Chapter 93: 092 Insult + Injury

"Let go of me you greasy piece of shit!"

Titanyana took note of the young man struggling against a gaudily dressed man as she stepped out of the carriage. While she had the urge to step in and separate the two of them, doing so would reflect poorly on Diana. For now she could only watch the boy struggle in vain against the middle aged man, wondering why this was happening at their destination.

"Oh come now Rize, don't be like that! She's a lovely girl, and I can be certain the two of you will hit it off just fine." Titanyana recoiled internally at the man's smile. Perhaps it was supposed to be dreamy, his eyes looking off into the distant future, but it only succeeded in making him seem like a pervert with his death grip on Rize. "I can feel my grandchildren in my arms already!"

What Titanyana would normally consider a heartwarming and endearing line was morphed into an almost predatory and unnerving statement given the context before her.

"I refuse to sleep with that skanky ball of fat you call a daughter. LEMME GO!"

Rize, at the very least, was giving Lord Kelly a challenge. He was still young, his body still undeveloped, but his inherited bulkiness matched against the terribly out of shape adult in such a way that it took a great amount of effort.

"Ah, but you have only seen pictures my dear boy! Pictures! Drawn by a subpar artist nonetheless! It brings me shame, but my territory is somewhat lacking in the arts." From his tone Titanyana would normally assume he was being humble, but given his previous actions she could only think that he was making excuses. "If I remember correctly, that man also had his heart broken by her at the time, so it would only make sense he might add a few pounds in less flattering places."

"So she's a slut, too?" Rize was at the point of actually hitting his assailant's arm with his free hand, trying desperately to stop him from dragging him up into the carriage. "Fuck you! Fuck, YOU! Get OFF!!!"

Rize placed a kick close to Lord Kelly's crotch. Titanyana could tell from his form he was aiming for the balls, but one of Kelly's sudden tugs threw off his aim. Despite that, it fulfilled its intended function, and Lord Kelly let go of the boy as he recoiled from the near miss. Rize, now free, tumbled to the ground as the tavern door almost flew off it's hinges once again.

A woman emerged wielding a large knife in each hand.

"GET AWAY FROM MY SON YOU INSOLENT, BRAINLESS, GREEDY SON - OF - A - BITCH!!!" 

With the fury only a mother could know, Manama threw the larger of the two knives at the stumbling kidnapper, hitting him squarely in the chest. Unfortunately, Manama was not trained in the art of knife throwing. Instead of piercing his flesh as she intended, the hilt was what made contact with him. It did accomplish its secondary objective though, that being to scare him away from her son.

Moments after the speeding hunk of metal made contact with his sternum, Lord Kelly squealed in a manner similar to the pig he looked like. "AAAAAAAAAHhahaha, HIIIIIIII! BIJE! BIIIIIIJEEE! Help meeeehihihihiiiiiii!"

Tiredly, the man who had stepped out of the carriage alongside his lord picked him up from the ground. He did not seem to approve of his behavior, yet was in no position to force a change upon him.

"She ASSAULTED ME! ASSAULTED MEEE!" He struggled for breath as he screamed at his bodyguard. "KILL HER! KILL HERRRR!!!! I want her DEAD!"

Bije sighed before slowly drawing the sword from his back.

"A scimitar?" Titanyana recognized the weapon, though she had never fought against one. In theory they worked much like sabers, though they were supposed to be used from the back of a mount, the curved blade making it so that they get stuck less often.

Manama threw her other knife at the slowly approaching Bije, still enraged but this time with a tinge of fear. All he had to do was bat it aside, much like he would a curtain or vine.

"Titanyana, protect them." Diana had followed Titanyana, and had borne witness to what had happened, "Please?"

Titanyana switched from watching Bije's approach on Manama to Diana's pleading gaze a few times, trying to figure out what she should do. She didn't much like the fact that an innocent boy was being attacked, but if he was nobility then that assault could reasonably incur summary execution.

"Please?" Diana asked again, clasping her hands together this time. Titanyana only had moments to make a decision before Diana would have to make her move. Titanyana did not have much choice in the matter after all.

"Mm."

"Thank you, Titanyana." Diana gave Titanyana a quick pat on the head, something which felt natural if a bit awkward given the situation, before stamping angrily into the fray. "HEY! Just what the hell is going on here?"

"EHIIII!" The pig squealed in surprise. "Who are YOU?" In the span of a second, he scanned the newcomer, eyeing her body. For a moment his eyes turned quite lascivious. "No, that doesn't matter right now. BIJE! KILL HER AND TAKE THE BOY!"

Bije, who had paused momentarily, continued to reluctantly descend upon Manama, Pinishi screaming and crying from the tavern.

"Titanyana!"

To Diana, Titanyana materialized in front of the cowering pair, her hair still pulled back by the air drag from her journey over. She had yet to draw her sword, her hand resting on it's hilt, but there was little doubt as to her ability to intercept a blow from her previous display.

