Prompt 3 - Shakedown, Takedown - our_magic_place

[her_own_sword]

No matter how the race is run it always ends the same.
Another room without a view awaits downtown.
You can shake me for a while,
live it up in style.
No matter what you do I'm gonna take you down.The Longchamp Racecourse in Paris is home to some of the most famous races in Europe. The Prix La Force, run in the Spring of each year, is not one of

Comments

[civ_barbarian]

Unlike some, Hsu didn't take offence to her 'old man' comment. He was old, and he was proud of his longevity, and it wasn't as if Cody thought his body was anything but that of a man still in his prime. "A MacLeod eunuch, I wonder how he would deal with that. I'm sure the angst would never end." While Hsu wasn't aware that Cody had the small dagger, he also wasn't terribly surprised. He would have died long ago, if he hadn't known to be ready for anything.

As this was just sparring, Hsu let the stiletto arc towards him, but instead of moving to deflect it with his blade...or letting her slice his rather expensive shirt, he caught it with his free hand. Eyes locked with hers, there was the barest flicker as the sharp blade cut into his palm, and he pulled it away. Blood began to trickle down his hand and to his wrist. With their swords still locked, he twisted the dagger to a point that she would either have to drop it or be forced down herself. They were close, their arms crossed by swords and dagger, leaving little room for her to maneuver.

"Now what are you going to do?" he asked as he twisted his hand a little more and got ready to push her back using the swords.

[her_own_sword]

"Let MacLeod angst. I don't care." She laughed, and then was breathless when he stopped the dagger. The Quickening and sparring was certainly erotically charged for her, and she was highly aroused at the sight of his eyes and his blood. What she wanted to do was tear off that expensive shirt and get on with the more fun parts of their lessons, but she knew he needed to see her strength and skill. Plus, she needed to always be learning, and she never got to spar with him. His skills were unbelievable, and she was learning, even in this play.

"Press the pain." She locked her eyes to his, and spoke as though she were being instructed by de Rochefort, or Frances. "Push the blood enough to distract. Then, instep." Cody stomped her boot down, heel on top of his foot, a weak point that she learned well to use. Had it been for real she would have done it hard enough to break his foot bones. "Release small blade...twist with push while weakened..." Cody turned, using her size to an advantage in it's tiny grace. She brought her arm down, sword pulled back as the dagger was relinquished, and put a few feet of space between them to bring up her sword in a defensive stance, ready to fight, gripped with both hands. No, she probably could not win against an opponent like him, but being able to gain her space back and stand again was good, and you never knew what could happen where you could win, or at least run. She had learned well.

Panting, she waited, for him to counter.

[civ_barbarian]

Hsu hissed as her foot came down on his, his eyes flashed briefly with anger. When she let go of the dagger, he threw the delicate blade behind him, blood dripping from his hand onto the flagstones of the balcony. "I hope you don't give your real opponents a running commentary on what you're doing." He smirked at her.

As she stepped back to put some distance between them, and he let it remain like that for a few seconds, cold eyes just watching her as she readied herself for his attack. Then he brought his scimitar up. The large, heavy blade with all of its weight at the end could come down with amazing force, enough to numb her arms, but instead he controlled it effortlessly with a more subtle force. That wasn't to say he didn't press her hard, letting her block, but making her work for it as his sword sliced down on one side and then the other, forcing her to give ground. His style was a savage grace...a barbarian who had not learned the finesse of fencing, but just how to kill with a sword.

Even though he was holding back, it was still unrelenting until the moment he cut inside her guard and sliced into her side, not deeply but for their kind an attention-getter. That was merely a brief pause as he pressed again.

[her_own_sword]

"I save the play by play for you." She could barely speak, though, as she defended from the onslaught of blows. The force of the strikes were enough to make her arms ache as she blocked them, a few rattling her teeth with the power. It was certainly a mark of pride that she stood her ground as well as she did, considering the age, size and skill difference. The slice into her side make her scream, but she held on, shaking her head to clear her vision.

She backed up and scrambled over a lounger, but lost her footing and fell to her knees. Her sword crashed down on the flagstones, and she knew that had this been for real, the killing blow would come. Her Quickening from the earlier fight still danced in her, though it was tempered by this lesson not to be cocky. Still, the rush of sparring with him, and the experience it gave her, was worth it. She was breathing hard as she looked up at him, exhausted and excited, but proud to have held her own even that far with someone of his stature.

