FISTICUFFS!

[oathbreaker]

Characters: oathbreaker and brittlenerves
Location: Deck 03, the forest
Date: Just after the gauntlet is thrown here
Rating: Uhhhh... PG-13? THERE WILL BE VIOLENCE! As much as Xanth can muster, anyways. Also probably a lot of tl;dr-ing off Abi's side, but that's nothing new and doesn't affect the rating SO.

Comments

[brittlenerves]

For once in his life, Xanth didn't hesitate. He knew how long it would take to get up to deck three so, when the moment came, he left with his golf club in hand. He chose it over the sword because he had been using it longer, so naturally, that was what he was more accustomed to. He didn't intend to use it as a weapon, anyway - he wanted it for defense.

Mostly.

Riku was obviously furious with him and Xanth shared that anger. That anger, that irritation, was spilling over and mixing with his guilt and his frustration and his worry to create one Molotov of a cocktail. This was only made worse by the fact that Xanth hadn't slept the night Kairi died. What little sleep he had gotten since then had been awful. His insomnia was back in full force this week and he knew that would be terrible for his defensive abilities, but Xanth wasn't here to fight.

Mostly.

As he walked through the forest, his footsteps were quiet; he was in no hurry to face Riku's wrath. At the near exact ten-minute mark, he walked into the clearing. His head was not held high but his shoulders weren't drawn inward. He stood there neither comfortably nor fearfully.

Was he ready for this?

Not at all.

"R-Riku."

[oathbreaker]

"I didn't think you'd come."

Riku had stopped his pacing just before the ten-minute mark had come to pass, standing with a wide stance at the opposite side of the clearing. He hadn't drawn his sword yet. That was something. Instead, he was standing with his arms folded, the anger he was feeling readily apparent on his face.

"What happened in the maze?"

Yes, Xanth had already told him. But there was a major difference between hearing it over the comms and hearing it in person.

[brittlenerves]

Xanth had considered not showing. He knew he could avoid that conversation again and he knew he wouldn't risk bruises if Riku got out of control. Overall, it would have been the better choice to stay away, and he knew that, but Xanth still came to the forest.

He looked to the ground and tapped his weapon against it. "I--I told you, w-we were just... l-looking a-around, in... in the maze. S-Some of the rooms w-were alright, b-but... one... w-wasn't."

And he couldn't save her in time.

[oathbreaker]

The fact that Xanth had shown admittedly was a credit to Riku's admittedly-low opinion of the boy. At least he had shown, despite the fact that he probably knew exactly what was going to happen. He'd begun to develop a backbone--but apparently, that backbone only stretched to protecting himself.

Riku drew his sword, giving it a simple swing and letting it drop to his side, the point resting in the dirt. "In the temple--weren't you the one to remind me about how dangerous this place was? Didn't we discover that for ourselves that day? I'd thought we'd both learned that lesson by this time, Xanth."

His eyes narrowed. "And you two just thought you'd explore the maze without running into anything?"

Xanth should have expected that!

[brittlenerves]

"N-No!" Xanth's gaze snapped up to meet Riku's. Xanth had learned that lesson long, long before Riku did - this was just yet another reiteration of how dangerous this ship was. This was more painful than any other time, but it was the same lesson.

"I-I kn-know this ship. I-I knew we-- we might f-find something! I-I didn't g-go in ex--expecting nothing, I-- I tried t-to prepare!"

[oathbreaker]

Riku gave a scornful huff, pointing his sword straight at Xanth. "Tried to prepare? It seems to me like you let your guard down!"

[brittlenerves]

Xanth bristled and took a step forward, the motion speaking only of anger and aggression.

"Y-You think I-- I don't kn-know that! I--I messed up-- sh-she suff--f-fered for it, a-and now you-- y-you! You're ch-challenging me to-- I-I don't know, a-a fight? W-When you c-could be out l-looking for her like you sh-should be!"

[oathbreaker]

"At least you'll admit your mistakes," Riku said coldly, not dropping the level of his sword one millimeter. "But if you really knew you'd messed up, you should've been out there looking for her the instant you woke back up yourself! Not just sitting back and waiting!"

He should've been at Kairi's door the moment she'd woken up, not letting however-much time go by and waiting for her to come to him!

[brittlenerves]

"I-I did!" Xanth shouted, advancing another step. "I-I looked, I l-looked! I-I looked e--everywhere! As-- as soon a-as I got-- got out of there, I-I waited f-for her a-and I l-listened on the s-stupid comms a-and--" Xanth threw his free hand in the air, "-- and she wasn't th-there!"

[oathbreaker]

Xanth was getting riled up, but Riku had gotten caught up by something else.

"You said 'got out of there,' he repeated, pointing at Xanth in accusation with his free hand. "Are you telling me that Kairi died and you didn't?"

He'd been angry, sure, but he could have eventually gotten over things.

But Xanth had let Kairi die, and hadn't died himself.

"You let Kairi die to save your own skin?"

He didn't say it aloud, but as he stared at Xanth, there was only one thought that was going through his mind. You're pathetic.

[brittlenerves]

That comment stopped Xanth in his tracks, his eyes widening and jaw dropping. The idea that anyone at all would save themselves and leave Kairi to suffer, leave Kairi to die made his blood run cold. But Riku's accusation, that Xanth would do such a heinous thing, made him furious.

Xanth's hands clenched in barely-controlled rage, he stalked forward. "I-I would n--never, ever d-do that," he growled. If Riku didn't stop him or back away, Xanth would push that sword aside and walk right up to Riku.

The shy, nervous boy who could barely look Riku in the eye was gone.

[oathbreaker]

Riku didn't flinch as Xanth shoved his sword aside, instead meeting him glare for glare. "You wouldn't?" he challenged. "You did. You're a coward, Xanth."

[brittlenerves]

Coward.

It took one second for that word to sink in.

It took another half for Xanth to send a fist hurling straight at Riku's face.

[oathbreaker]

He wasn't sure whether or not he'd been expecting the reaction, but Riku didn't have time to think about it as Xanth punched him in the face.

For a moment, Riku didn't react, his head snapping to one side with the blow. But then he took a half-step backwards, shaking his hair back, and smirked.

Good. Now they would have a fight.

Riku jumped high, clearing Xanth's head with ease and landing halfway across the clearing. "Nice trick," he scorned, bringing up his sword to a defensive position. "Bet you can't do it again, though."

And with that, he skipped forward, using a quick spin to add extra force behind his attack.

[brittlenerves]

Xanth pulled his hand back and shook it. That hurt his hand more than he expected, but not enough to keep him from doing it again, if he got the chance.

But would he? Riku leapt higher than any human, any elf, any animal Xanth had ever seen - and he was fast, too. But Xanth was still fueled by bitter fury and that would give him speed. That would give him power. What it did not give him was control.

He threw his iron up to block Riku's attack, his free hand bracing it near the top. He shoved the sword away and then, using the momentum, drew back and thrust his iron at Riku's stomach.

[oathbreaker]

The loss of control would be Xanth's downfall. Riku was angry, yes, but he was angry and knew exactly what he was doing. He slid to the side of Xanth's attack, using the momentum from the other boy shoving his sword away to his own advantage and re-aiming the swing for Xanth's unprotected side.