"What exactly do you think you are accomplishing here, huh?"

"S-s-s-s-silence, WENCH!" The bumbling fool brought insulted Diana, frightened by Titanyana's sudden movement. "Kill her! Kill that woman! K-k-kill that girl in your path too!"

"Really? You aren't even going to try to de-escalate?" Diana was speechless.

"SILENCE! Why I ought to strip you down and make an example of you for - for questioning ME!"

TANG

Titanyana could not afford to listen to their conversation any longer, Bije had made his move. His blade arced down towards Titanyana's right shoulder, the most difficult direction for her to bring her sword from sheath to a blocking position. Unfortunately for Bije, that difficulty was completely mitigated by their difference in speed. Bije might be skilled, but it was apparent he was not a match for her in a contest of split.

As Bije recovered his balance, Titanyana considered whether or not she should kill Bije. She could do it, it wouldn't even be difficult, but this was essentially the middle of town. Could she honestly commit murder in full view of this many people? Would Diana permit that? She said to protect these two, nothing about killing.

"...I'm sorry..." Bije whispered an apology to the three of them. It would take an idiot to think he really wanted to do any of this.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR BIJE! KILL THEM!!!"

"...I'm sorry..." The fur on Titanyana's tail stood on end for but a moment, an instinctual response to danger. Without a windup, Bije's scimitar made a beeline for her shoulder, again. Once again, Titanyana deflected it. 

At least she thought she did.

Instead of acting like she would normally expect, the scimitar deflected off of the flat of her blade and started going straight towards her face.

- - - - -

Diana gasped as she watched the scimitar cross in front of Titanyana's forehead, regretting getting her involved. Even if she didn't die from that blow, then she was going to have to live with a scar across her beautiful face. 

"Titanyana!?" Diana almost rushed to her side in spite of the danger. "Are you okay?"

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She was still standing, so ostensibly still alive. The only question for Diana was whether or not she could continue. Surely she was reeling from the blow, or maybe she was even unconscious. She could have a concussion, a fractured skull, or any number of head related damages as a result of that.

"Titanyana?"

"...mmmmmm, stings a bit." Titanyana responded to Diana's cries with relative disinterest. "Lady Diana, can I kill him?"

"Can you what?"

"Kill him. He hit me in the head, he's tricky. I don't want to let him go." Titanyana lifted her head to reveal a largely undamaged forehead, only a small bruise was forming. "I might be able to subdue him, maybe."

Diana stood back in shock at what she was seeing. Instead of being dazed or confused, or even afraid of the person in front of her, she was asking if she was allowed to kill him. "Please capture him alive if you can help it, but don't overdo it." She added that last part on in haste, not entirely convinced that Titanyana was completely fine.

"Hmmmmmmm." Titanyana's tail began to swing wildly from side to side, her emerald eyes concentrating on Bije, though not necessarily focused. "Mkay, but I do it my way." Titanyana crouched down, reducing her profile even further.

Diana wanted to say something more, but she didn't know what would be productive. This had gone past her realm or control, negotiation couldn't help here. This was the arena of the warrior.

- - - - -

Titanyana was mad, more enraged than she had likely ever been. She was mad that she let herself be hit, mad that she lost focus for a split second, mad that she got out sped, but more than anything else she was furious that she let herself be embarrassed further in front of Diana. Donovan and Diana could make her feel insecure, that was only to be expected. They were her superiors, they were supposed to be better than her.

Bije was not better than her.

If Titanyana was a first rate fighter, then Bije was second or even third rate. He had excellent burst potential, something to keep an eye on for sure, but his sword skills were subpar by a large margin. All he had were tricks, tricks that only worked because he used an unorthodox weapon, and Titanyana had already figured out one of them.

It was fast, subtle, and smooth, but Titanyana saw through it in that one blow. He kept a weak grip on the handle as he swung the scimitar, angling it ever so slightly towards her face. That way when it made contact with her block, the blade would turn perpendicular and point directly towards her face. From there he could just grip it tightly once more and swing for the face.

It was an dirty trick, one no honest swordsman would ever resort to, which was why it was so effective. However it had flaws.

"...I'm sorry..." Bije was still apologizing for having to fight against her.

"What are you waiting for Bije?!?!!? Finish her off already!" Lord Kelly was convinced of Bije's victory after watching the previous exchange, and wanted him to hurry so he could get going with his coercion. 

"Shut it, sleazebag." Titanyana, the quiet reserved girl Diana knew was gone. What took her place was the heir to the Nekh throne, a Strapper, and a thoroughbred warrior with a heart of ice. "I'm this close to ripping out your throat myself."

Kelly recoiled from the hostility, beginning to sweat more than he was before. Titanyana ignored him, he wasn't important. With a short exhale through her nose, she launched herself at Bije. She would start with a series of probing blows, well aware she could finish it faster but unwilling to let Bije off lightly.

