can have been here long enough to become friends with Serious when he was right there in front of her the moment before she ended up here. But the other part doesn't want to rush to him, depend on him, be so out of her depth around him. She'd wanted to surprise him when she returned to Red London, she wants it to be on her terms here as well.

"It's been fun, Serious," she says, and walks past him.