[ While Khara's reserves run through their last paces, she calls forth the remaining vestiges of her darkside in order to augment her skin itself, Tisiphone's trilling wail echoing distantly in her ears as the flames of Inancha's spell rush towards her, the heat stinging her eyes and fracturing the ice at her feet. Khara's last ditch effort is to roll out of the way of the brunt of the spell, though the flames lick her body and cause her to swear, hot and loud. ]
You've become... so strong... [ She breathes, something akin to pride welling in her chest and holding hands with her sadness even as she turns on Inancha, blade shaking in her grasp. Even with her shadowskin firmly in place, her body is seared with burns and numerous wounds. The skirts of her armor, already frayed to begin with, are singed, embers from their edges crumbling to the ground.
Inancha's scream echoes in her ears, and something inside of Khara shifts. She swallows down hard on a rapidly building lump in her throat as she sheathes her sword, knowing the blindness inflicted by her attack will fade within seconds. Moving quickly, she darts behind Inancha, lunging forward and grabbing her wrists from behind in a grip tempered by years of swinging a greatsword nearly twice her size. ]
I never should have left you. [ Khara murmurs, voice straining with her efforts. Exhaustion pools in her limbs, her eyes stinging from Inancha's assault. ] I should have stayed. I should have helped you.
[ Her voice cracks, and her grip slackens momentarily. Perhaps this is Baz's influence, this softness; try as she might to kill her tenderness, it remains resilient when faced with her old friend. She laughs, softly and bitterly. ] You are more Xaela than I am, now. You've found your place.
I cannot bring myself to hurt you anymore. Not when you can't defend yourself. Even if I could, you've worked me over pretty well. [ With that, Khara releases the girl, deftly sidestepping any followup swings of her staff. Clutching her side, Khara laughs again, the burns on her body screaming in chorus with the violent trill emanating from the voidsent residing within her very core. ]
I don't want to take that belonging away from you... [ Khara murmurs her words, choking on a wet bubble of blood that seeps past the corners of her lips as she talks. ] ... But I can't die here. Bastian... He would never forgive me... And you know how he gets when he's angry.
[ She laughs, the sound devolving into a choking cough. Every breath feels like a stab between her ribs, the blade twisting. ]
I'm sorry for failing you not once, but twice. [ Weakly, Khara lifts a hand and circles her fingers around the hilt of her blade, one last time. This final confrontation would need to be quick and decisive. ] Jebei and Raih'sae will only have my head if they seek to claim it themselves. I refuse to let my blood sully your hands.
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You've become... so strong... [ She breathes, something akin to pride welling in her chest and holding hands with her sadness even as she turns on Inancha, blade shaking in her grasp. Even with her shadowskin firmly in place, her body is seared with burns and numerous wounds. The skirts of her armor, already frayed to begin with, are singed, embers from their edges crumbling to the ground.
Inancha's scream echoes in her ears, and something inside of Khara shifts. She swallows down hard on a rapidly building lump in her throat as she sheathes her sword, knowing the blindness inflicted by her attack will fade within seconds. Moving quickly, she darts behind Inancha, lunging forward and grabbing her wrists from behind in a grip tempered by years of swinging a greatsword nearly twice her size. ]
I never should have left you. [ Khara murmurs, voice straining with her efforts. Exhaustion pools in her limbs, her eyes stinging from Inancha's assault. ] I should have stayed. I should have helped you.
[ Her voice cracks, and her grip slackens momentarily. Perhaps this is Baz's influence, this softness; try as she might to kill her tenderness, it remains resilient when faced with her old friend. She laughs, softly and bitterly. ] You are more Xaela than I am, now. You've found your place.
I cannot bring myself to hurt you anymore. Not when you can't defend yourself. Even if I could, you've worked me over pretty well. [ With that, Khara releases the girl, deftly sidestepping any followup swings of her staff. Clutching her side, Khara laughs again, the burns on her body screaming in chorus with the violent trill emanating from the voidsent residing within her very core. ]
I don't want to take that belonging away from you... [ Khara murmurs her words, choking on a wet bubble of blood that seeps past the corners of her lips as she talks. ] ... But I can't die here. Bastian... He would never forgive me... And you know how he gets when he's angry.
[ She laughs, the sound devolving into a choking cough. Every breath feels like a stab between her ribs, the blade twisting. ]
I'm sorry for failing you not once, but twice. [ Weakly, Khara lifts a hand and circles her fingers around the hilt of her blade, one last time. This final confrontation would need to be quick and decisive. ] Jebei and Raih'sae will only have my head if they seek to claim it themselves. I refuse to let my blood sully your hands.