[civ_barbarian]

Hsu pursued her, not relenting in his attack until she dropped her sword. Stepping over the lounger, he kicked the sword away and looked down at her, one eyebrow raised. He could see her excitement, the shine in her eyes that wasn't only due to the Quickening, but the exhilaration of their fight.

With the very tip of his scimitar, he held up her chin. With just a little pressure, he persuaded her, without a word to stand up. A smug smirk played on his lips, and while she was catching her breath, he had barely broken a sweat.

Once she was back on her feet, he lowered his sword and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him. His hand around her slender wrist, pinning it behind her as he held her against him, he looked down into those fired brown eyes. "Did you get what you wanted?"

[her_own_sword]

"I always get what I want." Okay, so still cocky. But damn, that was fun. For years she had fought with Andy, Lars, Marcus and the others in hand to hand, where she thought Andy had taken far too much pleasure at times in kicking her ass. But swordfighting with Hsu, with a master who had fought for thousands of years and conquered nations with his sword, that was a rush! She moved her lithe body against his hard one, still panting slightly. "It's more fun doing it with an expert." The smirk on her face was completely insolent, but she knew he wouldn't mind.

"Don't tell me you're worn out by little ol' me?" She gave him an exaggerated Southern simper, unknowingly very much like the woman whose sword she used. In her eyes, there was a fire unlike any he had seen before. Marilyn Toscado might not have been dark enough to be a Dark Quickening, but her soul and essence were that of a vicious, manipulative, sexual predator who used anyone she could. Maybe there was a bit of her rubbing off on Cody, in the depraved sense. Or maybe the years with Hsu gone made her hungry for something violently reckless. With a growl, she looked deep in those pale eyes, and demanded. "I want more."

[civ_barbarian]

Sword still in hand, but lowered now, he wrapped his arm around her as she moved against him, looking down at her with those cold eyes. However, it was still clear that he didn't mind that smirk playing on her lips. Indeed, it only turned him on more.

The exaggerated drawl caught his attention immediately reminding him of Sorsha, and the fact that Cody had just killed Sorsha's murderer was not lost on him. Hsu took greater note of that fire in her eyes. While he could admit to himself, there was something very erotic and pleasing with this flash of dark sexuality, he wasn't sure that it was all Cody there. It could be, or it could be just the effects of the Quickening, or while he doubted it was a Dark Quickening, there could still be some control issues going on in there. Marilyn had been old, by far the oldest Cody had defeated.

That growling demand was enough. His free hand came up to her throat, tightening around enough to get her attention. His face just inches from hers. "So do I, but first get a handle on that bitch."

[her_own_sword]

Cody’s eyes widened, as she listened to Hsu. There was a war going on inside her. Cody had never killed an ancient Immortal. Marilyn Toscado was really Tullia of Veminacium. She was nearly as old as Hsu, and had killed hundreds of Immortals. Sorsha, who Marilyn had also killed, was even older than her murderer. The electricity of the Quickening danced in response, just over her flesh, as she looked into his eyes. “Hsu…” It was only her third kill, and the other two had been fairly young, fairly inept. Yes, she was strong and well trained, which had helped her win the challenge and behead the traitorous woman. But was she actually strong enough to vanquish her, control her life force and not have it overwhelm her?

Marilyn may have been a user, and a traitor, but she was extremely strong, mentally and spiritually. She didn’t survive all those centuries on her pretty face alone. Sparring with Hsu had seemed fun to Cody Jean, but could it only play into the violent and dark spirit sitting uneasily within her? If Marilyn had killed Sorsha, and contained that force, as well as hundreds of others, could the young Cody Jean contain her and control her, or would Marilyn ultimately take Cody, after all?

His face was so close to hers, he had to see the slow, evil smile that lit up her brown…or blue…eyes. They were so dark but seemed lit up, or perhaps that was just an illusion from the lights in the Paris night. “A handle on that bitch? Believe me, I have a handle on this little bitch. The question of the moment is which handle is stronger, warlord?”