Two slashes in opposite directions followed by a shallow thrust at the stomach were deflected by Bije, though he failed to completely block a strike to his upper sword arm. That didn't mean the sword tore through his skin. Titanyana couldn't tell if he was wearing light armor under his shirt or if it was some form of natural defense like scales or fur, but it didn't matter to her. She was measuring Bije's capabilities, sounding out how he responded to certain threats and pushing him to reveal any defensive tricks he might have. 

As far as Titanyana was concerned, any form of 'armor', natural or otherwise, that Bije could equip was completely irrelevant. It might save him from glancing blows and the occasional opportunistic blow she couldn't put much power into, but Titanyana's offensive capabilities were beyond what armor could handle.

Titanyana avoided a counterblow, being especially careful to keep her sword between Bije's scimitar and her body. Once confident Bije didn't have the leverage to make a follow up, she rushed inside his range of attack. It served the dual purpose of putting herself in a position Bije would see as threatening as well as make it difficult for him to actually get an attack off.

In truth, this rush was little more than a bluff. Titanyana's range might have been shorter, but she struggled to hit someone at this close a range just as much as he did. What she really wanted was for him to step back, to try and open the gap. Fortunately his reflexes were just as fast as she had hoped, and she was dancing around to his side just as his foot began to move. Normally she would cut the now exposed ankle to debilitate her opponent, but she had no intentions of ending this charade so quickly. Titanyana didn't exactly know whether or not Diana wanted him crippled, so she played it safe.

Instead she batted the outstretched foot with the flat of her blade in much the same way she had done to Wall just a few days prior. Unlike Wall, Bije was not weighed down by heavy armor, so he didn't fall to the ground. Titanyana capitalized on his temporary imbalance though, swiftly placing a cut along his forearm before making some distance between the two of them.

"One."

She waited for Bije to recoup his stance, faintly able to hear his heart beating with her sensitive ears. He was shaken, no doubt about that. Titanyana had demonstrated the ability to kill him effortlessly just now. The trickle of blood streaming down his forearm was proof of that. Unsure of how to proceed, he assumed a defensive stance.

Titanyana charged him again, her stance suggesting a thrust to his torso. Thinking quickly, Bije put his wide blade in its path, seeking to protect his gut from being impaled. However, just as her sword was about to make contact, it seemed to stop. It turned from a thrust to a slash, heading directly for his throat as she carried her momentum off to his side. Once again, instead of going for something that would kill him, she adjusted her aim to only cut his cheek.

"Two."

Flicking the blood off of her blade before sheathing it, she turned around again to stare at the shocked Bije. It wasn't the deepest cut, but there was still quite a bit of blood coming from it. He wouldn't bleed out from wounds this small, that was the point. She took her hand off of the sword's hilt, and open invitation for Bije to take his turn.

He charged, going for a wide but fast swing at her center of mass. Titanyana only had to duck underneath the blade to find an opening, following the scimitar's path to his now open side and planting a solid punch on his ribcage. She could feel his ribs strain under the blow, but she didn't break anything. Confident in her work, she stepped away to avoid Bije's counterstrike.

"Three."

The meaning behind her count was obvious. 'In a real fight, I would have killed you this many times by now.' Bije visibly shivered at the realization.

Without warning, Titanyana once again charged him, drawing her sword as she side-stepped his downward slash. Her sword similarly descended from above, a swift strike landing neatly on the part of his clavicle closest to his shoulder before she once again twirled around him and out of his line of sight.

"Four."

He heard her say it from behind him, and made a wild swing in an attempt to catch her. All Titanyana had to do was duck under the blade before driving the tip of her sword up slightly into the side of his chest. It didn't go too far in, certainly not enough to actually do any damage.

"Five."

Bije jumped back, this time making sure he wouldn't be tripped up on the landing, before checking his wounds. Nothing serious, but he was still bleeding. While he maintained an air of calm, Bije was very much afraid at this point. His will beginning to falter, he assumed a stance similar to the one he had first taken, and waited for Titanyana to close.

She obliged, wanting to end this farce. 'Here it comes.'

For a split second, Bije displayed a speed completely uncharacteristic for him. His sword was falling upon Titanyana in a diagonal slash towards her sword arm, fast enough that nobody nearby could react. No one but Titanyana, that is. Speed was Titanyana's bread and butter.

Her body was practically purpose built for high speed engagements, and she had the technique to use it more effectively than any other. Engagement, disengagement, feinting, and positioning were among the techniques she practiced almost religiously. The very thought that the dance she had spent so long crafting would be erroneously challenged by some second rate who could only use tricks to fight was insulting to her.

Without even batting an eye, Titanyana struck the incoming scimitar on its side, knocking it from the loose grip Bije was holding into the dirt. The flat of her blade made contact with his temple shortly afterward.

"Six."