[civ_barbarian]

Hsu was under no illusion as to who he was now talking too. If anything, he seemed rather pleased to have been given this opportunity to speak with Marilyn's spirit. His fingers tightened around Cody's slender throat, now starting to choke her slowly. "A part of me is really pleased to see you, Tullia, but I think that she'll surprise you."

He shrugged, even as he pressed his body against Cody's. "No matter. She proves herself the stronger, all well and good. You win, bitch, and I get to take my own revenge. You forget who I was. Flagellum Dei you Romans called me. Now, do you remember how the Huns treated traitors? We reserved our harshest deaths for those who would betray our people." He did smile, but it was utterly cold and devoid of any humour whatsoever. "I would be more than happy to show you."

Throwing his sword aside, he ripped open the front of Cody's top with a powerful jerk and was roughly pulling open her pants. "Cody Jean will enjoy this, won't you?" He looked beyond that strange mix of brown and blue eyes as that internal battle waged inside her, and tried to reach Cody. The hand choking her loosened just enough...he didn't want her to die yet, but his other pushed between her legs. "I know how much she likes me fucking her rough. For you, Tullia, it will be a humiliation...an eternity of abuse for however long you dominate this body."

[her_own_sword]

"Oh, I remember. I remember your brother, and his filthy stench. You Huns, thinking you had the right." Her voice was hoarse, thanks to the pressure on her throat and her demonic rage threatening to unleash. "Scum. You thought you were as good as we were." With surprising strength, she struck at his face with her fists, as her knee came up towards his groin. "LET GO OF ME! I won't let you defile me with your gutter, peasant touch."

Cody looked at him, for a moment, her brown eyes pleading with his for help, before she spat in his face. Tullia was fighting for control of Cody Jean, and trying to fight this assault that she found worse than death. She pushed against his hands, twisting and thrashing her body, the body she was possessing, away from him in vain, though every movement caused his grip on her throat to tighten. "I am not your little whore, Hsu Danmei! Attila! Let go of me! I will NOT be had by you!"

For just a moment, there was a flare of emerald green in those eyes, and a laugh that Hsu would remember, before it was gone like a whisp of smoke. Then Tullia fought harder, because she didn't care what damage was done to the young Immortal who had taken her head. All she cared about now was the shame of being fucked by a Hun, raped by the invader who slaughtered her people and who she had despised for centuries. She would force him to destroy his little protege, before she would be defiled by him. In rage, she spit at him again, and clawed towards his face.

[civ_barbarian]

With little effort, Hsu avoided her fists and blocked her attempt to knee him in the groin with his leg. He had hoped for something a little less unpredictable from one so old in dealing with him, a man well used to taking by force. "At least we shared the same opinion of Bleda, but even he was better that what Rome was. Not that I'm here to discuss ancient history, only that a bitch like you could twist your hatred of me into joining forces with those that would destroy all our kind."

He let her thrash, enough to let her think she might stand a chance of getting away, but not enough to actually let her. "Oh, you will be had by me, unless you accept your defeat and give this body back to the rightful winner." Yes, he had seen that flash of brown in her eyes and knew Cody was still very much there, if confused and frightened at what was happening. He also hoped that she would figure out what he was doing. Raping Tullia, humiliating her in the worst way possible as far as she was concerned might distract her enough to allow this battle to be fought on two fronts and give Cody the opportunity to reclaim her body.

He didn't care about hurting Cody, it was just her body, after all, and she would heal. She would understand that. Shaming Tullia was far more damaging. The spittle from when she spat at him ran down his cheek, and just before she would have reached his face with her claws, he grabbed her wrist, twisting her body around, holding her back against him as he practically carried her to the wall of the balcony. No matter how hard she struggled, he was still stronger. He forced her to bend over as one hand pressed her neck down. Each time she lashed out at him with feet or hands, he hit her. "Keep doing this, Tullia, it only fires my blood more." The Cody's pants came the rest of the way off as he undid his own, releasing his cock and kicking her legs wide.

[her_own_sword]

Tullia was raging inside Cody's body, struggling to maintain control over the young, inexperienced Immortal and still prevent the humiliation and scourge of being raped by her enemy. While to Cody, rape was just a tool of power, to Tullia, in this situation, it was worse than death, because of her social status and history.

In front of her eyes was the lit sight of the Lourve, a building younger than she. Tullia refused to give up, refused to be vanquished by Hsu Danmei and his disgusting little gutter whore. Cody's body was young and strong, and the breathing done in rasping gasps only fueled her outraged howls of fury. Looking over the railing, she fashioned a plan. Hsu had had one rape charge in the US, and a public scene here would bring unpleasant attention to the Immortal and his bank.

Plus, a death, a violent and horrific one, might finally put down the life force of Cody, and put Tullia firmly in charge. Let a public crowd find the broken body of the young girl, half naked, on the street below. With a roar, she threw her body...Cody's body...forward, and attempted to hurl herself over the ledge and down to the street of Paris below.

[civ_barbarian]

"No, you don't," Hsu said quiet calmly as Tullia tried to launch herself over the edge of the balcony. He had a firm grip on her, and what momentum she did manage to have, he pulled back, throwing her back down across the railing. "You think I don't know how to handle a piece of trash like you? You'd have to do a lot better."

He yanked her back from the balcony and pushed her face down onto the lounger. His hand held Cody by her hair, forcing her face into the thin cushioning as his body pinned hers down. He spread her legs open, savagely pulling aside the little bikini underwear, not even bothering to pull them off before ramming himself inside her. "You can scream, bitch. No one will come, and I'll like that."

[her_own_sword]

The battle inside her was so turbulent that it made her feel almost nauseated. Cody was struggling to rise, to push down the other. Tullia screamed in a manner that would have made anyone who could hear think that Hsu was boiling her alive or peeling the flesh from her body. The force with which he rammed inside of her pushed the air from her lungs, and she had to inhale sharply to scream again.

If she held on to Cody’s body, then this would be her fate. A lifetime of humiliation and torture by the hated warlord. If she let go? Death. She didn’t really know what might be on the other side of that chasm, but it was a better prospect than this. She knew that there would be no freedom or escape from Hsu Danmei, if she remained. At the same moment that she wavered, hesitated, Cody Jean asserted her own strength, reaching out with one hand to grasp his hand that was holding her hip, as though to anchor herself for one last internal shove to the force of the other woman. One released, the other advanced, much as in the battle they had done physically. In that last second before Tullia let go, Cody almost felt like she was staring at the woman, in her mind. She could see the centuries. Love. Fear. Loss. Cody hated her enemy, yes, but she also could see how one event, in her youth, had twisted her soul. It seemed an eternity that the two women faced each other.

And then Tullia let go.

Cody gasped, feeling as though something had punched the air from her, and her body went slack underneath Hsu’s. She was aware of his thrusts inside her, but she was drained mentally and emotionally for the moment, the battle overwhelming her. She realized how close she had come to losing, even after winning, and it frightened her. Cody’s fingers tightened on Hsu’s hand, seeking the reassurance of her mentor. Had he known she could win that fight, as well? Cody felt dizzy, and unbelievably thirsty, and at one with her mentor as he moved within her. His body inside her, over her, around her, made her feel safe and connected.

[civ_barbarian]

It was when he felt Cody's hand on his, holding it instead of clawing at it, that he knew his ward was fighting back and that the Roman bitch was losing ground. She so hated the thought of being his that she would rather give up the last trace of life. Well, that suited him just fine.

Then Cody went limp, and he did wonder as to who had won that final battle. In any case, he kept pounding her his own lust for power over both driving him closer to his climax. Only when he felt her hand squeeze his did he know for certain that Cody had won, and he threw his head back in triumph that she had overcome that bitch with his humiliation of her. With a loud groan, he came, his body shuddering as he held her hips tightly before slowly releasing his grip.

[her_own_sword]

When he groaned, and she felt him release her, Cody smiled a little, turning her head to look at him. It had been something new, unexpected, and frightening. But to win against such an enemy was a triumph that they did together, and she knew that no matter what other fights they might have in the future, this would remain as a sweet victory over someone who had done them both a lot of damage.

"Hsu..." Turning her body over, she looked up at him, with all the relief and gratitude in her eyes. Slowly, she stood, to move into his arms, needing to connect to him and keep that safe harbor feeling going. "I hate that bitch."